400+ People of Color Short Stories to read

Submitted by writers on Reedsy Prompts to our weekly writing contest. The world is colorful and diverse, and so your reading list should be. Discover a multitude of experiences and perspectives with this collection of short stories written about and by people of color.

🏆 Winning stories

“How to Win a Game of Chess Without Really Trying” by Katy B

🏆 Winner of Contest #149

Disclaimer: There is no easy way to win a game of chess. But that’s only if by “winning” you mean hunting down your opponent’s king until he is gasping for air in a solitary corner, his vision fading into the black and white static of the board as your opponent (John, Meera, or Jeremy) commits seppuku by resignation. Only gradually will you return to the hard seats and smudged tabletops of your school’s B-grade lunch counter. You'll blink in a daze at the face of your opponent who, you must remember, is your friend in real life.<...

213 likes 139 comments 139

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⭐️ Recommended stories

“Vita Retro” by HC Edwards

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #234

12:01am             The girl opened her eyes, the sound of a train whistle lingering in her ears.   12:00am               The oncoming train blared at him, a bellowing trumpet like an angry elephant.  He could see the conductor behind the glass, lit up from the instrument panels.  There was a panicked expression on his face, and for that, Sarat was sor...

19 likes 20 comments 20

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“Bones” by Noa Garcia

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #225

The newborn skull is made up of 5 bones.By adulthood, it is 22, the face 14.If I were to build a human, I would begin with the skull (occipital, parietals, ethmoidal, etc. etc.). I would build down the spine in individual pieces. I would create a nasal cavity wide and straight enough to breathe through, a cranium large enough to house the brain.But, sitting in front of a linoleum block which is sitting on a chalkboard desk which is sitting on Maine soil on the planet Earth, I am acutel...

24 likes 21 comments 21

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“Maknae” by Eurae Muhn

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #203

*cw: transphobia “So you see, Officer Brittel, that is why–-” So-Yeon, who perpetually suffered from cotton mouth whenever she was nervous, paused to dislodge her upper lip from her gum line, where it was presently stuck. It was the unfortunate result of saliva evaporating from her mouth at impossible speeds whenever she was uncomfortable. There is no discreet way to unhook one's own inverted lip. But it ...

16 likes 6 comments 6

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✍️ All stories

“Clowning Around” by Elizabeth Cat🌟

Submitted to Contest #246

(The vice versa option)I cover my ears as I rush out the school doors at the end of the day. There’s kids talking on the phone. Other kids yelling. Playing music. It’s chaos.I’m reaching for my bicycle when someone grabs my shoulder.“Hey Trent, guess what?!”I turn around fast, a stiff frown forming on my lips. “What?”It’s Jacob. He’s always screwing around so much that he’ll never get a grade higher than a c. And he has a really messy, goofy afro.“I was gonna tell you a time traveling joke, but you didn’t like it.” He’s smiling so hard that ...

3 likes 0 comments 0

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“Syrup Stains” by Diana Lapaix

Submitted to Contest #246

**Trigger Warning: Mental Health, Physical Violence**_ As per usual, Dr.Marigold was eager to start our session, “Okay, whenever you’re ready. The last time we met, you mentioned you wanted to tell me about the first time you recognized you are oppressed.” Here goes nothing, “I’m ready.” Gently, she instructs me, "Jane, I want you to ease into a state of deep relaxation. With each word I speak, feel your body becoming more at ease. Imagine a gentle wave of relaxation flowing through you. This is a sanctuary, a place where you can release all...

11 likes 5 comments 5

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“The Day Ununit Blinded Her Sister” by Eloise Luxart

Submitted to Contest #245

“Appa, not again” Atar groaned.He rolled over to face the wall and buried his head under his pillow.The triplets shushed him loudly. All three wore very serious expressions on their faces as they did so.The adventures of Shearashi were their favourite stories and they did not want to miss hearing even a single bit of it. Besides, Atar was never any fun.With one hand on his rounded midsection, Appa’s body shook with the full force of his hearty laugh.“Come now boy. You love this story too” Appa said as he wiped a tear from his eye.“That was b...

4 likes 0 comments 0

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“We the People” by Elisabeth Fowler

Submitted to Contest #243

Nicole picked up a cherimoya and pretended to examine it while sneaking glances at the wizen shopkeeper. His stares were bold, so she turned a cold shoulder to him—a weak attempt at hiding from his judgment. She perused plums and pomegranates as if it were her birthright to buy his wares. The hole-in-the-wall souk was never busy like the rest of the market. The emptiness of it was usually inviting, but anxiety was starting to rouse Nicole as she continued her hunt for less bruised produce under the keeper’s watchful eye. For the first time, ...

12 likes 3 comments 3

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“Monkey Suit” by Naomi Atwood

Submitted to Contest #242

           As a third-generation Japanese Canadian, Jayne was one of the younger members of the Nikkei Cultural Association in southern Alberta. Since she had some facility with technology, she had volunteered to be secretary and took the minutes for the meetings on her laptop. The main project of the organization was to collect, collate and edit personal and family histories for publication in a large book, to preserve the history of Japanese Canadians in southern Alberta.&nbs...

6 likes 2 comments 2

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“A Cup Without Tea” by Indy Walen

Submitted to Contest #243

She was late coming home one October night. Fireworks from outside rattled the teacups on the shelf. The sound of fingertips tapped the glass windows. Was she home? The tapping dissolved into a heavy rain coaxing the windowpanes. I sat in the kitchen waiting. Then finally, she came home. The rain made her porcelain-colored skin glow. She wasn’t alone; a man trailed behind her. They were drenched from head to toe. Their laughter filled the air. He appeared exotic, clad in a long sequenced shirt and sandals. “Is this usually how Diwali ends?...

9 likes 3 comments 3

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“MET” by S. E. Foley

Submitted to Contest #242

She imagined winding her fingers in the pouf of his hair, twisting it into braids. Charlotte turned away, pretending to look at the towering gilded sculpture of Diana. Way to creep, Char. The school trip to the Metropolitan Museum of Art was amazing and exhausting. Her Figure Drawing professor had gotten them a charter bus and a miserably long drive from Potsdam into New York City to tour as many museums as she could cram in a day. Charlotte, ever the lone wolf, went to the MET’s American Wing right away.  She had been saving the cloist...

12 likes 5 comments 5

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“Butcher Knife” by Naomi Atwood

Submitted to Contest #241

Trigger warning: This story suggests child sexual abuse.                  I only vaguely recall Grandpa coming to the door of our bedroom that evening and asking us to come to his bedroom. I do remember that it was not the first time.  My older sister, Evelyn, at age seven and myself, five years old, were already in bed. We shared a room that was just down the hallway from our grandfather, in the basement of the duplex where our family li...

4 likes 2 comments 2

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“Chan Chan” by Vie L'cast

Submitted to Contest #240

It crept up her spine like a malevolent spirit, leaving a clear path of prickled skin up her back. She had not heard that song in over 30 years and though the air was indeed quite cool she knew it was not the wind that chilled her. Her eyes darted towards her husband’s whose thoughts were now with the political news clip he had scrolled to on his phone. Annoyed by his persistent absence she looked over at her daughter, Marina, whose stretched-out arms now swayed beside her as she embraced a tune that was otherwise crippling her mother. ...

4 likes 0 comments 0

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“Ankh” by Henry Spector

Submitted to Contest #240

A cool breeze brushes against Hadr’s brown skin before his feet begin to pound against the dark concrete sidewalk. The young boy is confident that the mechanical beast currently hunting him through the streets of Newon will give up at any moment as he dodges around people and lamp posts. He keeps looking behind him to see if he has finally lost the giant mechanical creature, but the thing begins to pursu...

8 likes 0 comments 0

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“A Row of Lights ” by Randal Mars

Submitted to Contest #239

"Don't step on the marigolds!" Sondra's warning was to Fina. The little girl was straddling the bright path of petals that led from the altar to the screen door. The colorful offerings of cakes, toys, and flowers had filled the ofrenda's shelves, and the votive candles were ready to be lit. Fina's older sister, Ari, pulled her away from trouble. In the dining room, their father Eddie was staring at the perfect vela. The b...

7 likes 1 comment 1

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“Spill the tea” by Jem Gray

Submitted to Contest #239

Shaimah rolled the dice idly between her fingers. If she closed her eyes the indents of the white dots could be felt. Number three, she was sure of it. Opened her eyes - five. Close. The dice reminded her nothing happens by chance. Everything can, and should, be explained. Like why she’d been hailed at 3am by a stranger who knew her number and had convinced her to leave her pencil-thin flat, crusted with the remnants of a student social night, to meet him. Under the bridge off from Station Street, he’d said. I know your secret. You’re no ...

13 likes 2 comments 2

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“A Cup Without Tea ” by Indy Walen

Submitted to Contest #239

She was late coming home one October night. Fireworks from outside rattled the teacups on the shelf. The sound of fingertips tapped the glass windows. Was she home? The tapping dissolved into a heavy rain coaxing the windowpanes. I sat in the kitchen waiting. Then finally, she came home. The rain made her porcelain-colored skin glow. She wasn’t alone; a man trailed behind her. They were drenched from head to toe. Their laughter filled the air. He appeared exotic, clad in a long sequenced shirt and sandals.“Is this usuall...

20 likes 7 comments 7

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“Trace of Butterfly” by Eon Wenzel

Submitted to Contest #237

“This is Mabel Lee.” After twelve beeps, what I heard was a voice as clear as the wind on the beach. Before I knew it, I exhaled a sigh of relief. I was holding a piece of paper with an unrecognizable number on it. It took me several days from when I first received the note to finally muster the courage to call the number. I was hesitant. I was scared.The voice remained unchanged, and I marveled. Then I tried to count exactly how many years have passed since I saw your face or heard your voice. You asked me how I was doing in the same voice...

7 likes 1 comment 1

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“Mellow but Yellow” by George Hughes

Submitted to Contest #237

Jimmy ran a small cafe known for its warm ambience and the rich aroma of coffee that welcomed anyone looking for refuge from the cold outside world. Well, not anyone, just humans.There had been talk of settlers integrating into towns across the country, but the chatter at the Early and Latte café was that Haberfield was too small to accommodate any. People were sympathetic that the alien world had become uninhabitable, but angry, too, because this one wasn’t doing too well either.“It’s a b...

8 likes 1 comment 1

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