Regional
Colorado Book Awards
Colorado Humanities, with Metropolitan State University of Denver and the Denver Project for Humanistic Inquiry
In short
The Colorado Book Awards are run by Colorado Humanities with Metropolitan State University of Denver and the Denver Project for Humanistic Inquiry, for books by Colorado authors across eleven categories. Finalists are featured at a public ceremony. Authors and publishers enter by online form at $60 per title, with four copies mailed in, and books are not returned. If you publish with a trade house, ask whether the publisher will enter and supply copies, and confirm the residency rule with the organizers before paying.
Next cycle not announcedChecked September 13, 2026 (opens in a new tab)
Every label is a fact from the official rules, never a judgment about whether the award is worth entering. How we describe awards.
This program has not published a verified deadline for its next cycle. Use the official link before making plans.
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The Colorado Book Awards, presented by Colorado Humanities in partnership with Metropolitan State University of Denver and the Denver Project for Humanistic Inquiry, recognize Colorado authors across categories that in 2026 included Creative Nonfiction, General Fiction, General Nonfiction, Historical Fiction, History, Mystery/Thriller/Horror, Poetry, Romance, Science Fiction/Fantasy, Children's Literature, and Young Adult Literature. Volunteer selectors and judges from across the state read the entries.
Each title is entered with an online form, a $60 fee, and four copies; finalists are asked for three more copies for the second round. Submitted books are not returned and are donated to literacy programs in Colorado. Staff and board of Colorado Humanities cannot enter. The 2026 awards covered books published in 2025, with winners announced at a ceremony on September 26, 2026.
The program's residency definition and the current cycle's deadline were not on the pages that could be read when this record was verified; the submission requirements page still showed the January 3, 2025 deadline from an earlier cycle. Check Colorado Humanities for the 2027 dates.
Why it may matter
Colorado's program has a wide category list, including genre fiction categories that many state awards lack, and finalists are featured in a public ceremony and statewide promotion. The entry window has historically closed in early January for books published the previous year, so a late-year release has little time between publication and the deadline.
2026 cycle: 2026 Colorado Book Awards (books published in 2025)
- Eligible publication dates
- January 1, 2025 to December 31, 2025
- Deadline note
- The 2026 entry deadline had passed; the pages checked showed only the earlier January 3, 2025 deadline, so the 2027 deadline must be confirmed with Colorado Humanities
- Entry fee
- $60 per entry, payable by credit or debit card, as posted on the submission requirements pageChecked September 13, 2026 (opens in a new tab)
- Results
- Winners announced at the ceremony on September 26, 2026
| Tier | Deadline | Fee |
|---|---|---|
| Per entry | See rules | $60 |
Worth knowing
Our reading, not a rule the organization published. We judge an award on the rubric in how we describe awards.
The current-cycle deadline is not recorded here because the pages checked showed only a past one (January 3, 2025). Contact cba@coloradohumanities.org or watch the program page for the 2027 call, which normally opens in the autumn for books published in 2026.
Rules and deadlines change. We last checked this information on September 13, 2026. If you see something that needs updating, please tell us.
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