SALT LAKE CITY — The Association for Mormon Letters announced awards for publications and other works across 13 categories during its conference at the Latter-day Saint Institute of Religion at Berkeley, California, March 29-31. More than 50 works, from picture books and literature to screenplays and films, that are by, for or about members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints had been named as finalists.
The 2018 AML Award for a novel went to “Witchy Winter” by D.J. Butler. The award for short fiction collections went to “The Science of Lost Futures” by Ryan Habermeyer, and “Thin Walls” by Alison Maeser Brimley is the winner in the short fiction category.
In the drama category, the award went to “Good Standing” by Matthew Greene. The award in the poetry category went to “What the Body Knows” by Lance Larsen.
“The Dark Descent of Elizabeth Frankenstein” by Kiersten White won the award in the young adult novel category, and “Squint” by Chad Morris and Shelley Brown is the award winner in the middle grade novel category.
In the picture book category, “The Dress and the Girl” by Camille Andros and Julie Morstad won the award. The award in the comics category went to “One Dirty Tree” by Noah Van Sciver.
For creative nonfiction, the award went to “Destroying Their God: How I Fought My Evil Half-Brother to Save My Children” by Wallace Jeffs, with Shauna Parker and Sherry Taylor. The award in the religious nonfiction category went to “An Early Resurrection: Life in Christ Before You Die” by Adam S. Miller.
In the criticism category, the award went to “Mormon Cinema: Origins to 1952” by Randy Astle.
The award for narrative film went to “When She Runs,” directed by Robert Machoian and Rodrigo Ojeda-Beck, and the award for documentary film went to “Church & State,” directed by Holly Tuckett and Kendall Wilcox.
The special award in publishing went to “Dove Song: Heavenly Mother in Mormon Poetry,” edited by Tyler Chadwick, Dayna Patterson and Martin Pulido.
Special lifetime achievement awards went to authors Carol Lynn Pearson, who is known for her poetry collection “Beginnings” and her memoir “Goodbye, I Love You,” and Melissa Leilani Larson, who is a playwright and the screenwriter of the Latter-day Saint feature film “Jane and Emma,” which was screened at the conference.
The Association for Mormon Letters was founded in 1976 to foster critical and creative literature by, for and about Latter-day Saints, according to information from the association. See associationmormonletters.org for information.