Winning any type of writing contest is fun. Winning a Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers Colorado Gold Rush Literary Award is a cause for major celebration! (Cue the balloon drop and confetti!)
In September, the winners of the 2022 RMFW Colorado Gold Rush Literary Awards were announced at the annual RMFW conference in Aurora, CO. The winners in attendance read a few pages from their outstanding manuscripts to an audience of over 200 fellow writers, editors, and agents. (See below for the list of winners.)
The judges this year were agents, editors, and a literary/film scout. They reported that the competition was stiff, so that says a lot about the quality of writing our RMFW contest attracts.
Is entering the RMFW writing contest a good move for you and your writing journey? Here’s what the contest co-chairs, Sue Hinkin and Mindy McIntyre, who write commercial fiction themselves, have to say:
We want to help prepare you [contest entrants] for success in this challenging field. It all starts with creating a great product. The feedback you receive from the judges will be of great help in this process. Entering the Colorado Gold Literary Awards will support your goals in these ways:
– An opportunity to practice risk-taking and resiliency in a supportive environment
– Preparation for submitting your work to agents & editors
– You’ll receive valuable feedback & learning from pros who want to help you succeed
– Putting your work out there will boost confidence and provide motivation
– Networking–contest participation will expand your access to agents/editors/publishers
– Fun & prizes
As a past winner of a Colorado Gold award, I agree. In fact, I am now signed with a dream agent who heard me read from my winning manuscript at the 2021 RMFW conference. Miracles do happen!
Another benefit of submitting to this contest is that you can request an optional (paid) response from the judges with their notes about your submission. Getting honest feedback from impartial and experienced industry professionals can be the most valuable aspect of this contest, even if you don’t receive an award.
Interested in submitting to next year’s contest? The submission window for the 2023 Colorado Gold Literary Awards will open April 3, 2023 and close about 30 days later (the first week in May 2023), so start polishing up your manuscript now. Next year, your name just might appear on the winner’s list.
And now (drum roll, please), the 2022 winners and finalists of the RMFW Colorado Gold Literary Awards are:
Mainstream (Judge: Susan Brooks, Publisher/Editor-in-Chief, Literary Wanderlust)
WINNER:
Five O’Clock in the Mourning, by Connie Weidel
FINALISTS:
But I Didn’t Fall, by Brooke Epps
Wild Goose Pass, by Christopher Pitts
Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Spec Fiction, Horror (Judge: Ben Miller-Callihan, Literary Agent, Handspun Literary Agency)
WINNER:
The Osect Indiscretion, by Matthew Cushing
FINALISTS:
Super Melvin, by Duston Anderten
To Feel the Earth as Rough, by Dani Coleman
Women’s Fiction, Romance (Judge: Allison Lyons, Editor, Harlequin Intrigue)
WINNER:
Letting Go of the Sky, by Courtney Shosh
FINALISTS:
Tequila Midnight, by Kathryn Dodson
A Stout Heart, by Lynn Moore (Allyn DeWald)
Mystery, Thriller (Judge: Hadley Ramsay, Literary/Film Scout, Maria B Campbell Associates)
WINNER:
Neighbors That Prey, by Robin Olson
FINALISTS:
Run of Luck, by Elizabeth Haines
The Madd Hatter Murders, by JenaVieve Reed
Young Adult, Middle Grade (Judge: Jolene Haley, Literary Agent, Marsal Lyon Literary Agency)
WINNER:
Every Color of My Blood, by Rachel Delaney Craft
FINALISTS:
Chasing Montana Skye, by Heidi Kraakevik
Middle of Somewhere, by Ann Thurber