Rank: AML Member
Joined: 10/30/2007
Posts: 24
Points: -69
Location: South Jordan, UT
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Dear AML friends,
I am beginning to try to get my arms around editing an anthology of short fiction for Zarahemla. It’s been sixteen years since Bright Angels and Familiars (sixteen!!) and Chris and I both feel it’s about time we had another anthology. I’ve decided to focus on short stories published since the turn of the new millennium—a look at what’s happening in 21st Century Mormon fiction—and although I have lots of ideas about specific writers and specific stories I feel must be included, I could use your help.
Let me know which stories and which writers you feel are representative of the best work by LDS short story writers in the last eight years. It would be helpful if you could give me specific titles or the journal in which the pieces were published, but if you simply have a list of Mormon authors you want to suggest, that would be great too. I am particularly interested in hearing about LDS writers who are not actively publishing in Dialogue or Irreantum or Sunstone (I’m aware of most of those) but who might be publishing in mainstream national lit mags.
Thanks for your help. I’m looking forward to diving into this project, and appreciate Zarahemla for their willingness to continue promoting the cause of quality LDS lit.
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Rank: AML Member
Joined: 10/26/2007
Posts: 63
Points: 198
Location: Denton, TX
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Collections by Mormon authors published since 1992:
Evenson, Brian. Altmann's Tongue. Knopf, 1994.
Rawlins, Paul. No Lie Like Love University of Georgia Press, 1996.
Brian Evenson, Prophets and Brothers. Rodent Press, 1997. Chapbook.
Brian Evenson, The Din of Celestial Birds, Wordcraft, 1997.
Margaret Blair Young, Love Chains. Signature, 1997.
Udall, Brady. Letting Loose the Hounds. Norton, 1998.
Phillys Barber, Parting the Veil: Stories from a Mormon Imagination. Signature, 1999.
Clyde, Mary. Survival Rates. University of Georgia, 1999.
Spencer, Darrell. Caution, Men in Trees. University of Georgia Press, 2000.
Horne, Lewis. The House of James. Signature, 2001.
Bell, M. Shayne. How We Play the Game in Salt Lake City and other stories. 2001.
Weyland, Jack. Forever. Cornerstone, 2001.
Peterson, Todd Robert. Long After Dark. Zarahemla, 2006.
Bradshaw, Anne. Please, No Zits. Golden Wings Enterprises. 2007.
Anthologies:
Turning Hearts: Short Stories on Family Life. ed. by Orson Scott Card and David Dollahite, Bookcraft, 1994.
Great and Peculiar Beauty: A Utah Reader. Ed. Thomas Lyon and Terry Tempest Williams. Gibbs Smith, 1995.
Once Upon A Christmastime. Deseret, 1997
In Our Lovely Deseret: Mormon Fictions. Edited by Robert Raleigh. Signature, 1998
From the Outside Looking In. edited by Chris Crowe. Bookcraft, 1998.
LDSF-4. Parables Publishing, 2006?
Some of my favorites:
Certainly try to get stories from the Young, Udall, and Peterson collections. They are great. Clyde too, I think. Maybe the Spencer, Horne, and Rawlins collections, too.
Others:
Tim Slover. "Jim of Provo" Sunstone, 1998
Lee Allred. "For the Strength of the Hills," Writers of the Future XII, 1997 (republished in Irreantum, 2:4).
Todd Robert Peterson. “The Charity of Silence”
Hansen, Helynne Hollstein. “The Chastening”. Irreantum, 3:1.
Adams, Linda Paulson. “First.” Irreantum, Spring 2002, 4:1.
Cantwell, Steven. “Keepsakes”. Dialogue 35:2, Summer 2002.
Palmer, Susan. “Breakthrough.” Sunstone, Jan. 2002, #122.
Van Wagoner, Robert Hodgson. “A Good Sign”. Dialogue 36:2, Summer 2003.
Peterson, Levi. “Brothers”. Dialogue 36:2, Summer 2003
Lofthouse, Angie (Angela). “Blessing Stone”. NFG. #2, May 2003.
Bell, M. Shayne. “Anomalous Structures of My Dreams” Fantasy and Science Fiction. January 2003.
Marx, Heather. “Brother Singh”. Irreantum #6.2, Oct. 2004
Stone, Eric James. “In Memory”. Writers of the Future, Vol. XX. Galaxy, Aug. 2004.
Frazer, Crystal. “The Dybbuk” Popcorn Popping, 2006.
Samuelsen, Eric. “Miracle”. Dialogue. Summer 2005, 38:2
Woodbury, Eugene. “Blessing Giver”. Sunstone. Nov. 2005, #139
Can you finally get Scott Bronson's "The Whipping Boy" in print? Harlow Clark also has some good unpublished stuff.
Other names who have have stories in literary or speculative journals lately, but I have not read:
Matthew James Babcock, Susan Kroupa, Cass McNally (Mormon?).
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Rank: AML Member
Joined: 9/12/2007
Posts: 68
Points: -210
Location: Utah
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Eric James Stone has had other work published since that Writers of the Future story.
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Rank: Visitor
Joined: 10/26/2007
Posts: 103
Points: 162
Location: El Cerrito, California
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. I'm currently editing an anthology that should be out this summer or fall. It features a talented crop of LDS writers unknown in the LDS world. The anthology is themed in such a way that it shouldn't compete with yours, but you'ld be welcome to check it out. One of the writers was just published in the current issue of The Paris Review, Ryan McIlvain. Also, don't miss Dialogue Paperless -- they've published two excellent short stories so far, only one of which is mine.
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Rank: AML Member
Joined: 12/4/2007
Posts: 17
Points: 51
Location: Santaquin, UT
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A couple of collections that Andrew missed:
Aguirre, Forrest. The Butterfly Artist. Flesh and Blood Press, 2002.
Aguirre, Forrest. Fugue XXIX. Raw Dog Screaming Press, 2005.
Shunn, William. An Alternate History of the 21st Century. Spilt Milk Press, 2008.
A different short story of Lee Allred's to consider (since "For the Strength of the Hills" is so long) that is also excellent: “Hymnal.” In The Bones of the World: Tales from Time’s End. SFF Net, 2001.
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Rank: AML Member
Joined: 10/30/2007
Posts: 24
Points: -69
Location: South Jordan, UT
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Andrew, I was hoping you'd chime in. The breadth of your knowledge is amazing. Thanks. And Eric, I'm excited to hear about your anthology. Who's publishing it? Thanks to those of you who've chimed in so far, and keep em coming.
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Rank: Visitor
Joined: 10/26/2007
Posts: 103
Points: 162
Location: El Cerrito, California
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. These days, most of my stress comes from this anthology I'm working on. I don't want to talk about the specifics of publication at the moment because most of the details are still up in the air (plus, I've had five lousy book-publishing experiences in a row, each of which resulted in no book) and I'm superstitious. But I plan on keeping everyone posted as things reach completion. Good luck with yours; I'm excited to see the table on contents.
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Rank: Visitor
Joined: 10/26/2007
Posts: 103
Points: 162
Location: El Cerrito, California
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. I'm currently reading Mary Clyde's Survival Rates (mentioned above and a Flannery O'Connor Ward-winner) and Orson Scott Card's new one. I recommend both to you as well as Zarahemla's Todd Robert Petersen collection--though I'm sure you won't be able to forget that. But it was one of the best collections I've ever read--in fact, Chris used my review as promotional material. I've only read the first story so far in Card's but it was one of the best Garden of Eden stories I've ever read (and I've read dozens). The Clyde collection was republished in 2001 by Norton; that's the edition I have. It's the title story that won the award, but I haven't read that one yet. I've only read the first four stories. In the first three, Clyde creates beautiful boxes then opens the lid and then ends the story before we get to see what's inside. The fourth one, no caveats, was a good story.
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Rank: Visitor
Joined: 10/26/2007
Posts: 103
Points: 162
Location: El Cerrito, California
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. At the risk of turning this into a long and off-topic ramble by yours truly, I think I need to temper my comments on Mary Clyde---I didn't mean to knock her; she's fabulous at creating characters. The box metaphor has more to do with my taste than her skill.
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Rank: AML Member
Joined: 10/26/2007
Posts: 63
Points: 198
Location: Denton, TX
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I forgot to mention Orson Scott Card's new short story anthology. Keeper of Dreams (OSC short fiction collection, Tor, April 200  . It covers all of his short stories published since his last collection, Maps in a Mirror, published in 1990.
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Rank: AML Member
Joined: 12/4/2007
Posts: 17
Points: 51
Location: Santaquin, UT
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Yes, Lee has published a number of stories, but I believe "For the Strength of the Hills" and "Hymnal" are the most appropriate for this project. All of his writing is excellent.
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