Signature Books Podcast

Signature Books
  • 4.5 (15)
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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.

  1. 2D AGO

    We're Thankful for the Moisture: A Gay Guy's Guide to Mormon Faith, Family, and Fruit Preservation

    Do Eli McCann’s parents think he is funny? Hear his answer on our latest podcast episode while we talk about his new book, We’re Thankful for the Moisture: A Gay Guy’s Guide to Mormon Faith, Family, and Fruit Preservation, a collection of essays adapted from his humor columns in The Salt Lake Tribune. Eli shares how he knew from a young age that he wanted to be a writer—and how voices like David Sedaris, Erma Bombeck, and Tina Fey shaped his comedic style. We also talk about his childhood love of Lucille Ball and the unforgettable Halloween when he and his friend Sam dressed as nuns after watching The Sound of Music. It’s a funny, heartfelt conversation about faith, family, queerness, and finding your voice. Eli McCann is a lawyer, writer, and podcaster. His monthly humor column for The Salt Lake Tribune explores cultural and religious ideas, usually through his experiences living as a gay man in Utah. Since 2016, McCann has produced and cohosted the storytelling podcast and live show, Strangerville. His work has been featured in publications around the world, including The Washington Post, Newsweek, HuffPost, BBC, and others. His writing and other creative projects can be found at his website, It Just Gets Stranger. Please join us at his book launch on February 24th, 2026, at the Utah Museum of Contemporary Art at 7:00 PM. Seating for this event is limited, so get your tickets here. You can follow Eli on TikTok, Instagram, and X.

    52 min

  2. JAN 16

    Tracy Y. Cannon: Tabernacle Organist & Pioneering Musician 1879-1961

    Tracy Young Cannon had a vast influence on the musical voice of Mormonism in the twentieth century. In this episode, Shelby Fisher, a professor of music and a gifted organist, shares what she learned about Cannon as she researched his life. Cannon was a Salt Lake Tabernacle organist from 1905 to 1930, oversaw the creation of two hymnals and an expansive organist and chorister education program while chairing the General Music Committee of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Fisher’s new biography, Tracy Y. Cannon: Tabernacle Organist & Pioneering Musician, 1879–1961, is now available in paperback and ebook formats. Fisher earned masters’ degrees in both organ performance and education from the University of Utah and a doctorate in sacred music from the Graduate Theological Foundation. Her scholarly work centers on the influence of religious belief on musical performance practice. She serves as Director of Organ Studies at Utah State University and is an active musician. She and her husband are the parents of three daughters.

    36 min

  3. 12/12/2025

    Game Changers: AJ Dybantsa, BYU, and the Struggle for the Soul of Basketball

    In one of the most unlikely coups in college basketball history, BYU signed basketball phenomenon AJ Dybantsa—the number one high school player in the U.S. Dybantsa’s decision stunned the sports world, and AJ continues to garner national attention.  In their new book, Game Changers: AJ Dybantsa, BYU, and the Struggle for the Soul of Basketball, guests Matthew Bowman and Wayne LeCheminant explore why it is that a player like Dybantsa, who had his pick of any college in the nation, chose BYU. In answering that question, the authors delve into recent court rulings and institutional reform that put money at the forefront of college sports in ways the American public has never seen. And for generations before that, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints built a theological structure and institutional commitment to basketball that historically led to the sport being central in its youth and missionary programs as well as at BYU. Bowman and LeCheminant place Dybantsa in the context of this history and culture and explore the tensions in the sport today.  Game Changers is now available in hardback, paperback, ebook, or audiobook format.

    47 min

  4. 12/10/2025

    Educating Zion: The Diaries of Ernest L. Wilkinson, 1952-1971

    Award-winning historian Gary Bergera joins John Hatch to talk about the complicated legacy of Ernest L. Wilkinson, who served as BYU president from 1951–71. From Wilkinson’s dogged determination, to the challenges he posed for church presidents David O. McKay and Harold B. Lee, Bergera unpacks how Wilkinson’s personality shaped the university—and how he often misunderstood the impact he had on others. Bergera is the editor of the new documentary history, Educating Zion: The Diaries of BYU President Ernest L. Wilkinson. Gary James Bergera was managing director of Signature Books from 1984 to 2000 and managing director of the Smith–Pettit Foundation from 2001 to 2022. He is the author or editor of eleven books. Most recently he edited the diaries of Leonard J. Arrington, published in three volumes as Confessions of a Mormon Historian. His publications have received awards from the Charles Redd Center at BYU, the Utah Historical Society, the Mormon History Association (MHA), the John Whitmer Historical Association, and the Dialogue Foundation. He served on the board of directors of MHA and on the editorial boards of the Journal of Mormon History and the John Whitmer Historical Association Journal. In 2018 he received MHA’s Leonard J. Arrington lifetime achievement award.

    42 min

  5. 11/07/2025

    Building A Global Zion: The Life And Vision Of David O. Mckay with Brian Q. Cannon

    Author Brian Q. Cannon sits down with editorial manager John Hatch to discuss his new book, Building a Global Zion: The Life and Vision of David O. McKay. The interview offers an up-close look at how McKay’s compassion and love for others shaped his leadership and his global vision for building unity within the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Brian Q. Cannon is the Lemuel Hardison Redd Jr. Professor of Western American History at BYU. He is the author of four books and coeditor of three, as well as more than forty articles and book chapters regarding rural history, Western American history, Latter-day Saint history, and social and cultural history.

    51 min

  6. 08/28/2025

    The Diaries of Carol Lynn Pearson—Mormon Author, Feminist, and Activist, Volume 1: 1956–1990

    Beloved and acclaimed author, poet, and playwright Carol Lynn Pearson talks about the diaries she has kept for some seventy years—and why she decided to publish them. Speaking with Signature Books director Barbara Jones Brown, Pearson shares her personal experiences from the 1950s to the 1980s that made her a feminist, activist, and LGBTQ ally.  Pearson describes herself as a troublemaker and a problem solver. A fourth-generation Latter-day Saint who grew up in Utah and now lives in California, she loves the church that taught her courage enough to challenge harmful concepts, even those of her own community. Her first collection of poems, Beginnings, sold more than 150,000 copies, followed by numerous books, lyrics, and stage plays. Her 1986 bestseller, Goodbye, I Love You, tells of her marriage to Gerald Pearson—a gay man—and their eventual divorce and her caring for him in her home as he died from AIDS. The profound impact of this story marked a turning point in the national perception of the gay community.

    45 min

  7. 08/04/2025

    The Blood In Their Veins: The Kimballs, Polygamy, And The Shaping Of Mormonism

    Join author Andrew Kimball and editorial manager John Hatch as they bring to life the dramatic and deeply human stories behind one of Mormonism’s most prominent families—the descendants of Heber C. Kimball. From Helen Mar Kimball Whitney’s heartbreaking losses, to J. Golden Kimball’s candid self-doubt beneath his famously irreverent wit, Andrew Kimball’s new book, The Blood in Their Veins: The Kimballs, Polygamy, and the Shaping of Mormonism reveals the complexity, faith, and fragility at the heart of Latter-day Saint history. Historian Richard L. Bushman compliments Andrew Kimball as “a master storyteller.” This episode offers a powerful glimpse into why. After earning a PhD in literature from Harvard University, Andrew Kimball spent his career in the financial industry, including as executive vice president of Moody’s Corporation. He coauthored the popular biography of his grandfather, Spencer W. Kimball: The Twelfth President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He and his wife, Kathryn, have six children and live in New York City.

    23 min

  8. 05/05/2025

    At Last She Said It: Honest Conversations About Faith, Church, And Everything In Between

    Today we turn the tables on popular podcast hosts Susan Hinckley and Cynthia Winward to interview them about their new book, At Last She Said It: Honest Conversations About Faith, Church, And Everything in Between. You may be familiar with their At Last She Said It podcast, and how for the past five years they have helped listeners grappling with their faith within and without the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Their podcast has been a soft place to land for many, helping listeners know they are not alone. Signature’s Beth Brumer Reeve explores how Hinckley and Winward are even more vulnerable in their book and how their stories help anyone trying to navigate what can be a fraught journey within a high-demand and patriarchal religion.  SUSAN M. HINCKLEY is a storyteller in words and pictures. A longtime exhibitor with the American Craft Council, her art is held in private collections across the U.S. She’ll travel any distance for good green chile or a glimpse of her grandkids, splitting her time between the southwest and midwest. Wherever she is, her heart roams the desert—preferably in a fast convertible. CYNTHIA WINWARD makes her home in Provo, Utah although she will always be a California girl. Before pouring all her creative energy into the At Last She Said It podcast,  she was the owner of an online embroidery business. Her kitchen is her happy place where she enjoys making the world's greatest red chile enchiladas. She is enjoying the good life as an empty nester with her husband Paul. Find them online on Instagram @atlastshesaidit

    42 min
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Ratings & Reviews

4.5
out of 5
15 Ratings

About

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.

Information

  • Creator
    Signature Books
  • Years Active
    2022 - 2026
  • Episodes
    64
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Signature Books Podcast
  • Show Website
    Signature Books Podcast

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