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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.

UPCOMING EVENTS


Nov. 1 CAL Awards opens for submissions


Nov. 3-5 CAL Booth at the Denver Gift Show at the Convention Center


Nov. 10-12 CAL Booth at the CO Country Christmas Gift Show at the Event Center



Dec. 2-3 Georgetown Christmas Market


Dec. 9-10 Georgetown Christmas Market


Dec. Holiday Party



Retail Opportunities Calendar




Colorado Conference Calendar


April 18-21, 2024 Readers Take Denver



March 31-April 1, 2023 Write In The Springs Christian Writers Conference


April 28-30, 2023 Pikes Peak Writers


May 25-27, 2023 Northern Colorado Writers


Sept 8-10, 2023 Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers


Sept 30, 2023 Castle Rock Writers

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.

In the spotlight: victoria Wolf

Victoria Wolf

When I had the idea to start a business I knew nothing about, I remember thinking, “I hope I can make this work!” Now, 32 years later, I look over my long career and business with astonishment. I have been a graphic designer and business owner for more than half of my life. 

 

The early years were tough yet rewarding. Not only was I teaching myself design skills with every new project, but I was learning to run a business. There were successes, and of course, there were failures, and the latter proved the best education any growing businessperson could hope to find.

 

For the bulk of my career, I focused on small businesses, designing logos, websites, and many other brand elements. In 2016, I was starting to feel a bit weary and thought there was nothing left in design that would excite me and entice me to keep designing for another 15 or so years. But I was wrong.

 

I was presented with the opportunity to design something I had never designed before— a book cover. I was skeptical at first, worried that I didn’t have the “design chops” for such an endeavor. Again, I was wrong.

 

Seven years and over 300 book covers later, I am loving my design business again. Along the way, I added interior formatting/design, eBook formatting, and author websites to my services. It is a joy, and an honor to work with authors, helping them bring visual life to their words. I would have never predicted this career turn for myself, and I think that makes it even more rewarding.

 

In 2020, I wanted to write that book I always told myself I would write. I worked with an amazing writing coach and editor, and Perpetual Conflict: A Journey of Art and Redemption was born. My writing journey taught me that writing is not an easy task, and when you write a memoir such as mine, it brings with it a significant emotional element.

 

Perpetual Conflict is centered around the first three months of my “teaching myself how to paint” experience. Each chapter focuses on a specific painting, the artistic and emotional issues that arose as I painted, and explores aspects of my life and how they relate, or sometimes explain, to those issues. It’s a raw and honest glimpse into my psyche that will hopefully inspire others and help them to see they are not alone.

 

I didn’t set out to write a book for catharsis, clarity, or change, but leaned in when I saw it was the path the writing wanted me to take. I am grateful for the experience and clarity the writing process gave me, and can honestly say I am a different person because of it.


You can check out Victoria's book cover designs at WolfDesignAndMarketing

Lifetime Achievement and Author Advocate Award Winners Announced

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Barb Lundy has been selected to be the 2023 CAL Lifetime Achievement Award Winner. 

 

Barb writes easy-to-read public policy, business assessments, and people profiles. A widely published poet, Barb has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize. Her popular poetry collection, The Fiction of Stonewas published in 2020. Using her marketing skills, Barb has guided many authors to publication. She also taught writing at Denver area colleges for many years.

 

 As president of CAL for three years, Barb led a strong board to make a series of innovations. They improved member communications, marketing strategy forums, and enhanced benefits.

 

 Congratulations, Barb!

Lisa Casper has been selected to receive the 2023 Author Advocate Award.

 

Lisa is a powerhouse in the local literary scene and beyond. She works as the Program Liaison for the Douglas County Libraries and can be found at the Highlands Ranch branch. There, she facilitates programs for readers from preschool age to adult. She also arranges and hosts public talks for the library district and organizes Local Author Showcases that have been attended by numerous CAL authors.

 

Lisa also does book talks and works on the Book Lovers committee at Douglas County Libraries.

 

Congratulations, Lisa!

Watch Barb's Interview

Watch Lisa at the Awards

CAL Awards Finalists and winners Announced



Poetry Collection

Grandma's Tales 3


Flying Beneath the Dogstar


by Kathryn Winograd

Grandma's Tales 3


Ghostword


by Crisosto Apache


Where Sunday Used To Be


by Daniel Klawitter


WINNER


Single Poem

"Octopus on a Sea Dock"


by Kathryn Winograd


WINNER

"Siempre Cantando"


by Art Goodtimes

"The Wild Hive"


by Dan Guenther


Short Story


"A Piece of the Action"

from Into the Black


by Adam Gaffen


"Close Encounter: Confessions"


by Petra Perkins


WINNER


The veils thin


"The Veils Thin"


by Theresa Crater


Essay

"Closer to Heaven"


by Lou Dean

"Floating"


by Kathryn Winograd

"Live Oaks"


by Carol Ann Wilson


WINNER


Cover Design YA / Adult

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Alien Expatriates


by Anthony Garcia

Blue-Eyed Devil

by Jodi Bowersox


Cover Design

by Tristan Bowersox


WINNER

Bruce Most 2013 close up

Triple Your Income In Three Years

by Sheri Cobb South


Cover Design

by 100 Covers


Article


"Indigenous Americans Became Red"


by Robert V. Dodge


"Stained Glass Needs Saving"


by Susan A. Fletcher


WINNER


"The 1619 Project: A New Origin Story"


by Carol Ann Wilson



Cover Design--Juvenile

Monty and Rose Return to Montrose

by Tamima Itani


Cover by Anna-Maria Crum


WINNER

September Twelfth

Paxton Plays the Piccolo

by Virginia K. White & Kristin White Dulaney


Cover by Gaspar Sabater & Virginia K. White

September Twelfth

To Serve and Protect

by Leslea Wahl


Cover by Amy Klein & Leslea Wahl



Illustration

September Twelfth

Little Brown Horsey


by J.B. Stockings


Illustrated by Gaspar Sabater

Monty and Rose Return to Montrose

by Tamima Itani


Illustrated by Anna-Maria Crum

Up in the Air


by J.B. Stockings


Illustrated by Gaspar Sabater


WINNER



Children

September Twelfth


Grandma's Tales


by Cheryl Carpinello


Louie's Lent


by Claudia Cangilla McAdam


WINNER

September Twelfth


Paxton Plays the Piccolo


by Virginia K. White & Kristin White Dulaney



Juvenile / YA


Daybreak on Raven Island


by Fleur Bradley


WINNER

September Twelfth


the last huntress


by Lenore Borja

September Twelfth


She Who Rides Horses


by Sarah V. Barnes


Mainstream / Literary


A Light in the Forest


by Melissa Payne


WINNER

Elly Uncomposed


Elly Uncomposed


by Valerie Niemerg

Errors of Night


Errors of Night


by RJ Stewart



Thriller

September Twelfth


Branded Graves


by Randi Samuelson-Brown


Fatal Recall


by Gini Rifkin


WINNER


Mystery

Dark of Night


Dark of Night


by Barbara Nickless

Rough Ride


Rough Ride


by Paulla Hunter


The Chimera Club


by Chuck Greaves


WINNER


Cozy Mystery

Diamond on the High Seas


Diamond on the High Seas


by Karen Gilleland

Drawn to Murder


Drawn to Murder


by Bob Seay


In the Family Way


by Sheri Cobb South


WINNER


Science Fiction

Andromeda Rhoades Liberation: The Local War (Book 1)


Andromeda Rhoades: Liberation


by Mark Mora


The Oort Federation: To The Stars


by Robert G. Williscroft


WINNER



Fantasy

Lorelle


Lorelle of the Dark


by Todd Fahnestock


The Pain Bearer


by Kendra Merritt


WINNER

September Twelfth


Tower of the Four:

The Dragon's War


by Todd Fahnestock


Romance

 Beyond the Door


Beyond the Door


by Iona Morrison


Break Heart Canyon


by Gini Rifkin


WINNER

Call Me Home


Call Me Home


by Lindsey Cowherd


Historical Fiction: Ancient-1800


Brighter than the Flames


by Stefan Scheuermann


WINNER

Out front


Out Front the Following Sea


by Leah Angstman

She Who Rides Horses


She Who Rides Horses


by Sarah V. Barnes


Historical Fiction:

1800-1920

Break Heart Canyon


Break Heart Canyon


by Gini Rifkin


Desert Rainbow


by Scott Bowman


WINNER


In the Family Way


by Sheri Cobb South



Novella

In The Family Way


Magic & Midnight Mint Bars


by Iona Morrison


The King in the Tower


by Kendra Merritt


WINNER

In The Family Way


The Odd Sea


by Petra Perkins


Nonfiction: General

Debriefing


Align: Living and Loving From the True Self


by Harmony Kwiker

Debriefing


Debriefing


by Tez Brooks


Wild Times & True Tales From the High Plains


by Matt Vincent


WINNER



Nonfiction: Biography / Memoir


14 Dogs & Me


by Mary Roberts



Recorder of Deeds

Connected Soldiers: Life, Leadership, and Social Connections in Modern War


by John Spencer


Recorder of Deeds


by Catherine Underhill Fitzpatrick


WINNER


Nonfiction: Historical

September Twelfth


Colorado Disasters


by Phyllis J. Perry

Light and Life: First Presbyterian Church of Colorado Springs at 150 Years


by Susan A. Fletcher


WINNER


September Twelfth


September Twelfth: An American Comeback Story


by

Dean Rotbart

CAL Members to be inducted into the Colorado Authors Hall of Fame

Bill Hamilton

Bill Hamilton

Retired military officer, Bill Hamilton, started in journalism delivering papers for his hometown Anadarko Daily News. He went on to spend 19 years as a featured columnist for USA Today, within an overall 40-year career writing his weekly "Central View" opinion column for newspapers across the Great Plains.

 

He is a laureate of the Oklahoma Journalism Hall of Fame. In Colorado, with his wife, Penny, he co-authored four espionage novels, drawing largely on Bill's adventures as a Cold War "spook."

 

Bill is the author of the War During Peace: a Strategy for Defeat, his revealing history of the Vietnam War based on two years of combat in southeast Asia. He is a laureate of the Oklahoma Military Hall of Fame. With Penny, he co-holds a World Aviation Speed Record. He is a laureate of the Colorado Aviation Hall of Fame and the Nebraska Aviation Hall of Fame.

 

He was inducted into the Oklahoma Military Foundation Hall of Fame and was awarded with over 20 Air Medals. His military career awarded him the Silver Star, Distinguished Flying Cross, the Legion of Merit, four Bronze Stars and the Purple Heart.

 

In 2020, Bill was named Grand County Citizen of the Year.

Tom Noel

Thomas Jacob Noel

Thomas Jacob Noel is an emeritus Professor of History and Director of Public History, Preservation & Colorado Studies at the University of Colorado Denver. Tom is the author or co-author of 60 books and a longtime former Sunday columnist for the Rocky Mountain News and The Denver Post. He appeared regularly as “Dr. Colorado” on Channel 9’s “Colorado & Company.”

 

In 2018, he was Designated State Historian of Colorado and received the Colorado Authors League Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2021, he received the University of Colorado Board of Regents Medal for 50 Years of teaching, publishing over 60 books, delivering hundreds of public lectures, tours and programs and creating over 200 articles.

 

Tom’s book, Buildings of Colorado (Oxford University Press) won a top prize from the Colorado chapter of the American Institute of Architects. His Colorado: A Historical Atlas (Univ. of Oklahoma Press) won the High Plains, Angie DeBow and Colorado Book prizes for best Colorado history. Tom's website is: www.Dr-Colorado.com.

 

Congratulations to CAL members who are CIPA Evvy Award finalists!

Food for Thought: Essays on Mind and Spirit, Volume II

Anthology/Story Collection


Food For Thought Vol. 2

by Jerry Fabyanic

Corky Tails: Tales of a Tailless Dog Named Sagebrush and the Never Summer Mountains

Animals and Cover Design


Corky Tails: Sagebrush and the Never Summer Mountains

by Joni Franks

QUACK

Children 0-5


Quack

by Laurel McHargue

The Price of a Contract

Women's Fiction


The Price of a Contract

by Ellen Kingman Fisher

African Slave Conquistador

Multicultural


African Slave Conquistador

by Anthony Garcia

Anthology


Shoot the Horses First

by Leah Angstman


Winner

Historical Fiction


The Rebel Nun

by Marj Charlier


Winner

Also Winner of the Herb Tapak Choice Award For Fiction

Religious/Spiritual


Hidden Buddha

by Jim Ringel


Winner

Young Adult


Feathers of the Phoenix: The Atlantean Horse

by Cheryl Carpinello


Winner

Echoes in the stars

Young Adult


The Stallion and His Peculiar Boy

by M.J. Evans

Freedom Rings

Romance


A Christmas to Remember

by Jean Jacobsen

Fantasy


Freedom Rings

by Brenda Hardwick


Winner

Echoes in the stars

Nonfiction Animals/Pets/Nature


Echoes in the Stars

by Gordon Frisbie

The CIPA Evvy Awards are presented by the Colorado Independent Publishers Association. To see their complete list of finalists and winners: CIPA

CAL Racks in Colorado Springs and Lakewood

Support these businesses that support CAL



5670 N. Academy Blvd

Colorado Springs

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Located in the

Colorado Mills Mall

14500 W. Colfax Avenue

Lakewood, CO




A New Rack Location


Coming Soon!

Third Space Rack
Perfect Gift book rack
Acme Bar & Grill 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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More than just a journey to find missing truth. . .

Buy Your Copy Here


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50 Years on Call with the Volunteers of Colorado's Genessee Fire Rescue

Available on Amazon

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The sequel to Sisyphus Wins

Buy yours today!

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A Contemporary Western Thriller

Dark Range Book 3

Available on Amazon


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Literary fiction about writing, memory and belonging

Buy Yours Now



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A fun truck ride spirals into chaos.

Buy Yours Now

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A deeply personal account that resonates with countless individuals

Buy Your Copy Here




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Jessie Reynolds finds herself embroiled in another case.

Buy Yours Now


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A Poem book written through many years, loss, struggle and self-redemption

Available on Amazon

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The Cassidyverse is back!

Find it on Amazon

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A celebration of the state’s glorious and rowdy past

Buy yours today!

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How do you make your wishes come true? 

Buy yours today!





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The last months of one of the most iconic artists in history.

Available on Amazon


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 A journey of survival in a fiery, foreboding land.

Find it on Amazon


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First contact is not always what you might expect.

Anthology including work by Robert G. Williscroft

Available on Amazon

And Publish Plays, Essays, Articles, and Poems!

R. Gary Raham's article "Flower or Fungus? That is the Question." has been published in the Spring 2023 edition of Colorado Gardener.

Read it at https://www.coloradogardener.com/post/flower-or-fungus



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

Art Goodtimes' poem has been published in the Colorado Times-Recorder. Read it at https://coloradotimesrecorder.com/2023/05/poem-selling-you-a-phony-life-of-plunder/53518/. It is Art's fourth poem to be published in the newspaper.



Annie Dawid's story "Not Drinking the Kool-Aid" about the people who escaped Jonestown has been published in Half and One. Find it at https://halfandone.com/not-drinking-the-kool-aid/.



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






Lisa Reinicke 2






Helping the Community


CAL authors often contribute to Little Free Libraries!


Slideshow
Little Library 2021

The CAL Awards

The CAL Awards opens for submissions Nov. 1


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 May or June.


CAL Awards Celebration will be held in June or July.

Bruce Most 2013 close up



Bruce Most was the 2022 CAL Lifetime Achievement Award Winner


Watch his interview

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

CAL Is A Proud Sponsor of

Colorado Sun