Works in Progress - Irreantum

something from something Gabriel González Núñez is working on
(en español)
(in english)

something from something Steven L. Peck is working on

something from something Julie J. Nichols is working on

something from something Theric Jepson is working on

something from something Graciela Botella
and Miguel Ángel Aranjuez are working on
(en español)
(em português)
(in english)

something from something Luisa Perkins is working on

something from something Dian Saderup Monson is working on

something from something Heather B. Moore is working on

something from something Ben Spendlove is working on

Theditor says:

I have a lot of ideas. I don’t know what percentage of them are good. That’s for the audience to say. But I’m gratified that the idea for this issue, at least, excited some writers. I’d been worried I might get sternly worded dismissals to the pitch I sent out, which went like this:

Hi. I’m Theric Jepson, editor of Irreantum. I’m writing you because a) I have positive feelings about your work, b) you often work with Mormon ore, and c) I have been forced to delay the final issue of 2023 and am thus attempting something else, something I’ve long wanted to do but is a little peculiar.

I’m looking for ten novelists willing to share about 1000 words from their latest work-in-progress along with a few words about process / hopes and dreams. (And, if you don’t mind, a photograph of your workspace.)

I’ve put together a list of novelists whose work I admire (including you), then arranged them using a random-number generator. I’m emailing each of you in that order until I get enough yeses. (I’m hoping for five men and five women, although I am saving one slot from each side for writers of Spanish or Portuguese in hopes Gabriel, our translations editor, can find one of each.)

If your current WIP isn’t at all Mormony, it’s probably not right for Irreantum (more on Irreantum). If you don’t want to share, I totally get it (what a nutty request this is!). If you’re not currently working on a novel, that’s cool—I support you in that other thing (though that other thing is not right for this issue). Also, because I’m in a rush, you only have 48 hours to respond. If I don’t hear from you, I’ll let you know I’m moving on to the next name. (But please do think of us and submit your work in the future!)

(Full disclosure: I put myself on my list of writers, but I have to wait for my spot on the list to come up before I get to tell myself yes. I’m #6 on the man list.)

One thing I’m excited about is giving some writers a teeny-tiny paycheck for work that may yet be years away from reaching the full measure of its creation. (If you want to share our Patreon link, maybe it can be a little less teeny-tiny by the time we publish, circa late December.) But the thing I’m most excited about is just talking about craft. It’s thrilling to imagine what you all may have to say about the marvels you’re now composing.

Anyway, if you’re a yes, tell me now! Then get me your thousandish words and commentary as soon as you can. I’ll hope to have it ready for you to look over by early December. (This being a rush job.)

Thanks for considering it!

—th—

. . . followed by a personal note regarding why I wanted that specific writer to be part of the issue.

The final count is, as you see above, twelve works-in-progress by thirteen writers. Add to that our two translators (one of whom is also one of our novelists) and our excellent guest artist, Denise Gasser, and we’re showcasing a bounty of interesting folk doing vital work now.

(If you’re curious, seven men and five women either didn’t have an appropriate project or didn’t get back to me in time; but no one said, Screw you, Jepson, which I shall call vindication.)

Incidentally, this marks the end of the fourth volume of my editorship. In that time, Irreantum has presented to you, our dear readers, Fearreantum, Hope & Healing, Joe Smith and the Devil, Building Zion, Wine into Water, Tourmaline, Long Poetry, The Plan, Daily Crises, Pikuach Nefesh, Genre, and, now, Works in Progress. And, like any work in progress, for all the beauty that has gone before, more is coming.

So thank you to our guest editors, thank you to our readers, thank you to our writers and musicians and painters and etceterists. It takes us all to create a meaningful community of art. We do it together. So read (or reread) one of those old issues (or the even-older issues), join our Patreon, submit to Folklore or Mystery or Restoration or an open issue, share links with your friends, buy a book from someone’s bio, suggest an older work that might fit with an upcoming issue, or just keep swinging by.

We love to have you.

Anyway, I’m supposed to be talking about this issue, and I so must express appreciation for these authors willing to share a work in progress. A couple works are just about to drop (Heather’s has!) while others may be years from completion (now that is a generous vulnerability), but all offer excitement for our reading future. And the commentaries are as diverse as the fictions. I love getting inside the minds of writers I admire, and you get that aplenty in this issue.

Experimentation is at the core of being human. It’s what gives us poems and popsicles and permanent waves, but most of what we see on store shelves is already as perfect as someone figured it could be. That’s not the case this time. These are works in progress and, as you read them, I hope you’ll cheer for the experimentation and the progress they represent.

That’s enough from editorial. Let’s jump into things. Click here to return to the top of the page and let’s see what smithery our wordsmiths are up to.