- Anthology: a collection of poems, stories, or essays by one or more authors, with a compiler or editor other than the author(s)
- Children’s Literature: a book for readers ages seven and under, including easy readers, picture books, nonfiction, and children’s poetry collections
- Creative Nonfiction & Memoir: a book of nonfiction that uses literary styles and techniques as well as memory, experience, observation, and opinion to create factually accurate narratives
- General Nonfiction: a book of nonfiction, including, but not limited to, science, nature, guidebooks, cookbooks, and educational texts
- Genre Fiction: a book of fiction that is tied to the plot and follows conventions of genres such as mystery, romance, thriller, science fiction/fantasy, etc.; if enough entries for a specific genre subcategory are received in a given year, a Colorado Book Award will be given in that specific subcategory
- History: a nonfiction book of history, including biographies of persons born earlier than the 20th century
- Juvenile Literature: a work of fiction, nonfiction, or poetry for middle readers ages eight to eleven; if enough entries for a specific genre subcategory are received in a given year, a Colorado Book Award will be given in that specific subcategory
- Novel & Short Story: a novel, novella, or short story collection
- Pictorial: A book strongly focused on photographs/illustrations/art; books in this category will be judged primarily on their illustrative content and overall book design
- Poetry: a book-length collection of poetry by a single writer; chapbooks of at least 30 pages are also eligible
- Young Adult Literature: a work of fiction, nonfiction, or poetry for young adults ages twelve and older
Books may be submitted in only one category. The final decision on a book’s category placement will be determined by Colorado Humanities.