Douglas H. Thayer (April 19, 1929 – October 17, 2017)[1] was a prominent author in the "faithful realism" movement of Mormon fiction.
He studied at Brigham Young University (BYU) for a bachelor's degree in English and received a Master's in American literature from Stanford.
He was an active member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints his whole life, and had six children with his wife, Donlu.
[4] His single mother raised him in Provo, Utah,[4] where he spent his boyhood running free and hunting, fishing, and hiking in the surrounding Wasatch Mountains.
After graduating from BYU with a bachelor's degree in English, Thayer applied to law school, but then decided not to attend and started a doctorate in American literature at Stanford.
[6] After completing his MFA, Thayer returned to BYU, where he taught fiction writing and other classes for fifty-four years before retiring in 2011.
Richard Cracroft called his memoir Hooligan a future classic of Mormon literature.
[10] Michael Austin, a former English professor at University of Evansville and regular contributor to By Common Consent,[11] described Thayer as the first LDS writer to bridge the gap between "coming from a position of faith" and writing "well-crafted" literature.
Donlu holds bachelor’s, master’s, and law degrees from Brigham Young University and has taught writing in the BYU English Department and Honors Program.
He was part of committees to write lessons in the LDS Church and served in his local bishopric and on two high councils.