Timewaster's Guide Archive

PROVO, UT—JUNE 18, 2007

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

WRITING GROUP ANNOUNCES PRESTIGIOUS NEW LDS FICTION AWARD

“We shall yet have Miltons and Shakespeares of our own. . . . In God’s name and by His help we will build up a literature whose tops will touch the heaven, though its foundation may now be low on the earth.”

When Latter-day Saint Apostle Orson F. Whitney first spoke these words, the literary canon of his people didn’t contain many works. Fast forward over a hundred years, and literally thousands of novels are published, enjoyed by readers each year.

The quality of fiction has significantly increased in recent times. New writers are finding it harder to break into the industry each year. This is hard for upstart writers, but great for readers.

While LDStorymakers began several years ago to serve only as a support group and opportunity for networking for LDS writers, it has morphed into a powerful force into LDS market.

Today they unveil their newest project, the brainchild of LDStorymaker and novelist Robison Wells: an annual fiction award named after Orson F. Whitney, honoring his vision of having LDS “Miltons and Shakespeares.”

“The Whitney Award will be given annually in conjunction with the LDStorymaker writing conference each March,” Wells, the author of three novels published through Covenant, explains. “This is an exciting time to be part of the LDS fiction industry, and we hope the Whitney will become a prestigious and sought-after award.”

Anyone can nominate a novel published during the previous calendar year in any of six categories, and a final academy of industry professionals will vote on the final ballot. Nominations are being taken for books published in 2007 by LDS authors at the Whitney Awards website: www.whitneyawards.com

Heroes: Origins is an upcoming American science fiction drama television series, a spinoff of NBC's hit show Heroes. Heroes: Origins will introduce one new character per episode, and viewers will choose which character will join the main cast at the end of the run. The second season of Heroes and the first season of Heroes: Origins will include a total of 30 episodes.

The reason given for the spin-off was to remove the mid-season hiatus, which caused the ratings to falter when Heroes returned in Season 1. "We've got something I call the 'bulk-up challenge' for next year, which is trying to stay more consistent in our scheduling for the audience," NBC chief Kevin Reilly told reporters Monday (5/14) at a press conference announcing the network's 2007-08 schedule. "We asked ['Heroes' creator] Tim Kring to come up with an idea, and what I love is not only did we bulk up with 30 hours next season, but also a whole new idea which I think is going to take the show to the next level." While not all scheduling details have been hashed out, Reilly says, "I'll tell you one thing you won't see is 'Origins' peppered throughout, I think that would be difficult for the audience to navigate."