Author Archives: James Goldberg

Mormon Lit Blitz Contest Semi-Finalists

Contest update: we’ve narrowed the 200+ submissions for the Mormon Lit Blitz Contest  down to a list of 32 semi-finalists, the titles of which we will be releasing in stages between now and Wednesday. See the Mormon Artist blog for … Continue reading

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Writing about the ancestors I share with Mitt Romney

Before I get into the post proper, let me make one last plug for submitting to the Mormon Lit Blitz. With three days to go before the deadline, we’ve already received over a hundred submissions. I recently went and randomly … Continue reading

Posted in Storytelling and Community | Tagged , , | 11 Comments

Blitz Contest Writing Advice

As of yesterday, the Mormon Lit Blitz Contest had received 28 submissions—this with nearly six weeks to go (that’s an entire missionary transfer, folks!) until the January 15th deadline. I realize, of course, that 95% of contest submissions usually come … Continue reading

Posted in The Writer's Desk | 2 Comments

Call for Submissions (for Mormon works under 1,000 words)

How can we get more Mormons exposed to interesting Mormon literature? In a recent discussion on this blog, I recommended posting more short works online as an easy-to-access gateway to the field. Well, Scott Hales and I resolved to “go … Continue reading

Posted in Announcements | 19 Comments

Evangelizing Mormon Lit: How to Lure the Audience Out of Its Shell

Part One: The Prospective Audience Let me begin with the man Josh Allen bought a used car from, who “missed the literary discussions and the focus on critical thinking he received as part of his education [and] expressed longing for … Continue reading

Posted in Community Voices, Storytelling and Community | 45 Comments

Class Update and AML Conference Thoughts

Class Update My creative writing class continues to be very fun. Two weeks ago student  s were to write sonnets that played with the conventions of the form in some way: one student chose to write one “backwards-sonnet” with the … Continue reading

Posted in International Scene, The Writer's Desk | Tagged , | 1 Comment

My Creative Writing Class: First Thoughts

Many of you read my hypothetical plan for a first lesson in a creative writing class, as well as the follow-up announcement that I would actually get a chance to use it. A brief update now that I have four … Continue reading

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Now That I’m Going to Teach Creative Writing….

In June, I wrote a post called “If I ever teach creative writing…” Through a strange and fortunate twist of fate, I find myself in exactly that position this fall. So now I’m in the process of trying to use … Continue reading

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If I ever teach creative writing…

If I ever teach creative writing, this is what my first lesson will be. I will make the students put away books and laptops and desks, leaving only one table in the middle of the room. I will put a … Continue reading

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Halakha, Aggadah and Jesus

If I had time for another hobby, it would be following the Supreme Court the way a sports junkie follows sports. For most people, sports is about finding a team and cheering for it. For a true junkie, though, the … Continue reading

Posted in Literary Views of Scripture, Thoughts on Language | 4 Comments