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If you are an unpublished writer of commercial novel-length fiction, this is your chance to get quality feedback and have your work seen by literary agents and editors.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/
2024 VIP Judges
- Mainstream, Literary – Judge Angie Hodapp, Director of Literary Development for Nelson Literary Agency. Before coming to NLA in 2011, Angie worked in magazines, her last stint being Editor-in-Chief of a longstanding craft publication. Angie began her work at NLA as a Reader, Contracts Manager, and Royalties Auditor. Currently, she devotes 100% of her time to literary development. In partnership with agents, she edits client material, prepping and polishing manuscripts before they go out on submission. She also one-on-one with clients to develop new story ideas and directions and screens manuscripts requested by the agent team. As an active member of the Denver literary community, Angie has served as a board member for Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers and regularly teaches highly regarded writing and publishing workshops, including at Denver’s prestigious Lighthouse Writers Workshop. She is the author of two nonfiction books for writers: Do You Need a Literary Agent? and Query Craft. When not working, she writes a little fiction of her own (mostly of the dark variety), waits on her cat (an adorable tabby named Pluma), feeds her neighborhood crows, and enjoys the fruits (and rums) of her husband’s in-home tiki bar.
- Mystery, Thriller – Judge Cathie Hedrick-Armstrong, literary agent at Marsal Lyon Literary Agency, is an Oklahoma native transplanted in Minnesota for nearly 30 years. A proud alumnus of The University of Oklahoma, she holds a B.A. in Journalism with a minor in History and is a rabid fan of OU Sooners Football. A prolific reader of many genres, Cathie represents Young Adult Fiction, Contemporary and Historical Romance, Upmarket Women’s Fiction, Mysteries, and Thrillers. She deliberately keeps her client list small to give her authors the attention each deserves while still allowing herself time for her writing career as an author of issue-driven young adult and women’s fiction. Her own authored titles include the young adult novel, Roam, and the women’s fiction title, The Edge of Nowhere.
- YA, Middle Grade – Judge Micah Brocker, associate literary agent at Corvisiero Literary Agency, has spent the last five years in the business world helping entrepreneurs and artists fulfill the financial and legal knowledge needed to succeed. It has been her lifelong dream to foster careers for all artists, in particular authors and screenwriters. At Corvisiero Literary Agency, she is interested in fostering her client’s careers from the start and building their businesses with them. Located in Seattle, WA, you can find her hiking or running in the rain when she is not indoors reading with her trusty cat at her side.
- Women’s Fiction, Romance – Judge Latoya Smith, founder and Literary Agent of LTC Literary, started her editorial career as an administrative assistant to New York Times bestselling author, Teri Woods at Teri Woods Publishing while pursuing her Bachelor’s Degree at Temple University. She graduated Cum Laude from Temple in August of 2005. She then attained a full-time position at Kensington Publishing in March of 2006. In October 2006, Latoya joined Grand Central Publishing, an imprint at Hachette Book Group. For the span of her eight years there, Latoya acquired a variety of titles from Hardcover fiction and non-fiction, to digital romance and erotica. She was featured in Publishers Weekly, Forbes and USA Today, as well as on various author, book conference, and book blogger websites. In early 2014, she appeared on CSpan2 where she contributed to a panel discussing the state of book publishing. From August 2014 to February 2016, Latoya was Executive Editor at Samhain Publishing where she acquired short and long-form romance and erotic fiction. She is the winner of the 2012 RWA Golden Apple for Editor of the Year, 2017 Golden Apple for Agent of the Year, and the 2017 Literary Jewels Award for Editor of the Year. Latoya is an editor, literary agent, and ghostwriter.
- Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Spec, Horror – Judge Alexandra Grana, Associate Literary Agent of Corvisiero Literary Agency, is a recent graduate of the University of Toledo College of Law. She has always loved writing and literature, having completed her B.A. in Professional Writing at Miami University, and is excited to dedicate herself to helping fellow writers pursue publication. When she isn’t reading, she can be found trying a new recipe in the kitchen or prepping for her next DnD session. Alex’s favorite genres are fantasy and horror. She is a sucker for a good magic system, reimagined fairy tales, and poetic prose. Stories by marginalized writers are of particular interest to her.
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 29, 2024.
- 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 27-29, 2024, 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 2024 contest are now closed.
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 2024 Gold Rush Contest, please email contest@rmfw.org
Contest Eligibility and Guidelines | Contest FAQ | Contest Home
Call for Judges | Judging Benchmarks | Previous Contest Winners