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By Kent Larsen
'New Era' to Drop Fiction
SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH -- The New Era, the youth magazine published by
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints will no longer
publish fiction, ending a practice of carrying stories in each issue
that has launched the careers of many LDS authors. A date for the
change to only non-fiction hasn't yet been set, but the decision to
make the change has been made.
The magazine's publication of fiction has started the careers of many
LDS authors, including prominent LDS youth author Jack Weyland.
Weyland, a BYU-Idaho physics instructor, told the university's
newspaper, The Scroll, that the New Era led to his writing career,
"If it hadn't been for the New Era, I wouldn't have written a thing,"
he said.
Weyland wrote his first New Era article in 1969, and was surprised
afterward when the magazine wanted him to write more. That led to
writing more than 50 stories, and a second career as a popular youth
novelist, author of dozens of books.
Another, anonymous, author who spoke with The Scroll expressed regret
for the decision, "It makes me sad for two reasons. First, it's so
difficult to find fiction that meets Church standards. Second, the
New Era was a great starting place for new fiction writers. Many LDS
authors got their start by writing short stories for the New Era. The
best place for aspiring fiction authors is no longer available," he
said. "A few years from now, you may see the quantity and the quality
of LDS fiction writers drop off. The New Era was also very good to
work with. It is a writer-friendly publication, and not many of those
exist."
But Richard M. Romney, director of the Curriculum Planning and
Editorial Division of the LDS Church told The Scroll that fiction
really wasn't the mission of the magazine. "The major role of the
Church magazines has always been to carry the words of the Latter-day
Prophets to the members of the Church worldwide." He said that
aspiring writers should, "take advantage of other opportunities to
publish fiction, such as in Church university publications and other
wholesome periodicals."
Source:
'New Era' to write only non-fiction articles
BYU-Idaho Scroll 2Oct01 A1
By Kelly Smurthwaite: Scroll Staff
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