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Thank you to everyone who read the finalists in this year’s contest. We love sharing these pieces with you! We got several compliments on the variety in this year's pieces--and a few complaints about how tough it is to compare the pieces to each other. Our sympathies to anyone who really struggled to choose their favorites. We hope it was at least worth it to be able to support your favorite writers and discover new voices. Well, the agonizing is over. The votes are in. Our g

Thank you for joining us for the contest! Each year, we give out a small cash prize to the writer of the audience’s favorite piece. To vote, look through the pieces and rank your favorite four. READ THE FinalistS: “Awkward Old Testament Stories” by Katherine Cowley “Moroni’s Wife Is an Angel, Too” by Christopher Bissett “Night without Darkness” by Lee Ann Setzer “Eurydice” by Alixa Brobbey “Seconds” by J. A. Dove “In My Father’s House Are Many Rooms” by Janci Patterson “Decon

Listen to this piece on our podcast Lucy is scanning the line at the storehouse on the look out for irregularities. The old man with the cart full of old electronics, several heads of cabbage, and two sacks of potatoes pulls his faith, hope, and charity chits from the Faraday pouch he wears on a braided leather strap around his neck. Only the charity one is glowing in her headset and only faintly at that. Not even enough for a head of cabbage or a small spool of copper wire.

Listen to this piece on our podcast The same day went Jesus out of the house, and sat by the sea side. Matthew 13:1 The car door slamming shut seems to echo loudly in the dark as my mother and I get out of the car. The only other sound is muffled, coming from the other side of the dyke. A rhythmic slapping of waves from the Baltic Sea against the beach, before they withdraw with a whoosh. The thin layer of snow on the sand crunches underfoot as my mother and I walk up and ove

Read the English translation here Listen to this piece on our podcast De ovejas y pastores by R. de la Lanza El buen pastor conoce a sus ovejas, y ellas conocen Su voz y la siguen. Pero hay rebaños en que las ovejas, adormecidas sos conciencias, ebrias de libertad, se asumen todas pastores. Estas ninguna voz oyen y aun menos la siguen. This piece was published in 2026 as part of the 15th Annual Mormon Lit Blitz by the Mormon Lit Lab. Sign up for our newsletter for future upda

Read the original Spanish version here Listen to this piece on our podcast Of Sheep and Shepherds by R. de la Lanza translated by James Goldberg The good shepherd knows his sheep, and they know his voice and follow it. But there are flocks in which the sheep, their consciences dormant, inebriated by liberty, take themselves as shepherds. There is no voice that these can hear, and how much less could they follow. This piece was published in 2026 as part of the 15th Annual M

Listen to this piece on our podcast 1. I get to play with toys. No matter how old I am, it is always satisfying to yell "Boom" as a tower of blocks falls over. 2. There are snacks. Yes, the snacks are officially for the kids. But the servant is worthy of her hire, and sometimes, a couple goldfish hit the spot. 3. There are few people to talk to. It's an introvert's dream! There's only a few names and faces I need to remember. I have an excuse to beeline out of sacrament mee

Listen to this piece on our podcast Put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place wheron thou standest is holy ground. – Exodus 3: 5 1. Remove the tied, zipped, heeled, strapped monstrosities. Leave them on the curb next to the fire hydrant, above the rain-worn gutter and the woman yelling from her window. Let the crush of pavement settle against the soft insides of memory cushioned feet. Feel the burden of gravity balancing on the bone sack of being. Feel cement’s proge

Listen to this piece on our podcast It belongs to a different era— the tiered spire with fluted edges that could be a sculpted water feature, the golden windows tucked behind an architectural cake’s ladyfinger wrap, the Angel Moroni (so last decade), a pillar of cloud and a pillar of fire both by day and by night (a logistical necessity), the work horse of the Church that’s always a bridesmaid, never a bride (the pictures!). If it had been built in the 1870s instead of the 19

Listen to this piece on our podcast “Let me know when you need to haul loads to the dump,” The Elders Quorum President says as he hands me the keys to my late grandmother’s home. “I’ll send some ward members over with a truck.” “Thank you,” I say. “But it might take a while. I want to settle into the place first.” The Elder’s Quorum President gives me a look that says if it were up to him, we’d be emptying the house with a backhoe. “I’m never setting foot in that house agai

Listen to this piece on our podcast I’m in love with a married man. That's not entirely accurate—his wife died fifteen months ago—but he is sealed to her, which means the marriage persists beyond death. So technically, eternally, he belongs to someone else. I have been turning this over in my mind for three blocks now, and my stomach has begun to register its objection. I think about my great-great-great-grandmother Hazel. Wife number two. I don't know much about her. She’s a

Listen to this piece on our podcast Spidering from rock to mossy rock, I brace for the floor to meet my face. Blessedly, it never comes. I remember our first few hikes, how you walked almost backward, turning at every step ready to catch me. I called you Orpheus, told you to look away from my slippery descent across the stone. You loved me then with your hand outstretched, love me now with your body turned, knowing I follow. And who knows what wet hell we have yet to pass thr

Listen to this piece on our podcast The tunnel from Zarahemla to the enemy camp narrowed. Nomi crouched until her shoulder blades scraped the earth above, sending a rain of dirt down her neck. The army used skinny girls as scouts because the tunnels were so small. But, had she grown since her last patrol? “Sh!” her sister Mara hissed behind her. Nomi nodded, though Mara wouldn’t be able to see her in the utter darkness, and crouched lower. Her knees were aching when they reac

Listen to this piece on our podcast His record is quite good, I think, and I am proud of him. He buried the plates almost as tenderly as he buried me. Moroni wept bitterly over both our graves, mine and the stone box at Cumorah that he buried our civilization in. O ye fair ones! How is it that ye could have fallen? How indeed! We blend together, our civilization and I, and I feel myself slipping into metaphor, as angel wives tend to do. We are many. Our names are lost in ever

Listen to this piece on our podcast There’s a general, unspoken agreement that we don’t talk about certain things at church. We don’t have to discuss what to avoid or explain the why. Everyone just knows. Everyone except for Sister Wheeley. She managed to ruin church so many times last year, but I didn’t write what she said down, which makes it harder to remember the terribleness. So for 2026, I’m using this section of my bullet journal to record any awkward stories she bring

This is the final contest that will be collected in our third anthology, which will be released next year. We're pleased to announce the finalists: Monday, 22 June: “Awkward Old Testament Stories” by Katherine Cowley Tuesday, 23 June: “Moroni’s Wife Is an Angel, Too” by Christopher Bissett Wednesday, 24 June: “Night without Darkness” by Lee Ann Setzer Thursday, 25 June: “Eurydice” by Alixa Brobbey Friday, 26 June: “Seconds” by J. A. Dove Saturday, 27 June: “In My Father’s Ho

"Seraphim", Ernst Wilhelm Nay, 1964 It's a little hard to believe we're on the 15th annual Mormon Lit Blitz. Thank you to everyone who has submitted over the years, and especially to this year's contest! From June 22-July 4, we will publish twelve finalists, one per day, with audience voting to follow starting on July 5. It's difficult to settle on just twelve finalists, so we traditionally also announce a long list of 24 contest semi-finalists. The top 24 pieces, listed alp

Want to explore an idea and connect with other writers? Submissions for the Fifteenth Annual Mormon Lit Blitz writing contest are due on May 31, 2026 to this google form . Submitted works may be in any genre so long as they are under 1,000 words and designed to resonate in some way with a Latter-day Saint audience. Submissions may be written in any language. Previously published material and simultaneous submissions are acceptable. AI-generated text is not acceptable; othe