Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers offers encouragement and opportunity to all writers in a variety of ways, one of them being through the annual Colorado Gold Rush Literary Awards.
Our Literary Awards program also seeks to support diverse and marginalized voices. This commitment is important because it reflects the reality of the world we live in, helps us to see and understand one another in more meaningful ways, and deepens the impact of our writing.
If you are an unpublished writer of commercial novel-length fiction, this is your chance to get quality feedback and have your work seen by literary agents and editors.
Watch the Colorado Gold Rush Video Here: https://rmfw.org/contests/
2025 VIP Judges
- To be announced. Check this space!
Prizes
- Winners (not including youth writers) receive $150, an official certificate, a trophy, and a short reading of their work during the luncheon on Sunday, September 28, 2025.
- Three (3) Finalists (not including youth writers) categories receive $50 and an official certificate.
- Both finalists and winners will receive a secondary pitch session at the conference with a participating agent or editor AND 1) are invited to an exclusive reception where they will receive recognition at the awards ceremony, 2) get featured on the RMFW website and congratulated in the newsletter, and 3) get major bragging rights on their own social media forums.
- The winning nine (9) youth writers will be selected as our scholarship winners to the Colorado Gold Conference, September 26-28, 2025, and will receive an official certificate. (Prize is tuition only; accommodation and travel are not provided.)
Entering
You are welcome to enter as many submissions as you like, but you may not enter the same submission into more than one category, nor may you enter two versions of the same manuscript.
See the Contest Eligibility and Guidelines page for more information on accepted genres, submission requirements, and more.
Submissions for the 2025 contest will be open April 18 through May 19.
A team of two RMFW judges evaluates whether an entry meets a list of predesignated benchmarks. The submissions that hit the most benchmarks will become the finalists in each of the five categories. Authors of entries that make the final round will be notified by email in early August. If there is a tie for the last finalist slot, a third judge will review the tied entries and determine the finalist. Finaling entries will be judged by a visiting agent or editor.
If you do not get a finalist notification email, your entry did not make the final round. Your judged submission, scoresheet, and critique (if requested) will be returned to you in mid to late August.
If you are interested in being a judge for the 2025 Gold Rush Contest, please email contest@rmfw.org
Contest Eligibility and Guidelines | Contest FAQ | Contest Home
Call for Judges | Judging Benchmarks | Previous Contest Winners