Colorado Book Awards History

History of the Colorado Book Award

The Colorado Book Awards began in 1991 with four categories-Non-Fiction, Fiction, Poetry, and Children's. In 1993 Young Adult was added as a category. Since then, the Colorado Center for the Book (a program department of the Colorado Humanities since April 2004) has amended categories depending on the number and kind of books nominated. The Colorado Book Award has celebrated Colorado's most noted authors, including John Fielder, Linda Hogan, Jon Krakauer, Kent Haruf, Margaret Coel, Tom Noel, Stephanie Kane, Avi, Bruce Ducker, David Milofsky, Joanne Greenberg, T.A. Barron, and many others. Year indicates year of publication.

Colorado Book Award Recipients

Anthology/Collection
2001  Encyclopedia of American Indian Contributions to the World by Kay Marie Porterfield
2002   Lucky Lady: The World War II Heroics of the USS Santa Fe and Franklin by Steve Jackson
2003  Monkey Dancing by Daniel Glick
2005  Comeback Wolves: Western Writers Welcome the Wolf Home by Gary Wockner
2006  Open Road by Sonya Unrein 2001-Growing Up True by Craig Barnes
2007  Home Land: Ranching and a West That Works, edited by Laura Pritchett, Richard Knight and Jeff Lee
2009  A Dozen on Denver: Stories, Rocky Mountain News, editor 

Children’s Literature
1991  Sand Dune Pony by Franklin Folsom
1992  Hunters of the Sky by Ann C. Cooper
1993  Way Out West Lives a Coyote Named Frank by Jillian Lund
1994  Goose and the Mountain Lion by Marian Harris
1995  Tops and Bottoms by Eleanor Ayer
1996  Ten Little Dinosaurs by Pattie Schnetzler
1997  Beardream by Will Hobbs
1998  Through the Eyes of the Children by Diane Hirschinger Gallegos
1999  Margaret’s Magnificent Colorado Adventure by Julie Danneberg
2000  Tiger Math by Ann Whitehead Nagda and Cindy Bickel
2001  And the Dish Ran Away with the Spoon by Janet Stevens
2002  What Did You Do Today? by Kerry Arquette
2003  Max Goes to the Moon by Jeffrey Bennett
2004  Just Another Morning by Linda Ashman
2005  Prehistoric Actual Size by Steve Jenkins
2006  Inventor McGregor by Kathleen Pelley, illustrated by Michael Chesworth
2007  Living Color by Steve Jenkins
2008  M Is for Mischief: An A to Z of Naughty Children by Linda Ashman, illustrated by Nancy Carpenter
2009  Grandmother, Have the Angels Come? by Denise Vega, illustrated by Erin Eitter 

Fiction
1991  With the Snow Queen by Joanne Greenberg
1992  Booked to Die by John Dunning
1993  The Ballad of Rocky Ruiz by Manuel Ramos
1994  Lead Us Not into Penn Station by Bruce Ducker
1995  Solar Storms by Linda Hogan
1996  A Killing in Quail Country by Jameson Cole
1997  MARI: A Novel by Jane Valentine Barker
1998  A Good Doctor’s Son by Steven Schwartz
1999  The Crook Factory by Dan Simmons
2000  Color of Law by David Milofsky
2001  The Good Journey by Micaela Gilchrist
2002  This Side of the Sky by Elyse Singleton
2003  Land that Moves, Land that Stands Still by Kent Nelson
2004  Eventide by Kent Haruf
2005  Articles of War by Nick Arvin
2006  The Pull of the Earth by Teague Bohlen
2007  Migration Patterns: Stories by Gary Schanbacher
2008  The Story of Edgar Sawtelle by David Wroblewski, Ecco
2009  Spoon by Robert Greer, Fulcrum Publishing 

General Non-Fiction (unless otherwise noted)
1991  Telling Distance: Conversations with the American Desert by Bruce Berger
1992  West of the Divide by Jim Carrier
1993  The Four-Cornered Falcon: Essays on the Interior West and the Natural Scene by Reg Saner
1994  Breast Cancer Journal by Juliet Wittman
1995  Red Earth White Lies by Vine Deloria
1996  Photographing the Landscape by John Fielder
1997  Herbs in the Garden by David Macke and Rob Proctor
1998  Innocents on the Ice by John Behrendt AND Chokecherry Places by Merrill Gilfillan
1998 (Biography and History) The Ute Indians of Colorado in the Twentieth Century by Richard Young
1999  Cutthroat by Stephen Keating
1999 (Colorado/West) Colorado 1870-2000 by John Fielde
1999 (Guide Book) Making the News by Jason Salzman
1999 (Romance) Meant to be Married by Ruth Wind (Barbara Samuel)
2000  Beethoven’s Hair by Russell Martin
2000 (Biography and History) Molly Brown: Unraveling the Myth by Kristen Iversen
2000 (Colorado/West) Messages from Frank’s Landing by Charles Wilkinson
2000 (Educational Non-Fiction/How-To and Advice) 10 Smart Money Moves for Women by Judith Briles
2000 (Inspirational/Spirituality) Living the Renewed Life by M. Wayne Brown
2000 (Self Discovery/Relationships) The Angelic Year by Ambika Wauters
2000 (Romance) Flowers Under Ice by Jean Ross Ewing
2000 (Mystery) The Spirit Woman by Margaret Coel
2001 The Coldest March: Scott’s Fatal Antarctic Expedition by Susan Solomon
2001 (Autobiography/Memoir) Growing Up True by Craig Barnes
2001 (Biography and History) Crucible of War by Fred Anderson
2001 (Colorado/West) Mythmakers of the West by John Murray
2001 (Educational Non-Fiction/How-To and Advice) Fighting for Your Marriage by Howard Markman
2001 (Romance) My Dark Prince by Julia Ross (Jean Ross Ewing)
2001 (Science Fiction) Passage by Connie Willis
2001 (Mystery) Two O’Clock, Eastern Wartime by John Dunning
2002  Blood Diamonds by Greg Campbell
2002 (Colorado/West) Soul of Nowhere by Craig Childs
2002 (Mental Health/Counseling) Writing to Heal the Soul by Susan Zimmerman
2002 (Practical Living) Colorado Colore: A Palate of Tastes by Junior League of Denver
2002 (Reference) The Encyclopedia of the American Civil War by David & Jeanne Heidler
2002 (Mystery) The Shadow Dancer by Margaret Coel
2003 Under the Banner of Heaven by John Krakauer
2003 (Autobiography/Memoir) Monkey Dancing by Daniel Glick
2003 (Colorado/West) The Beast in the Garden by David Baron
2003 (Guide Book) Bats of the Rocky Mountain West by Rick Adams
2003 (Inspirational/Spirituality) Embracing the World by Jane. E. Vennard
2003 (Mental Health/Counseling) The Bully, the Bullied and the Bystander by Barbara Coloroso
2003 (Nature and Recreation) Shadowcasting: An Introduction to the Art of Fly Fishing by John Dietsch and Gary Hubbell
2003 (Romance) A Piece of Heaven by Barbara Samuel
2003 (Mystery) Extreme Indifference by Stephanie Kane
2004 The Candy Men: The Rollicking Life and Times of the Notorious Novel CANDY by Nile Southern
2004 (Biography/Autobiography) Halfbreed: The Remarkable True Story of George Bent by David Fridtjof Halaas & Andrew E. Masich
2004 (Colorado/West) Boomtown Blues by Andrew Gulliford
2004 (Educational Non-Fiction) Xeriscape Colorado: The Complete Guide by Connie Lockhart Ellefson & David Winger
2004 (History) Painting a New World: Mexican Art and Life, 1520-1821 by the Denver Art Museum, editors Donna Pierce, Rogelio Ruiz Gomar, Clara Bargellini
2004 (Mystery) Wife of Moon by Margaret Coel
2005  Wild at Heart: Town of Snowmass by Janis Lindsay Huggins
2005 (Creative Non-Fiction)  The Guinness Book of Me by Steven Church
2005 (History) Blood Struggle: The Rise of Modern Indian Nations by Charles Wilkinson
2006  Walking Into Colorado's Past: 50 Front Range History Hikes, written and photographed by Ben Fogelberg and Steve Grinstead
2006 (Creative Non-Fiction) Who are you people? A Personal Journey into the Heart of Fanatical Passion in America by Shari Caudron
2006  (History) Your Death Would Be Mine: Paul and Marie Pireaud in the Great War by Martha Hanna
2007  Cruisin’ the Fossil Freeway by Kirk Johnson and illustrated by Ray Troll
2007  (Creative Non-Fiction)  No Place Safe: A Family Memoir by Kim Reid
2007  (History) The Life and Times of Richard Castro by Richard Gould
2008  (Creative Nonfiction) Trespass: Living at the Edge of the Promised Land by Amy Irvine
2008  (General Nonfiction) Storey's Illustrated Breed Guide to Sheep, Goats, Cattle and Pigs by Carol Ekarius
2008  (Health and Well-Being) Unexpected Intimacy: Everyday Connections that Nourish the Soul by Sarah Gabriel
2009  Voices of the American West by Corinne Platt & Meredith Ogilby
2009  (Creative Non-Fiction) Just Like Us: The True Story of Four Mexican Girls Coming of Age in America by Helen Thorpe

Pictorial
2001  Riverwalk by William Wylie
2002  Reclaiming the American West by Alan Berger
2003  Medal of Honor by Nick Del Calzo
2005  14,000 Feet: A Celebration of Colorado’s Highest Mountains by Walter Borneman, photos by Todd Caudle
2006  Estes Park and Rocky Mountain National Park: Then & Now by James H. Pickering & Carey Stevanus, photographs by Mic Clinger
2007  Prairie Thunder: The Nature of Colorado’s Great Plains by Dave Showalter
2008  Colorado Scenic Byways, Taking the Other Road by Jim Steinberg and Susan J. Tweit
2009  Phlogs: Journey to the heart of the human predicament by George Stranahan & Nicole Beinstein Strait 

Poetry
1991  Wandering Roots/From the Hothouse by Ma. Fatima Lim
1992  Hands of the Saddlemaker by Nicholas Samaras
1993  The Book of Medicines by Linda Hogan
1994  The Fever of Being by Luis Alberto Urrea
1995  Deep Red by Rawdon Tomlinson
1996  The Very Stuff by Stephen Beal
1997  Tattooed Woman by Carolyn Evans Campbell
1998  Letters from a Stranger by James Tipton
1999  In the Colorado Gold Fever Mountains by Robert Cooperman
2000  White City by Mark Irwin and Swan, What Shores by Veronica Patterson
2001  Colcha by Aaron Abeyta
2002  Never Summer by Chris Ransick AND Air Into Breath by Kathryn Winograd
2003  Shooting Script: Door of Fire by Bill Tremblay
2004  Bright Hunger by Mark Irwin
2005  Body Painting by Jane Hilberry
2006  The Prayers of Others by David Keplinger
2007  Ludlow by David Mason
2008  A Murmuration of Starlings by Jake Adam York
2009  Theory of Mind: New & Selected Poems by Bin Ramke 

Popular (Genre) Fiction
2002  A Winter Haunting by Dan Simmons
2003  Song of the Beast by Carol Berg
2005  Eye of the Wolf  by Margaret Coel
2006  Iron Ties by Ann Parker
2007  The Girl With Braided Hair by Margaret Coel
2008  Breath and Bone by Carol Berg
2009  A Land Beyond Ravens: Book 4 of the Macsen's Treasure Series by Kathleen Cunningham Guler
2009  The Radio Magician and Other Stories by James Van Pelt, Fairwood Press

Young Adult
1993  Beardance by Will Hobbs
1994  The Merlin Effect by T.A. Barron
1995  Parallel Journeys by Eleanor Ayer
1996  Far North by Will Hobbs
1997  Ghost Canoe by Will Hobbs
1998  Water at the Blue Earth by Anne Howard Creel
1999  Yukon Gold: The Story of the Klondike Gold Rush by Charlotte Foltz Jones
2000  The Seer and the Sword by Victoria Hanley
2001  Cloud: Wild Stallion of the Rockies by Ginger Kathrens
2002  Crispin: The Cross of Lead by Avi
2003  Meadow Lark by Mary Peace Finley
2004  Luna by Julie Anne Peters
2005  Click Here (To Find Out How I Survived the Seventh Grade) by Denise Vega
2006  What the Moon Saw by Laura Resau
2007  Red Glass by Laura Resau
2008  Fact of Life #31 by Denise Vega
2009  The Indigo Notebook by Laura Resau