New Mormon Lit Lab Website: mormonlitlab.org

We are pleased to announce our new website: https://www.mormonlitlab.org/

MormonLitLab.org will be the new home for the Mormon Lit Blitz and our other contest. That is where we’ll be posting submission calls, announcements, and contest finalists. If you follow this blog using an RSS reader, make sure to add the new website to your list.

Also, thanks to Mormon Artist for giving us a place on the web for so many years.

Mormon Lit Blitz: Incoraggiamo Gli Scrittori a Presentare Opere a un Concorso Speciale

 

Per favore, aiutateci a far girare la voce su di un concorso di scrittura per
mormoni di qualsiasi paese e che scrivono in qualsiasi lingua!

Il Mormon Lit Blitz è un concorso per storie, saggi e poesie sulla vita, le
credenze e gli interessi dei Santi degli Ultimi Giorni. In passato, abbiamo
pubblicato racconti, saggi e poesie in inglese, spagnolo, portoghese, giapponese,
filippino ed estone. Incoraggiamo gli scrittori ad inviare opere in qualsiasi
lingua per uno speciale concorso “Around the World”. Abbiamo in programma
di pubblicare dodici brani finalisti del concorso. I lettori sceglieranno la loro
opera preferita e l’opera con più voti vincerà un premio di $200. Un’altra opera
sarà invece premiata con $200 da un giudice letterario.

La scadenza del concorso è il 31 marzo 2023. Gli autori possono inviare fino a
tre opere. Ogni opera non può superare le 1.500 parole. Si prega di inviare le
opere per email a dailymormonwriter@gmail.com. Gli autori dovranno
includere il proprio nome, le informazioni di contatto e il titolo di ogni opera nel
corpo dell’e-mail.

Con l’invio delle opere, gli autori ci danno il diritto non esclusivo di pubblicarle
online e in una futura antologia cartacea (prevediamo di pubblicare il terzo
volume della nostra serie antologica nel 2027 e invieremo una copia a ciascun
autore incluso nel libro in quel momento). Gli autori restano liberi di
ripubblicare a loro piacimento le loro opere in eventuali future raccolte o in
qualsiasi altro luogo preferissero.

Affinché questo concorso abbia successo, abbiamo bisogno del vostro aiuto per
condividere questa chiamata con gli scrittori mormoni di tutto il mondo. Sono
accettati contributi in qualsiasi lingua.

Domande frequenti:

In che lingua verranno pubblicati i finalisti?

Le opere scelte come finaliste saranno pubblicate sia in lingua originale che in
inglese. Se lo desiderano, gli scrittori possono inviare le proprie traduzioni delle
opere o consentire ai nostri giudici e traduttori volontari di valutarle e tradurle.

Posso inviare la mia opera se è più lunga di 1.500 parole?

No. Le opere devono contenere meno di 1.500 parole per qualificarsi per il
concorso.

Il mio pezzo deve avere i personaggi dei Santi degli Ultimi Giorni?

No. Alcuni temi scelti dai vincitori delle passate edizioni riguardavano i
personaggi, le scritture o la storia dei Santi degli Ultimi Giorni. Altri
esplorarono temi come la famiglia, le scelte o la morte in modi che
interessassero ai lettori dei Santi degli Ultimi Giorni.

Mormon Lit Blitz: Globale oproep voor inzendingen

 

Help ons om aandacht te vragen voor een literatuurwedstrijd voor Mormoonse schrijvers van alle landen en alle talen.

De Mormon Lit Blitz is een wedstrijd voor verhalen, essays en gedichten over het geloof van de Heiligen der Laatste Dagen en hun levens en interesses. In het verleden hebben wij verhalen, essays en gedichten gepubliceerd in het Engels, Spaans, Portugees, Japans, Tagalog en het Ests. We moedigen schrijvers aan hun werk in te zenden voor een speciale “Wereldtoer”-wedstrijd. We zullen de twaalf literaire werken van de wedstrijdfinalisten publiceren. De lezers zullen een winnaar kiezen die $200 prijsgeld in de wacht kan slepen. Een literaire jury zal nog een ander winnend stuk literatuur kiezen dat ook met $200 zal worden beloond.

De deadline voor de wedstrijd is 31 maart, 2023. Auteurs kunnen tot maximaal 3 stukken insturen. Elke inzending mag niet meer dan 1500 woorden bevatten. Zend alle verhalen, gedichten of essays naar: everydaymormonwriter@gmail.com. Auteurs moeten hun naam, contactgegevens en de titel van elk stuk in de e-mail insluiten. Bij inzending geven de auteurs het niet-exclusieve recht om hun werk online te publiceren en om het in een toekomstige bloemlezing af te drukken (we zijn van plan om het derde volume van onze bloemlezing te publiceren in 2027 en alle auteurs die erin voorkomen een kopij te zenden). Auteurs behouden het recht om hun werk te herpubliceren in hun eigen uitgave of waar ze het ook willen. Om deze wedstrijd succesvol te maken vragen we jouw hulp om deze oproep te delen met schrijvers over de hele wereld. Inzendingen worden aanvaard in elke taal.

Veelgestelde vragen:
In welke taal zullen de winnende werken worden gepubliceerd?
De verhalen, essays en gedichten zullen in hun originele taal, zowel als in het Engels worden gepubliceerd. Als ze willen, kunnen auteurs hun eigen vertaling van hun werken inzenden. Ze kunnen ook de toestemming geven aan onze vrijwillige juryleden en tolken om hun verhaal te vertalen.

Kan ik mijn verhaal inzenden als het langer dan 1500 woorden is?
Nee. Verhalen mogen niet meer dan 1500 woorden bevatten, anders worden ze gediskwalificeerd.

Moet mijn werk over Heiligen der Laatste Dagen gaan of betrekking hebben op personages ervan?
Nee. Sommige eerdere winnaars schreven over personages, de schriften of de geschiedenis van de Heiligen der Laatste Dagen. Andere auteurs verkenden thema’s zoals gezin, keuze of de dood, op manieren die verband houden met de Heiligen der Laatste Dagen.

 

モルモン文学短編世界コンテストの公募: Mormon Lit Blitz

 

どんな言語でも、どの国からでも応募できる、末日聖徒(モルモン)の著者による短編
作品コンテストを開催します!
Mormon Lit Blitzは末日聖徒の生活、信仰、興味に関する短編小説、エッセイ、詩を募
集するコンテストです。過去には、英語、スペイン語、ポルトガル語、日本語、タガロ
グ語、エストニア語の短編小説、エッセイ、詩を発表しました。今年は、特別な「世界
コンテスト」のため、どの言語でも作品を提出することを著者の方々を公募します。コ
ンテストのファイナリストとして、12作品を掲載する予定です。二つの賞があります
。読者好評賞(賞金:200 USドル)、また審査員好評賞(賞金:200 USドル)。
コンテストの締め切りは2023年3月31日です。作品は著者お一人につき3作品まで投稿
いただけます。各応募作品の長さは英語1500語(日本語3500字)までの作品を受け入
れます。作品をeverydaymormonwriter@gmail.comに電子メールで送ってください。ま
た、著者の名前、連絡先、各作品のタイトル、またどの国を舞台にしているかを明記し
て下さい。
著者は、投稿作品をオンラインおよび印刷版のアンソロジーに掲載する非独占的な権利
を当組織に与えるものとします(当組織は2027年にアンソロジーシリーズ第3巻の出版
を予定しており、その際に掲載された各著者にコピーを送付する予定です)。著者は、
自分の作品を自分の作品集やその他の場所に自由に再掲載できます。
このコンテストを成功させるためには、この公募を世界中の末日聖徒の著者たちに伝え
るために、皆さんの協力が必要です。どの言語での投稿も可能です。
よくある質問
Q: ファイナリストの作品は何語で出版されるのですか?
A:最終候補作に選ばれた作品は原語と英語の両方で出版される予定です。ご希望であれ
ば、著者自身が翻訳したものを提出することもできますし、ボランティアの審査員や翻
訳者に評価や翻訳を依頼することもできます。
Q: 英語1500語以上の作品(日本語は3500字)を提出することはできますか?
A: いいえ、作品はコンテストの資格を得るために英語1500語以下(日本語は3500字以
下)で編集する必要があります。

Q: 末日聖徒が登場する作品でなければいけませんか?

A: いいえ。過去の入賞者の中には、末日聖徒の登場人物、また聖典、歴史について語
る著者もいます。しかし、末日聖徒の登場人物がいなくて、他に家族、自由意志、死な
どのテーマを、末日聖徒の読者の興味を引くような形で探求している作品もあります。

Mórmon Lit Blitz: Chamada Global para candidaturas

Por favor, ajude-nos a divulgar um concurso de redação para escritores mórmons de qualquer país e trabalhando em qualquer idioma!

O Mormon Lit Blitz é um concurso de histórias, ensaios e poemas sobre a vida, as
crenças e os interesses dos Santos dos Últimos Dias. No passado, publicamos histórias, ensaios e poemas em inglês, espanhol, português, japonês, tagalo e estoniano. Neste outono, incentivamos os escritores a enviar trabalhos em qualquer idioma para um concurso especial “Around the World”. Planejamos publicar doze peças como finalistas do concurso. Nosso público escolherá uma peça favorita para ganhar um prémio de $200. Um júri literário concederá outro prémio de US$ 200 à outra peça. O prazo para o concurso é até 31 de março de 2023. Os autores podem enviar até três candidaturas. Cada trabalho não pode ter mais de 1.500 palavras. Envie histórias por e-mail para everydaymormonwriter@gmail.com. Os autores devem incluir seu nome, informações de contato e o título de cada peça no corpo do e-mail. Ao enviar os trabalhos, os autores nos dão o direito não exclusivo de publicar sua obra online e em uma futura antologia impressa (planejamos publicar o terceiro volume de nossa série de antologias em 2027 e enviaremos uma cópia para cada autor incluído no livro naquele momento). Os autores permanecem livres para republicar seus trabalhos em suas próprias coleções ou em qualquer outro lugar que escolherem. Para que este concurso seja bem-sucedido, precisamos da sua ajuda para compartilhar este anúncio com os escritores mórmons de todo o mundo. Trabalhos literários em qualquer idioma são aceitáveis.

Perguntas frequentes:
Em que idioma os finalistas serão publicados?
As histórias escolhidas como finalistas, serão publicadas tanto em seu idioma original quanto em inglês. Se desejarem, os escritores podem enviar suas próprias traduções de sua história ou permitir que nossos júris e tradutores voluntários avaliem e traduzam a sua história.

Posso enviar minha história se ela tiver mais de 1.500 palavras?
Não. As histórias precisam ter no máximo 1.500 palavras, para se qualificar para o concurso.

Minha peça precisa ter personagens santos dos últimos dias?
Não. Alguns vencedores anteriores falam sobre personagens, escrituras ou história dos Santos dos Últimos Dias. Outros exploram temas como família, escolhas ou morte de maneiras que podem interessar aos leitores santos dos últimos dias.

Mormon Lit Blitz: Convocatoria Mundial

Les rogamos que nos ayuden a correr la voz de ¡un certamen de cuentos para escritores mormones provenientes de cualquier país, en el idioma que sea!

Mormon Lit Blitz es un concurso para cuentos, ensayos y poemas que se tratan las vidas, las creencias, y los intereses de los Santos de los Últimos Días. Anteriormente, se han publicado cuentos, ensayos, y poemas en inglés, portugués, japonés, tagalo, y estonio. El otoño que viene, se esperan que los escritores presenten obras de qualquier idioma por un concurso especial, Around the World (De todo el mundo). Se publicarán doce obras finalistas del concurso. Los lectores públicos elegirán una obra favorita para ganar un premio de $200 USD. Tambien un juez literario otorgará otro premio de $200 USD a una obra de su elección.

El plazo para presentar obras vence el 31 de marzo de 2023. Los autores podrán presentar hasta tres obras, cada una con una extensión máxima de 1.500 palabras. Sírvanse mandar las obras a everydaymormonwriter@gmail.com. En el cuerpo del correo, los autores deberán incluir su nombre, datos de contacto, y el título de la obra.

Al presentar una obra al concurso, los autores darán a Mormon Litz Blitz el derecho no exclusivo para publicar su obra en línea y tambien en una antología de prensa escrita. Hay planes para publicar esta antología en 2027, y se mandará una copia a cada autor incluido en la antología. Los autores retendrán el derecho de publicar su obra en sus propios colecciones o en cualquier otro lugar.

Para asegurar el éxito del concurso, su ayuda es imprescindible para diseminar las noticias de esta convocatoria con autores mormones de todo el mundo. Se aceptan obras escritas en cualquier idioma.

Preguntas frecuentes:

¿En qué idioma se publicarán las obras finalistas?

Las obras seleccionadas como finalistas se publicarán tanto en el idioma original como en inglés. Los autores que lo deseen podrán presentar su propia traducción de la obra o, en su defecto, permitir a nuestros jueces y traductores voluntarios evaluar y traducir el trabajo.

¿Puedo enviar obras de más de 1.500 palabras?

No. Para ser evaluadas, las obras deben ser de 1.500 palabras o menos.

¿ Necesitan tener personajes SUD mis obras enviadas?

No. Algunas ganadores previos han mencionado personajes, escrituras, o historias SUD. Otros han explorado temas de familia, elección, or la muerte en una manera de interés a lectores SUD. 

Around the World in Mormon Literature: Call for Volunteers

Submissions are currently open for the 11th annual Mormon Lit Blitz.  We’re also preparing, though for another Around the World in Mormon Literature contest this fall, based on the multi-language contest we held in 2019. That contest was a pioneering effort in bringing together Latter-day Saint creative writers working in different languages: the twelve finalists included stories in Spanish, Portuguese, Japanese, Estonian, Tagalog, and English. 

We love hearing from Latter-day Saints in their own languages. Sharing stories helps us feel closer to our brothers and sisters around the world. We need help, though, to work across languages! In 2019, a team of volunteers gave their time to help translate the call for submissions, spread the word about the contest, read submissions, and translate winning stories into English.

Are you excited about Mormon literature? Do you speak English and another language, or have social connections outside the United States? If so, we hope you’ll consider volunteering to help us with our 2022 contest.

Fill out this survey to let us know how you’d like to help. 

Mormon Lit Blitz Voting Instructions

It’s that time of year again–just a week left to choose the winner of the Mormon Lit Blitz!

Voting Instructions

As per tradition, the audience chooses our annual Mormon Lit Blitz winner. To vote, look through the pieces and choose your favorite four. Then cast your vote here.

The finalists are:
116 Pages” by Merrijane Rice
Unfit Mother of the Year” by Susan Law Corpany
Final Exam” by Jared Forsyth
Reformed Egyptian” by Lee Allred
Oh, a Dove” by Aiko Tokuzawa
We Must Overcome” by Jonathon Penny
The Lord’s Multiform Prayer” by Gabriel González Núñez
Not of Necessity” by Jeanine Bee
Golden Plate Controversy Erupts with ‘Mormon Storm’” by Devin Galloway
Weight of Souls” by Selina Forsyth
Sacrament in Solitude” by Marianne Hales Harding
Perspective” by Jonathon Penny

Voting is open from Monday, June 14th until the end of the day on Saturday, June 19th. The winner of the $100 Grand Prize will be announced on Monday, June 21st.

We’ll also select one voter at random to win a copy of our anthology, Mormon Lit Blitz: The First Five Years

Next Contest

This fall, past Mormon Lit Blitz finalist Jeanna Mason Stay will be guest-editing a special contest, “Saints, Spells, and Spaceships,” for speculative flash fiction with a compelling Mormon angle. See the complete rules here.

Book Mentoring Project

We love what people do with 1,000 words. If you enjoy the kind of literature you’ve read in the Mormon Lit Blitz, though, we hope you’ll also consider donating $5, $10, or $20 to support the eight authors currently in our book mentoring program.

 

Mormon Lit Lab: Book Mentoring Program

Book Mentoring Program: Mormon Lit LabOver the past 10 years, the Mormon Lit Blitz contest has published more than a hundred unique works of Mormon microliterature—short essays, stories, and poetry that stretch our sense of what literature can accomplish in a community of faith.

We’re excited to take the next step. This year, we’re mentoring four prose writers  and four poets as they develop books. We’ve already brought together a volunteer team of people with expertise in writing, editing, publishing, and advertising to provide monthly classes and personal consultations. We also aim to raise a $1,000 to $2,000 budget in support of each project. Even a small budget can help make someone’s dream project a reality.

To help bring these new titles into the world, make a tax-deductible one-time or monthly donation to the Mormon Lit Lab today. Whether you are able to contribute $20 or $100, any and every contribution will make a real difference.

If you would like to designate a specific project as the preferred beneficiary of your gift, you may do so. The writers and projects are:

PROSE

Book Mentoring Program Prose (Mormon Lit Lab)

Luisa Perkins

Mid-Century Murder is the first novel in a mystery series featuring Annette Van Doren, a 54-year-old recently widowed Latter-day Saint. Through Annette’s employment at a business specializing in historic real estate, each mystery will involve different houses and architectural styles. At the same time, the book will explore how a Mormon woman redefines herself after years when her energy was far more focused on family needs.

Target draft completion date: Fall 2021

Luisa’s Mormon Lit Blitz pieces:

César Fortes

César Fortes has been the most popular Portuguese-language writer in the Mormon Lit Blitz. He is working on a collection of autobiographical short stories featuring Mormon experience in his family and ward in Cape Verde. These slice-of-life stories, at turns humorous and poignant, give a strong sense of place and community while raising important spiritual and social questions.

Target draft completion date: Fall 2021

César’s Mormon Lit Blitz pieces:

William Morris

The Courtship of Elder Cannon is a short literary novel about a recently widowed member of the Seventy and a U of U literature professor who are set up on a blind date in 2009 in the wake of scrutiny over the Church’s involvement in California’s Proposition 8. Told through conversations, journal entries, talks, emails, scriptural commentaries, and so on, the novel explores how Mormon conceptions of grief, eternal marriage, and personal revelation impact Elder Cannon’s relationships with the woman he courts, his family, her family, and his identity as a husband, father, and church leader.

Target draft completion date: Summer 2021

William’s Mormon Lit Blitz pieces:

Gabriel González

El periplo de Melitón González Trejo [The Quest of Melitón González Trejo] is a historical novel steeped in magical realism. Based on the life of the primary translator of the Book of Mormon into Spanish, it recounts his travels from Spain to the Philippines to Utah to Mexico during the second half of the 19th century. As an immigrant and translator himself, the author will explore the sense of gain and loss that comes with immigration and crossing boundaries.

Target draft completion date: Late 2023

Gabriel’s Mormon Lit Blitz pieces:

POETRY

Marianne Hales Harding

Halfway to Heaven: Poems Crafted in Utah’s Wild Places is a poetic trail guide. Written on hikes in Utah and linked to specific trails, the work lends itself to being read in the space where it was written. Framed by her grandfather’s work as a landscape photographer of Utah’s Grand Circle of National Parks, this book is a tribute to the land and an exploration of how the land has mixed into Mormon consciousness and seeped into our sense of self.

Target draft completion date: Fall 2022

Marianne’s Mormon Lit Blitz pieces:

Jared Forsyth

How does our view of God relate to our views of money? In a collection of poems about money and religion, Jared Forsyth explores individual attitudes and shared financial structures, looking at both our shortcomings and the possibilities we have to exercise discipleship in our own finances and in our society.

Target draft completion date: Spring 2022

Jared’s Mormon Lit Blitz pieces:

Scott Hales

Scott Hales’ Hemingway in Paradise and Other Mormon Poems is a poetry collection about lives and afterlives. Exhibiting the same wry humor and unique Mormon perspective that made his The Garden of Enid: Adventures of a Weird Mormon Girl a beloved webcomic, Hales invites readers to join him at the crossroads of fact and fantasy, memory and invention, and life and death. Hemingway in Paradise is a deep dive into a Latter-day Saint imagination, moving freely from playful engagements with Church history and doctrine to poignant meditations on the everyday incidents and occurrences of Mormon experience.

Target draft completion date: Summer 2021

Scott’s Mormon Lit Blitz pieces:

Selina Forsyth

Selina Forsyth is currently pursuing a PhD in social work. She’s interviewing Latter-day Saint social workers and writing a collection that mixes nonfiction with poetry to explore the principles in Matthew 25:31-46. What insights can social workers give us into Christ’s call to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, and visit the prisoner?

Target draft completion date: End of 2022

Selina’s Mormon Lit Blitz pieces:

Please note that, while we want to help every  project reach completion, the Mormon Lit Lab does not guarantee the success of proposed projects. Funds will be disbursed to writers for use on approved book-related expenses. In the event that a book project stops progressing, we reserve the right to shift its budget to support other projects. Donations are not refundable.