Thank you to the 44 authors who submitted entries to the Texas Bar Journal Short Story Contest this year. To keep the contest fair and impartial, author names were removed from each entry and replaced with numbers. Two panels of judges faced the challenging task of selecting the winners, and for each round, the same evaluation form was used for consistency. Ten entries advanced to the final round, which was judged by Mike Farris of Dallas, Stephanie Tillman of Houston, and Lane D. Thibodeaux of Bryan.
The winner, “The Corner Man,” by Amanda Moore, earned the highest number of points.
Please congratulate these attorney-authors for making it through the competitive first round of judging to the finals.
“The Corner Man,” by Amanda Moore (First Place)
“High Stakes Litigation,” by Russell W. Fusco (Second Place)
“The Color of Gravity,” by Blair Dancy (Third Place)
“A Formal Interview,” by Carolyn (Lyn) Fitz-Gerald Levin
“The Blues,” by Jason P. Steed
“Spider Bit,” by Ron Uselton
“Pennsylvania,” by David Portz
“A Coin for Charon,” by Frank J. Gonynor
“Clients,” by Scott Petty
“A Cold Dish,” by Terri B. Moore
Here’s an excerpt from “The Corner Man”:
At the beginning of every case, he was always civil and the true embodiment of what they talk about in the Lawyer’s Creed. If a case went to trial, however, the Ice Man had absolutely no mercy. My wife says that I exaggerate these things, and maybe I do. Over the years, I have become a bit cynical about things. No matter what anyone says, though, I still remember the trembling lips and flushed face of a notorious gang leader who wept in his chair after the Ice Man’s closing statement. It might be a courtroom legend, but I heard that the gang leader’s lawyer begged him to take a plea deal instead of taking a chance against the Ice Man.
The entire story, along with the second and third place winning entries, will be published in the June issue of the Texas Bar Journal.