“Four Corners Voices,” an anthology created by the Four Corners Writers, was awarded a Colorado Book Award at the 2025 Colorado Book Awards in Denver on July 26.
The award ceremony, which was hosted by the Colorado Humanities and Center for the Book at the Ellie Caulkins Opera House, awarded outstanding literary talent in Colorado in 14 categories.
“Four Corners Voices” was published in December 2024 by the Cortez-based nonprofit Four Corners Writers, and features more than 40 writers from the Four Corners region in fiction, nonfiction and poetry. Local authors Chuck Greaves, Lisa C. Taylor and Mark Stevens edited the anthology.
I was impressed with the range of poetry – from narrative to lyrical. A common thread was the way the poems celebrated the unique and haunting beauty of this place we call home,” Taylor told The Journal. “From reminiscences of childhood (“You will never leave this place” by Vincent L.K., “Winter in Dolores as a Child” by Ellen Robinson) to specifics about the flora and fauna of the Four Corners area to concerns about the future (“the names in our throats” by Sarah Carr), these were passionate and diverse voices. I was honored to read these poems and I'm thrilled that Four Corners Voices received the Colorado Book Award for anthology for 2025.”
Valerie Eddy, programs coordinator for the Colorado Center for the Book, praised the anthology’s craftsmanship when it was announced that the book would be a finalist. “Our selectors felt that it was beautifully crafted, and it transports you to the Four Corners region with a combination of story, poetry and essay,” she said.
Four Corners Writers was founded to promote literary talent in the Four Corners, and they are already preparing for the next anthology. Submissions were open to area writers until July 1.
“We’re thrilled to have the hard work that went into confecting this anthology recognized by Colorado Humanities,” Greaves told The Journal when the anthology was nominated for the award. “For many of the 40-plus writers whose work appears in Four Corners Voices, this was their first taste of publication, and I suspect it won’t be their last, which really was the whole point of the project.”
Four Corners Voices is available in paperback and e-book formats, with proceeds supporting the nonprofit’s mission. For more information, visit www.fourcornerswriters.com.
