Mormon culture gets a bad rap. Many outside observers tend to assume we’re too golly-darn nice to produce any great writers, artists, etc. Within the Church, “Mormon culture” often becomes the scapegoat for anything that annoys us, rather than a term for our traditions, values, history, and the creative works that explore them. As a result, relatively few people are looking for the gems that already exist in Mormon literature. Worse yet: very few people are working to develop the next generation of thoughtful and engaging Mormon writers.
In 2012, James Goldberg, Scott Hales, and Nicole Wilkes Goldberg organized the first annual Mormon Lit Blitz as a small and simple way to address these problems. By focusing on very short work, the contest allows skeptical readers an accessible way to look for Mormon literary voices they like. It also allows writers the chance to try out something new in a length that is manageable.
Since its inception, the Mormon Lit Blitz has been the world’s premier contest for Mormon Micro-Literature. As we enter our seventh year, we hope you’ll join our ongoing effort to see and show what writing for Mormon audiences can accomplish.
Details:
Submissions for The Seventh Annual Mormon Lit Blitz Writing Contest are due by 1 May 2018 to everydaymormonwriter@gmail.com. Submitted works may be in any genre so long as they are under 1,000 words and designed to resonate in some way with an LDS audience. Previously published material and simultaneous submissions are acceptable. Up to three submissions are allowed per entrant.
Finalists will be posted on the Mormon Artist magazine website (lit.mormonartist.net) starting in late May. This year, they will compete for two prizes. At the conclusion of the Lit Blitz, readers will vote for their favorite pieces, and a $100 prize will be given to the audience choice winner. A writer or literary critic will also choose a judge’s choice winner for a second $100 prize.
For updates about the 2018 contest, follow the Mormon Lit Blitz Facebook page.
To facilitate the judging process, we prefer to receive submissions as .doc, .docx, or .pdf attachments with the author’s name and contact information in the body of the email but not included in the attached text. Please email submissions and any questions you may have to everydaymormonwriter@gmail.com.
By submitting, authors give us the one-time rights to publish their work electronically. As stated above, previously published work is fine if you still have the rights to the piece and if it meets the above contest requirements.
Past Finalists:
Interested in this contest? Take a look at past years’ finalists to get a taste of what we’ve featured:
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