I actually just had volume one of that comic come in the mail yesterday. But I actually just bought a bunch of Mormon comics, so I’m not sure how quickly I’ll be reviewing it.

http://www.getreligion.org/?p=8750

I wrote this back in January. Last week this interesting article about Mormon YA authors appeared in the Boston Globe.

http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2009/03/01/faith_and_good_works/?page=1

Here is an AML post where I comment on the article, and copy some reviews and quotes from the authors of some 2009 YA novels by Mormons.

http://forums.mormonletters.org/yaf_postsm1774_Mormon-YA-authors-Vermon-College.aspx#1774

The article and I both discuss the large number of Mormon women who have recieved or are working on an MFA in Writing For Children and Young Adults at Vermont College. Mormon YA author Martine Leavitt did, and now is a member of the faculty. Other Mormon authors who have gone there include Kimberly Heuston, Marianne Monson-Burton, Julie Berry, Angela Morrison, Carol Lynch Williams, and Emily Wing Smith.

Laurel Brady replied to me:
I’m emerging from lurkdom to make a couple of points that may otherwise be overlooked in the discussion of Vermont College MFA graduates. I don’t for a minute believe these writers owe their fame and fortune to any MFA program. Many of the local VTCollege alumni were already published many times before they enrolled – Carol Williams, for example, had sold over two dozen books prior to starting the MFA program about three years ago. Certainly getting an advanced degree has helped all the graduates improve their craft. But I’d hope this program is not mistaken for a magic bullet – in many cases the success preceded the degree. These are very talented people we’re talking about. And as a former critique group buddy of some of the graduates, I happen to know that in several cases, the degree was mainly pursued, not in the hopes of becoming published again, but so that the author/graduate could eventually teach.

It’s no mystery why so many Utah/LDS writers have chosen to pursue a degree at Vermont College. The low-residency aspect is a huge factor. Word of the program started to spread among the Utah writing community seven or eight years ago, mostly within critique groups or at conferences. The main attraction of the Vermont College program is that the degree can be largely completed from anywhere. Students spend only two weeks in residence in Vermont in the summer, and two weeks on campus in the winter. Many of the graduates are moms who could never have uprooted a family to go out of state for a two year MFA program. The Vermont program is one of the few that doesn’t require that. Among Mormons who generally put family first, that’s a huge factor and the main attraction of this program. (Of course, the fairly distinguished faculty doesn’t hurt any.)

And, of course, they were fortunate to already have easy access to some developing talent.