T.J. Lyons takes first in Robert V. Williams fiction contest

• April 21, 2011 8:00am

Senior English major Thomas Lyons, who goes by T.J., has taken First Prize with "Days Gone Febrile" in the 2011 Robert V. Williams Memorial Contest in Fiction, sponsored by the Cal State East Bay Department of English.

Second Prize has gone to Sharon R. Wolfe for "Relativity," and Third Prize to Jennifer Walters for "Kristina." First Honorable Mention has gone to Christopher Morgan for "Where the Mind Takes Him," Second Honorable Mention to Janet Burns for "The Fungus Amongus," and Third Honorable Mention to Sarah Gina Jones for "Double Winner.”

English Professor Emeritus Jake Fuchs, an accomplished short story writer and novelist whose latest book is, “Conrad in Beverly Hills,” judged the entries. 

Contest organizer Stephen Gutierrez, professor of English, said, “A strong field of entrants guaranteed a meaningful contest. Everybody involved should be proud.”

The first, second and third prize winners will receive cash awards of $100, $75 and $50, respectively, and the pieces will be published in “Occam's Razor 28,” due out this spring.  The first honorable mention will also be published in “Occam's Razor,” and the second and third honorable mentions will be cited.  

The late Robert V. Williams was a long-time professor of English at the University who funded the contest after his retirement in the mid-'80s.