It seems the “15 authors in 15 minutes” meme is making the rounds again on Facebook. Most, if not all, of my Mormon friends listed the Book of Mormon or Joseph Smith as one of their fifteen. Some even went so far as to identify Moroni or Isaiah or Paul as an author. A few listed books by Stephen Robinson or one of the Apostles. Besides one mention of Rough Stone Rolling, none of them listed a non-doctrinal work by a Mormon author. Seriously. Bestsellers/cult fads like Twilight didn’t even make anyone’s list.
It got me wondering. Mostly about how many readers actively seek out Mormon titles or even know if a given author is Mormon. It also got me wondering how many people I know could list 15 Mormon authors, especially if I told them they couldn’t include General Authorities and prophets or their wives. Could people even name 15 non-doctrinal books?
So I’m putting the challenge to you all: Name me 15 Mormon authors in 15 minutes–but no General Authorities or prophets. Or name me your top 15 Mormon books. I suppose you can include doctrinal works here because, let’s face it, the doctrine of the Church is powerful and evokes strong responses. BUT see what you can do if you had to stick to fiction/historical titles. And what about ranking them? What non-doctrinal work would you rank as most influential in your reading?
I’m going to hold off posting my list since I don’t want to sully any of your good thinking. So set your timer and get typing!
A Motley Vision 
Orson Scott Card
Anne Parry
Dave Wolverton
Chris Heimerdinger
Susan Even McCloud
Hugh Nibley
Coke Newell
Angela Hallstrom
Magaret Young
Eric Saumuelsen
Doug Thayer
John Bennion
Marilyn Brown
Eugene England
Oh, and Lee Allred, too 🙂
— Lee
“The Backslider,” Levi Peterson
“Heaven Knows Why,” Samuel Taylor
“Brigham City,” Richard Dutcher
“Under the Cottonwoods & Other Stories,” Douglas Thayer
“Love Chains,” Margaret Young
“Peculiarities,” Eric Samuelsen
“Bound on Earth,” Angela Hallstrom
Hugh Nibley (various essays)
Eugene England (various essays)
May Swenson (poems)
“The Sanctity of Dissent,” Paul Toscano
“People of Paradox,” Terryl Givens
“Rough Stone Rolling,” Richard Bushman
“Little Happy Secrets,” Melissa Leilani Larson
“Prodigal Son,” James Goldberg
Oh wait! How could I forget “The Lonely Polygamist” and “Leap”? Both should be up there with “The Backslider” and “Heaven Knows Why” at the very top of the list.
These are alas, not in any particular order
Orson Scott Card-Storyteller in Zion, to me it outshines his fiction.
Dave Wolverton-Runelords series
John Brown-Servant of a Dark God,various essays
Larry Corriea-Monser Hunter International, various essays
Dan Wells-IANASK, various essays
Willum Pugmire-various short stories
Tracy Hickman-Dragonlance series
Scott Roberts-Blackberry Witch
Lee Nelson-Storm Testament, Tom and Huck among the Indians
Jaleta Clegg-Nexus Point
Michael Collings-Nephiad, In the Void
Dan Willis-Dragonlance: New Adventures
Daron Fraley-The Thorn
Eric James Stone-various shorts
P.D. Mallamo-Sign of the Gun
Wow! There are so many directions this could go… I’m going to try to name the 15 non-doctrinal Mormon authors that I think have had the biggest impact on me (not necessarily the highest quality), with the specific works that impact or have impacted me as an LDS reader.
1. Tom Rogers — all of his plays
2. Orson Scott Card — Tales of Alvin Maker series, Folk of the Fringe, The Worthing Chronicle, Saints
3. Doug Thayer — The Tree House
4. Nephi Anderson — Added Upon
5. Leonard Arrington — Memoirs of a Church Historian, The Mormon Experience
6. Doug Stewart, Saturday’s Warrior
7. Richard Bushman — Rough Stone Rolling
8. Zenna Henderson — The People stories
9. Dave Wolverton/Farland — Serpent Catch, Path of the Hero, Runelords series
10. Lee Allred — For the Strength of the Hills
11. Eric Samuelsen — Various plays (some of which have impacted me even though I haven’t read them)
12. Chris Bigelow et al. — The Sugar Beet
13. Jack Weyland — Punch and Cookies Forever
14. Ed Snow — Peculiar People
15. Me!
Actually, just realized Richard Dutcher’s first 2 movies should also be on that list somewhere, around the middle of the list — maybe after Zenna Henderson?
Elouise Bell
Mark Bennion
Orson Scott Card
Neal Chandler
Michael Collings
Jessica Day George
Shannon Hale
Angela Hallstrom
Lee Martin
Carol Lynn Pearson
Todd Robert Petersen
Levi Peterson
Brandon Sanderson
Dan Wells
Margaret Blair Young
(I included only people whose work I’d read, but not people I’m friends with, else I could have filled it half with FOB members.)
Leaving out general authorities changes my list a little — I mean, I can’t list Maxwell, really?
But ok, I’ll try:
Orson Scott Card
S. Michael Wilcox
Eliza R. Snow (I can count her, right?)
Eugene England
Virginia Sorenson
John Bytheway (I can hear you groaning now, but he’s funny and helpful for my teen)
Sheri Dew
Shannon Hale
Robert L. Millet
Stephen Covey
Brandon Mull
Carol Lynn Pearson
Doug Thayer
Leonard Arrington
and one book — Jerusalem – the Eternal City by Galbraith, Ogden, and Skinner
Truth be told, I don’t usually seek out Mormon authors when I’m looking for fiction, but if it’s really good, like Orson Scott Card’s novels, I’ll get them. I usually read Mormon authors for scripture study, Mormon research, motivational/inspirational, biographies of GAs, etc. Perhaps some people would not consider all of them to be true, literary authors, but they’ve had a book published so I’m counting them. I’ve never read the Twilight series, out of sheer rebellion against the masses.
Eugene England
(Essays–I particularly like “Enduring”)
Virginia Sorensen
(All her stuff is good, but I love her semi-autobiographical book “Where Nothing is Long Ago”)
Dean Hughes
(I like his WWII era “Children of the Promise” series, but think his “Hearts of the Children” set in the 1960s is even better. He does a great job looking at hard, social issues in a faithful Church context)
Louise Plummer
(She mostly writes for a national audience, but she is so funny and insightful in her fiction. I think her book ‘A Dance for Three’ is excellent, though not as funny as her others)
Carol Lynch Williams
(Also mostly writes for a national audience, but another excellent YA/juvenile lit author)
Doug Thayer
(I liked Under the Cottonwoods, but I think The Tree House is his best work and one of the best Mormon books out there)
Alan Rex Mitchell
(Angel of the Danube is one of my favorite missionary stories ever)
Margaret Blair Young
(I’m mostly familiar with her short stories and they are all excellent)
Angela Hallstrom
(Bound on Earth is another book that I recommend to just about everyone I know)
Kathryn Lynard Soper
(Her memoir about motherhood–The Year My Son and I Were Born–is one of the most honest examinations of the complexities of parenthood that I’ve read; she also does fabulous blogging and is the editor of Segullah, one of my favorite journals)
Coke Newell
(On the Road to Heaven is a fascinating look at conversion and missionary work)
Jack Harrell
(His short stories are great and I also loved his novel Vernal Promises)
Emma Lou Thayne
(I love personal essay and poetry and I have loved everything I’ve read by her, plus she wrote one of my favorite hymns)
Shannon Hale
(Another general market, YA author; I never used to like fantasy very much, but her books are some of the first that started changing my mind)
Terry Tempest Williams
(Refuge is just amazing)
Until about 8-9 years ago I never really sought out Mormon literature at all. Then my husband got involved with the creative writing program at BYU and we both started discovering Mormon literature. Since then I’ve been a bit of ‘evangelist’ for the legitimacy and quality of Mormon lit–I try to get my family and friends to read many of the authors that have been listed here. Those are just the ones that came to mind as people I’ve read and really responded to for various reasons. I don’t read a lot of drama or poetry, regardless of the author. I especially like memoir and personal essay, as I’m sure you can tell from my list.
Is this meant to be off the top of one’s head, or is research allowed? Or copy and paste? Or should I just list a link to my bibliography Web site? Is that cheating? There are 15 authors in the “A” section of the novels alone, and I think I counted 182 total novel authors.
I’ll list the ones I have been following currently that aren’t on any one else’s list:
Lynn Kurland
James Dashner
Bree Despain
Lisa Mangum
Rachel Nunes
Aprilynne Pike
Jeff Scott Savage
James A. Owen
Steven L. Kent
Becca Fitzpatrick
Forrest Aguirre
Nancy Fulda
Julie Berry
Ally Condie
Shelia Nielsen
Kiersten White
Mette Ivy Harrison
Good lists. I’d add these:
Richard Paul Evans
Jay Parry
Teryl Givens
Gerald Lund
and the current bestseller of all these:
Glenn Beck
🙂
.
Before looking at everyone else’s, I typed this list:
Levi Peterson
Orson Scott Card
Lisa Downing
Angela Hallstrom
Margaret Blair Young
Curtis Taylor
Anne Perry
Shannon Dean
Dan Wells
John Brown
Wayne Jorgensen
Doug Thayer
Timothy Liu
Carol Lynn Pearson
Jack Harrell
Which was really easy and only took a couple minutes. But clearly I’m not the sort of person apt to be challenged by this kind of challenge. Not a boast, just an observation. Now to look at the other comments….
Ok, I’ll bite. A different list than what you got from me from Facebook… and as you’ll recall, I think there were no scriptures in mine, though I thought twice about maybe adding Neal A Maxwell to that list… doesn’t CS Lewis count as a proto-Mormon?
Anyway, here they are, in the order I thought of them. Nothing should be read into the meaningfulness of any of them, they’re just who I thought of in a hurry.
1. Orson Scott Card
2. Stephenie Meyer (Did I spell that right? You know, the vampire lady? I haven’t read any of her stuff but I’ve sure heard about it.)
3. Lee Ann Setzer (a dear friend)
4. Paris Anderson (my brother-in-law)
5. Gerald Lund (he wrote those books before becoming a Seventy, so he counts, right?)
6. (Somebody-whose-first-name-escapes-me) Larsen (he wrote books whose title started with “Lucky” that I bought for my kids a long time ago.
7. Nephi Anderson (I guess I thought of this guy since I thought of my brother-in-law, above.)
8. Kathryn Kidd
9. Carol Lynn Pearson
10. Jane McBride Choate (I don’t think anyone has been published more often in the Friend)
11. Ardis Parshall (Can’t get enough of what she writes over at Keepa)
12. Emma Marr Peterson (didn’t all of us of a ‘certain age’ get our first scripture stories from her?)
13. Glenn Beck (Cuz I passed his book at Wal-mart today, which should probably say it all)
14. You (my dear VT Companion)
15. Can I count Me? (Does one story in the Friend count?)
Coffinberry–
The guy who wrote the “Lucky” books was Dean Hughes.
Here is a slightly different list:
Leonard Arrington: The Great Basin Kingdom
Thomas Alexander: Mormonism in Transition
James Allen & Glen Leonard: The Story of the Latter-day Saints
Richard Bushman: Rough Stone Rolling
Linda Newell & Valeen Avery: Mormon Enigma: Emma Hale Smith
Dennis Largey (Ed.): Book of Mormon Reference Companion
Henry J. Eyring: Mormon Scientist
Jessie Embry: Mormon Polygamous Families
Andrew Ehat & Lyndon Cook: The Words of Joseph Smith
Juanita Brooks: The Mountain Meadow Massacre
Royal Skousen: The Book of Mormon: The Earliest Text
Sam Taylor: The Last Pioneer: John Taylor
Gregory Prince: Power from on High
Richard Bennett: Mormons at the Missouri
Carol Madsen: Journey to Zion
Thanks. I realized that when I went back and read the others’ contributions. So my apologies to Brother Hughes…
Liz Adair
Josi Kilpack
Orson Scott Card
Janet Kay Jensen
Doug Thayer
Jonathan Langford
Chris Bigelow
Carol Lynn Pearson
Marilyn Brown
Anita Stansfield
Michele Ashman Bell
Julie Wright
Richard Paul Evans
Jason Wright
Glenn Beck
Thanks for this challenge. I’m thinking in terms of fiction because I’ve been making my own survey this year, so I haven’t listed any nonfiction. I’ve just put up on my blog, The Write Stuff, the first of three parts of an essay on the topic of LDS fiction. pamwrite.blogspot.com. There’s also an earlier entry about how hard it is to be a reader when you’re a writer.
These lists are awesome! When I get a minute I’m totally going to tally up these results and post a master list somewhere on AMV. You guys are so well read!
I would add Patricia Karamesines to the others on people’s lists. I basically adore everything she writes.
(Coffinberry–Thanks for including me; you’re too kind. Gotta get one of my books in publishable form. Someday. . .)
Hm.
Stephenie Meyer.
Shannon Hale.
Anne Perry
Orson Scott Card.
Christopher Heimerdinger.
Blaine Yorgason
Brenton Yorgason
Margaret Young
Stephen Covey
Terry Tempest Williams
Carol Lynn Pearson
Eric Snyder (one of my favorite humor columnists)
George Handley (Check out his new book, Home Waters… a good friend of mine and avid environmentalist)
Lance Larsen (my favorite LDS poet, and one of my favorite poets, period)
Stephenie Fowers (don’t read her books, unless you love fluff. Which sometimes, I do.)
Hm.
Stephenie Meyer.
Shannon Hale.
Anne Perry
Orson Scott Card.
Christopher Heimerdinger.
Blaine Yorgason
Brenton Yorgason
Margaret Young
Stephen Covey
Terry Tempest Williams
Carol Lynn Pearson
Eric Snyder (one of my favorite humor columnists)
George Handley (Check out his new book, Home Waters”¦ a good friend of mine and avid environmentalist)
Lance Larsen (my favorite LDS poet, and one of my favorite poets, period)
Stephenie Fowers (don’t read her books, unless you love fluff. Which sometimes, I do.)
Parley P. Pratt
Nephi Andersen
Orestes Utah Bean
Samuel W. Taylor
Clinton Larson
Eric W. Samuelsen
Maureen Whipple
Vardis Fisher
Jack Anderson
Levi Peterson
Jon Beck Shank
Orson Scott Card
Jack Weyland
Ruth and Nathan Hale
Brady Udall
Um, 15 is too few.
Its telling how skewed these lists are to recent authors.
Re Kent: In my case, it’s because I read too much pop fiction. Not really into the “Mormon Classics” at this point… maybe when my reading time is no longer veg-time for me, I’ll get some more substantial reading in. Just try reading P.P. Pratt while five whiny kids are tugging at your sleeve. 🙂
Okay, without looking at the other ones to give me ideas:
Angela Hallstrom
Kathryn Lynard Soper
Orson Scott Card
Shannon Hale
John Brown
Dan Wells
Brandon Sanderson
Mette Ivie Harrison
Jessica Day George
Julie Berry
Jamie Ford
Janette Rallison
Stephenie Meyer
Kiersten White
Louise Plummer
Ally Condie
Ann Cannon
Ann Dee Ellis
How many is that? there are way more than that. With the exception of Angela Hallstrom, everyone I named has published with a national publisher; that was my personal criteria for the list. And my list could be much longer. It skews YA, because that’s my favorite genre.
Sarah,thanks for mentioning George Handley’s new book Home Waters. I hadn’t heard about it and am ordering a copy. Look for a review.
Laura, thanks for the very kind words. Made my day.
.
It’s skewed recent because they came to mind first. Writers dead at least fifty years (I think; I’m not checking) that I like (or sorta like) (and I’m allowing for GAs this time):
Nephi Anderson
Parley P Pratt
Eliza Snow
Hosea Stout
Juanita Brooks
M Whipple
Samuel Taylor
Orson Pratt
Orestes Bean
Josephine Spenser
Oliver Cowdery
BH Roberts
Paul Bailey
WH Phelps
William Clayton
How about Laurel Thatcher Ulrich? I haven’t seen her recognized yet. She’s a wonderful author.