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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#121: Giving Thanks

Next Thursday marks American Thanksgiving: an occasion for people to come together, catch up, and enjoy large quantities of mashed potatoes. In keeping with the name, many also take this time to reflect on what they’re thankful for — whether that’s good friends, a great job, or the aforementioned potatoes.


This week’s prompts expand on the idea of thanks, exploring not just gratitude, but also recognition, perseverance, and shades of the phrase itself. Whether or not you’ll be celebrating on Thursday, we hope this theme gets you thinking (and in case we haven’t mentioned it lately, thank you for being a part of our amazing community!).

This week's prompts

Start your story with someone saying “Thanks a lot” (sarcastically or sincerely).

Fiction – 37 stories

Write about someone giving or receiving a gift.

Christmas – 50 stories

Write a story in which someone gets credit for something they didn’t do.

Thriller and Suspense – 13 stories

Write about a character who struggles to express their thanks.

Angst – 14 stories

Write about someone in a thankless job.

Teens – 33 stories

Stories

“A Letter to my Past Lover” by Tathiana Alvarado

Submitted to Contest #121

Thanks a lot, Theo, Sorry for writing so late; I know it has been three years since we last talked. I still remember you and have flashbacks of our little memories. You’ve probably have sent me so many letters, and I might not have received them, or it is just so hard for me to open them. I haven’t forgotten you, Theo, so don’t worry. I will be honest, I do miss you a lot, sometimes I wish you got to stay with me until the holidays, so I had more memories of us.  Remember the promise I made you? I know I promised you to go to London...

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“Thankpology” by Thomas Carlucci

Submitted to Contest #121

The old man clung to the plastic bags in his lap as his power chair quietly rolled on the bumpy sidewalk. He was on his way home from the supermarket and needed to get the refrigerated items stored before they warmed up. Waiting at home for him was his adorable cat, Pookie. She loved her daddy and defied the common belief cats are independent. Not Pookie. She was always happy to see the old man and had no qualms about showing her love for him. She was his emotional support animal, and they played together, slept together, and even exchanged ...

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“Knitting Lessons” by Renee Srch

Submitted to Contest #121

Dashing up our neighbor’s porch stairs, I knocked on the front door. Mrs. Nelson had come home from the hospital just this morning so Mom had dished up a serving of the lasagna she’d fixed for supper and asked me to take it over. Shifting impatiently from one foot to the other, I wondered what could be taking her so long. At last, I heard a bolt slide back. Mrs. Nelson opened the door and peered out. “Jasmine! What a wonderful surprise!”            I was startled at how much weight Mrs...

5 comments 5
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“THE MAGIC GIFT” by David D'EttoreUser

Submitted to Contest #121

THE MAGIC GIFT             The first snowfall was always a magic time for Noelle.  Sun-bathed summer blues, greens, and yellows had drifted into the oranges and reds of autumn that ultimately faded to the drab canvas of grays and browns of early winter.  She waited with eager anticipation for that wonderland of white that would erase the drabness and fulfill the joyous anticipation of Christmas.            ...

4 comments 4
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“Giving Thanks” by Mark Nero

Submitted to Contest #121

People like to be appreciated and being thanked. For being acknowledged for doing something good or heroic or just plain useful! However, a lot of people do and say things just for the acknowledgment and to be ‘seen’ as doing good, like someone giving a meal to a homeless person then taking a selfie with them. Just so they can post it in Instagram or Facebook, without thinking of the shame that the person receiving the meal actually feels. The point is that giving or doing good, should be its own reward. What does it say in the bible? ‘Nev...

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“(Un)wanted Gift” by Peter Phoenix

Submitted to Contest #121

“What would it be?” shouted the tense bartender so I could hear him after I approached the bar. “Do you have something special for tonight?” I raised my voice, while I was quickly scanning through the hand-written drink list hanging on the wall. “Just what’s there,” replied the tall, slim barman and nodded towards the blackboard behind him. “Eh… wait a moment… hmm… One Moscow mule please.”  He took a glass from the freezer, put it on the stone slab and reached for the bottle of vodka. I looked around. People of all ages, sizes, ...

6 comments 6
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“The Journey” by Jewel May

Submitted to Contest #121

“Beep, Beep, Beep!” My alarm started as the clock hit 9 a.m. I swiped left to dismiss it, keeping my eyes closed. I had done it so many times I didn’t need to see. Then I turned to lay on my back. It had been 2 weeks of ideas to no avail. What do you get your boyfriend for Christmas? I have been struggling with this question for far too long. Now it is November 24th, the day before Thanksgiving, and yet I still have nothing. “Sigh.” I opened my eyes and got up, deciding to put this out of my mind for the time being and just start the day. I...

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“Credit due” by Alberta Bosela

Submitted to Contest #121

Thanksgiving ahhh.... that nice time of year... with the crispy turkeys and pies upon pies lemon, lime, chocolate you name it. The food comes out in full display. I feel some warmth maybe on the inside...or wait maybe just from the food. Either way the warm fuzzy feeling dyed down soon enough when I remembered.....we have to wait to eat. So I sit in the middle of my talking talkative relatives without talking to any of them. Instead I start thinking, much more preferable. Hmm let's see yeah...well Columbus how much credit should he...

1 comment 1
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“Him” by 🧣🍂Kayla Walton🍂🧣

Submitted to Contest #121

I watched as his name appeared next to my design. I watched him glance over at me but stand up happily, claiming the work as his own. I watched as everyone around us applauded him. I watched as Mr. Lambert, our boss, handed him a red envelope. I watched my body tense up and freeze. I know he would do this, fuck me over. He always finds a way to do it.  Hours and hours passed and for some reason, I expected an answer from him. However, one never came, so when I finished my work, I walked over to his desk. He gave me a wolfish look th...

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“Merton” by Conrad M

Submitted to Contest #121

The year was 1984 Merton Whipple was on his morning walk to work. He worked for the city of Binghamton New York on the back of a garbage truck. He was twenty one and had been doing it since he was eighteen. It's the only job he had ever had. Just before he turned eighteen he dropped out of high school because he knew he was far from a good student. He lived with his mother and step father in a small house on Lyon street. He had a girl friend Connie who he used to see after work. At that time of his life she was the love of his life. They wer...

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“Still Morning” by Megan DeRouin

Submitted to Contest #121

Still MorningThe birds always trilled the song of morning during the spring and summer, but during the fall and winter even they would fade into the silence that hung over Our Lady of Mercy Cemetery. It had always been a small cemetery, with a pond in the back corner and a tract of protected land to the left. The wrought iron fence that faced the street had long since been overrun with vines and scrub-brush. No one was buried anymore in Our Lady of Mercy, it was too full and had been for nearly a hundred years. The residents seemed to like i...

1 comment 1
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“THANK YOU!” by Leyli Yuldashova

Submitted to Contest #121

“On May 25th at 6p.m, café “Paradise” will host a meeting of classmates for the 15th anniversary of our graduation” I recently received an e-mail in my inbox. Oh my God, 15 years…time passed by really fast. Then I remembered the prom at which, even if we did not swear to eternal friendship, we promised to meet at least once a year. After school, as it should be, life scattered us not only across different universities, but also around the cities and even across countries. After a long separation, such a reunion excited me, because it was ...

4 comments 4
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“Arbiter of the Classroom” by Zach Martz

Submitted to Contest #121

The pile of papers on John Albright’s desk was still there, teasing him, reminding him of what lay ahead. It was the worst kind of workload – huge, but not quite big enough for him to doze off behind it without being seen.In the background he could hear the sounds of the children trickling off the buses and into the upper quad, where they would wait to be let in to the school as soon as the teachers got sick of watching them having fun outside. John sighed deeply, trying to tune the noise out as he wanted to get as much paperwork done as pos...

2 comments 2
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“A reason to be Thankful” by Sam Newsome

Submitted to Contest #121

A Reason to be Thankful In life, all deal with pain and strife, And sometimes God will send a light. Not a beacon or a beam, Or even a match whose flame might gleam. But perhaps a spark to kindle hope To grow and shine for all to see And make a change in you and me. The weather could best be described as raw in a winter that seemed to last longer than usual.  Perhaps life itself was becoming all too raw to match the season.  A family doctor’s life is not made to be easy, but with increasingly sick patients flooding t...

1 comment 1
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“The Birthday Gift” by Michael Montserrat

Submitted to Contest #121

It was a special day, although it seemed as ordinary as all the others. Today's work had a great purpose: to get a present for his sister who was completing her tenth birthday. It would be comforting for both him and the girl to forget the hardships of reality and celebrate, even in the midst of so many difficulties. He got up earlier than usual, careful not to wake his brothers, four in all, being the eldest.  The sun had not yet shown its grace, perhaps embarrassed at having to reveal that harsh daily scene.The boy had to get th...

2 comments 2
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$250

Prize money

147

Contest entries

113

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Nov 26, 2021 EST

Won by Deborah Elliott 🏆

Title: Onboard an Angel Flight

Submissions must be between 1,000 - 3,000 words and will be approved and published on Reedsy Prompts within 7 days of the contest closing.

Read the full terms & conditions or check out the FAQ if you have any questions!

Prompts | Big Blue Hand | 2024-11

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Prompts | Big Blue Hand | 2024-11

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