NOTE: the deadline has passed and submissions are now closed.
Just a reminder that submissions for the Mormon alternate history mini-anthology I’m editing are due by end of the day Saturday, March 19. End of the day = midnight Pacific Daylight Time. Although I won’t be up then so if it’s in my inbox when I check my email Sunday morning, it’ll be okay. Be warned, though, that I have to get up for church meetings, and I’m on Central Time so it’ll be early Sunday morning (plus, it’s the Sabbath, then: Saturday is a special day — it’s the day we finish stories that feature Mormons in alternate historical timelines).
If you haven’t even started writing yet, don’t despair. There’s still time! A 1,500 words flash piece or even a 3-4k short story can easily be written in a day or two or four. So get to it!
Short on ideas? Here’s where you can get some:
- Ardis Parshall’s Keepapitchinin history blog. There’s a lot there (Ardis is prolific and awesome) so the place to start is with the topical guide page.
- The Church History website at lds.org. No, seriously. There are great stories there written by very talented Mormon histories and writers. Use one or two of them as a launching off point.
- The Juvenile Instructor blog. The blog also covers history as a profession so your most direct route to ideas is the From the Archives series. My Mormon alternate history story that was a 2014 Mormon Lit Blitz semi-finalist was sparked by a comment on one of JI’s history posts.
- For some general ideas and issues related to alternate history, there’s this TV Tropes page. As with all things TV Tropes take everything it says with a big grain of salt. And only allow yourself to clink on a total of 2-4 links on that page.
- Don’t forget the histories of your own families (Mormon pioneer or not). Sometimes specific moments or images in family histories and journals or photographs can be a great story seed.
- Finally, here’s a very brief timeline of the history of the LDS Church from PBS | one from the LDS Church | and a timeline of Black History + Black LDS History
Good luck! I eagerly await your submissions.
A Motley Vision 
I was given your URL just today, so I am too late for this year’s Mormon alternate history anthology. But maybe next year.
But I do have a question: How do you define “Mormon alternate history”? Is it something that must be set sometime between say 1820 and day before yesterday? Or could Mormon alternate history include something set in the future, provided that things had been different in the past?
Just curious, because I have a few things that might fit the latter definition, but nothing that would fit the former right now.
Thank you.
Fred:
Thanks for your interest. I’m sorry you didn’t hear about this project until just now.
I’m afraid that for the purposes of this particular anthology, it needs to be 1827 (or a bit earlier if there’s a recognizable Mormon-ish component) to the near present. As I mention in the original submissions guidelines: “About that concept: for this anthology the alternate history must be post-1800 (no Book of Mormon stuff) and pre-2020 (so no alternate history science fiction) and Mormonism must be central to the story even if it is dealt with in a subtle or oblique manner. Restoration and Pioneer era stories are very welcome, but I’m also very interested in stories from alternate 20th centuries.”
I think the notion of Mormon alternate history mixed with science fiction is very interesting (Steve Peck’s story in Monsters & Mormons could be considered to be that kind of story), but especially since this is going to be a mini-anthology, I want to stick with easily definable Mormon alternate history.
An excellent essay on delineating what is and isn’t alternate history (as opposed to,, say, secret history) can be found at http://www.uchronia.net/intro.html. I might quibble about some of their distinctions, but it’s useful to have a standard rule of thumb.
Uchronia is the go-to site on the internet for the sub-genre of alternate history. It’s run by the same folks that award the Sidewise Award for Alternate History.