The Nederland Community Library (NCL) opened up its space on Sunday, October 8, 2023, to lovers of fiction and non-fiction, to writers, poets, and journalists, to sit and listen to 10 local voices read excerpts from their work and give insight into their processes. Folks also enjoyed live music, engaging conversation, and complimentary glasses of wine.

NCL staff worked hard on the first Colorado Local Authors Open House to create an intimate setting for aficionados of the written word to enjoy stories of race, of intrigue, of adventure, of local history, and of the ferocity of nature. Those in attendance were also able to meet the authors one-on-one, purchase their books and get them signed, and learn from them their inspirations for past work, and aspirations for the future.

Author, magazine editor, film producer, and award-winning journalist for The Colorado Sun, Tracy Ross hosted three different panel discussions, with each panel featuring three writers, all from distinct backgrounds and with unique perspectives, and lasting roughly an hour, including a short meet-and-greet portion.

Award-winning Denver based author Jenny Shank read an excerpt from her book Mixed Company about the trials that arise and the lessons that are learned for a white hippy couple from Boulder and their black adopted child.

Nederland-raised Erika Krouse looked to her career as a private investigator for inspiration for her darkly quirky true-crime book Tell Me Everything: The Story of a Private Investigation, which is a 2023 Edgar Award winner.

And local photographer and adventurer John Mattson spoke off-the-cuff about his memoir Dancing on the Edge of an Endangered Planet, which tells of his exotic, strange, and often dangerous forays into unique situations, often involving extreme sports, which took him all over the world.

Local author, historian, journalist, and former owner/editor of The Mountain-Ear Kay Turnbaugh was the first to speak on the second panel of authors, reading an excerpt from her dramatic retelling of the true tales of Goldie Griffith, The Last of the Wild West Cowgirls.

Local author, entrepreneur, and creator and owner of Bhakti Chai, Brook Eddy read from Steeped: Adventures of a Tea Entrepreneur, which details her experience as a new mother of twins living in Nederland and learning the importance of tea not only to her own sanity but to her lifestyle, as it would become a passion and a new career.

Michelle Theall is a writer, a magazine editor, has been a court-appointed advocate for abused teens, and is an award-winning professional photographer who leads wildlife expeditions in Alaska. Her new book The Wind Will Catch You is a powerful story about our country’s broken foster care system which garnered Theall a GLAAD Award nomination.

The third panel began with local author Karen Auvinen, who read an excerpt from her book Rough Beauty: Forty Seasons of Mountain Living, which detailed a turn in her life and in her career, when believing a new horizon was rising in front of her home, her belongings, and years of writing and research went up in literal flames in a house fire.

Alison Turner’s bio on her website describes her time growing up in the mountains as being “where she learned to endure large amounts of time in inclement weather wanting for buses.” Her new collection of 10 short stories, Defensible Spaces, carries themes of mountain living throughout, down to the emotionality contained within that which has been burned by fire and that which has yet to ignite.

Gilpin County poet Alexander Shalom Joseph read several poems from his collections, including Our Mother, the Mountain and his newest collection which delves into the perspective of finding positive light within the cleansing glow of natural wildfire. Joseph’s prose touched upon our infringing relationship with nature and dedicated beautiful words to the blue-collar workers who grease the wheels of not just our rural existence but of the world.

Local singer/songwriters Chip Benson, Rebecca Coronna, and Eric Stone provided the perfect backdrop for the evening in between panel discussions, as guests enjoyed a selection of red and white wines served with a variety of snacks. Stone offered some of his recordings for sale, and the NCL also sold merchandise with the proceeds, in addition to the $10 cover charge for the event, going towards the construction of a mini-park and outdoor event center on the library property.

The Nederland Community Library is located at 200 Highway 72 in Nederland and is open from Monday to Thursday, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., and Friday and Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and on Sunday, 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. For more information call 303-258-1101.