tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25573541.post3665170438728917301..comments2023-07-01T07:31:28.450-06:00Comments on LDS Publisher: LDS Literary FictionLDS_Publisherhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15053645600240124892noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25573541.post-11684212212368591212007-11-27T09:58:00.000-07:002007-11-27T09:58:00.000-07:00I recently discovered "I Am Not Wolf" by Roger Ter...I recently discovered "I Am Not Wolf" by Roger Terry and really enjoyed it -- it's literary through CFI.Tristi Pinkstonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12122250747480013804noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25573541.post-15275720987200311392007-10-16T12:00:00.000-06:002007-10-16T12:00:00.000-06:00It's all in the marketing. I won't buy fiction fro...It's all in the marketing. I won't buy fiction from D Book or Covenant because of their reputation, unless something comes highly recommended. Same with Signature. There's no established publisher of faithful, artistic fiction. Hopefully that will change. <BR/><BR/>Watch for Angela Hallstrom's novel-in-stories, <I>Bound On Earth</I>, coming from Parables early in 2008. Dynamite stuff. Could be a breakthrough novel for Parables, esp. if they get themselves a decent website and do some diligent marketing.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25573541.post-9674469455938717312007-10-14T15:04:00.000-06:002007-10-14T15:04:00.000-06:00I'll agree with all the comments above. I've had o...I'll agree with all the comments above. I've had one book rejected by my publisher because it was "too literary." They said that while they love literary fiction, it is a tough sell, and wasn't their niche. <BR/><BR/>There are wonderful LDS literary books out there, most have been mentioned already. Thumbs us for Backslider, by Levi Peterson, Arrianne Copes, "The Coming of Elijah." And I also very much enjoyed "A Serpent in Paradise" by Marilyn Brown. I'm sure there are many more that I don't know about, but these were three which I read and wholeheartedly endorse. I also love Douglas Thayer's writing, and Linda Silitoe did a wonderful novel called "Sideways to the Sun." And Janet Jensen's "Don't Marry the Mormon Boys" I had the privilege to read before publication. It will be an instant classic as well.C.J.https://www.blogger.com/profile/00727052976972722483noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25573541.post-77360278024547886182007-10-13T12:53:00.000-06:002007-10-13T12:53:00.000-06:00I have to add Elizabeth Bentley's In a Dry Land. E...I have to add Elizabeth Bentley's In a Dry Land. <BR/><BR/>Excellent book that tackles tough topics and in a literary way. It defies genre classification. <BR/><BR/>I disagree that "literary" is equivalent to "real." In my experience, the writing style for a literary novel is more complex, often richer. It takes time to read and savor the flavor of the words and images, while genre fiction doesn't worry nearly as much about the language and instead focuses on character and plot. <BR/><BR/>Nationally, true literary fiction doesn't sell that well, either. It has a small segment of the population who loves it, but genre fiction is what pulls in the big numbers, nationally or otherwise.Annette Lyonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12493583432919249814noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25573541.post-31212802946356506582007-10-12T11:49:00.000-06:002007-10-12T11:49:00.000-06:00Oh my yes, there is wonderful Mormon literary fict...Oh my yes, there is wonderful Mormon literary fiction. Unfortunately only a bit of it is on the shelves of Deseret Book and Seagull. I would agree with Josi that "a lot of literary fiction is deep soul searching and finding oneself". <BR/>But I would strongly disagree that it "usually ends with a separation between the character and God, or their family, or their standards." Yes, there is some literary fiction like that, but there is plenty that is ultimately faith afirming. They do show troubles, doubts, and fears on the way, however, and that puts some readers off. Those who want a deeply satisfying literary experience that connects with their beliefs will find themselves greatly rewarded.<BR/><BR/>Unfortunately Signature Press has been the most reliable publisher of such fiction, and because their non-fiction titles are sometimes controversial, their fiction titles are for the most part not stocked in DB/Seagull.<BR/><BR/>Aspen Books was a reliable publisher of "literary and faithful" fiction in the early and mid 1990s, but they disappeared. <BR/>Chris Bigelow at Zarahemla Press and Elizabeth Perry Bently at Parables Publishing are trying to step into that gap, but it has been a struggle.<BR/><BR/>Here are my reccomendations for great "literary but faithful" fiction from recent years:<BR/><BR/>Levi Peterson. <I>The Backslider</I>. Signature, 1986.<BR/>A fantastic but challenging novel of a young Mormon man who thinks God can not love him because of his sins. An amazing final scene in which he has a vision of a forgiving Christ.<BR/>Peterson also has two good short story collections, "The Canyons of Grace" and "Night Soil".<BR/><BR/>Margaret Blair Young. <BR/><I>House Without Walls</I>. Deseret Book, 1991. Great novel about Jews, Mormons, and Germany.<BR/><I>Salvador</I>. Aspen, 1992. Fantastic novel about a young American woman in El Salvador.<BR/><I>Love Chains: Short Stories</I>. Signature, 1997. <BR/><I>Standing on the Promises</I>. Deseret Book, 2000-2002. Three volume historical fiction, co-written with Darius Gray, about Blacks in the Church.<BR/><BR/>Douglas Thayer. <I>The Conversion of Jeff Williams</I>. Signature, 2003.<BR/><BR/>Marilyn Brown. <I>Serpent in Paradise</I>. Cedar Fort, 2006.<BR/><BR/>Toni Sorensen Brown. <I>Redemption Road</I>. Covenant, 2006. <BR/><BR/>Also, look at the Association for Mormon Letters annual awards for good reccomendantions. Almost all of those I mentioned above won an AML award. You can see the list at <BR/>http://www.aml-online.org/awards/index.html<BR/><BR/>Other useful websites:<BR/>Mormon Literature Website<BR/>http://mldb.byu.edu/<BR/><BR/>Mormon Literature Database<BR/>http://mormonlit.lib.byu.edu/<BR/><BR/>Essay on the history of Mormon literature<BR/>http://mldb.byu.edu/progress.htm<BR/><BR/>A Motly Vision (a blog which covers current issues in Mormon Arts and Culture).<BR/>http://www.motleyvision.org/<BR/><BR/>(By the way, I think that some of the best recent writing by LDS authors has been in the national genre market. Shannon Hale's young adult novels and Brandon Sanderson's fantasy novels are as fine pieces of literature as you will find.)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25573541.post-62519226709455813012007-10-12T09:06:00.000-06:002007-10-12T09:06:00.000-06:00The other thing to consider is that much of LDS fi...The other thing to consider is that much of LDS fiction is a substitute for genres that often have offensive material in the mainstream versions. I think it's more likely to find literary fiction in the mainstream that isn't offensive to the LDS culture than it is in many other genres. For example, trying to find a typical romance that follows LDS standards is extremely difficult.<BR/><BR/>Who knows? Those LDS literary authors out there might just find their way into the mainstream and end up with great success.Traci Hunter Abramsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06166775097044986075noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25573541.post-44700338340899324292007-10-11T17:26:00.000-06:002007-10-11T17:26:00.000-06:00I'm not great at determining genre sometimes, but ...I'm not great at determining genre sometimes, but I think Arianne Cope's "The Coming of Elijah" would be considered Literary fiction. And Janet Jensen's "Don't you marry the Mormon boys" might fit that as well, but it doesn't come out for a couple more months.<BR/><BR/>I think one of the struggles is that a lot of literary fiction is deep soul searching and finding oneself and usually ends with a separation between the character and God, or their family, or their standards. The LDS market seems to want to see the gap between those things bridged rather than widened. That's my opinion anyway.Josihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10615874450489497826noreply@blogger.com