2021

Lisa Reinicke is Officially Santa's Helper

CAL author and board member Lisa Reinicke earned a tip of Santa's hat as well as a ride on his sleigh as soon as the covid restrictions are lifted. Lisa has already made Santa's nice list for next year after she donated a whopping 3,000 copies of her books to Denver's Santa Claus Shop, a nonprofit organization that shares the spirit of Christmas with Denver children in need.

Thank you Lisa, for your generous donation to Santa's Shop!

MacDonald Hosts Pockross Presenting Mary Coyle Chase

Athena Project’s Read & Rant program will celebrate the Irish heritage and artistic accomplishments of Mary Coyle Chase on Monday, March 15th from 6:30 to 8:30 via Zoom. Mary Chase was honored with CAL’s William McLeod Raine Award in 1944 for her brilliant creation, Harvey, a play about a six-foot-tall invisible rabbit. Chase’s desire to bring joy back to a suffering nation resulted in one of the best-loved plays of modern times and a Pulitzer Prize for its author. Read & Rant is a play-reading club that explores plays written primarily by women and is one of many programs offered by Athena Project, a non-profit organization that celebrates and nurtures women’s artistic expression. The program will be hosted by CAL member Jennie MacDonald and will feature a presentation by CAL member Mimi Pockross, author of Pulling Harvey Out of Her Hat: The Amazing Story of Mary Coyle Chase. For more information & to register for the event, go to https://athenaprojectarts.org/event/read-rant-3-15/

Two CAL Members Are Finalists In the 2020 Rocky Mountain Mystery Writers

Jennie MacDonald was a Finalist in the Romance & Lust Category for her entry… Honeymoon Chasm yawned. The bridegroom didn’t. 

Daniel Ginsberg was a Finalist in the Noir/Hardboiled Category for his entry… Hunted, she hid. Cheap perfume lingers.

All finalists and the overall winner were announced on December 12, 2020. They were then recognized at the RMMWA Mystery and Mistletoe Holiday Party.

Also this past January, Daniel Ginsberg’s screenplay “The Passing Lane” was selected as a finalist in and to be read at the United Kingdom Film Festival (UKFF). Final announcements will be made in March 2021.

Winograd Moves up in Competition

Kathryn Winograd's chapbook, Flying Beneath the Dog Star: Poems from a Pandemic, was a semi-finalist for the Open Chapbook Competition and will be published by Finishing Line Press this spring.

Robert Dodge Snags #1 Ranking

BookAuthority ranked Grand Mal: A Life With Late Onset Epilepsey first in the world for new books to read on the topic of epilepsy in 2021. https://bookauthority.org/books/new-epilepsy-books

Lisa Reinicke Book Excellence Finalist

Lisa Reinicke's book, Toast With a Side of Dragon, is a Book Excellence Award finalist in Children's Fiction.

Louis Kraft Wins Wrangler Award

Louis Kraft's book, Sand Creek and the Tragic End of a Lifeway has won the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum's Wrangler award for best nonfiction book of 2020.

Jeffrey B. Miller's Book Named Finalist

Yanks Behind the Lines is a finalist in War & Military History in Foreword Magazine's Indie Best Books of the Year.

Bradley Named Finalist

Fleur Bradley takes another finalist position with her book Midnight at the Barclay Hotel, this time with the Reading the West Book Awards.

CAL Authors Chosen for Mountain of Authors Book Buzz

Sarah Byrn Rickman, Tena Stetler, and Jodi Bowersox will have book readings of their latest works presented during the Pikes Peak Library District's Mountain of Authors on Sat., May 1.

Carlson Named Finalist in Midwest Book Awards

TEARZA—a novel by Pete Carlson was named a finalist in the Romance category of the 31st annual Midwest Book Awards. Winners announced June 26.The Midwest Book Awards recognizes the best independent literature to come out of the Midwest each year and is organized by the Midwest Independent Publishers Association (MiPA).

Twelve CAL Members Named as Colorado Book Award Finalists

Nancy Bo Flood--I Will Dance, Fleur Bradley--Midnight at the Barclay Hotel, Barb Nickless--Gone to Darkness, Sue Hinkin--The Burn Patient, Todd Fahnestock--Tower of the Four, Jeffrey B. Miller--Yanks Behind the Lines, Randi Samuelson-Brown--The Bad Old Days of Colorado, Sonja K. Solter--When You Know What I Know, Bronwyn Long Borne--Custodian of the Spirits, Cary Unkelbach--Heartbreak Kennel, Melissa Payne--Memories in the Drift, Stephanie Harper--Wesley Yorstead Goes Outside.

Harper Wins Next Gen Award

Stephanie Harper's Wesley Yorstead Goes Outside continues to gain accolades, this time winning the General Fiction category of the Next Gen Indie Book Awards.

Williscroft Interviewed on Podcast

Robert Williscroft, writer of Suspense, Adventure, and Sci Fi, was interviewed on the Voice of Indie podcast, where he shares about his new book, Operation Arctic Sting. Episode 041

Williscroft Listed as Honoree

Robert Williscroft was awarded an Indie B.R.A.G Medallion for his Action/Adventure novel, Operation Ice Breaker, the 2nd book in his Mac MacDowell Mission series.

Harper's Book Designated Finalist... Again

Stephanie Harper's Wesley Yorstead Goes Outside is a finalist in the Contemporary Novel category of the National Indie Excellence Awards.

Joe Nigg Wins Lifetime Achievement Award

Joe Nigg’s books have garnered multiple awards and have been translated into more than twenty languages. Jeff VanderMeer, The New York Review of Science Fiction said of Joe: “Nigg has done for the world of fantastical animals what Joseph Campbell did more generally for the world of myth.”

Nigg joined the Colorado Authors’ League in 1980 and has remained an active member ever since. He served on the CAL Board both as publicity and membership chairs. He counts many CAL Writing Awards among his awards. 

Among his popular titles are: The Book of Gryphons, A Guide to the Imaginary Birds of the World, Wonder Beasts, The Book of Fabulous Beasts: A Treasury of Writings from Ancient Times to the Present, The Book of Dragons & Other Mythical Beasts, How to Raise and Keep a Dragon, Sea Monsters: A Voyage Around the World’s Most Beguiling Map, and The Phoenix: An Unnatural Biography of a Mythical Beast.

“Griffins, the Phoenix, dragons, unicorns, and other traditional animals of the imagination are all around us in words and images, “Joe said. “But when you delve into the histories of these creatures, you’ll find an incredible wealth of cross-cultural lore intertwined with history, myth, religion, art, literature, science, and specialized areas such as alchemy and heraldry. While looking beyond the popular presence of mythical beasts, you’ll discover as much about the history and dreams of the human race as about our animal creations.”

Bloomsbury Review published Joe’s “Master of Mythology” interview with Joseph Campbell, the piece was later included in the Living in Words collection. He participated in the Ancient Mysteries “Dragons” segment on the Arts & Entertainment network and served as the show’s historical consultant. Joe was a guest speaker for the 2008 Dragons: Between Science and Fiction exhibit at Edmonton’s Royal Alberta Museum.

Joe remains circumspect about his success. He insists his good fortune in writing can be assigned to luck as much to skill. He adds, with a wry smile, that the Harry Potter series certainly gave his books a boost.

2021 Colorado Authors League Names Finalists For Their Awards of Excellence

(In Alphabetical order by Author's last name)

Rafferty Hooks Two Finalist Spots

Penny Rafferty's books, Inspiring Words for Sky and Space and America's Amazing Airports were named finalists in the International Book Awards.

Cheadle Earns Finalist Designation

Lora Cheadle's book, Flaunt, is a finalist in the American Book Fest Awards.

Bejan Earns Awards

Cristina A. Bejan is a Next Generation Indie Award finalist with her book Green Horses on the Walls in the category of Women's Issues, but her book is also an Independent Book Award Winner (Small Books), Human Relations Indie Book Award Gold Winner (Historical) Silver Winner (Reflection & Realistic Poetry) and Honorable Mention (Personal Challenge Poetry).

Colorado Hall of Fame Announces Inductees

Congratulations go to Hall of Fame Inductees, Patricia Raybon and Dr. Penny Rafferty Hamilton. For a full list, go to coloradoauthorshalloffame.org

Twelve CAL Finalists in CIPA's Evvy Awards

Aaron Lapedis--Garage Sale Millionaire, Laurel McHargue--Peace by Piece, Lisa J. Shultz--Lighter Living, Lisa J. Shultz--Essential Denver, Joni Franks--Corky Tails: The Warm Spring Discovery, Gregory SETH Harris--The Perfect Stranger, Claryn Vaile--Ghost Tour, GaGa Gabardi--The Last Hurrah, Jodi Bowersox--The Diamond Diva Vendetta, Jodi Bowersox--The Mars Heir, Amy Rivers--Complicit, John Dwaine McKenna--Unforsaken.

Margaret Mizushima wins Willa Award

Margaret Mizushima's mystery Hanging Falls has won the Willa Literary Award in the Women Writing The West contest

Rivers -Author Indie Author Project

Amy Rivers was named 2021 Author of the Year by The Indie Author Project

Meagher Wins Silver Falchion Award

Matthew John Meagher has won the Killer Nashville Silver Falchion Award for his YA novel, Irish Town

Franks nets American Book Fest Award

Joni Franks has been awarded the American Fiction Award in Juvenile Fiction with her children's picture book, Corky Tails: Sagebrush and the Warm Spring Discovery.

Dodge wins New York Big Book 2021 Award for Medicine.

Grand Mall: A Life With Late Onset Epilepsy by Robert V. Dodge is the winner of the New York Big Book 2021 Award for Medicine.

Unkelbach Wins 2021 Best Book Awards,Biography

Heartbreak Kennel: The True Story of Max and His Breeder, by Cary Unkelbach, has just been named the winner of the biography category of the 2021 Best Book Awards sponsored by the American Book Fest.

Jim and Stephanie Kroepfl win Eric Hoffer Excellence Award

Merged by Jim and Stephanie Kroepfl win the Eric Hoffer Award for Excellence in Independent Publishing

Jennie MacDonald and ZJ Czupor take top honors in 6-Word Mystery Contest

RMMWA Chapter President Margaret Mizushima said, “This year’s six-word entries were so creative. They made us laugh-out-loud, cringe, and groan all in good fun.” Jennie MacDonald won Noir and ZJ Czupor took the Cozy category.

Todd Mitchell Sells Book to Hollywood

Todd Mitchell sold his book to Hollywood before it was published. With the rise of streaming services, studios are looking for new content like never before. This is great news for writers, and not just screenwriters. If you write fiction, Todd says, here’s how you can take advantage of this streaming story boom.

Tyler Holme featured in Top Humor Gift Guide

Tyler Holme's book Beet Life is listed in the Weekly Humorist in the Top Humor Books Gift Guide for 2021! If you are looking for a laugh out loud read, Beet Life is the book for you.