Books about Colorado dominate state awards

Not surprisingly, books about Colorado dominated the 2000 Colorado Book Awards, announced this week.

The winners were:

FICTION: "The Crook Factory," by Dan Simmons, a wartime tale of espionage based on writer Ernest Hemingway's desire to operate a spy ring in Cuba.

NONFICTION: "Cutthroat," by Stephen Keating, an inside look at the brutal competition in the telecommunications industry.

COLORADO & THE WEST: "Colorado 1870-2000," by Colorado photographer John Fielder, who spent several years recreating modern versions of the historic photos of William Henry Jackson.

BIOGRAPHY: "Molly Brown: Unraveling the Myth," by Kristen Iversen, a realistic look at the woman behind the legend.

CHILDREN'S: "Margaret's Magnificent Colorado Adventure," by Julie Danneberg, a 10-year-old girl's tour of top Colorado landmarks designed as a travel scrapbook.

YOUNG ADULT: "Yukon Gold: The Story of the Klondike," by Charlotte Foltz Jones, a historic account of the quest for gold in the great northwest.

POETRY: "In the Colorado Gold Fever Mountains," by Robert Cooperman, the story of the gold rush told in prose-poetry.

INSPIRATIONAL: "Living the Renewed Life," by M. Wayne Brown, exploring the nature of commitment in our lives.

ROMANCE: "Flowers Under Ice," by Jean Ross, set in the Regency period, about a spy during the Napoleonic Wars.

Also given out at the annual ceremony were three special awards for community service.

They all involved poetry and included:

Poetry in Motion, a project by Joice Fairchild of the Denver branch of the National League of American Pen Women, which organized a contest for aspiring young poets in the Denver area. Winners' works were displayed on city buses.

Poets Way, by Michael Evans-Smith and the Boulder Public Library, a project establishing a walkway of sandstone pavers bearing the words of the world's great poets.

"Screams Aren't Enough," a chapbook published by Catherine O'Neill Thorn and Columbine High School students Devon Adams, Allison Carter, Alex Marsh and Jocelyn Heckler, who collected poetry by students who attended the school during its 1999 tragedy.

Awards were presented by the Colorado Center for the Book.

2001 awards

Nominations may be submitted to the center by Jan. 15. They can include any book published in 2000.

Nominees should reflect Colorado authors or subjects and somehow enhance the state's literary reputation.

For information, call (303) 839-8320 or log on to www. Colorado Book.org.

Copyright 2000
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