Apr 2026 Newsblotter
Religion in Project Hail Mary and a college course on Mistborn
As part of Further Light’s mission to gather together a community who is interested in the conversation about LDS speculative fiction, we publish a free monthly-ish roundup of news, events, and interesting publications. If we missed something that you think should be included, please drop us a note!
Further Light News
We’re currently working on editing issue 2, and that includes finding art to go with each of the fantastic pieces we’ve accepted. If you’re an illustrator or artist who would like to work with us, now’s the time to pitch your portfolio to editor@furtherlightmag.com!
Next month, we’ll have a booth at Storymakers right at the top of the escalator, so come see us on your way to class! Buy a copy of issue 1, pitch us your story or essay idea, or just come grab a piece of chocolate from our resident dragon (she hoards only the good stuff).
Interesting Publications
We’re loving LDS fantasy legend DJ Butler’s new podcast High Low Brow. If you’ve seen Project Hail Mary, you owe it to yourself to check out his discussion of the importance of religion in the book version.
Congrats to fellow LDS speculative fiction magazine Infinite Valley on the release of their third issue featuring stories from three fantastic authors!
We’ve pitched Burgindie’s short LDS horror film “The Angel” before, but now it's finally available on YouTube! Polygamy, mysterious visitors, secret handshakes—this short has deep roots in our culture. After you watch, check out this interview with Barrett Burgin about the film on Saints & Cinephiles.
The BYU English department has put up its fall schedule, and we’re super excited to see Aaron Eastley teaching a course on “Living Stories: How Tolkien and Lewis Lead Us to Christ.” If you’re looking for religious folklore to inspire your next Further Light submission, we also suggest Chris Blythe’s course on “Saints and the Holy Dead.” BYU students, make sure to add them to your registration cart before they fill up!
Meanwhile at Weber State, Ryan Evans is teaching a course on Brandon Sanderson’s Mistborn trilogy—sounds like fun!
A certain ex-Mormon content creator has been spreading some hurtful assumptions about why Latter-day Saints love to write speculative fiction, but Jasmin Rappleye and Shad Brooks are here with a play-by-play response.
The Daily Wire has an article covering recent releases in right-wing-coded fantasy, which includes a review of Larry Correia’s new book American Paladin. (We also really enjoyed this YouTube explainer of the right-leaning trend on BookTube.)
Read something great that we should know about? Send links to editor@furtherlightmag.com with the subject line “Interesting Publications.”
Community Events
May 14-16 - Storymakers Conference - Storymakers, held in Provo, is a great opportunity to hone your writing craft and network with fellow writers. And of course we also love the Whitney Awards that promote great LDS writing. If you’re attending, please come visit our booth and chat with us!
June 17-18 - Writers Cantina - Join local Utah authors for a casual and inexpensive event in West Valley City.
August 17–21 - BYU Education Week - We happen to know there will be a track on science fiction and theology that you don’t want to miss!
Got an event we missed? Send information to editor@furtherlightmag.com with the subject line “Community Events.”
Submissions & Deadlines
Apr 26 - Get your art into The Compass Gallery - Time’s almost up to be part of The Compass Gallery’s of fantasy art this summer titled Lore: The Power of Stories. After visiting their Fantastically Human exhibit last year, we know this one’s gonna be great. Submit your art to be exhibited alongside Steve Argyle and Howard Lyon.
May 15 - Submit to LDSPMA’s first-ever anthology - We love LDSPMA’s mission to help Latter-day Saint creators succeed in publishing, media, and the arts, so of course we’re excited that they’re putting out an anthology for this year’s conference theme of “Instruments in God’s Hands.” Send in fiction, poems, or personal essays under 1200 words and say you were there for the first one!
May 31 - Submit to the Mormon Lit Blitz - Participate in the longest running contest for LDS-themed flash-length work. Send your in fiction, poetry, or nonfiction under 1000 words. Published finalists are paid $25 and winners of the contest receive a $125 prize.
July 20 - Write a review of a fake piece of LDS art - Irreantum is collecting new pieces for a special themed issue of reviews of LDS art. The catch is that these works don’t exist yet. Check out this fake review of a (speculative?) novel written by Brigham Young as an example. I’m hoping for a review of a magical installation or perhaps some space-based performance art.
August 31 - Submit to Further Light issue 3 - Though we’re just starting to nail down issue 2, we’re already collecting some great submissions for issue 3. We hope yours will be among them!
October 1 - Send in an academic paper to LTUE - Got something clever to say about your favorite science fiction or fantasy property? Submit an essay to LTUE’s academic track to share your thoughts with everyone (and get free conference admission and snacks in the green room—seriously, those mini eclairs are worth it).
Got an opportunity we missed? Send information to editor@furtherlightmag.com with the subject line “Submissions & Deadlines.”