Coke Newell
Encyclopedia
Clayton Corey "Coke" Newell is a writer of fiction and nonfiction whose professional career outside of freelance is often defined by his decade-plus stint in public relations for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
Newell grew up deep in the Colorado mountains south and west of Denver, inspired by his readings of Thoreau, Black Elk
and Kerouac. He converted to the LDS faith as a teenager and later served a mission
to Colombia
.
Research for his first published book, Dying Words: Colombian Journalists and the Cocaine Warlords (1991) was funded by the Scripps Howard Foundation and the InterAmerican Press Association. Composed as a bachelor's degree thesis, it is perhaps the earliest study of the Colombian media's bold (and frequently suicidal) exposure of that nation's militant drug cartels.
After his return, Newell graduated Phi Beta Kappa from the journalism program at Colorado State University
and remains a member of the Society of Professional Journalists and the American Society of Journalists and Authors. He later later received a Master's degree in communications from Montana State University and has a biography in Who's Who in America.
Hired in 1993 as a writer and media relations officer for the LDS Church, his work led to his being quoted in "thousands" of media outlets and the opportunity to write Latter Days : A Guided Tour Through Six Billion Years of Mormonism for St. Martin's Press
. The book performed well nationally, perhaps in part due to the national prominence of frequently interviewed church president Gordon B. Hinckley
and Newell's own iconoclastic writing style.
His 2007 autobiographical novel On the Road to Heaven presented a mostly factual account of a Newell-like Colorado boy named Kit West in a Kerouacian style. Like Newell, West falls in love with a girl, joins her church, and spends two years in Colombia as a missionary. Newell wrote the story as fiction because "A nonfiction story might come across like the daily news—arm's-length facts, figures, and dates. Readers might be less likely to relate to a nonfiction account and characters in a personal way. Novelizing my story freed my creative psyche in key ways, and I believe this novelization allows readers to better insert themselves into the story as well, wherever they want to fit. They can own the story for themselves, and it becomes more useful, available." The complaint Publishers Weekly
had about miraculous episodes is "the only possible drawback" to novelization; according to Newell, "Every one of those 'miraculous episodes' is true."
The novel was a critical success in Mormon circles and garnered Newell nominations for several awards, including wins for best novel of the year for 2007 from both the Association for Mormon Letters
and the Whitney Awards
.
A former adjunct professor of communication at Salt Lake Community College, today Newell is assistant professor of communication and co-director of the concentration in public relations at the University of St. Francis (Franciscan) in Ft. Wayne, Indiana.
Newell grew up deep in the Colorado mountains south and west of Denver, inspired by his readings of Thoreau, Black Elk
Black Elk
Heȟáka Sápa was a famous Wičháša Wakȟáŋ of the Oglala Lakota . He was Heyoka and a second cousin of Crazy Horse.-Life:...
and Kerouac. He converted to the LDS faith as a teenager and later served a mission
Missionary (LDS Church)
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is one of the most active modern practitioners of missionary work, with over 52,000 full-time missionaries worldwide, as of the end of 2010...
to Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
.
Research for his first published book, Dying Words: Colombian Journalists and the Cocaine Warlords (1991) was funded by the Scripps Howard Foundation and the InterAmerican Press Association. Composed as a bachelor's degree thesis, it is perhaps the earliest study of the Colombian media's bold (and frequently suicidal) exposure of that nation's militant drug cartels.
After his return, Newell graduated Phi Beta Kappa from the journalism program at Colorado State University
Colorado State University
Colorado State University is a public research university located in Fort Collins, Colorado. The university is the state's land grant university, and the flagship university of the Colorado State University System.The enrollment is approximately 29,932 students, including resident and...
and remains a member of the Society of Professional Journalists and the American Society of Journalists and Authors. He later later received a Master's degree in communications from Montana State University and has a biography in Who's Who in America.
Hired in 1993 as a writer and media relations officer for the LDS Church, his work led to his being quoted in "thousands" of media outlets and the opportunity to write Latter Days : A Guided Tour Through Six Billion Years of Mormonism for St. Martin's Press
St. Martin's Press
St. Martin's Press is a book publisher headquartered in the Flatiron Building in New York City. Currently, St. Martin's Press is one of the United States' largest publishers, bringing to the public some 700 titles a year under eight imprints, which include St. Martin's Press , St...
. The book performed well nationally, perhaps in part due to the national prominence of frequently interviewed church president Gordon B. Hinckley
Gordon B. Hinckley
Gordon Bitner Hinckley was an American religious leader and author who served as the 15th President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints from March 12, 1995 until his death...
and Newell's own iconoclastic writing style.
His 2007 autobiographical novel On the Road to Heaven presented a mostly factual account of a Newell-like Colorado boy named Kit West in a Kerouacian style. Like Newell, West falls in love with a girl, joins her church, and spends two years in Colombia as a missionary. Newell wrote the story as fiction because "A nonfiction story might come across like the daily news—arm's-length facts, figures, and dates. Readers might be less likely to relate to a nonfiction account and characters in a personal way. Novelizing my story freed my creative psyche in key ways, and I believe this novelization allows readers to better insert themselves into the story as well, wherever they want to fit. They can own the story for themselves, and it becomes more useful, available." The complaint Publishers Weekly
Publishers Weekly
Publishers Weekly, aka PW, is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers and literary agents...
had about miraculous episodes is "the only possible drawback" to novelization; according to Newell, "Every one of those 'miraculous episodes' is true."
The novel was a critical success in Mormon circles and garnered Newell nominations for several awards, including wins for best novel of the year for 2007 from both the Association for Mormon Letters
Association for Mormon Letters
The Association for Mormon Letters is a nonprofit founded in 1976 to promote quality writing "by, for, and about Mormons." The broadness of this definition of Mormon literature has led the AML to focus on a wide variety of work that has sometimes been neglected in the Mormon community...
and the Whitney Awards
Whitney Awards
The Whitney Awards are awards given annually for novels by LDS authors. The Whitney Awards are a semi-independent non-profit organization affiliated with the LDStorymakers, a guild for LDS authors.-Categories:There are currently seven genre categories:...
.
A former adjunct professor of communication at Salt Lake Community College, today Newell is assistant professor of communication and co-director of the concentration in public relations at the University of St. Francis (Franciscan) in Ft. Wayne, Indiana.
Books
- Dying Words: Colombian Journalists and the Cocaine Warlords (1990)
- Cow Chips Aren't For Dippin': A Guide to Life in the New Wild West (1996)
- Latter Days : A Guided Tour Through Six Billion Years of Mormonism (2001)
- Journey to Edaphica (2006)
- On the Road to Heaven (2007)
External links
- http://www.cokenewell.com/index.html Coke Newell's homepage (not recently updated)