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Introducing Rocky Mountain Reader!

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Rocky Mountain Reader's (RMR) mission is to highlight the varied landscape of literary arts across Colorado, anchored by connections with independent bookstores, Colorado writers, and literary events. We are committed to covering the array of excellent works produced by Colorado authors and their diverse readers. The inaugural issue of RMR was published September 1st, 2024. New content arrives online each Thursday. 

RMR is a non-profit, donation-driven organization with fiscal sponsorship from Colorado Humanities. The staff members of Rocky Mountain Reader are located in Colorado Springs. Our neighborhood, however, is the state of Colorado. We are here because we value books and authors and the freedom to explore new vistas through reading and writing. 

Rocky Mountain Reader is dedicated to making our online publication a permanent literary hub for Colorado’s authors, readers, book lovers, independent booksellers, libraries and literary organizations. Our purpose is neither radical nor political, but it is vital in the struggle to protect basic rights of speech, personal expression and exchange of ideas through literature. These roles of the book have not changed over centuries, even if the publishing industry in the U.S. has altered dramatically in recent decades and coverage of the arts in traditional media has diminished (witness The Baltimore Sun, a 188-year-old newspaper that recently eliminated its entire Features section, including features on local authors and books). Rocky Mountain Reader addresses this trend by providing essential coverage of the literary arts in Colorado on a weekly basis and making our coverage available to newspapers at no cost.

Journalist, author, editor and creative writing teacher Kathryn Eastburn conceived the idea for RMR during the pandemic shutdown, inspired by Chapter 16, Tennessee Humanities’ online Center for the Book. A New Yorker article profiled Chapter 16 in 2020, concluded with the question: Why doesn’t every state do this? Eastburn vowed to do something similar for Colorado. Given her experience as a journalist, she knew that the number of newspapers was shrinking, that the state of literary arts coverage on the internet was fragmented, and that authors were facing serious difficulties promoting their literary work. 

In December 2023, Eastburn met with Margaret Coval, Executive Director of Colorado Humanities, identifying RMR as a potential collaborator in raising public awareness of Colorado’s literary assets. The Colorado Humanities board offered fiscal sponsorship to RMR, something they had not done in almost a decade. Coval said: “RMR will be a valuable asset for readers, writers, and educators. It will be a hub for sharing literary activity and opportunities across our region. We see the potential for RMR to amplify the importance of reading and writing both as skills and as entry points to reflection, critical thinking and mutual understanding.”

All donations to this fundraiser will support Rocky Mountain Reader directly (not Colorado Humanities, our fiscal sponsor). 100% of donations received will be used to pay our editors and freelance writers.