2025 mormon Lit Blitz Long list

In ancient Israel, people kept both Sabbath days and Sabbath years. The seventh year was a time of rest, renewal, and reflection for the people and the land itself.

This is the fourteenth annual Mormon Lit Blitz and it feels kind of special, too. Maybe we judges are just getting old and sentimental, but we really enjoyed your entries this year. People continue to experiment, playing with the possibilities inside our tradition. People are keeping their eyes open to the sacred, even when it shows up at the edge of vision, visible only out of the corner of the eye.

Last night, we finished reading the submissions and tried to narrow them down to a long list of 24. A little before midnight, we gave up. And so, on this contest's second Sabbath-year, we are pleased to share our long list of 26 semi-finalists in the Mormon Lit Blitz: “Mad Poet Passes” by J.S. Absher

“Celestial Eye” by Emily Harris Adams

“Lehi and His Family Go to Therapy” by Chris Bissett

“The Keeper of the Prison” by Isabelle Cook

“Mental Health Pain Scale” by D.A. Cooper

“Fairies” by Isle Eskelsen

“Vanity Defeated” by Rochelle Hale

“The Break Up Letter” by Jamie Heiner

“The Joseph Lines” by Michael Hicks

“Escondida” by Jesús Baldemar Liévano

“El Fugitivo” by Mario Montani

“A Ward House Stirring” by William Morris

“Use It in Our Daily Lives” by Lara Niedermeyer

“Las Abejas del Redil” by Gabriel González Núñez

“Antithese” by Ana Claudia Souza Oliveira

“Magical Thinking” by Janci Patterson

“Adonde Se Fue la Magia” by Leticia Teresa Pontoni

“Living Room” by Merrijane Rice

“O Ye of Little Faith” by Merrijane Rice

“Rebecca, la Misionera” by Arisael Rivera

“Thief” by Lee Ann Setzer

“Help! I Only Wanted to Preach the Gospel! Not become a Cleric in Another World!” by Michael J. Sorenson

“Desde la Ventana Estrelladas” by Elizabeth González Torres

“Here Comes the Fall” by Pollyanna de Mattos Moura Vecchio

“Lifecycle of Strawberries” by Michelle Graabek Wallace

“The Other Brother” by Benjamin Ward

Thank you to everyone who submitted essays, stories, poems, and pain scales to this year's contest. God willing, we'll be ready to announce the twelve finalists on Monday, May 26. We'll then publish the finalists on June 16-28, with audience voting to follow. -Nicole and James Goldberg