Association for Mormon Letters
Literary Awards

1981

Marilyn M. Brown. The Earthkeepers. Provo: Art Publishers, 1979.

This historical romance was named "the best work of fiction on a Mormon theme." Ms. Brown, a Provo poet and novelist, the citation continued, had written "both an informative history of the settlement of Provo, and a full, rich novel about a sensitive and strong woman."

Emma Lou Thayne. Once in Israel. Provo: Brigham Young University Press, 1980.

The citation noted that the book invites "the reader to travel from the daily experience of the tourist into the perceptive observations of a humanitarian and into the imagination of a poet. Always there is the movement from the present of daily concern into the past of scripture. Always there is the need to understand coupled with the pleasure of knowing and identifying with Israel and its people."

Linda Sillitoe. "New Voices, New Songs: Contemporary Poems by Mormon Women." Dialogue 13.4 (1980): 47-61.

The citation for this award stated, "This essay pointed out new trends: 'women writing about women, seeking identification with a Heavenly Mother, and portraying marriage realistically' in 'new voices of individuality and humanness.'"

Frank W. Fox. J. Reuben Clark: The Public Years. Provo: Brigham Young University Press, 1980.

According to the judges, "J. Reuben Clark: The Public Years is a biography that moves 'beyond the adventure of the pioneer epic into the institutionalism of the twentieth century, beyond the isolation of the Great Basin into the coexistence with a nation of pluralities, beyond eulogy into candor. All this is done in clear but elegant language, creating a new classic in Mormon literature.'"