8 Fresh Colorado-Authored Books to Spice Up Your Fall Reading

As daylight fades and people start to spend more time inside, it’s time to get started on your fall reading list. From short story collections, novels and poetry collections, local authors continue to showcase range with sharp storytelling and familiar landscapes. 

Check out eight recent releases written by these Colorado authors.

Hot Comb, Ebony Flowers

Hot Comb, Ebony Flowers, Ellie Sullum

For Fans of: Short stories, comic strips, WOC perspectives

Similar Books: The Hard Tomorrow, Grass, BTTM FDRS

With gorgeous prose set in a vibrant comic strip format, Hot Comb shares the experiences of several Black women reckoning with barriers to thriving at the intersection of race, class and gender. Using hair-styling as a focal point, Denver-based author Ebony Flowers crafts poignant narratives and relatable characters. It is Flower’s debut collection of graphic short stories. 

Mulled To Death, Kate Lansing

Mulled to Death, Kate Lansing, Ellie Sullum

For Fans of: Whimsy, suspense, murder-mystery

Similar Books: Murder at the Christmas Cookie Bake-Off, Here Comes the Fudge, Partners in Lime

Mulled to Death is the third installment of Kate Lansing’s Colorado Wine Mystery series. It’s a somewhat silly and riveting murder mystery set in a mountain ski resort. With suspenseful turns set against gorgeous descriptions of mountain scenery, Lansing takes the reader on quite the ride. This novel is perfect for anyone who loves to devour books in one or two sittings— just don’t forget your glass of wine. 

Edge of The Map, Johanna Garton

Johanna Garton, Edge of the Map, Ellie Sullum

For Fans of: Biography, mountaineering, expedition stories

Similar Books: White Tiger, Journey’s North: The Pacific Crest Trail, The Third Pole

Johanna Garton’s latest release tells the story of Christine Boskoff, a woman mountaineer and high altitude climber who led all-male expeditions in the late 20th century. Boskoff set several mountaineering records among American climbers and women athletes. She and her partner Charlie Fowler went missing during a climbing expedition in Sichuan China in 2006; the search for them garnered international attention. Garton captures the experiences of a generation-defining woman climber who paved the way for increased equity in outdoor recreation. 

Sabrina and Corina, Kali Fajardo-Anstine

Sabrina and Corina, Kali Fajardo-Anstine

For Fans of: Indigenous storytelling, short stories, western backdrops

Similar Books: Milk Blood Heat, The Undocumented Americans, The Secret Lives of Church Ladies

Traversing through the lives of Latina women with Indigenous roots, Sabrina and Corina shines a powerful lens on womanhood, friendship and ties to land with ferocity. Denver-based author Kali Fajardo-Anstine mastered the form of short storytelling to leave readers with a deep imprint of each character and relationship.

Other People’s Pets, R.L. Maizes

Other People's Pets, R.L. Maizes

For Fans of: Underdog protagonists, animal fiction, complicated families

Similar Books: A Long Petal of the Sea, You Are Not Alone, Little Gods

2021 Colorado Book Award Winner Other People’s Pets follows La La, a girl abandoned by her mother and accomplice to her father who survives through home robberies. An animal empath, La La feels drawn to veterinary school but is forced to drop out in order to help with her father’s legal fees once he’s finally caught.

To afford the full cost of her father’s trial, La La returns to home robberies herself. In order to cope with her actions, she chooses homes with sick animals and treats them before stealing. R.L. Maizes deftly shows the nuance of survival through a young woman with a quirky superpower.

Lord of the Butterflies, Andrea Gibson

Lord of the Butterflies, Andrea Gibson

For Fans of: Poetry, LGBTQ+ perspectives, romance

Similar Books: Nothing Is Okay, If My Body Could Speak, Swallowtail

Lord of the Butterflies is Boulder-based Andrea Gibson’s latest collection of poetry. With vivid language, they explore gender norms, identity and disparities. Within its pages, readers can feel seen or seek to understand the world around them. Gibson is also a four-time Denver Grand Slam champion.

The Only Good Indians, Stephen Graham Jones

The only good indians,

For Fans of: Horror, Indigenous perspectives, drama 

Similar Books: Mr. Nobody, My Dark Vanessa, The Perfect World of Miwako Sumida

Blackfeet Native American author Stephen Graham Jones is known as the Jordan Peele of horror literature. The Only Good Indians explores the lives of four Indigenous men impacted by the trauma of their youth. With sharp social commentary and fresh takes on the horror genre, you’ll want to read this novel with the lights on. 
 

A History of Kindness, Linda HoganA History of Kindness, Linda Hogan, Ellie Sullum

For Fans of: Poetry, Indigenous storytelling, exploration of colonialism

Similar Books: Postcolonial Love Poem, A Burning, Good Talk

In her latest collection of poetry, Chickasaw poet Linda Hogan faces colonialism and offers peace and calls for accountability in return. Hogan deftly weaves plain language into powerful verse for any reader willing to open themselves to her stories. She carries on generations of Indigenous storytelling traditions, filled with spirituality. 

 

You can check out any of the selected books at Denver Public Library or buy them from local bookstores, including Tattered Cover, Fahrenheit’s Books and The Bookies Bookstore.