Calling All Unpublished Colorado Writers!

Calling All Unpublished Colorado Writers!

The Colorado Authors’ Hall of Fame (the Hall) will offer up to five scholarships to aspiring unpublished Colorado authors and authors-to-be. The scholarship is part of its commitment to encourage, support, and nurture Colorado connected writers.

Sponsored by the Colorado Authors’ Hall of Fame, Scholarship awards will range up to $2,000 each plus an extensive 12-month mentoring program to move them toward author publication and success. Total value of each scholarship is $17,000 to each recipient.

Applications must be received by March 31, 2026, and the winning recipients will be announced in June. Recipients will be honored at a luncheon event to be held on Friday, September 11, 2026 at the Inverness Denver hotel.

Applications and additional information are available of the Colorado Authors’ Hall of Fame website: http://ColoradoAuthorsHallofFame.org/scholarships.html

The Colorado Authors’ Hall of Fame Scholarship is open to applicants who:

are over 20
are legal Colorado residents
have a desire to succeed as an author and in the field of publishing
must include a sampling of their already written work of at least 20 pages and an essay of why they want to become an author.

Part of the application process will include writing an essay of up to 1,000 words on the topic: “Why I Want to Write and Become an Author” along with how they intend on using the moneys. Essays will be evaluated for excellence of writing, creativity, and yes, grammar by a panel of judges consisting of bookstore owners, librarians and published authors.

Of the 10 previous scholarship recipients, half have published their books.

The scholarships were envisioned by founder of the Hall, Dr. Judith Briles. She shares, “Writing and publishing a book is like climbing one of our Rocky Mountain ‘fourteeners’. It requires years of preparation, unbelievable stamina and courage. Facing that blank page is like starting an ascent. When you reach the top by completing the book, authors can suddenly see farther than ever before. This vision from the pinnacle is the gift authors give their readers. Now, the Hall would like to give a gift back to Colorado’s authors who desire to reach the publishing summit. Their impact on countless readers in providing entertainment, enlightenment and solutions is immeasurable.”

The Hall is dedicated to recognizing and preserving the history of the accomplishments of past and present authors who have created and published books in or about Colorado.

The organization is an all-volunteer-run 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Its mission is “to honor and promote the works of outstanding published authors from all genres and generations with a vibrant connection to Colorado, to ensure their legacies will not be lost.”

0Information about the application process, nomination criteria for Hall Inductees, donations, events, board members can all be found at www.ColoradoAuthorsHallofFame.org.

Press inquiries: Judith Briles, Judith@Briles.com or 303-885-2207.

Dr. Judith Briles started writing notes to her classmates in first grade … and got into “disruptive trouble” from her teachers. She’s now the author of 48 books and counting, still being a disrupter. Her books have won over 55 book awards and been Amazon bestsellers. You can follow her professional side at www.TheBookShepherd.com where she works with writers to become published authors. Listen in to her weekly podcast: AuthorU: Your Guide to Book Publishing at https://bit.ly/AuthorUPodcast