Newsletter Correction: Jeanne Abrams Author Talk

ColoradoAuthorsHallofFame.org

Winter is coming, and I can see it and feel it … almost overnight, the massive trees in my neighborhood have shed their leaves. I miss the glorious colors of fall and now eyeing my heavy sweaters—when I get cold, I get cold.

On Wednesday, November 12, Hall 2023 Inductee Jeanne Abrams will share her insights on writing. Info is below—join in … and ask Jeanne your questions. Her Revolutionary Medicine: America’s Founding Mothers and Fathers in Sickness and Health Revolutionary Medicine was named one of the “Top Books for Docs” by Medscape. Jeanne is a historian and master researcher. Info below—all on Zoom.

A HUGE shout out to 2023 Hall Inductee Temple Grandin … she has received several recent honors this year. They include the 2025 AVMA Humane Award from the American Veterinary Medical Association and the 2025 University of Illinois Alumni Achievement Award. She was also named one of USA TODAY's 2025 Women of the Year. Her latest is the induction into the Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery. Wowsa! Her Visual Thinking is on my list of highly recommended books for all.

The Villager did a full-page spread on the Hall’s Induction Gala event. A copy of the spread is below—you can read it at:

https://issuu.com/thevillageradmin/docs/9-18-25_villager

And … it is time … the submissions open this month for next year’s Aspiring Authors Scholarships. Are you one? Do you know one? Share the news and encourage the aspiring authors in your midst to submit the application for consideration.

In gratitude for you and your support for the Hall,

Temple Grandin is an American academic and animal behaviorist, and a prominent proponent for the humane treatment of livestock for slaughter. She is a Professor of Animal Science at Colorado State University.

She is the author of more than 60 scientific papers on animal behavior and serves as a consultant to the livestock industry to which she provides advice on animal behavior. She is also an autism spokesperson and one of the first autistic people to document the insights she gained from her personal experience with autism.

Temple has been instrumental in implementing animal welfare auditing programs that are used by McDonalds, Wendy’s, Whole Foods, and other corporations. The facilities she has designed for handling livestock are used by many companies around the world.

She has appeared on numerous TV shows, including 20/20 and Prime Time. Her books include Thinking in Pictures, Livestock Handling and Transport, and The Autistic Brain. Her books Animals in Translation and Visual Thinking have been on the New York Times Bestseller List.

Temple was inducted into the National Women’s Hall of Fame in September 2017 and, in 2022, was named a Colorado State University Distinguished Professor.

Kent Haruf, 1943 – 2014. Before becoming a writer, Kent Haruf worked in a variety of places, including a chicken farm in Colorado, a construction site in Wyoming, a rehabilitation hospital in Denver, a hospital in Phoenix, and a presidential library in Iowa. He was 41 years old when his first short story, Now (And Then), was accepted for publication in the literary magazine, Puerto del Sol.
Over the next thirty years, he authored six novels and co-wrote a book of prose and photography. All of his books became national bestsellers.

His novels have been translated into 30 languages and include:

Plainsong, a finalist for the National Book Award, the New Yorker Book Award, the Los Angeles Times Book Award, and the Book Sense Book of the Year Award. It won the Mountains & Plains Booksellers Association Award, the Salon.com Book Award, the Society of Midland Authors Award, the Alex Award from the American Library Association, and the Evil Companions Literary Award. It was selected as a Notable Book of the Year by both the New York Times and the Los Angeles Times.

Eventide received the Colorado Book Award and was a finalist for the Book Sense Book of the Year Award. It was selected as a Notable Book of the Year by a number of newspapers.

Benediction was an Indie Pick by the Independent Booksellers and was voted the #1 book of 2013 by Indigo Books, the largest bookstore chain in Canada.

Our Souls at Night was produced as a film with Robert Redford and Jane Fonda and presented at the Venice International Film Festival. The U.S. premiere took place in New York City.

Three of his books, Plainsong, Eventide, and Benediction, were adapted for the stage by the Denver Center for the Performing Arts.

On November 12th, this is your Zoom link:
https://bit.ly/AuthorTalkHappyHour for LIVE on ZOOM ... passcode is Hall

Who Is Jeanne Abrams?

For many years, she has moved seamlessly among her multiple roles—a full professor who has been recognized for research, books, and articles. From a very young age, she showed a passion for reading and learning. As a young girl, every week she would walk 30 minutes to the library, take out the limit of four books, walk home, consume the books, and start waiting for her next trip to read more.

• For four decades, she strived to preserve Jewish history in the Rocky Mountains.
• Curator of the University of Denver Libraries’ Beck Archives.
• Director of the Rocky Mountain Jewish Historical Society (RMJHS).
• She is the author of six books, including Jewish Women Pioneering the Frontier Trail: A History in the American West, Jewish Denver, 1859-1940, Dr. Charles David Spivak, A Jewish Immigrant and the American Tuberculosis Movement, and First Ladies of the Republic: Martha Washington, Abigail Adams, and Dolley Madison. Her latest book is A View from Abroad: The Story of John and Abigail Adams in Europe.
• Her Revolutionary Medicine: America’s Founding Mothers and Fathers in Sickness and Health. Revolutionary Medicine was named one of the “Top Books for Docs” by Medscape.
• Jeanne was inducted into the Colorado Authors Hall of Fame in 2023.

It's a great author stop and awe time with the Inductees of the Colorado Authors Hall of Fame. All sessions will be recorded and registrants will receive the replay ... and they are FREE.

Listen in. Join in the conversation. Have fun. Ask Jeanne your questions.

Author Happy Talk is live on the second Wednesday of each month and features one of the Colorado Authors Hall of Fame Inductees.

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email. On Wednesday morning, you will get a reminder and the Zoom link.

The Colorado Authors’ Hall of Fame (the Hall) will offer up to five $2,000 cash scholarships plus a $15,000 value mentoring-coaching one-year publishing academy to aspiring Colorado authors and authors-to-be. The scholarship is part of its commitment to encourage, support, and nurture Colorado-connected writers.

Sponsored by the Colorado Authors’ Hall of Fame, Scholarship awards will range up to $2,000 each, plus the opportunity to participate in an extensive 12-month mentoring program to move them toward author success. The total value of each scholarship is $17,000 to each recipient.

Applications can be submitted from November 30, 2025, through March 31, 2026. Applications must be received by March 31, 2026, and the winning recipients will be announced in July. Recipients will be honored at a luncheon event to be held in September 2025.

Applications and additional information are available on the Colorado Authors’ Hall of Fame website: https://www.coloradoauthorshalloffame.org/scholarships

The Colorado Authors’ Hall of Fame Scholarship is open to applicants who:

Over 20 years of age
A legal Colorado resident
Have a desire to succeed as an author and in the field of publishing
Must include a sampling of their written work of at least 20 pages and an essay on why they want to become an author.

Part of the application process will include writing an essay of up to 1,000 words on the topic: “Why I Want to Write and Become an Author,” along with how they intend to use the money. Essays will be evaluated for excellence of writing, creativity, and, yes, grammar by a panel of judges consisting of bookstore owners, librarians, and published authors.

Of the previous recipients of the first scholarships in 2022, half have published their books.

The scholarships were envisioned by the founder of the Hall, Dr. Judith Briles. She shares, “Writing and publishing a book is like climbing one of our Rocky Mountain ‘fourteeners’. It requires years of preparation, unbelievable stamina, and courage. Facing that blank page is like starting an ascent. When you reach the top by completing the book, authors can suddenly see farther than ever before. This vision from the pinnacle is the gift authors give their readers. Now, the Hall would like to give a gift back to Colorado’s authors who desire to reach the publishing summit. Their impact on countless readers in providing entertainment, enlightenment, and solutions is immeasurable.”

The Hall is dedicated to recognizing and preserving the history of the accomplishments of past and present authors who have created and published books in or about Colorado.

The organization is an all-volunteer-run 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Its mission is “To honor and promote the works of outstanding published authors from all genres and generations with a vibrant connection to Colorado, to ensure their legacies will not be lost.”

Information about the application process, nomination criteria for Hall Inductees, donations, events, and board members can all be found at www.ColoradoAuthorsHallofFame.org.

Attitudes at Altitude promises to our readers …

We celebrate the outstanding authors inducted into the Colorado Authors’ Hall of Fame since 2019. They are the first in the United States that only honors published authors and looks at the impact and breadth of their work.

The 2026 Aspiring Author Scholarship submissions open in November through March. Winners will be notified in June. The Celebration Luncheon will occur in September. Put the dates on your calendar. The venue will be the DoubleTree Hilton Denver Tech Center in Greenwood Village.

The next Authors Hall of Fame Induction will occur in September 2027. Date and location to be determined. Nominations for the public will open in August of 2026 and close in March of 2027.

Each month, past Inductees are featured with their background and latest books.

Past Inductees will offer their sage advice on “how they do it”–whatever “it” is.

You will be the first to hear about Hall Events that are planned. Meet a favorite
author ... or a new one—one that has delivered mega hours of reading
enjoyment ... one that has made an impact on society or their field.

Support the Hall

The Colorado Authors' Hall of Fame celebrates the accomplishments of living and passed authors who have been connected to Colorado—their words, wisdom, accomplishments and the life-changing impact their works create. The result: their legacy lives on.

The Hall is an all-volunteer-run 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that honors and celebrates authors connected with Colorado by birth; by residence; by temporary residency for writing encouragement and support; by writing about elements within Colorado; or by placing storylines in or about Colorado.

Authors’ words have immense power and impact to change others’ lives. They solve problems, bring awareness to a topic, and provide hours of pleasurable reading. It’s the power of their words.

Your financial assistance through donations and participation at events supports the bi-annual Induction Gala in odd-numbered years; the Aspiring Author Scholarships; and the general operation to bring these events to the public.

Support the Hall for this year going forward.