Richard Cortez Day Award
in Fiction

The prize for best work of fiction was established with the 45th edition of Toyon in 1999 and was renamed as the Richard Cortez Day award in 2012 with the 58th edition. Richard (Dick) Cortez Day taught English at Humboldt State University from 1959 to 1987 and was Raymond Carver’s professor. Professor Day's books include Something for the Journey and When in Florence. Funding for the award is generously provided by Professor Emeritus Jim Dodge, previous faculty advisor of Toyon and author of the novels Fup, Not Fade Away, and Stone Junction and a collection of poetry and prose, Rain on the River. Read more.

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About Richard Cortez Day 

The Richard Cortez Day award was established in 1999 in Toyon’s 45th volume as the Advisor’s Award, but was renamed in 2012 by Jim Dodge and the rest of the Toyon editing team to honor a colleague and an early inspiration to writers in the area. Richard Day also served as an important figure to Toyon, pulling it further into the fold of the English Department. He’s also known for being the professor of a young Raymond Carver. Professor Day’s books include Something for the Journey and When in Florence. Funding for the award is generously provided by Professor Emeritus Jim Dodge, previous faculty advisor of Toyon and author of the novels Fup, Not Fade Away, and Stone Junction and a collection of poetry and prose, Rain on the River.

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“Richard C. Day began teaching at Humboldt State University in 1959, after attending the University of Michigan and receiving his doctorate from the University of Iowa. Over the course of his career at Humboldt he combined the vocations of teaching and writing. In the 1960s and 1970s, he was instrumental in bringing major poets and writers to teach and read at Humboldt. Throughout his tenure, he supported Toyon, and he served as teacher, mentor, and guide to students with an interest in the art of fiction writing. It is to honor his commitment to the university and its students that the Advisor’s Award was renamed the Dick Day Award in 2012.”- Cort Day (Richard Cortez Day’s Son)