“Books are the plane, and the train, and the road. They are the destination, and the journey. They are home.” — Anna Quindlen

Welcome to Rocky Mountain Reader: A Community of Colorado Readers, Writers and Book Lovers. We’re here to highlight the vast and varied literary landscape of Colorado and to celebrate the value of reading in the lives of Coloradans.

As traditional media has evolved over the last decades, so has coverage of literary arts, disappearing from many newspapers and fragmenting into spot coverage on thousands of specialized, narrowly focused websites. At the same time, organized efforts to censor books in libraries and schools have become familiar news. We hope to provide a centralized literary hub representing a broad range of literary efforts—whether by organizations, libraries, independent bookstores, publishers or individual authors—that will raise awareness among general readers of the essential human urge to exchange ideas, immerse oneself in unknown lives and worlds and enjoy the limitless life of the mind through books.

We’ll publish five stories each week, 44 weeks per year, covering new and recently released books by Colorado authors, about Colorado or set in Colorado; exploring the historic literary canon of the state; featuring notable writers, organizations, events and creative efforts in support of literary arts; and publishing occasional original work (poems, essays). An email newsletter will alert subscribers to each week’s upcoming content as well as news items related to the Colorado literary scene. All content is free; there is no paywall. Paid freelance writers will provide our content, aiming to represent the diversity of genres, writers, identities and interests that flourish in Colorado.

All reviews and features produced by Rocky Mountain Reader will be made available to Colorado newspapers at no cost, filling the gap in local and regional arts coverage created by shrinking page sizes, corporate consolidation and other factors.

We are responsible for raising all funds for our general operation and have spent the last six months gathering donations from individuals, applying for grants and exploring all revenue streams to support the publication. Thank you to everyone who has donated based on faith in our ability to deliver. We appreciate every donor and are especially indebted to those who have contributed $1,000 or more, identified at the bottom of this page.

Rocky Mountain Reader is a nonprofit operating under the fiscal sponsorship of Colorado Humanities, meaning that organization shares with us its legal 501c3 tax exempt status, assists in overseeing financial transactions and lends its statewide reach to our efforts. Thank you, Colorado Humanities!

We welcome all readers and contributors and encourage you to:

• Click on the donate button and give what you can afford whether one-time, weekly, monthly or annually
• Click on the subscribe button to receive our weekly newsletter
• Share your ideas and knowledge of literary efforts and accomplishments around the state
• Invite others to visit the site, to subscribe and to donate

Thank you for joining us on the page!