LDS Storymakers, Whitney Awards, Monsters and Mormons

Posted by Emily M. | April 30, 2010 | 17 Comments

A huge congratulations to all the winners and finalists of the Whitney Awards! I attended the awards dinner this year, and I loved it. I loved the food, I loved the lifetime achievement tributes to Gerald Lund and Dave Wolverton, and I loved finding out who won firsthand. The winners are:

Romance:
Counting the Cost, by Liz Adair. She dedicated her win to her uncle, who died a few days before being baptized, and helped influence her mother’s decision to join the Church.
Mystery/Suspense:
Methods of Madness, by Stephanie Black. She was so shocked when they called her name. It was cute. Methods of Madness was one of her hardest books to write, and she felt grateful that people enjoyed it and voted for it. Also, she has a really cool speaking voice.
Historical Fiction:
The Last Waltz, by G. G. Vandagriff.-She has been writing this book for decades! Wow. To see it published and honored this way, especially after her life-threatening illness, was wonderful.
Youth fiction:
The Chosen One, by Carol Lynch Williams. Because her book is about a girl escaping polygamy, people have asked her “What will the Mormons think of it?” And she herself wondered what they would think of it. She was humbled and grateful to receive the Whitney, evidence that the Mormons like her book.
Speculative Fiction:
Servant of a Dark God, by John Brown-He was not able to attend, due to a death in the family, but had Robison Wells read an email saying that if he actually won, the events in Revelation would be shortly upon us. I wished that he could have been there.
General Fiction:
Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet, by Jamie Ford–Ford was not able to attend the awards.
Best Novel by a New Author (tie):
I am Not a Serial Killer, by Dan Wells-Dan writes horror. Why did Mormons vote for him? He was very funny. He said that horror was the most moral genre, because of the way it addressed questions of good and evil.
Gravity vs. the Girl, by Riley Noehren-She was so surprised and happy to win. She didn’t know how the LDS writing community found out about her little book, but she was glad they did.
Best Novel of the Year:
In the Company of Angels, by David Farland-Farland had a dream about a handcart pioneer, who told him to write this book. He knew it would have to be self-published, and he might go bankrupt, but he did it anyway. This was my favorite book, and my favorite moment of the night.

I hope my summaries give a little taste of what the awards were like–I foolishly forgot to bring paper so I scribbled my notes on the back of an envelope my husband scrounged in his suitcoat. Again, it was great to be there and put authors’ faces to all the books I’ve read over the last few months. I was impressed by the spirit there, and by the desire to improve the quality of LDS literature by honoring the best books.
***
One thing I hear a lot when I talk about reading Whitney finalists is “How can you read so many books in such a short time?” I do read pretty fast. But this year I had a head start, because last year I tried to notice which books I thought would be finalists and read accordingly. LDS Publisher has a list of all the Whitney-eligible fiction published in 2010, and she updates it continually. From that list, I read books by authors who have been finalists before. Those are pretty safe bets, and even if they aren’t finalists again this year, they are fun to read. I also follow blogs of LDS authors and notice when they have a book coming out. This year, for example, I’m planning to read Mr. Monster (Dan Wells; out in the UK), Band of Sisters (Annette Lyon), Courting Miss Lancaster (Sarah Eden), The Way of Kings (Brandon Sanderson; it’s not out yet, though), Paranormalcy (Kiersten White, not out yet), Devil’s Food Cake (Josi Kilpack) and Fablehaven 5 (Brandon Mull), among others. It’s a good way to get a head start on Whitney reading now. Let me know in the comments what other Whitney-eligible books you are looking forward to this year.
***
This post is already too long, but I also attended the LDS Storymakers writing conference, and I need to mention what a wonderful event it was. LDS Storymakers provides classes for all writing levels, from beginner to almost-but-not-quite-published to published-locally-now-want-to-submit-nationally. There was a great atmosphere of collaboration and kindness. I attended sessions by Laura Rennert, an agent for Andrea Brown Literary, on effective query letters; Janette Rallison, on effective revising; Elana Johnson, on query writing; Jeff Savage, on character development; Aprillynne Pike, on writing for the market; and panel discussions with Krista Marino, an editor at Delacourt, and Nephele Tempest, another agent. I could have attended sessions by many other great writers as well, including our own Sharlee Glenn, but I ran out of time. I also went to boot camp, and got great feedback on my work in progress. And I met some fabulous people I have only met before online.

Two other writing conferences I’m planning on attending soon: the WIFYR conference, in June, (formerly BYUWIFYR, now at a new venue) if stars and planets align, and of course the Segullah writer’s retreat. Conferences always bring out all of my nerves and insecurities, about myself and my writing and even my hair, and what eases that is meeting new people and getting over myself. So if you see me there, come say hi!
***
Finally, all you LDS writers of speculative fiction, go check out the submissions guidelines for the Monsters and Mormons anthology! This is one I’m really looking forward to reading. I loved the speculative elements in some of LDS Publisher’s Book of Mormon story contest entries, and I think Monsters and Mormons is a great concept. You have until October 1 to submit, so that’s plenty of time to come up with a great idea and revise, revise, revise.
***
Congratulations again to all the Whitney winners and finalists! In the comments I’d love to hear which Whitney finalists you have enjoyed most, which books you think deserve a shout out although they did not win, and also which 2010 Whitney eligible books you’re planning to read.

Category: Book Reviews

Comments

17 Responses to “LDS Storymakers, Whitney Awards, Monsters and Mormons”

Wm Morris
April 30th, 2010 @ 9:48 am

Thanks for the Monsters & Mormons plug, Emily.

But even more, thanks for the write up — it’s nice to get a glimpse of the various winners reactions. It sounds like it was a fun evening.

So far the three books I’m most interested in reading in anticipation of being Whitney Awards finalists are Mr. Monster, Devil’s Food Cake, and Imprints (by Rachel Nunes).
Wm Morris
April 30th, 2010 @ 9:51 am

Oh, and I have to ask: how effective have the Whitney Awards been in terms of bringing in new readers? Have any Segullah readers decided to read any of the finalists or winners because of the publicity generated by the Awards?

With me, it’s not just that I read several of the books as a member of the voting academy — even if I hadn’t, I most likely would have sought out Gravity vs. the Girl, In the Company of Angels, and I Am not a Serial Killer.
Annette
April 30th, 2010 @ 10:49 am

To answer Wm, I know several people who say they are reading LDS fiction now that they’re aware of the Whitneys–and they go to the lists of finalists and winners for a place to start. So I think that yes, the awards are bringing in new readers.

As for the winners, there’s not a single book that won that I didn’t love. It really was a great night–even if I was nervous as all get out when presenting Lund’s Lifetime Achievement award!
Christa
April 30th, 2010 @ 12:02 pm

thank you for sharing this and a little of what their speeches were. it really did feel like i was there, some of them brought tears to my eyes. i’m the new head of our (church) book club and i want to bring new books for us to read that someone hasn’t already read (to make sure it’s “ok” to read). i hope i can get ahold of some of these books for the ladies in my club.
FoxyJ
April 30th, 2010 @ 1:15 pm

I’ve read quite a lot more LDS fiction in the last few years due to writeups on blogs like this one and AMV and due to publicity from the Whitney Awards. I also used to stick to stuff that was a little more ‘edgy’ when I did read LDS fiction, but I’ve tried and liked quite a few more things due to their publicity from being Whitney finalists or winners. I wish I had more money to buy books so I could really support the authors, but I get most things from the library.
Emily M.
April 30th, 2010 @ 2:54 pm

Thanks, William–I felt like the writeup was a little late to the party, and didn’t really do the awards or the conference or your Mormons and Monsters justice. There’s the insecurity creeping in again. Really, it was a wonderful night. Everyone come next year!

I don’t know how many more people are reading LDS fiction because of the Whitneys, but I’m very curious about that. Foxy J, I wish I had enough money to support the authors too. Also more bookshelves to put their books in. Also more space for the bookshelves.

Annette, I loved your tribute to Lund. I could picture you and your husband reading his books aloud to each other. You made it personal just like Dan personalized his tribute to Dave Wolverton, and it was perfect.

Christa, I hope you can find them too! The easiest ones to find will be the nationally published ones–that would be I Am Not a Serial Killer, Servant of a Dark God, Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet, and The Chosen One. Next would be locally (as in Utah) published books–Methods of Madness, The Last Waltz. And finally the self-published books–In the Company of Angels, Counting the Cost (which is either self-published or a small press, I’m not sure which), and Gravity vs. the Girl. If you live in Utah County, the Orem library has purchased many of the Whitney finalists, and it’s a great place to start your reading. Good luck!

I think the balance between national, local, and self-published books is very cool. The Whitneys are not a club of cronies who all get together to award each other prizes. The awards are open to all LDS writers, and the diverse list of winners is evidence of that.
jks
April 30th, 2010 @ 2:54 pm

Well, FoxyJ, just remember that there are thousands and thousands of libraries in the country and libraries buy books that people want to read. The more people who use the library the better!
I read I Am Not A Serial Killer and was quite enthralled. I’m not into horror, but my brother gave it to me. It wasn’t as bad as I expected horror to be, more like mystery or a CSI.
Sharlee
April 30th, 2010 @ 5:04 pm

Thanks so much for the report, Emily!
Sage
April 30th, 2010 @ 10:36 pm

I bought Lemon Tart by Josi Kilpack because of the Whitney awards list on a previous post here at Segullah. Loved it. Thanks!

It is great to have a good source for LDS writers worth reading.
Susan (Bloggin' 'Bout Books)
May 1st, 2010 @ 11:27 am

Hey Emily – It was so fun talking to you at LDS Storymakers. Glad you had fun at the Whitneys!
Emily M.
May 1st, 2010 @ 11:49 am

Susan, I loved meeting you too! I felt cheated that I didn’t get to talk to you longer. (Susan has the coolest hobby/blog ever: she gets hundreds of books in the mail, free, to review on her blog. I’m in the wrong line of work, people.)
Stephanie Black
May 1st, 2010 @ 12:31 pm

Emily, it was great to meet you at Storymakers! And I’m very glad to hear I didn’t sound too dorky at the Whitneys
Wm Morris
May 1st, 2010 @ 2:26 pm

“I think the balance between national, local, and self-published books is very cool. The Whitneys are not a club of cronies who all get together to award each other prizes. The awards are open to all LDS writers, and the diverse list of winners is evidence of that.”

Amen.
Jonathan Langford
May 1st, 2010 @ 2:38 pm

I too was very impressed with the diversity not just of the winners, but especially of the finalists. It truly seemed to me like the judges were being as open as they could be to casting a broad net. Looking at the quality of the other finalists, I couldn’t even be TOO sad that my own book didn’t win. (A little sad, yes. I’m not a celestialized being…)
Nani Furse
May 1st, 2010 @ 5:15 pm

Emily, thanks for your review of the Whitney winners. I too am reading more books by LDS authors and recommending them to friends because of the Whitney Awards.
Karla
May 2nd, 2010 @ 5:41 pm

I know I had pretty much given up on Mormon fiction until I became aware of the Whitney awards (through this blog, I believe). I try to read the winners when I can get my hands on them, usually through inter-library loan.
Terresa Wellborn
May 3rd, 2010 @ 11:33 am

Excellent post, Emily!

Yes, LDStorymakers was a fab conference. And it was a treat meeting you, too (thanks for the link love)!

I have a confession. I haven’t read any of the Whitney winners, but will add some into my reading repertoire this year. I’m currently reading, “Zen & the Art of Writing” by Bradbury, and book #1 in the Lightning Thief series.

So much to read, so little time. I think if I could have one superhero power, it would be to speed read & remember every single thing I ever read.