Signature Books Podcast

Signature Books held a captivating evening of poetry to celebrate National Poetry Month with our amazing authors.Utah Poet Laureate Lisa Bickmore emceed the event and introduced our two most recently published poets, Maureen Clark, author of This Insatiable August, and Darlene Clark, author of Count Me In.Other poets who read include Marilyn Bushman-Carlton, Warren Scott Hatch, Steven L. Peck, Laura Hamblin and Lisa Bickmore.Listen to the power of the spoken word from the poets as they speak to love and loss, loneliness and grief, and faith and joy.You can also watch this on Signature Books YouTube channel. Recorded on April 16, 2024 at Signature Books.

Poet Darlene Young talks with Signature marketing specialist Beth Brumer Reeve about her latest book, Count Me In, and how it is a testament to showing up within her faith community and in life. Aubrey Chaves, co-host of the Faith Matters podcast, says Darlene “does the soul work of connecting us to the divinity and richness of the everyday.” Count Me In is now available for purchase wherever Signature Books are sold. She will be reading from her collection on April 16 at 7 pm at Signature Books’s annual poetry night. Darlene has published two previous collections: Here (BCC Press, 2023) and Homespun and Angel Feathers (BCC Press, 2019). She teaches writing at Brigham Young University. You can follow her on Instagram @darlylar.

In honor of Women’s History Month, Signature Books director Barbara Jones Brown talks with just some of the many women authors and editors who are soon-to-publish their books with Signature, including:Cheryl L. Bruno, editor of Secret Covenants: New Insights on Early Mormon PolygamyKatie Ludlow Rich & Heather Sundahl, authors and editors of a 50-year retrospective on the Exponent IIMcArthur Krishna & Anne Pimentel, on change-making women in church historyRobin Ritch, editor of a collection of perspectives of Mormon women on the Equal Rights AmendmentAlice Faulkner Burch, author of a book on the Genesis Group and an essay in Writing Mormon History 2Laurie Lee Hall, memoirist on her life as a transgender womanKerry Spencer Pray, editor of The Book of Queer Mormon JoyWe know you’ll enjoy hearing the varied perspectives of these women and their groundbreaking works in progress!

At this recent event at Signature Books, D. Michael Quinn’s two daughters and the annotators of Quinn’s posthumously published book, Chosen Path, shared what they learned about this enigmatic historian and father—and about twentieth-century Mormonism—through reading his remarkable new memoir. Listen in to this candid conversation as Mary Quinn, Lisa Quinn Harrison, Calvin Burke, Connell O’Donovan, Sue Bergin, and Barbara Jones Brown discuss the complexities of Quinn’s  relationship with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and its history, along with his sexuality as a closeted gay Mormon for much of his life. Quinn (1944–2021) will long be remembered as one of the most prominent historians of Mormonism. Born and raised in southern California, he taught history at Brigham Young University for twelve years after earning his PhD at Yale. He is the author of many groundbreaking articles and books on Mormon history, including his three-volume Mormon Hierarchy series (subtitled Origins of Power, Extensions of Power, and Wealth and Corporate Power), Elder Statesman: A Biography of J. Reuben Clark, and Early Mormonism and the Magic World View, for which he won the Mormon History Association’s Best Book Award in 1988. 

In this episode, Signature marketing manager Devery Anderson talks with director Barbara Jones Brown and marketing specialist Beth Brumer-Reeve about our forthcoming titles over the next several months. Seven books will be released during the first half of 2024. First are two volumes of poetry, Maurine Clark’s This Insatiable August and Darlene Young’s Count Me In, superb additions to our catalog. An anthology edited by Cheryl L. Bruno, Secret Covenants: New Insights on Early Mormon Polygamy, contains twelve new essays on the Nauvoo era, shedding more light on this period of early Latter-day Saint marriage practices. We are thrilled that Richard D. Hanks is publishing the first biography of his father, titled To Be a Friend of Christ: The Life of Marion D. Hanks. Hanks served as an LDS general authority for forty years in the latter half of the twentieth century. Kerry Spencer Pray is editor of The Book of Queer Mormon Joy, an anthology  featuring stories of joy from dozens of essayists across the LGBTQ spectrum. Joseph Geisner is back with the second volume of Signature’s Writing Mormon History series, in which authors tell  the fascinating backstories behind their published historical works, all of which are fascinating. Devery Anderson will contribute the seventh volume in our brief Mormon biographies  series with Bruce R. McConkie: Apostle and Polemicist. McConkie’s writings, sermons, and teachings won him many friends and not a few critics. Learn more about these forthcoming titles at signaturebooks.com.

In this episode, we talk with Maureen Clark about her collection of poetry, This Insatiable August, which releases in February 2024 wherever Signature Books are sold. Clark, a writer and poet living in Bountiful, Utah, redefines her voice in what poet Dayna Patterson calls "a tender miracle of a book." Listen in as she speaks about growing up Mormon, losing her religion, yet finding herself in the process of pouring her truth out through her words. She also reads two poems from her book that show, with humor, hope and vulnerability, why there must be passion in the heaven she envisions. Clark recently retired from teaching at the University of Utah. Her poetry can be found in Gettysburg Review, Alaska Quarterly Review, Bellingham Review, Colorado Review, Southeast Review, and Sugarhouse Review. You can follow Maureen on her website at MaureenClark.art.Signature Books is a proud member of the Dialogue Podcast Network. 

In this episode, D. Michael Quinn’s son, Moshe; Equality Utah executive director Troy Williams; and historian Sara M. Patterson join Signature Books director Barbara Jones Brown for a compelling conversation on Mike Quinn’s remarkable new memoir, Chosen Path, newly published by Signature Books. D. Michael Quinn will long be remembered as one of the most prominent historians of Mormonism. Born and raised in southern California, D. Michael Quinn (1944–2021) taught history at Brigham Young University for twelve years after earning his PhD at Yale. He is the author of many groundbreaking articles and books on Mormon history, including his three-volume Mormon Hierarchy series (subtitled Origins of Power, Extensions of Power, and Wealth and Corporate Power), Elder Statesman: A Biography of J. Reuben Clark, and Early Mormonism and the Magic World View, for which he won the Mormon History Association’s Best Book Award in 1988. A lifelong Latter-day Saint, Quinn grapples in his memoir with the “subconscious factors operating” in his efforts to discover and reveal uncomfortable truths about his church’s history: his relationship with himself as a closeted gay man, his relationship with his oft-absent and secretive Mexican-American father, and his relationship with a church not yet ready to grapple with controversial aspects of its own identity. Quinn’s revelatory memoir provides perspective not only on his complex life, but also on readers’ own internal tensions.

The Mormon Studies community lost an icon in October with the death of Lavina Fielding Anderson. She was an important presence and voice for decades as an editor at the Ensign magazine, as an associate editor of Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought, editor of the Journal of Mormon History, as a professional editor who helped shape numerous articles and books by others, an insightful essayist, and author or editor of several books of her own. She also served on the Signature editorial board for forty years. Most importantly, she was a friend to everyone. Many of those she touched over the years gathered at Signature’s offices on Thursday, November 30, to share their thoughts about Lavina and what she meant to them. Lavina’s son Christian and his wife Marina also spoke, sharing thoughts they expressed at Lavina’s funeral held a few weeks earlier, including her eulogy. Lavina's book of personal essays, Mercy without End: Toward a More Inclusive Church, released by Signature in 2020, is available in both paperback and as an ebook. 

This episode features Alex Douglas, author of the new book, The Old Testament for Latter-day Saints. He and Signature marketing manager Devery Anderson discuss how biblical scholarship has enriched our understanding of the Hebrew Bible and specifically what this means for LDS Church members. How should they view statements in the Book of Mormon that reference the Pentateuch as having been written by Moses? What about Nephi quoting portions of Isaiah that had not yet been written? Are these scholarly conclusions detrimental to faith? This episode discusses all of this and more.  

Today we talk with historian Thomas G. Alexander, author of John A. Widtsoe: Scientist and Theologian 1872-1952, a new biography in Signature’s Brief Biography series. Widtsoe (1872–1952) served as an LDS apostle for over thirty years and came to this position as an established author, scientist, and administrator, who believed science and religion could be harmonized and that all truth should be embraced and understood. Who was this man who was so influential in his day but who most Latter-day Saints today may know little or nothing about? Find out in this episode.

On this episode we talk to Noel Carmack, co-editor with Charles M. Hatch of the new two-volume work to be released in early November, Useful to the Church and Kingdom: The Journals of James H. Martineau, Pioneer and Patriarch, 1850-1918. Martineau converted to Mormonism in 1850 and spent his life as a surveyor, mapmaker, civil engineer, and leader in the Utah Territorial Militia. He witnessed and took part in several events in the territory and worked on the Union Pacific Railroad. His journal spans over sixty-eight years and is one of the most important diaries kept in nineteenth-century Utah, and the annotation provided by the editors is superb.

In today’s podcast, we talk with Andrew Hall, associate professor of East Asian History at Kyushu University, and Robert Raleigh, editor of In Our Lovely Deseret: Mormon Fictions, published by Signature Books.Their current book, The Path and the Gate: Mormon Short Fiction, is a collection of twenty-three short stories stemming from the prompt, “The Book of Mormon prophet Nephi describes the journey to eternal life as going through a gate of ordinances and traveling a ‘straight and narrow path.’” Many stories are human reactions to unexpected steps on the path: a lifetime of faith in a patriarchal blessing’s unfulfilled promise, a survivor of violence calling a divided community to repentance, a baptism gone very wrong, and spiritual gifts that extend far beyond the apostle Paul’s list. The characters stretch from wayward bishops and helpful home teachers to cyber-­Seventies searching for lost sheep in the metaverse, with settings from the slums of Mumbai to a heaven that turns out to be more difficult than expected. Some characters reject the path’s restrictions and expectations, while others can second the reported words of J. Golden Kimball, “I may not always walk the straight and narrow, but I sure as hell try to cross it as often as I can.” Join us as Andrew and Robert answer questions about the book’s genesis, and why Mormon fiction matters. The Path and The Gate: Mormon Short Fiction releases October 16th in both paperback and ebook.

September 2023 marks the thirtieth anniversary of what came to be dubbed “The September Six,” in which the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints excommunicated or disciplined six intellectuals and activists. Today’s guest is Professor Sara M. Patterson, speaking about her just-released book on the subject, The September Six and The Struggle for the Soul of Mormonism. In this thirty-year retrospective, Patterson challenges us  to think more deeply about the events of that month and the era in which they unfolded, arguing that it  was part of a much broader, decades-long cultural and theological debate over the nature of the church and its Restoration narrative.Patterson will be in Utah to speak about her findings on Thursday, October 5, 2023, at the Salt Lake City Main Public Library (doors open at 6:30 PM) and at Writ and Vision in Provo at 6 PM on Thursday, October 7. The public is welcome to these free events. Books will be available for purchase and for author signing.

From 1872–1914, Latter-day Saint suffragists in Utah published a women’s rights newspaper called the Woman’s Exponent. In 1974, a group of Boston women that included historians Laurel Thatcher Ulrich and Claudia Bushman began publishing Exponent II, a quarterly periodical that they called a “spiritual descendant” of the original Exponent. Exponent II will celebrate its 50th anniversary in 2024. As part of that commemoration, Signature Books is honored to publish a book on Fifty Years of Exponent II, co-edited by Katie Ludlow Rich and Heather Sundahl. Today’s podcast offers a sneak peak of this forthcoming book, as presented by Rich at the 2023 Sunstone Symposium.

This episode is from the 2023 Sunstone Symposium, Session 173, held on July 28, and features a panel of five authors of Signature's Mormon Lives series: Gary Topping, Constance Lieber, Newell Bringhurst, Stephen Carter, and Kenneth L. Cannon II. Signature Books publishes brief biographies about historical Mormon figures from across the belief spectrum. What new things have these biographies brought to Mormon Studies? Mormon Lives authors will discuss their discoveries in the lives of historian D. Michael Quinn, state senator Martha Hughes Cannon, LDS Church president Harold B. Lee, author Virginia Sorensen, and LDS apostle George Q. Cannon. This session is moderated by Holly Chase, who will talk more about the session and introduce the five author panelists.

In September 1993, six LDS scholars were disciplined by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, part of a larger purge that affected many more people long before and after September 1993. In a session titled “Spiritual Paths of the September Six Thirty Years Later,” at the July 2023 Sunstone Symposium,  members of the September Six and others spoke  about their experience and their journeys during the thirty years since 1993. This recording of the  first hour of that session, presented here courtesy of the Sunstone Education Foundation, featured  Sara M. Patterson, author of the forthcoming Signature title, The September Six and the Struggle for the Soul of Mormonism; Maxine Hanks and Lynn Kanavel Whitesides, two of those disciplined in September 1993; and Signature director Barbara Jones Brown, reading D. Michael Quinn’s words from his memoir, Chosen Path, also forthcoming from Signature Books.

Listen as Signature Marketing Manager Devery Anderson interviews Ken Cannon about his new book, "George Q. Cannon: Politician, Publisher, Apostle of Polygamy." George Q. Cannon is generally acknowledged as second only to Brigham Young as the most visible leader of Mormonism in the mid- to late-nineteenth century. He became Young’s protégé and was an influential first counselor in the First Presidency of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for almost twenty-five years, serving with presidents Brigham Young, John Taylor, Wilford Woodruff, and Lorenzo Snow. Known as the “spokesman for the kingdom,” Cannon was the central political figure of the church, not only serving as Utah territory’s delegate to Congress for ten years but also as chief political advisor and long-term editor of the Deseret News. Cannon helped shape doctrine, church governance, and administration during a period of significant change, defending and promulgating plural marriage both before and after the 1890 Manifesto. He was at the center of business life in Salt Lake City, serving as president of the largest publishing house, banks, a railroad, mining companies, electric companies, and other businesses. Though Cannon was loved and revered by his people, controversy sometimes touched his life and family.

For episode twenty-six, Signature marketing manager Devery Anderson talks with Robert A. Rees. Bob has been a prominent and thoughtful presence in Mormon Studies for decades. With the Sunstone Symposium coming up later this month, and Bob having edited two books with Signature with essays taken from the popular “Why I Stay” session of the symposium, this was an ideal time to have Bob on the podcast and to talk about these books, his future projects, why he feels it is all important, and some of the work he does to make the world better.

For episode twenty-five, Signature marketing manager Devery Anderson talks with Dan Vogel about his new book, Charisma under Pressure: Joseph Smith, American Prophet, 1831–1839, which deals with Joseph Smith’s middle years while he directed the Latter-day Saint movement from Kirtland, Ohio, and Far West, Missouri. Vogel focuses on the word “charisma” and how it applies to Joseph Smith and how this trait won him so many followers. This is also a period of many highs and lows for both the prophet and the church, which Vogel also discusses. 

On Tuesday, May 23, Signature Books held an evening with four authors of our Brief Biography Series. Begun in 2021, this ongoing series has produced four titles with two more coming this year. Each biography offers a brief and enlightening overview into the lives of significant people of the Latter-day Saint tradition. The authors talked about their subjects and their subject's encounters with each other and each other’s history. Those on the panel were Gary Topping, author of D. Michael Quinn: Mormon Historian; Constance L. Lieber, author of Dr. Martha Hughes Cannon: Suffragist, Senator, Plural Wife; Stephen Carter, author of Virginia Sorensen: Pioneering Mormon Author; and Kenneth L. Cannon II, author of the forthcoming George Q. Cannon: Politician, Publisher, Apostle of Polygamy. A short paper by Newell Bringhurst on his book, Harold B. Lee: Life and Thought, read by Gary Bergera, was also included.