We have decided on an official deadline to the RESTORATION issue and added three new issues requiring great writing. (But not just writing! We are online. You can submit audio! video! et cetera!) This is the link to the submissions page for future reference — https://irreantum.associationmormonletters.org/submission-guidelines — but for simplicity’s sake, you’re here, so let me just paste all the issue guidelines below:
[RESTORATION]
This theme can be interpreted however you like. A new musical setting to Parley P. Pratt’s “An Angel from on High,” historical fiction about the founding of the Relief Society, a new critical analysis of Merrill Bradshaw’s The Restoration, science fiction imagining future revelation, speculative theology on the ongoing restoration, a video collage of drawings from Kirtland and Nauvoo, poetry in the voices of the extended Smith family—and so on. It’s called THE RESTORATION. The rest is up to you.
Deadline: August 15, 2024.
[MYSTERY]
What if a Lamanite detective solved murders? What if one of the young women at Girl’s Camp had the observational skills of Sherlock Holmes? What if a Mormon painting from the 1880s was imitated in a modern crime? What if a crockpot of chili was stolen at the ward Halloween cook- off? For this issue, we are looking for mystery stories that resonate with the Mormon experience. All tones and sub-genres of mystery are welcome: we would love to see Mormon noir, hardboiled mysteries, trained detectives, Miss Marple-esque amateurs solving crimes, cozy mysteries, historical mysteries, and even genealogical mysteries. Classic crimes may be used—murder, kidnapping, or theft—as well as unexpected and unusual crimes. Other genres may be incorporated (SFF, horror, romance, humor, role-playing games, etc.) as long as the mystery provides the structure for the narrative. We are also open to mystery/crime poetry and true crime, as well as essays or articles related to Mormon mystery writers or a particular mystery text. Submissions should be attached to an email, under 6,500 words, and contain no identifying information.
Submissions due January 31, 2025.
The editor of Mystery:
Katherine Cowley’s debut novel, The Secret Life of Miss Mary Bennet, was nominated for the Mary Higgins Clark Award and was the winner of LDSPMA’s Praiseworthy Award for Best Mystery/Suspense. She is the author of two other mystery novels and numerous short stories. Her Mormon fiction appears in the Mormon Lit Blitz, Segullah, and Irreantum. She has taught writing at Brigham Young University, Mesa Community College, and Western Michigan University. She lives in Michigan with her husband and three daughters.
[PORTRAITS]
I remember in my late adolescence / early adulthood reading Orson Scott Card’s Storyteller in Zion, a collection of essays about just that, and being struck by the value he placed on being part of the community, no matter how much being an artist might make estrangement easy. And I remember ten or fifteen years later reading Nephi Anderson’s millennial fantasy of a storyteller in Zion. And , as I look around at the storytellers and other artists in Zion today finding their paths, I realize this is something we should explore, together, directly.
This issue will collect essays, comics, fictions, poems, or whatever else that creates a portrait of the Latter-day Saint artist. Your submission may range from the most literal personal essay to the most metaphoric series of science-fiction haikus. As always, what is accepted will be based, in part, on what, among all the submissions, will fit together.
The deadline is either June 1, 2025, or when I realize that I have a complete issue. Whichever comes first.
[SMALL]
The SMALL issue of Irreantum will consist of 100 poems of six lines or less (not including the title, if any). There is no particular theme, though keep in mind Irreantum‘s overall concerns (see above) while crafting and submitting. Please note that because of the large number of writers potentially involved in SMALL, the amount that could thus be paid each writer may become so pitiful, that we will likely just not do so for this issue. That decision will not be finalized, however, until publication. Or, in other words, while I reserve the right to pay you, I probably will not for this issue.
While there is no limit to the number of poems you may submit for this issue, please be judicious.
Because of the nature of this issue, strange formatting of poems, while not disqualifying, will count as a mark against.
Also, while this is always true, we wish to be particularly solicitous of Irreantum‘s readers for help in uncovering lost gems by earlier Mormon writers to include in this issue. If you know of previously published short Mormon poems, please share them with us!
Submissions for SMALL will remain open until the 100th poem is accepted.
[TEMPLE]
I’ve been thinking about a pair of Isaac James Richards poems (“Sin” and “Daily Initiations“) that engage with the temple in interesting and new ways. And realizing I’d like to see more of that. Thus: a temple-themed issue. Poetry, essay, fiction, video, music, comics—whatever medium you like. Tell us about the temple. Explore its grounds and hallways. Explore the souls of those who worship there—or perhaps are left outside.
Note that Irreantum respects sensitivities people have about the temples and our editorial decisions will be influenced by this. However, we would rather you submit work both honest and true. We can negotiate boundaries later. Deadline: January 31, 2026.
[OPEN] issues
Any work relevant to Irreantum’s mission may be submitted through [OPEN]. When we have collected sufficient work for an issue, we will go to press. We anticipate this being about every nine months, but who knows. Your patience is appreciated.