Spark Awards

Submissions for 2024 are now closed.

Please read all requirements below before submitting. Submissions for 2025 will open on January 1, 2025.

The LDSPMA Spark Awards program (previously called the Emerging Author Awards program) recognizes the talent and potential in undiscovered creators within publishing, media, and the arts. Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who create in these industries but still aspire to career success can submit works that align with the standards in the 13th Article of Faith.

Part of the LDSPMA purpose is to provide creators with the “skills, connections, and confidence to achieve lasting reach and impact with their work.” The Spark Awards give up-and-coming creators the opportunity to showcase their work and rub shoulders with successful professionals in their industry.

Nominations do not need to be religious. We welcome submissions from multiple genres that explore a variety of themes and content, including material that reflects the struggles of real life. If you have any questions about specific content in your submission, please feel free to contact us at awards@ldspma.org.

*Depending on the number and quality of submissions, we may not designate an award in each of these categories. Any categories that receive fewer than four unique nominations will not be judged or may be merged into another category.

Eligibility Requirements

The following requirements must be met for a work to be eligible for a Spark Award:

• The work must be the original work of the creator or collaborators.
• At least a portion of the work must have been produced or revised since January 1, 2024.
• At least one collaborator must be a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
• Nominated works must be free of content that is profane, vulgar, excessively violent, or sexually explicit, or that glorifies practices contrary to the standards taught by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Works that violate these principles will be disqualified.
• Submissions must be received between January 1, 2025 at 12:00 a.m. and March 1, 2025 at 11:59 p.m. (MST). Late submissions will not be considered.
• Publishing industry categories must meet the following requirements:
  • The author cannot be traditionally published, contracted with a publishing house, or represented by a literary agent.
  • If self-published, the author cannot have earned a net income of more than $500.
• Media industry categories must meet the following requirements:
  • Picture book, graphic novel, digital multimedia, and audiobook categories must use the same requirements as the publishing categories.
  • For all other categories, the creator cannot be contracted with or represented by an professional producer or publisher. If self-published or self-produced, the work cannot have had more than 15,000 views, downloads, plays, etc. on any single digital platform. Additionally, the work cannot have earned the collaborators a net income of more than $500. 
• Arts industry categories must meet the following requirements:
  • For music categories, the creator cannot be contracted with or represented by a professional record producer or company. If self-produced, the work cannot have had more than 15,000 streams, downloads, plays, etc. on any single digital platform. Additionally, the work cannot have earned the collaborators a net income of more than $500, whether sold in digital or physical forms.
  • For art categories, the work cannot have earned the creator or collaborators a net income of more than $500.

Submission Guidelines

• Submissions must be received between January 1, 2021 at 12:00 a.m. and March 1, 2025, at 11:59 p.m. MST. Late submissions will not be considered.
• All submissions must be provided in a digital format.
• For publishing categories, please submit no more than the first 2,500 words of the manuscript. Submissions must be a PDF in Times New Roman font, double spaced, one-inch margins. (Exceptions can be made for certain categories where style is a large factor, such as Lifestyle.) Do not include your name in the manuscript or the file name, but do include page numbers and your initials in a header.
• For media categories, please submit either the first 2,500 words of the manuscript or the first ten minutes of the production. For applicable categories, please include illustrations in the manuscript as well as page numbers and your initials in a header. Do not include your name in the work or the file name.
• For arts categories, please keep music submissions under five minutes. 2D and 3D art submissions, please include digital files easily viewable and shareable for our judges. Do not include your name in the work or on the file name.
• Please do not provide online links to the work.

Judging and Prizes

Submissions will be rated by a team of three judges who are active professionals in their assigned category. The rating criteria vary by form and genre, but all entries will be rated by the quality of their craft and their adherence to the 13th Article of Faith. Works are also judged holistically (e.g., a book will be judged according to its quality of editing as well as its story craft, or a music video will be judged by its videography as well as musicality).

Judges will designate one winner in each category. If a category’s entries do not meet the standards for the Spark Awards, our judges also reserve the right to designate no award.

In the months preceding our conference, winners for each category will be posted on our website and the creators notified. The works will also be displayed on our social media platforms as well as at the LDSPMA Conference (October 16–18, 2025, at Utah Valley University).

The winner of each category will then be announced and honored at our LDSPMA Awards Banquet (evening of Friday, October 17, at the UVU Sorensen Student Center ballroom). Winners will also be announced on our website and social media platforms.

Each winner will receive a certificate to display and a digital badge containing the LDSPMA logo, the award title, and year. Winners may include the badge on their websites, publications, social media pages, and elsewhere.

FAQs

Please review the following questions carefully before reaching out to us with further questions.

Do the collaborators of the submitted works have to be members of LDSPMA?

No, collaborators do not have to be members of LDSPMA. However, membership is free, and we encourage you to join and get involved today!

Do submissions for the Spark Awards need to be religious?

Submissions do not need to be religious. We welcome submissions from multiple genres that explore a variety of themes and content, including material that reflects the struggles of real life. If you have any questions about specific content in your submission, please feel free to contact us at awards@ldspma.org.

How many works can I submit?

Each individual creator or group of collaborating creators can submit no more than one work per category. If you submit beyond this limit, you will be asked to select only one entry or risk disqualification.

Can I nominate the same work to both the Praiseworthy Awards and the Spark Awards?

No. Please consider carefully the differing eligibility requirements and purposes between the two programs to determine whether your work is better suited for the Praiseworthy Awards or the Spark Awards.

How will I know if my submission has won?

Winners will be notified by the recognition committee and announced on our website and on social media.

Do I have to pay to enter the Spark Awards?

No! Submitting is completely free thanks to the generous time volunteered by our judges.

What are the main differences between the Spark Awards and the Praiseworthy Awards?

The Spark Awards are designed to help aspiring and up-and-coming creators who have not as yet broken into a professional career. There is only one winner per category.

The Praiseworthy Awards are intended to recognize professional, excellent works that have been released during the previous year. This award designates three finalists per category, with the first, second, and third place winners announced at the awards banquet.

How can I become a judge for the Spark Awards?

You can contact us at judging@ldspma.org with your qualifications, experience, and categories of interest. To be eligible for judging, you must be an active professional in the category you judge and must not have any conflicts of interest.

How many categories can I judge for the Spark Awards?

Each judge is restricted to judging no more than two categories.

If I judge the Spark Awards, can I get a discount to the LDSPMA Conference or the LDSPMA Awards Banquet?

Our policy may change from year to year, but typically, as long as a certain number of hours are given to the judging process, our judges do get a discount for both the conference and the banquet. Judges will be contacted with coupon codes to use when they register or will be able to contact conference@ldspma.org for a refund if they have already paid full price.

Where can I see past Spark Award winners?

You can see previous winners here! Feel free to look into the projects and see how you can follow and support these promising creators.

How can I support the Spark Awardees through the Spark Awards Scholarship?

We appreciate your generosity and support for creators in publishing, media, and the arts. You can donate to LDSPMA today and purchase tickets to the LDSPMA Awards Banquet held every fall.

Can board members submit their own works to the Spark Awards?

LDSPMA board members who are a principle creator of a work cannot submit their own work to the Spark Awards while they serve our organization. However, past board members and future board members are welcome to nominate their own works as long as they are not serving during the submission and judging period. This limitation does not apply to other volunteers of LDSPMA.

Any other questions? Please email us at awards@ldspma.org or judging@ldspma.org!