February 2026 Newsblotter

Publications, news, and events from around the LDS speculative fiction community

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

The ebook and print version of our first issue is set to debut this week on February 12! You can preorder copies via Bookshop, Barnes & Noble, Amazon, and wherever else you purchase books. Remember that if you’re a paid subscriber on Substack, you’ve already paid for your print copy. We’ll be gearing up to mail out subscriber copies next week.

Want a preview of the new stories you’ll read in issue 1? Check out this review from Tangent Online.

Like what you’ve seen so far and want to join in the fun? Only a few weeks left to make your mark as part of issue 2! Besides what’s listed on our usual Call for Submissions page, we’d specifically like to see more fiction in the genres of space opera and secondary world fantasy. Don’t be afraid to do something wild, with gospel concerns underlying the worldbuilding of course. We’ve also extended our requested fiction length up to 8,000 words; if you’ve got something even longer that might be a good fit, please send us a query at editor@furtherlightmag.com.

We are always in need of interesting nonfiction, so compose your thoughts about the gospel and your favorite tv series or novel, especially if it’s not Brandon Sanderson. Still send it in if it is about Sanderson; we love the Cosmere, but we also need some variety in subject matter.

Interesting Publications

Of course, the current biggest news out there is the announcement of Apple TV signing on to produce adaptations of Brandon Sanderson’s Cosmere works. Have I been able to stop smiling since the announcement? Not yet . . .

Over at Wayfare, Gabriel González Núñez’s “Documentary Appendix 1” proposes an alternate version of the restoration, exactly the intersection of speculative and religion that we love.

Nathan Tolman’s “The Borrowed Life” features an accountant discovering his superpower: jumping into the consciousness of other animals and even people. We love the thoughtful ending to this story, published by Still Small Stories.

YouTube channel Religion for Breakfast recently released a comparison of sacred groves in fantasy and real-world religions. Fandoms mentioned include the Legend of Zelda, Avatar (the blue people one), Game of Thrones, and Princess Mononoke. He ends with several challenges for fantasy authors. Will you take one up (and submit it to us)? How might sacred groves have continued to develop in a science fiction era?

Two recent speculative novels with an LDS slant caught our eye:

• Beth Buck’s Worlds without Number is a sci-fi romance about a former LDS missionary and Relief Society president working as a researcher in space who meets an attractive alien man. Kidnapping and enemies to lovers ensues.

• One Day a Year by J. Lamont Jones posits a boy who can travel back in time but only on Pioneer Day and falls in love with one of Brigham Young’s daughters.

Have you read them? We’re looking forward to checking them out!

Read something great that we should know about? Send links to editor@furtherlightmag.com with the subject line “Interesting Publications.”

Community Events

Feb 12-14 - Life, the Universe, and Everything 44 - Utah’s longest running science fiction and fantasy symposium. It’s not too late to buy tickets! Issue 1 of Further Light will be for sale at the Hemelein Publications table, located by the elevators. I (Liz Busby) will be presenting some of my research on the Stormlight Archive, along with other panels. You can also catch panels with some of our issue 1 authors, including DC Wynters (“Harmony and the Problem of Evil”), WO Hemsath (“The Double-Snatcher”), and Orson Scott Card (“The Man Who Came Back from the Lunar Colony” and “From a Spirit to the One Possessed”). Plan your schedule using their online tool, and be sure to stop by to say hello!

Feb 27-28 - StoryCon 2026 - A national convention celebrating the power of story held in Salt Lake City. Several LDS speculative authors are speaking including Brandon Sanderson. Tickets are now sold out. We’re so excited for those who are going!

Mar 14 - Story-X at BYU-I - We’ve become aware of a new conference mashup between a comic-con and an academic symposium being held at BYU-I this spring. While the submission deadline has passed, we encourage everyone to attend and make the event a success, as the organizer has assured us they want it to become an annual thing.

Got an event we missed? Send information to editor@furtherlightmag.com with the subject line “Community Events.”

Submissions & Deadlines

Feb 28 - Submit to issue 2 of Further Light - Less than a month remains until we start reading for our second issue! We need your fiction, poetry, and essays to make the magazine happen. Come be part of the conversation around Latter-day Saints and speculative fiction!

Mar 29 - Submit a poem to Wayfare’s Behold the Man! - This contest is for poems “about or related to Jesus of Nazareth.” See this page for more details. Winners will be honored at Wayfare’s summer festival. And yes, we checked: your poem may include speculative elements.

Apr 26 - Get your art into The Compass Gallery - This one is for our artist friends: The Compass Gallery is hosting another exhibit 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.

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.

Got an opportunity we missed? Send information to editor@furtherlightmag.com with the subject line “Submissions & Deadlines.”