Signature Books Podcast
Signature Books, founded in 1981, publishes some of the best books in Mormon studies. We specialize in narrative and documentary history, biography, fiction, poetry, and Western Americana. Our books have received numerous honors over the years from the Mormon History Association, the John Whitmer Historical Association, the Utah State Historical Society, and the Evans Biography Award. This podcast will include interviews with Signature Books authors from both our new releases and some of the significant books from our backlist.
Episodes
46 episodes since 2021
Fifty Years of Exponent II
Join special guest host Rachel Rueckert, editor-in-chief of Exponent II magazine, for an insightful conversation with Katie Ludlow Rich and Heather Sundahl about their soon-to-be-released book,
August 13, 2024
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1:02:39
Scholars Share New Insights on Early Mormon Polygamy
Listen as contributors to the new volume, Secret Covenants: New Insights on Early Mormon Polygamy, delve into the complex history of early Mormon polygamy. The discu...
June 11, 2024
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54:49
The Book of Queer Mormon Joy
Marketing specialist Beth Brumer-Reeve is joined by Kerry Spencer Pray, editor and one of more than thirty essayists in The Book of Queer Mormon Joy, jus...
May 14, 2024
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27:42
An Evening with Signature Poets 2024
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, autho...
April 23, 2024
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51:12
Author Darlene Young discusses her latest poetry collection "Count Me In"
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 fait...
April 09, 2024
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Episode 42
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29:21
Featuring Signature’s Women Authors and Subjects
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, ed...
March 26, 2024
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Episode 41
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1:20:20
Michael Quinn's daughters, "Chosen Path" annotators discuss his new memoir
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 the...
March 12, 2024
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Episode 40
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1:07:20
Sneak Peak at Signature’s Forthcoming Books
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 ...
February 13, 2024
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42:30
Author Maureen Clark on This Insatiable August
In this episode, we talk with Maureen Clark about her collection of poetry, This Insatiable August, which releases in February 2024 wher...
January 23, 2024
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Episode 38
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42:33
Panelists discuss D. Michael Quinn's new memoir, Chosen Path
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 me...
January 09, 2024
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43:26
Tribute Event for Lavina Fielding Anderson
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...
December 12, 2023
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1:19:19
Alex Douglas on The Old Testament for Latter-day Saints
This episode features Alex Douglas, author of the new book, The Old Testament for Latter-day Saints. He and Signature marketing manager Devery...
November 28, 2023
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Episode 35
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49:57
Thomas G. Alexander on John A. Widtsoe: Scientist and Theologian
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....
November 14, 2023
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Episode 34
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28:52
Noel Carmack on Useful to the Church and Kingdom: The Journals of James H. Martineau, Pioneer and Patriarch, 1850-1918
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...
October 24, 2023
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Episode 33
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59:11
The Path and the Gate: A Look at Contemporary Mormon Fiction
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.<...
October 10, 2023
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Episode 32
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39:43
The September Six and The Struggle for the Soul of Mormonism
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 ...
September 26, 2023
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Episode 31
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38:05
Sneak peak of 50 Years of Exponent II
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 publishin...
September 12, 2023
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Episode 30
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17:19
The Mormon Lives Series: From Apostles to Apostates
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,
August 22, 2023
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Episode 29
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52:59
The Spiritual Paths of the September Six
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 Path...
August 08, 2023
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Episode 28
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1:01:10
Interview with Kenneth L. Cannon II about his book, "George Q. Cannon"
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 mo...
July 25, 2023
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Episode 27
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58:13
Interview with Robert A. Rees About “Why I Stay” and other Items
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 havin...
July 11, 2023
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Episode 26
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42:38
Dan Vogel on “Charisma under Pressure: Joseph Smith, American Prophet, 1831–1839”
For episode twenty-five, Signature marketing manager Devery Anderson talks with Dan Vogel about his new book, Charisma under Pressure: Joseph Smith, American Prophet, ...
June 27, 2023
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Episode 25
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1:07:39
Author Night at Signature Books: Brief Mormon Lives Series
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 over...
June 06, 2023
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Episode 24
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1:00:19
Gary Bergera on Richard S. Van Wagoner’s Natural Born Seer
For episode 23, Signature marketing manager Devery Anderson talks with Gary Bergera about the three-volume Joseph Smith biography project that Bergera commissioned back in the early 2000s, which has just been completed. More particularly, they ...
May 23, 2023
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Episode 23
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32:30
Celebrate National Poetry Month with Signature Poets
In honor of National Poetry Month, we gathered Signature poets from the past four decades to read from their published collections. Listen in as we celebrate these wonderful wordsmiths, beginning with Dayna Patterson sharing from her recently r...
May 09, 2023
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1:21:47