Submission Guidelines
Rocky Mountain Reader welcomes all reader comments and emails. Send to editor Kathryn Eastburn at kathryn@rockymountainreader.org or to info@rockymountainreader.org. We cannot promise a personal response due to small staff and high volume of emails.
Book Coverage: If you are an author with a Colorado connection and want your book considered for review, please contact the editor with full publication information (publisher, publication date, ISBN, publicity contact). We’re a nonprofit organization with a small staff and limited resources, so except in the case of poetry collections, the titles we consider for review should be traditionally published unless you or your readers can make a strong case for your self-published or subsidy-published books of any kind.
Poetry: We print poetry by invitation only, generally in the form of a book excerpt. Please don’t send unsolicited poetry submissions.
Essays: We welcome original essay submissions from anyone with a Colorado connection, whether you’ve published a book or not. We’re interested in thoughtful, timely, pertinent, well-written essays that tell a true story in a compelling way. Send essays for possible publication to the editor and be sure to include a note explaining your Colorado connection. Ideal length is 800-1,200 words. We pay on publication: $150.
Review and Features Contributors: Rocky Mountain Reader operates on an assignment basis, and some reviews and features are assigned well in advance of publication and/or a book’s release date. If you’d like to contribute book reviews, please contact us with an email of introduction along with links to some of your published work. Reviews and Features generally range from 700-1,200 words in length. We pay on publication: $150.
Event coverage: We’re always eager to receive information about literary festivals, public conferences and other literary events of interest to readers across the state. Please send notices well in advance of the event with key information to the editor, marked Events Listings in the subject line. Provide: name of event, date, description, location and contact information as well as registration information if required.
Independent booksellers: All independent bookstores in Colorado are invited to submit their pertinent information—name, location, contact information, description of inventory and programs offered — to be published under our Independent Booksellers tab. Timely events at your store should be submitted separately, marked Events Listings in the subject line of your email. Send bookseller listings info to: kathryn@rockymountainreader.org or info@rockymountainreader.org. Bookseller listings will be placed at a cost of $10 per month, $50 for six months or $100 for an entire year with payment made to Colorado Humanities on behalf of Rocky Mountain Reader using the QR code below, or by sending a check, clearly marked ‘bookseller listings for Rocky Mountain Reader’ to: Colorado Humanities, 7935 E. Prentice Ave., Suite 450, Greenwood Village, CO 80111.
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Briefly Noted
The Beckwith Dynasty: A Ranching Empire in Colorado’s Wet Mountain Valley
Once one of the largest cattle ranches in southern Colorado, Beckwith Ranch rises to its former glory in the concisely and neatly written, The Beckwith Dynasty: A Ranching Empire in Colorado’s Wet Mountain Valley by Courtney Miller. The author explores the history of a successful shipbuilding family who traveled west in 1869, and would eventually create through hard work, luck and a handful of shenanigans, an incredibly successful agricultural operation. Miller guides the reader through the origins of the ranch with stories of true cowboys and the Old West.
Beginning with a meager 160 acres, the family created a vast holding of land and livestock that would eventually become a thriving and majestic showplace of 8,800 acres with a very distinctive mansion of white clapboard and red roof. The fortunes of the Beckwith empire grew even more with the discovery of gold and silver in the nearby mountains. The mansion continued to expand as well, becoming a rambling complex with all the latest Victorian fineries accumulated from travels afar. Sophisticated and worldly travelers were entertained with unparalleled grandeur in the hinterlands of Colorado’s Wet Mountains.
As with any great western story about perseverance and triumph, the tale of the downfall of the family and the mansion is equally fascinating. Death, disease and estranged family relations all contributed to the passing of the heyday of the grand place.
Located on Hwy 69 near Westcliffe, Colorado, the site and venue is now listed on National Register of Historic Places. The obvious sincere and deep appreciation the author has for the ranch shines through in his writing. He packs a lot of Wet Mountain Valley history in this small volume with fine research and striking details. This book is a nice resource for any Colorado history buff. — Jeffery Payne
