I found this post by Editorial Anonymous about a “Mormon Mafia” in publishing rather hilarious, for reasons I’ll explain in a moment. First, click here to read the post.
Now that you’ve stopped puzzling over why I found it so funny, I’ll share this secret tidbit of information about myself: I am a BYU graduate from Utah who writes young adult fiction! I only need to find me a husband and pop out a few kids before my multi-million dollar contract will arrive in the mail.
All joking aside, the letter writer has stumbled upon an interesting phenomenon at the moment, and I was curious when the talk would really start. Well, here it is, and now I think it’s time to explain:
Mormons have been given an ultrasupersecret mission to take over the world by writing young adult fiction with a scifi/fantasy bent. You may want to lock up your children.
Aw, shoot. I shouldn’t have said that. But honestly, anyone who thinks it’s some big conspiracy or divine mandate is reading too many paranormal romances and should lay off them for a few months.
What I see as the common thread with all of the popular and successful Mormon writers has to do more with cultural influence. Let me explain.
Members of the Mormon or LDS church (full name The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints), have always been proponents of the arts, including music and dance from the church’s inception in 1830. The first, and probably most prominent, artistic endeavor was the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, formed in 1847.
Literary endeavors came later, near the turn of the twentieth century, with the admonition to write faith-promoting stories. For many years, those were the kind of books LDS authors wrote. I still remember all of the LDS books that were written when I was younger. I’d honestly say it was about this time (the late 70s to early 80s), that LDS fiction really began to develop and grow, as well as LDS authors turning to mainstream fiction with Orson Scott Card at the forefront.
In addition to Stephenie Meyer and Ally Condie, other popular LDS young adult fantasy authors include James Dashner, Shannon Hale, Aprilynne Pike, Brandon Mull, Brandon Sanderson, Jessica Day George, Mette Ivie Harrison, and Julie Berry.
An interesting article from The Boston Globe (click here to read) posits that the influx of Mormon writers in young adult fiction is due to the more wholesome nature of children’s and young adult stories. Members of the church are, on the whole, very conservative when it comes to sex, drugs, and violence. In adult literature, the progressing trend is to include one or all of those elements in great doses. It gets harder and harder to find well-written books with wonderful stories that don’t include graphic sex or violence. I readily admit that as one reason I prefer young adult books.
As for the fantasy aspect, author Shannon Hale says it best in the Boston Globe article: Mormonism and its tenets can seem pretty fantastic by others, so we’ve never really had issues with thinking imaginatively or outside commonly accepted ideas. Plus the fact that fantasy generally has clear concepts of good versus evil, right and wrong directly corresponds with church teachings on the same.
BYU, or Brigham Young University, is a church-sponsored university where members from around the world attend. It has an incredible atmosphere of diversity and learning. It has excellent programs in the arts, especially English, theater and film, music, and dance. I participated at one time or another in each of these (with the exception of theater). Each program is well supported and encouraged at BYU.
Finally, I see the influx of Mormon writers as a growing trend for Mormon artists in all areas. If you don’t believe me, I’ll offer a smattering of actors/singers/musicians/directors who are taking to the world stage (and I’m not even talking about the Osmonds).
Music:
David Archuleta
Brandon Flowers (The Killers)
SheDaisy
Brendon Urie (Panic! At the Disco)
Film:
Amy Adams (raised LDS)
Katherine Heigl (raised LDS)
Aaron Eckhart (BYU grad)
Eliza Dushku (Dollhouse, raised LDS)
John Heder (Napoleon Dynamite)
Jared Hess (wrote/directed Napoleon Dynamite)
Paul Walker (raised LDS)
Dance:
Julianne Hough (Dancing with the Stars)
In conclusion, there isn’t anything in the water or in the church doctrines that says we should write children’s or young adult literature. It’s a combination of cultural and other influences. Plus, there is a strong and supportive community of LDS writers, especially in Utah. I’ve met most of the writers I’ve listed above (no, I haven’t met Stephenie Meyer, but if I do, I’ll tell her hi) at various literary and cultural events. They are a down-to-earth group that encourages other would-be writers and accepts them into the fold whether they be famous or not. I’ve learned a lot about writing from them, especially what it means to give back and support others.
