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Attention Book Illustrators and Cover Designers!

Colorado Authors League has long been about the business of storytelling, and now we’re opening our membership to include those who tell stories through art!


Book Illustrators and Cover designers, we invite you to apply for membership and take advantage of the rich benefits that CAL provides its members from friendship to promotion

to a chance to win your very own CAL award for Illustration or Cover Design!


We want to promote your work, click HERE to see just one of the ways.

Read CAL's Statement on AI

UPCOMING EVENTS


Nov. 1 CAL Awards Open For Submissions


Nov 22-24 Denver Christmas Show


Dec. 7, 14 Georgetown Christmas Market


Dec. 1, 2-5 Holiday Party


Dec. 31 Early Bird Pricing Ends for CAL Awards Submissions


Jan. 31, 2025 CAL Awards Closes for Submissions


April 26-27, 2025 Book Bash in CO Springs



Retail Opportunities Calendar




Colorado Conference Calendar


April 18-21, 2024 Readers Take Denver



April 19-20, 2024 American Christian Fiction Writers Conference


April 24-26, 2024 Pikes Peak Writers


July 19-20, 2024 Writing Heights Conference


Aug 23-24, 2024 Castle Rock Writers Conference


Sept 19-22, 2024 Trinidad Creative District Get Lit! Literary Festival


Sept 27-29, 2024 Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers


Oct 5, 2024 Illumify Writers Conference


Oct 10-12, 2024 Women Writing the West Conference


Oct 18-19, 2024 Steamboat Creates Writers Conference

CAL Authors as Speakers

Nov. 15, Join Professor Annie Dawid as she she reads from and discusses her historical fiction, Paradise Lost: A Novel of Jonestown. This event is free and open to the public. Refreshments provided.


Dec 5, Jody Pritzl will be speaking at the Molly Brown House Museum in Denver from 6-7 pm. Are your heirloom Christmas ornaments from Europe or America? How can you tell? Join Jody Pritzl, author of three Christmas books, as she weaves through the craftsmanship of German families in the 1890s to the factories in Pennsylvania and New Jersey during the 1950s and 60s. Jody will show examples of European ornaments and vintage mid-century Shiny Brites and George

Frankes. Best of all, you’ll learn tips for dating and identifying your own precious beauties from her

books available on Amazon.

Introducing the CAL Speakers' Bureau


Are you searching for a speaker for your special event or book club? Look no further! Click HERE to find a Colorado author to fit your needs.

The CAL Awards

The CAL Awards will reopen for a new submission year on Nov. 1, 2024


The CAL Awards isn't just about books. We also have categories for published Poetry, Essays, Short Stories, Articles, Illustration, Plays, Screen Plays, and Cover Design!


Find out more HERE


Finalists will be announced in June.


CAL Awards Celebration will be held in July.

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Margi Evans was the 2024 CAL Lifetime Achievement Award Winner


Margi at the CAL Awards


Watch past CAL Celebration videos


79th Annual CAL Awards, presented by Jodi & Kevin Bowersox


80th Annual CAL Awardss, presented by Jody Pritzl


81st Annual CAL Awards, presented by Jodi Bowersox, Laurie Marr Wasmund, and Claire Fishback



82nd Annual CAL Awards, presented by Jodi Bowersox, Laurie Marr Wasmund, and Kathryn Winograd


83rd Annual CAL Awards, presented by Jodi Bowersox, Laurie Marr Wasmund, and Judy White

In the Spotlight: Tricia Copeland

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I’m an indie author, publisher, and podcaster who loves sharing magical characters. Magic for me is what makes a character, either fictional or real, special or unique. My protagonists span from a teen struggling with anorexia, a disease I am a survivor of, a girl desperate for a cure for her sister, a vampire-witch hybrid trying to mainstream into human high school, to a first female monarch in a fae realm.


As some of these characters suggest, I write coming of age women’s fiction, contemporary romance, dystopian sci-fi, young adult (YA) urban fantasy, epic fantasy, and historical fantasy. I am so excited to have received a CIPA EVVY award for Kingdom of Embers, the first book of the Kingdom Journals YA fantasy series.


I never meant to become an author but after writing the fictionalized account of my experience with anorexia, I became hooked. An avid reader, I’ve always loved books. From Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz, Mary Stewart’s The Crystal Cave, Lord of the Rings, to Gone with the Wind, my writing is shaped through the lens of strong characters and fantastical worlds. And once the creative writing muscles formed for me, they don’t seem to want to lay dormant.


Writing has opened a whole new creative community. I love meeting authors and readers from many different backgrounds. Talking about books and sharing the love of reading, stories, plots, characters, and the emotion and learning they illicit, brings me energy and joy. I aim to embed this excitement into each of my stories.


My background is in science, so seeing myself as a creative person has been a new experience. But my love of writing, both technical and creative, keeps me clicking keys late into the night. An avid runner and hiker, I’ve embraced the amazing Colorado mountain backdrops as home, gleaming inspiration from mountain trails and the resiliency of my neighbors. I can’t wait to see where my writing journey takes me and look forward to many more experiences with our amazing Colorado authors.

CAL CO-op Booth Is Gearing Up!

2024 booth Evans, Woodward


CAL will again be at
the Denver Christmas Show

Nov. 22-24 at the Western Stock Show Complex, 4655 N. Humboldt


Not in the area?

 You can still get great books by CAL authors!

Check out the CAL Genre Pages for buy links and author websites.

2024 booth Anderson, Bowersox, Scheuermann, Frisbie

The BigHorn Book Nook is Back!

As part of the Georgetown Christmas Market 2024


When: Two Saturdays in December: Dec. 7 & 14


Time: Open 9 am-4pm


Where: The Community Center, Georgetown CO


Authors:

Reserve your spot now as a book vendor.

Contact Jerry Fabyanic: jerry@jerryfabyanic.com for details


Shoppers:

Get thee to Georgetown in December and buy books for all the readers on your Christmas list!


CAL Racks in Colorado Springs and Lakewood

Support these businesses that support CAL



5670 N. Academy Blvd

Colorado Springs

Third Space Rack
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Located in the

Colorado Mills Mall

14500 W. Colfax Avenue

Lakewood, CO


Perfect Gift book rack

Nowhere near our book racks?

You can still find great books by CAL authors. Check out our Genre Pages.

Autographed books make a great gift year-round. Contact authors directly to get signed copies.

CAL Authors Release New Books!

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Mountain Town Mysteries Book 2

Available on Amazon



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Count to (the power of) ten!

Available on Amazon



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An intergenerational holiday with love at its heart.

Buy yours today!



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 By chance, Herb meets Alexander Graham Bell and becomes involved with his inventions.

Buy Your Copy Here


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A rip-roaring romp through time

Buy Your Copy Here


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Beyond the perilous landscape lies a love that defies extinction. . . .

Read it here!





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Will Mac's need to make someone pay allow the maniac to win at last?

Read it here!

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An unflinching portrait of the gritty realities of today’s rugged West. 

Buy Your Copy Here





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Misty, a most unlikely vampire, is on the trail of a killer.

Read it here!




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There were no U.S. Christmas stamps before 1962. Why?

Buy yours today!



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Cat and Rabbit are best friends. How is that possible? They are soooo different. Or are they?

Available on Amazon

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Fast action, enemy subs, spies, Antarctic exploits, and nuclear weapon tests!

Read it here!









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No one ever told Jax the cost of being a good guy could be this high.

Buy yours today!






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Wildlife Novels Book 2

Buy yours today!

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An intricate plot, loads of action, and colorful characters.

Available on Amazon



And Publish Plays, Essays, Articles, and Poems!

Cassi Clark Ward-Hunt has published her first short story, "The Woman Who Planted Men" at CommuterLit.com.

Read it here!




Carol Ann Wilson's nonfiction flash essay, "Trust," was published in April 2024 and can be found in HerStry. Her essay, "House of Mirrors" was published in the Spring 2024 volume of The Awakenings Review. You can read it here.

Gregory SETH Harris' poem "After the Flood" was published by Lightwood.



Kathryn Winograd's essay, "Mist Nets: After the Uvalde Shooting," is now posted at Terrain.org. Another essay, "Floating in the Riparian," can be read at Shanti Arts!

https://www.shantiarts.co

/SPAQ/SPAQ49/files/winograd.pdf

Linda Duval's essay, "In Memoriam: Author and Adventurer Stewart Green," can be read here in Rocky Mountain Reader.

 Lou Dean has an upcoming feature article in the 2024 Guideposts "The Joy of Christmas." The piece, "Unexpected Visitors" is about the challenge of broken toes, wild turkeys, and teaching the dog to herd the turkeys from the yard. The special edition magazine can be ordered by visiting "Guideposts 2024 Joys of Christmas. 


 


What is Bibliotherapy


  • Storytelling has been integral to the human experience for over 40,000 years.
  • Reading fiction can build empathy, enhance theory of mind, and improve social skills.
  • Research shows that bibliotherapy can help children overcome anxiety, depression, and aggression.

Read More

Recent Articles
CAL Member News

CAL Authors In Action

Helping Students

In 2020, CAL members joined together to create a book of writing prompts for students of all ages.


Paperback and Kindle versions available on Amazon


Download Options in English and Spanish






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Helping the Community


CAL authors often contribute to Little Free Libraries!


Slideshow
Little Library 2021

CAL Is A Proud Sponsor of

Colorado Sun