As part of Further Light’s mission to gather together a community who is interested in the conversation about LDS speculative fiction, we’ll be publishing 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!
Submission Guidelines Updates
Less than a week remains until the deadline for issue 1 of Further Light: get your work to us by September 30th! While you’re putting the finishing touches on your submissions, we have a few updates to our submission guidelines to address things that have come up as the rubber hit the road:
Blind Submissions: In order to give all submissions an even playing field and allow our editors the chance to submit work, we will be reading submissions without names attached. To help facilitate this, please do not include your name or any identifying information in your manuscript.
Submissions in Languages Other than English: We love that Mormonism is a global community, and so we’re happy to receive submissions in languages other than English. Authors are welcome to submit their own English translation or, if selected for publication, we will work with authors to get their work translated.
We’ve also added a list of our current editors to our About page. I’m so excited to be working with a team of people so enthusiastic about Latter-day speculative fiction.
Interesting Publications
Angel Studios' new film Sketch is getting positive reviews but also drawing controversy for being really scary. Terry Mattingly wrote about the controversy over on Religion Unplugged. Did you see the movie? How do you feel about the portrayal of evil in a children’s movie?
C.D. Cunningham shared an interesting commentary on recent superhero movies and the end of the origin story over at Public Square Magazine.
Valerie Jones over at the Deseret News published a list of books by Utah authors coming out this fall. Check out new spec fic books coming from Yamile Saied Mendez, J. Scott Savage, Tricia Levenseller, Charlie N. Holmberg, and of course BrandoSando.
What’s sweeter than revenge? To find out, watch “The Coward,” a sci-fi western short film, produced by Robert Hill. I’m also loving this short clip entitled “Mermaid Bay.”
Check out the new installments in Chanel Earl’s Atonement and Fairy Stories series on The Selfish Giant by Oscar Wilde and Christina Rossetti’s “Goblin Market” in Wayfare Magazine.
Congratulations to Larry Correia and Ark Press on their amazingly successful Kickstarter for American Paladin! Still a few weeks left to back the project. While you’re over there, check out a few of our current favorite projects:
Ted Bushman’s Kickstarter for an expansion to his TTRPG The Last Caravan, where you road trip across America during an alien invasion. This new expansion lets you play as a group of dogs, or the aliens!
Jeanna Mason Stay’s new novel Unsightly, a no-spice Beauty and the Beast retelling.
Read something great that we should know about? Send links to editor@furtherlightmag.com with the subject line “Interesting Publications.”
SpecFic at BYU
Need inspiration for your next LDS speculative fiction story? Check out the William A. Wilson Folklore Archive over at BYU. They have a great collection of supernatural religious stories and contemporary “friend of a friend” stories just waiting to be turned into something interesting.
If you have a desire to learn more about C. S. Lewis in a gospel and educational context, then I have an inkling that you would enjoy attending the BYU C. S. Lewis Society! We are beginning fall semester by reading The Voyage of the Dawn Treader. Join us on Tuesdays at 5 pm to discuss his essays, letters, novels, and more in an open format discussion. Join the email list at cslewissociety.byu.edu to be notified of meeting details and reading assignments.
Know about a speculative fiction class, club, or event on BYU campus? Send links to editor@furtherlightmag.com with the subject line “SpecFic at BYU.”
Community Events
Sep 25-27 - SLC FanX - You didn’t need me to tell you this was happening, did you? LDS speculative authors Charlie N. Holmberg, Brandon Sanderson, and Brandon Mull will all be there, along with tons of other local creatives. Tickets are down to a limited quantity, so if you plan on attending, don’t wait.
Sep 27 - Screening of LDS horror short film, The Angel - If you haven’t seen Burgindie’s creepy film about two polygamous wives who receive a messenger with some very strange instructions, you owe it to yourself to make the Red Rock Film Festival in Cedar City, UT. Not in Utah? Check out their humous film Java Jive online instead.
Oct 3-Nov 2 - Illustrations of Isles of Emberdark Exhibit - Come see Esther Candari’s original illustrations for Brandon Sanderson’s new book at the Compass Gallery in Provo.
Oct 16-18 - LDSPMA - Do you have your ticket to LDSPMA yet? Speculative author J. Scott Savage will be one of the keynote speakers. I know there’s always a good contingent of SFF writers in attendance. There’s a 50% discount for college students and teens as well as a virtual option if you aren’t in Utah, so register today!
Got an event we missed? Send information to editor@furtherlightmag.com with the subject line “Community Events.”
Submissions & Deadlines
There must be something in the air that says “launch an LDS sci-fi/fantasy magazine,” because 40 North announced their new Infinite Valley Magazine at almost the same time as Further Light launched. They’re looking for “original science fiction and fantasy stories that spark imagination while honoring timeless values.” Check out their submission guidelines; we’re excited to see what they produce!
Sep 27 - Be a panelist at LTUE - Volunteer to talk about your favorite series or your writing process, promote your work, and get into that sweet exclusive guest greenroom. They have sandwiches! Visit the website for instructions on how to apply. If you wrote an academic paper or nonfiction piece about SF (especially LDS SF!), you can also submit to present on their academic track (deadline Oct 1).
Sep 30 - Submit to the first issue of Further Light - Don’t forget to send in your fiction, nonfiction, and poetry for inclusion in our first issue! We’re seeing a lot of short stories, but we’re in need of more nonfiction and poetry, so send us your LDS takes on your favorite SF properties and your closet epic poem! Check our submission guidelines for more details on what we’re looking for.
Oct 6 - Submit to Fearreantum II - A late-breaking addition! To celebrate the five-year anniversary of Theric Jepson as editor of Irreantum, the literary magazine of the Association for Mormon Letters, they’re bringing back Fearreantum. Send in your spooky LDS fiction, poetry, music, scholarship, and visual art. Submit the normal way as outlined on the submissions page. The issue title is [FEAR].
Oct 18 - Submit up to three short fiction pieces to Still Small Stories - A new outlet for LDS short fiction, Still Small Stories is looking for seasonal pieces for the upcoming holidays! Send in your scary (and not-so-scary) campfire tales, Christmas narratives, and love stories--and be sure to subscribe to @stillsmallstories on Substack for weekly pieces of short fiction from authors across the LDS spectrum! Accepted stories will receive $50.
Nov 1 - Submit to Wayfare Magazine’s A New Story of Creation, a forum about science and religion - The list of topics is exhaustive, but I know they are very open to work from science fiction writers and readers about how science fiction can contribute to our understanding the melding of faith and science.
Dec 10 - Submit your speculative film to the Zion’s Indie Film Festival - I haven’t managed to make it out to this yet, but I always see really intriguing stuff listed in the program! Looks like there’s a screenplay contest as well. Submit here.
Got an opportunity we missed? Send information to editor@furtherlightmag.com with the subject line “Submissions & Deadlines.”