Cedar Fort, Inc.

Cedar Fort, Inc. is a mid-sized publisher based in Utah. Founded in 1986 by Lyle Mortimer and Lee Nelson,^[1] Cedar Fort has evolved from a niche Latter-day Saints book publisher, to a national multimedia company, with offerings in film, audiobooks, art, and gifts alongside its book catalog. In 2015, Cedar Fort was named as one of Publisher's Weekly's top ten fastest growing publishers.^[2]

Imprints

• Front Table Books - Cookbooks and outdoors. Notable titles include:
  • Artisan Caramels^[3]
  • A to Z Cookbook for Kids^[4]
• Bonneville Books - Latter-Day Saint themed fiction, including romance and YA fantasy. Notable titles include:
  • Mile 21^[5]
  • My Loving Vigil Keeping^[6]
• Sweetwater Books
  • Mrs. Drew Plays Her Hand^[7]
• Hobble Creek Press - Outdoors, preparedness, and gardening.
• CFI - LDS doctrinal titles for youth and adults.
• Plain Sight Publishing - National nonfiction.
• Council Press - One of the oldest imprints of Cedar Fort. Primarily historical fiction, near death experiences, and the works of Lee Nelson.
• Pioneer Plus - Gifts and journals.
• Horizon Publishers - Titles from the acquisition of the former publishing house of the same name. Primarily LDS-themed imprint. Notable Titles:
  • Prophecy: Key to the Future

Controversy

Gay author

In August 2013, Cedar Fort was involved in a dispute over the content of the author biography for the book Woven, a young adult fantasy novel. Author Michael Jensen wanted his biography to include the fact that he lived "in Salt Lake City with his boyfriend"—just as his coauthor's biography included reference to the coauthor's wife.^[8]

Cedar Fort acquisitions editor Angie Workman sent Jensen an email citing concerns that including the reference would harm Cedar Fort's relationship with LDS-owned bookstores,^[9] an assertion that Seagull Book officials said was "speculation."^[10] Jensen offered to change "boyfriend" to the non-gender-specific "partner," but Cedar Fort declined. When Jensen persisted with his biography request, Cedar Fort founder and publisher Lyle Mortimer refused and, according to Jensen, became belligerent and offensive, allegedly accusing Jensen of trying to destroy families and telling him that "God gave you a penis for a reason."^{[8][9][10][11][12][13]} In a media interview about the controversy, current Cedar Fort president Bryce Mortimer did not address Jensen's allegations about Lyle Mortimer's behavior, but did say that Jensen was merely using Cedar Fort "as a springboard for supporting [homosexuality]."^[10]

The ensuing media furor eventually resulted in Cedar Fort returning publishing rights to Jensen and his coauthor, who, thanks to the international attention, sold Woven at auction to Scholastic Press.^[14] The controversy also triggered a petition from Utah authors (including Carla Kelly and Jeffrey Scott Savage), most of them LDS and many signed by Cedar Fort, criticizing Mortimer for his alleged actions. Further confusing the issue, Cedar Fort had just published The Reluctant Blogger, which includes a sympathetic gay supporting character, leading several of the authors to complain about Cedar Fort's inconsistent approach to homosexuality.^[15]

Religious book

In 2014 Cedar Fort published The Lost Teachings of Jesus on the Sacred Place of Women by Brigham Young University Professor Alonzo L. Gaskill. The book is based on the findings of the late 19th century Russian scholar Nicholas Notovitch, which contain the purported "lost teachings of Jesus Christ" from an ancient manuscript housed at a Buddhist monastery in India. Both Notovitch's and Alonzo's works have been challenged over the veracity of the source material.^[16] "It's absolutely fraudulent," said University of Utah Professor Dr. David Bokovoy of the book's source.

References