Atheist Writers

Comment

Comment by Tom Sarbeck on March 12, 2013 at 5:09am

I've had non-fiction published: user manuals for a computer manufacturer, environment-related essays, and articles on parliamentary law. For the user manuals I found that "hopping" back to my neophyte years helped me in this genre with a horrid reputation. Now retired, I do short essays, a couple of which have appeared on op-ed pages, and personal memoirs. In memoirs, one of them Evolving to Atheism, I found that hopping back to the relevant years and writing in present tense enlivened me and my writing.

Have others hopped (done time travel) for non-fiction? If so, has it worked?

Comment by Joan Denoo on March 9, 2013 at 3:33pm

If I am opposed to torture by my country and I discover my country tortures, it is my obligation to stand against my country and the silence that permeates the whole scene.
If a religion sanctions fear-mongering, remains silent in the face of slavery, homophobia, it is my responsibility to speak out myself, and also challenge religious people to stand up for what they believe. Don't hide behind the cloak of the church to be complicit in the act.

Comment by Michael Lackey on March 9, 2013 at 2:43pm

There has been a shift in recent years., which has made it not just acceptable but also advantageous to flaunt one's atheist and/or anti-religious orientation.  I can only comment on the academic side, but I think it applies to so much more.  My editor at Bloomsbury subtly urged me to include the following subtitle in my most recent book: A Literary Study of the Nazis' Christian Reich.  My original title was not as offensive.  However, while editors seem to be appealing to a new atheist market, they also want us to be more responsible in the way we talk.  So in my book, while I use tons of evidence to demonstrate that Hitler and the Nazis consistently defined themselves as Christian, I also demonstrate that there are many versions of Christianity, some sane, tolerant, and humane, some not.  So long as authors make a solid case for their ideas, most capable editors will support the project.  That's at least been my experience. 

Comment by Stephen Goldin on March 9, 2013 at 11:31am

I've actually had 3 such books published over the years, two by major houses. The fact that I'm a science fiction/fantasy writer helps sugar-coat the offensiveness, since what I write obviously isn't intended to be "real."

The first book is Assault on the Gods (great title for an atheist, doncha think?). The heroine is a starship captain, raised in a minority and highly secular philosophy of life, trading on a backwater planet where the primitive natives have been enslaved by a technological race who call themselves gods and keep the locals in abject poverty. She ends up having to battle and defeat the masters, freeing the natives from the tyranny of their false religio9n. Lots of action to disguise the blasphemy. It was originally published in hardback by Doubleday.

The second book is And Not Make Dreams Your Master, about a mad genius whose mind was twisted by a super-religious mother. He's fashioned a dream reality that has enslaved many people with himself as the Prophet. Another Dreamer has to go inside this bubble and undermine the fantasy. This one was originally published in paperback by Fawcett.

The third is a satirical fantasy called Polly!, about a troubled man who encounters a mysterious, quirky and apparently superpowerful woman whoi teaches him that he has the resources within himself to solve his own problems. This book is about a god that I, as an atheist, wish existed. It was originally published by a small press that has since gone out of existence. One reader on Goodreads called the book "blasphemous" and "highly offensive," which I proudly quoted on the POD cover. (That reader, incidentally, was from Utah.)

I've gotten the rights back to these books and have now published them independently as ebooks and print-on-demand. The first two are currently being adapted as audiobooks as well.

Comment by Norman Dubeski on March 9, 2013 at 9:16am

Congratulations on getting published!

There is so much bad stuff out there that gets published, it is easy to give up hope.

Comment by Alan Michael Wilt on March 9, 2013 at 8:34am

Arni F Sigurdsson: My novel "The Holy Family" has a Catholic-to-atheist theme and could potentially offend some readers. Thus far, Christians I know who have read it have found its tone respectful and its critique fair. My narrator doesn't trash Catholicism--rather, he rejects it on its own internal theological terms, and the novel hinges on a life moment in which he is tempted to re-embrace religious faith.

I've worked in publishing for a couple of decades and, because I knew firsthand how slow and random the process of getting it published by a commercial publisher would be, I published it myself. I have the expertise, the technology is there, and I had good critical readers to consult beforehand. So I don't know if a commercial house would resist it. They publish lots of junk like "The Da Vinci Code" because it makes money despite many Catholics finding it offensive, so I think if they smell money in a project that's not an issue.

Comment by Norman Dubeski on March 9, 2013 at 8:31am

Hi Arni. There is my "The Master of God's Domain" in which a doctor feels persecuted by God and manages to kill him off in a way. I found it difficult to get published. One agent said that she hoped I wouldn't get published until I accepted Jesus into my heart.

Comment by Arni F Sigurdsson on March 9, 2013 at 5:37am

Clearly a lot of people on here have written books on God, monotheism, or something else theoretical, but I would be very interested in the fiction that the people on here have written - presumably work that for whatever reason could be considered "offensive to Christians" and hence would have a hard time getting published. Anyone here written anything like that?

Comment by Bud Martin on February 27, 2013 at 4:12pm

Your attention is invited to www.militaryatheists.com. Our brothers and sisters in arms are being downtrodden by the Chaplain Corps, and punished for not attending "services," and being denied meeting space equivalent to religious organizations'.

Comment by Joan Denoo on February 27, 2013 at 4:05pm

David Philip Norris , thanks.

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