CVL Vox: Author submissions are open!

First, a big thank you to everyone who submitted their writing in the first round of CVL Vox. As a result, two short stories were selected to be featured on the homepage of this site: ‘Desert Spirits’ by Claire Ibarra and ‘Remember the Milky Way’ by Elisa Kuriyagawa.

We are now accepting submissions for the second round. We will aim to publish two pieces by Colorado writers in early March 2025. Submissions for this round close on February 28, 2025.

What we are looking for

Submissions up to 2,000 words in any genre, such as short story, flash fiction, poetry, nonfiction, essay, script, excerpt from a larger work, etc.

• Submissions do not have to be set in or specifically about Colorado, but the author must be based here.
• Please be sure to include a short bio and a link to your website if you have one.
• Bear in mind this is a state government website. We can’t publish anything explicit, inflammatory, or overtly political. Other than that, we are open to any type of content.

What’s in it for writers?

The two selected pieces will be featured on the front page of the Colorado Virtual Library website. For the first two weeks of publication, they will be “stickied” (meaning specially featured) to the top of the homepage, taking precedence over any new posts during that time. CVL receives several hundred thousand views yearly and many of our posts get hits for years after initial publication. There are no monetary prizes for being selected.

Other guidelines

• There are no entrance fees.
• This opportunity is open to writers of all ages.
• Please don’t submit any AI generated work.
• We may ask for evidence that you are based in Colorado before we can publish your piece. Evidence would include any official documentation that shows Colorado residency.
• An author can submit two pieces for consideration each round, but we will not publish a single author more than twice in any 12-month period.
• It is the author’s responsibility to ensure they have the copyright/permissions to publish their piece on our site, before submitting it for our consideration.
  • If you are interested in submitting a piece that has already been published, you may need permission from the original publisher. If you submit a piece that has been published before, we will assume you have retained the rights to your work. If you entered into any sort of agreement that waived your intellectual property rights, we cannot publish that piece.
• Images are allowed but the focus should be on written work.

How to submit

Email your full piece, as well as a short bio, a link to your website (if you have one), and author image (if you want to include one) to cvlvox@coloradovirtuallibrary.org.