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Tuesday, June 26, 2007

The Whitney Awards--Something Pretty Great

Yeah, I kept my pretty great title on purpose to sort of make fun of the wonderful, pretty, great state that I live in--Utah. Not too long ago our state's slogan was "Utah, A Pretty, Great State." I'm serious! People weren't sure if we were just pretty great, or pretty and great--either way the motto is lame, but now we have a new slogan, something not so pretty or great--"Life Elevated." It sounds like the name of caffeinated water to me, but whatever. Now on to something rather cool, or pretty great. This ambitious group I'm involved in, The LDSTORYMAKERS has come up with something to honor LDS authors books of note. It's called the Whitney Awards and this is how it works.

PROVO, UT—JUNE 18, 2007

WRITING GROUP ANNOUNCES PRESTIGIOUS NEW LDS FICTION AWARD

“We shall yet have Miltons and Shakespeares of our own. . . . In God’s name and by His help we will build up a literature whose tops will touch the heaven, though its foundation may now be low on the earth.”

When Latter-day Saint Apostle Orson F. Whitney first spoke these words, the literary canon of his people didn’t contain many works. Fast forward over a hundred years, and literally thousands of novels are published, enjoyed by readers each year.

The quality of fiction has significantly increased in recent times. New writers are finding it harder to break into the industry each year. This is hard for upstart writers, but great for readers.

While LDStorymakers began several years ago to serve only as a support group and opportunity for networking for LDS writers, it has morphed into a powerful force into LDS market.

Today they unveil their newest project, the brainchild of LDStorymaker and novelist Robison Wells: an annual fiction award named after Orson F. Whitney, honoring his vision of having LDS “Miltons and Shakespeares.”

“The Whitney Award will be given annually in conjunction with the LDStorymaker writing conference each March,” Wells, the author of three novels published through Covenant, explains. “This is an exciting time to be part of the LDS fiction industry, and we hope the Whitney will become a prestigious and sought-after award.”

Anyone can nominate a novel published during the previous calendar year in any of six categories, and a final academy of industry professionals will vote on the final ballot. Nominations are being taken for books published in 2007 by LDS authors at the Whitney Awards website: www.whitneyawards.com

So all you readers out there start nominating your favorite books of the year. I have a few in mind myself.

2 comments:

Unknown said...

This really is a great blog, Carole. I'm sure the Whitney Award will be a hit for years to come--a most sought after award for writers.

I love the green of your blog, by the way--and your pottery looks wonderful.

Unknown said...

Carol, I'm so glad you blogged about this. This is a wonderful addition to the world of LDS and national literature.