Menu

Menu
Prompts
Contests
Stories
Blog
Directory
Contests
Magazine
FAQ

Write about an art thief who is struggling to commit the perfect heist.

Posted in Adventure on Mar 15, 2024

Submissions are closed

Make sure you don't miss our next contest by creating your free Reedsy account.

Sign in with Google
Sign in with Facebook

Or use an email address:

Why not check out our active contest?

✍️ 30 stories

Number Thirty-Three

Shortlisted for Contest #242 ⭐️

“I don’t get art,” says Katrina. “Why pay so much for something that looks like a kindergartner made it?” She is staring at a beautifully chaotic painting stationed in the foyer.  “That’s a Molinkska original”, replies Jake, approaching from behind. “It also happens to be my personal favorite.” “Well, to each his own.” Her roving eye gave it one last look before moving on to the next painting hanging in the bright foyer. “It’s just not my cup of tea. I much prefer something more traditional, like a landscape or portrait.” Jake sidesteps...

29 likes 8 comments 8
Read story

SHADOWS OF THE RELIC: VINCENT BLACKWOOD'S ESCAPE

Submitted to Contest #242

In the heart of a bustling city stood the renowned Heritage Museum, home to priceless artifacts and treasures from civilizations long past. Among these treasures lay the ultimate prize— “Emerald Eye,” an ancient relic rumored to possess mystical powers beyond comprehension. For years, it had eluded the grasp of even the most skilled thieves. But the relic beckoned like a siren's call for Vincent Blackwood, a notorious art thief with an audacious reputation. Tall and lean, with an athletic build honed by years of daring escapades, he moved wi...

25 likes 14 comments 14
Read story

The Black Tulip

Submitted to Contest #242

In the dimly lit museum, the silence was broken only by the faint sound of an infamous art thief's muffled breathing, known to law enforcement agencies as 'The Ghost.' He crouched behind a marble statue, his heart pounding in his chest with the adrenaline surge in his blood and his palms slick with sweat of anticipation. As an adrenaline junky, he was again on a mission, and every nerve in his body was on edge as he observed his target, protected by the museum's state-of-the-art security system. The Interpol had been chasing The Ghost for ye...

22 likes 10 comments 10
Read story

Murphy's (Against the) Law

Submitted to Contest #242

Let me introduce myself, I'm Murphy, a gal whose clumsiness is as legendary as my charm. I'm the sort of person who could trip over an ant and somehow manage to knock down a skyscraper in the process. My friends often joke that I could turn a simple walk into a slapstick comedy routine. Despite my constant mishaps, my wide-eyed innocence and never-ending apologies make it hard for anyone to stay mad at me for long. One bright afternoon, I decided to visit an antiques store. The store was a maze of delicate trinkets and priceless artifacts, a...

17 likes 8 comments 8
Read story

Lost and Found In Turin

Submitted to Contest #242

American Paul Keller thought of himself as an extremely rational man, yet he now found himself 58 years old, living off his last month of savings, and in the Galleria Sabauda in Turin Italy without a train pass to return to his Airbnb.“I think I’ve dropped my transit pass somewhere in the museum,” he explained to a bored, but sympathetic looking, young woman at the museum’s front reception desk“We have not-a~ found a~ train pass to~day”, she replied in the charming accent many people in Italy use to speak English.Paul tried to remember how m...

15 likes 4 comments 4
Read story

The Perfect Night

Submitted to Contest #242

In the deep silence of the night, Rick, with his heart pounding with a mix of fear and exhilaration, snuck in the art gallery. This was it, the final act of his thievery career, spurred by the love for his fiancée and the thrill of one last challenge. The gallery, with its dim lights casting long shadows, seemed to whisper secrets of the past, secrets Rick was about to become a part of. He moved slowly, each step calculated, avoiding the creaky floorboards seasoned with age and secrets. The irony of the situation didn't escape him; the artwo...

15 likes 1 comment 1
Read story

The Heist

Submitted to Contest #242

It’s 6:30 pm and I am seated at the British Airways gate, anxious to hear my flight number being called. Dulles to London – I need to go “across the pond” as Gram would say. As usual, I had arrived early; boarding was not scheduled to begin for another hour. I would rather wait at the gate than deal with the stress of long security lines or other untold snafus.This time, though, my early arrival at the gate was not without trepidation. I was flying stand-by. It was the best I could do on such short notice.  The ...

14 likes 8 comments 8
Read story

Not Your Perfect Heist

Submitted to Contest #242

I don’t know if perfect heist is the best way to frame what I finally accomplished last Thursday.My name is Beans and that’s what I prefer to be called; don’t put a mister or doctor or reverend or any other term of endearment in front of it. Just Beans. Quick history since I know you are wondering. People who read are always nosy as all get up. So, here’s the scoop. Since I was little my daddy used to tell me and everybody who met me that I would never amount to no more than a hill of beans. Then he’d make me wear white starched shirts with ...

14 likes 3 comments 3
Read story

Noah's Mark

Submitted to Contest #242

On the corner of Weteringstraat and Lijnbaansgracht, Noah Vanderbilt sat at a table in front of the Back to Black café drinking his third coffee of the morning as he waited for the Hopi Boy. As a master thief, no, a magnificent master thief, Noah amended, he prided himself on his nerves of steel, but his now empty espresso cup still chattered as he set it back on its saucer.           Too much caffeine, Noah thought. Not nerves. Or fear. But, Noah was (mostly) honest with himself and kne...

12 likes 4 comments 4
Read story

Holding the Stone of Kings

Submitted to Contest #242

Abby slipped through the metal detector. Wearing black slacks and a colorful woven Guatemalan huipil blouse, she nodded politely at the man holding the tray with her small purse as she retrieved it. Her partner Ryan followed, picking up his phone and keys, and the two of them sauntered into the MUNAG, the Museo National de Arte Guatemalteca. Free, located on the Antigua central park in the immense old yellow building of the Capitanes Generales from the Spanish colonial era, a few other guests entered behind them.   They meandered t...

12 likes 0 comments 0
Read story

The Big Salad.

Submitted to Contest #242

Nathan, a master art thief, skillfully infiltrated the most secure galleries and museums. However, he also yearned for recognition as a struggling artist. One day, he devised a cunning plan: to sneak one of his own paintings into a prestigious gallery. But as he surveyed the gallery's treasures, he faced a dilemma: which piece should he replace? As calm as a patron admiring art on display, Nathan weighed his options. Should he swap the famous Monet or the iconic Rodin sculpture? The irony of his situation amused him – a skilled thief now att...

12 likes 2 comments 2
Read story

expect the unexpected

Submitted to Contest #242

“UGH! Why does this always seem to happen to me?! Alice said under her breath. She was sitting in the women’s restroom in one of the stalls for a discreet smoke break when the lights turned off. Her friends forced her to go on this blind date with some random man they knew from their book club and since Alice just got out of a two year relationship they thought that pushing her back into love would be the best idea. Alice only agreed to make her friends happy. Taking one last long puff from her vape, Alice opened the stall door and did the a...

12 likes 2 comments 2
Read story

Visions and Vendettas

Submitted to Contest #242

The chimes of the tower's bells echoed across the city, heralding the genesis.Tonight was the night. Casimiro inhaled deeply as he knelt on the bench of Seville's most illustrious cathedral. The air was laden with incense, intertwining with the aroma of ancient wood from the pews. His gaze fixed upon the Retablo Mayor, a grand woodcarving altarpiece, noting the finer details and stories of Jesus’ life while the priest droned on about some detail or another. Casimiro had spent over four weeks devoting himself to the boredom of daily masses an...

10 likes 0 comments 0
Read story

The Greatsword of Azura

Submitted to Contest #242

Farah templed her fingers as she watched the two young creatures sitting across from each other at the little wooden table discuss their plan. The storm that usually dripped over the town of Vulane was raging that night, and thus the tavern was nearly vacant except for Farah, her two ‘protoges’ and the barkeep at the other end of the establishment - too busy cleaning glasses and getting drunk on his own supply to bother them. Farah - the renowned ferret thief - had only had one ale and she could barely follow what the other two were talking ...

8 likes 1 comment 1
Read story

See me

Submitted to Contest #242

“I just wanted you to see me,” said Zach into his phone's camera. Tonight had not gone as planned. In truth, nothing in Zach’s life had ever gone as planned. His life was a never ending loop of attempts and failures. A vicious, cruel cycle that tore off piece after piece until it vomited out an egoless sack of nothingness. At the very least that cycle was going to end tonight. It wasn’t the ending that Zach had ever hoped for, but it was the one he was going to get. That was for sure, that was the only thing that was for sure now. All he cou...

8 likes 1 comment 1
Read story

🌟 Similar prompts

Write about a gallery whose paintings come alive at night.

Fantasy – 63 stories

Write about someone who accidentally destroys a museum’s most valuable artifact.

Funny – 30 stories

Write about two characters who meet and/or fall in love in a museum.

Romance – 96 stories

Start or end your story with a character who gets trapped inside a museum overnight.

Thriller and Suspense – 37 stories

How to Write a Novel

Join Tom Bromley for a writing master class and finish your first draft in 3 months. Learn more →

How to Write a Novel