The Youth of Zion: Young Adult, Middle Grade, and Children’s Literature
Annual Conference – Association for Mormon Letters: July 18-20, 2024
NOTE: The weekend of the conference has changed from what was first announced; the dates above are correct.
From the very beginning of the LDS Church, stories meant for young readers have been an important part of Mormon culture building. The scope of such activity has broadened considerably over the last four decades, beginning with authors such as Kristen Randle, Rick Walton, and Louise Plummer publishing in both the Mormon and national markets. The 2000s saw a huge jump in the number of Mormon YA, middle grade, and children’s literature authors, many of whom were published nationally to great success, including Shannon Hale, Stephenie Meyer, and Brandon Mull.
For our 2024 online conference, the Association for Mormon Letters seeks proposals for papers and panels that focus on the past present, and future of young adult, middle grade, and children’s literature. All formats and genres of literature for young readers can be considered, such as nonfiction books, picture books, graphic novels, series, fantasy and science fiction, and historical fiction.
Although papers and panels on Mormon authors who don’t specifically address the Mormon experience in their work are within scope, the presentations should have a strong tie to Mormon literature.
We will be honoring Shannon Hale at the conference and welcome proposals based on her work, especially those that tie in to other writers and/or works of culture (including film and television)–Mormon or not.
The submission deadline is midnight on Saturday, March 30, 2024. Presenters and panelists should be available to present virtually over Zoom. Full guidelines are found on the submission form here:
A reminder that the Association for Mormon Letters defines Mormon literature as literature that is by, for, or about Mormons. We are also open to a wide variety of literary forms and genres. While our focus is on the literary, we do accept proposals on other forms of Mormon art.
All sessions will stream live on the AML’s YouTube channel and be archived there for future viewing.
We anticipate that programming will take place the evening of Friday, July 19, 2024 ,and the morning and afternoon of Saturday, July 20, (mountain time). Thursday evening will feature a special panel and presidential address, and the AML awards for 2023 will be presented Saturday evening. Exact programming will be announced closer to the date of the conference.
Questions? Contact us at aml.mormonletters@gmail.com.