The sponsors of the Concurso Mórmon Parley P. Pratt de Contos em Português (Parley P. Pratt Mormon Short Story Contest) are pleased to announce the stories and authors awarded in the contest’s first year, and the stories selected for inclusion in the contest short story collection to be released later this year.

The contest, announced last March, is an attempt to encourage the development of Mormon literature in Portuguese. By influencing Portuguese-speakers to write Mormon stories, the contest hopes to increase the supply of literature in Portuguese, and by producing a volume of the best of the stories, the sponsors hope to increase the number of cultural products available. Thus, we hope to expand and improve Mormon culture in the Portuguese-speaking world.

A panel of 3 judges, all academics, selected both the prize-winning stories and those to be included in the published anthology. One judge was a native from Portugal, a second was a native of Brazil and the third was a Portuguese-speaking U.S. native who is also familiar with the market for LDS fiction and literature.

The following are the stories selected:

Prize winners:

  • 1st prize (R$ 500): “O Encontro” (The Encounter) by Maria Aparecida dos Santos — Almada, Portugal
  • 2nd prize (R$ 300): “Aquilo” (That) by Regina Lúcia Carvalho da Cunha — Santos, São Paulo, Brasil
  • 3rd prize (R$ 200): “Sociedade Anónima” (Limited Company) by Mário Jorge de Costa Vale — Viseu, Portugal

Short stories to be included in the anthology:

  • “Ardil” (Ruse) by Alexandre Ventura – Vila Nova de Gaia, Portugal
  • “Euthanátos” (Eu thanatos) by Alexandre Ventura – Vila Nova de Gaia, Portugal
  • “Baú do Amor” (Chest of Love) by Christina Ayres-Smith – Hyrum, Utah, EUA (a Brasilian)
  • “Sociedade Anónima” (Limited Company) by Mário Jorge de Costa Vale — Viseu, Portugal
  • “O Malmequer” (The Marigold) by Mário Jorge de Costa Vale — Viseu, Portugal
  • “O Palhaço” (The Clown) by Mário Jorge de Costa Vale — Viseu, Portugal
  • “A Busca de Vicente” (The Search for Vincent) by Sueli de Aquino — Salvador, Bahia, Brasil
  • “Anormais” (Abnormals) by André Lucas Dellova da Cunha — Daidema, São Paulo, Brasil
  • “As Inteligencias” (The Inteligences) by Marcelo Bighetti — Sumaré, São Paulo, Brasil
  • “Aquilo” (That) by Regina Lúcia Carvalho da Cunha — Santos, São Paulo, Brasil
  • “Reencontro” (Re-encounter) by Ana Paula Borrego — Setúbal, Portugal
  • “O encontro” (The Encounter) by Maria Aparecida dos Santos — Almada, Portugal

The book will be published by Samuel Lamanite Editions of New York City, one of the sponsors of the contest. Samuel Lamanite Editions is dedicated to producing Mormon books and culture from those who speak languages other than English.


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