Further Light, Issue 1, Winter 2026

by Orson Scott Card, Liz Busby (Editor), Lee Allred

The premiere issue of Further Light, a semiannual magazine featuring science fiction, fantasy, alternate history, magical realism, and light horror short fiction, creative scriptural retellings, poetry, and literary criticism in the Latter-day Saint tradition. We seek to explore the restored gospel through the medium of the human imagination. Our goal is to enjoy the fandoms we love, to experience new ones, and to expound on the eternal truths buried within them. We publish both fiction and nonfiction that helps readers connect to gospel principles through speculative fiction.

188 pages, Paperback

Published February 12, 2026

About the author

Orson Scott Card is an American writer known best for his science fiction works. He is (as of 2023) the only person to have won a Hugo Award and a Nebula Award in consecutive years, winning both awards for his novel Ender's Game (1985) and its sequel Speaker for the Dead (1986). A feature film adaptation of Ender's Game, which Card co-produced, was released in 2013. Card also wrote the Locus Fantasy Award-winning series The Tales of Alvin Maker (1987–2003).
Card's fiction often features characters with exceptional gifts who make difficult choices with high stakes. Card has also written political, religious, and social commentary in his columns and other writing; his opposition to homosexuality has provoked public criticism.
Card, who is a great-great-grandson of Brigham Young, was born in Richland, Washington, and grew up in Utah and California. While he was a student at Brigham Young University (BYU), his plays were performed on stage. He served in Brazil as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) and headed a community theater for two summers. Card had 27 short stories published between 1978 and 1979, and he won the John W. Campbell Award for best new writer in 1978. He earned a master's degree in English from the University of Utah in 1981 and wrote novels in science fiction, fantasy, non-fiction, and historical fiction genres starting in 1979. Card continued to write prolifically, and he has published over 50 novels and 45 short stories.
Card teaches English at Southern Virginia University; he has written two books on creative writing and serves as a judge in the Writers of the Future contest. He has taught many successful writers at his "literary boot camps". He remains a practicing member of the LDS Church and Mormon fiction writers Stephenie Meyer, Brandon Sanderson, and Dave Wolverton have cited his works as a major influence.

Reviews

[Brady · Rating 2 out of 5]

The idea behind this really intrigues me, and I think there is great potential here, but most of these works were just not that good. The non-fiction contributions were highlights. The creative writings were hit-or-miss. A couple stories were impressive (though they tended to be reprints from previous publications), but majority left me bored or cringing.

I will probably take a look at the next issue as well, but my hopes are not high.