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#132: Time to Blume

On February 12th, Judy Blume turns 84 — and her bestselling book, Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret, is finally becoming a feature film this year. To celebrate, we’re featuring prompts based on the YA classic released over 50 years ago.

If you need a refresher, Are You There God? It’s Me, Margaret follows 6th grader Margaret Simon in her quest for a religious identity. Her mother was raised Christian, her father Jewish. They’ve decided not to impose one belief or the other on their daughter, but that leaves Margaret longing for a god of her own to talk to.

Dive into this blast-from-the-past and relive your childhood reading by writing a story based on one of our five Judy Blume prompts.

This week's prompts

Start your story with a character saying “Are you there, God? It’s me…”

Dialogue – 108 stories

Write a story where a character is exploring their religious or spiritual identity.

Fiction – 59 stories

Write a story about a couple with fundamentally different beliefs.

Valentine's Day – 23 stories

End your story with a character saying “Thank you, God. Thanks an awful lot.” (sarcastically or not).

Dialogue – 44 stories

Write a story about a teenager whose family is moving.

Teens – 46 stories

Stories

“A New Woman” by Dylan Yarbrough

Submitted to Contest #132

All was not well at the Foothold camp. It was a small outpost that housed a modest force of guards and a whole host of carpenters, stone masons, and other laborers. It was also the temporary home of Rosha, an old hunter who was brought on to work as a guard. Due to her knowledge of the wilderness surrounding Foothold, Rosha was invaluable to the village planners that originally staked out the future village. Everything had been routine and simple for the inhabitants of Foothold, but as the trees began shedding leaves for winter life grew mor...

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“Hoopty Car” by Stephen Loska

Submitted to Contest #132

He tried repeatedly to bring the image of her smile into his head and keep it there. Sometimes he could do it for long periods, ten, maybe fifteen minutes, and if he could bring his breathing under control, he could feel a very small calm bubble up, and she would talk to him. Her voice saying anything was soothing, her voice saying his name was wonderful. He needed it at the moment. He had been driving, looking for a second hand store on Jeff Davis, to maybe buy a better jacket, and some shirts, but when he got there it was closing. It wa...

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“EARTHLY FATHER” by Day Parker

Submitted to Contest #132

EARTHLY FATHER Joseph sat in his work room, the cradle on his lap. One last bronze nail and he would be done making the cradle for little Ezra. Actually it was at his mother’s request. Sara, his cousin on his fathers side was all grown up, married, and now looking forward to her first child. Like all the Jews, she wanted a boy first. Hence the name Ezra. Since Joseph didn’t know if the baby was going to be a boy or a girl, he had decided not to chisel a name on the head of the cradle. Besides, no one knew how ...

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“Church Searching” by Michael Moran

Submitted to Contest #132

Peter looked in his closet and frowned. Suits rarely worn hung to the left of the work polo shirts and an assortment of matching docker pants. He pulled out the blue one but decided it needed to be dry cleaned and put it back. The black suit wasn’t much better, but it was better. “Little more snug than I remember,” he said while dressing. He struggled with the top button but was able to thread it through the eye hole. He ran a finger between his neck and collar then grabbed a pair of black leather dress shoes and sat on the bed. He hadn...

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“Broken Pieces Rise” by Lori Crymson

Submitted to Contest #132

As I walked up three flights of stairs, grocery bags in hand, I was berating myself for having bought a condo on the top floor. But it was mine, and I was thankful. Well, technically, it was my father's condo. He had purchased it for the girls and me, but we kept the condo in my father's name because I was still in the middle of a contentious divorce. As I rounded the corner that hot August day, I saw a red notice nailed to my front door. As I got closer, my heart quickened just as my breath completely stopped. A 30-day eviction notice hung ...

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“Out of Eden” by Ambassador Rose

Submitted to Contest #132

Leaving Eden was like stepping back into the void of anyone’s making. Heavy mouth breathers hoarding island chimeras promised the world to people like Starling and her mother. Whether light or shadow, heaven or hell, nonetheless, there was no going back. Kansas City, Missouri had been a proverbial Eden prior to Starling’s father’s death. Every step forward was swallowed within the shadow of that former loss – from the ‘More Than You Know’ of her mother’s suitor, a reptile with a smooth pitchfork, to the ‘Greater Love’ Starling sought...

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“Georgia Blues” by Nia J. Rodriguez

Submitted to Contest #132

I forgot how much this sucked. I run my thumb over a worn wooden picture frame. Behind the glass, there's a picture of me with my two friends sitting together on a couch, laughing. Probably about something absolutely asinine. I look at the photo a moment longer before wrapping it in a spare shirt I plucked from the various clothing items scattered across my floor and shoving it unceremoniously into a nearby box. The first time this happened I didn't care much. Then again I was ten and every friend I had made was superficial and ...

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“When I Leave You” by Rebecca Cowie

Submitted to Contest #132

"Mom got a new job, in Oakville." Those words replay in my head like a popular hit song on the radio, but it’s a song that I hate and I desperately want to change the channel. Only I can't change it this time; we're moving and there's nothing I can do about it. Honestly, there is something about moving to a new town and house that I’m excited about, not that I’d ever tell my parents that. No, it’s better they think I’m devastated about the move because I’m confident I can talk them into buying me a second-hand car to “explore” the new to...

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“Boxes” by Rob Walton

Submitted to Contest #132

Boxes. Bubble-wrap. Tape. It's moving day for my family, a stressful transition many people don't ever have to experience. Doing it amidst a global pandemic is even worse. Fresh start, happy memories, different town, new friends. Why us? I watch my sister pack up her art collection--charcoals, sketchbooks, colored pencils, erasers. She is five years my junior and is distraught by the sudden uprooting. Her rage and sadness are prevalent in the way she shoves the treasures into her knapsack. She appraises our shared room with trepid...

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“Bug Splat ” by Karen Lethlean

Submitted to Contest #132

Bug Splat So boring. No one her age. Already run out of books. Less to do than being at home. Sandra felt her feet get heavy in loose beach sand as she tried to dispel inertia by taking a walk. ‘Get out and find something you enjoy. Nature is therapeutic you know.’ Why the hell did her mum think therapy was required? Strange how once upon a time she and her father wandered along these same beaches, christened these walks Morning Explorations and set the task of finding The Most Terrible Thing washed up overnight. Now Sandy stared out ...

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“Miss Incomplete” by Susan Wakefield

Submitted to Contest #132

Are you there, God? It’s me, Miss Incomplete, sitting alone in the shade of a weeping willow in your lush garden of crimson and marigolds, violets, hot pinks and bottlebrush. Even though we’ve never met I want you to know how much I’ve missed you. As I sit here I can only conjure a vague image of you wearing a long robe and sporting a shaggy beard while preaching the gospels of Timothy, John, Isaiah, Thomas and a few of your other friends from the New Testament. Man, what a story! I seriously could not put that one down! Amazon bestseller!It...

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“The worst part of all” by Tony Hunter

Submitted to Contest #132

(Note: This story contains adult language.) My mother was packing things into boxes like they were trauma waiting to be sent deep into her subconscious mind—If only it were that easy. “Does she really need to be here for this?" I snarled at my dad, while looking at Miss Levy. "Don’t make things more difficult than they need to be Rachel," Dad replied. I hated that she clinched my dad’s hand after he protected her like that. Maybe she wouldn’t be so safe if he wasn’t standing between us. I rolled my eyes and conti...

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“The Beacon” by Philip Dmitriev

Submitted to Contest #132

Today In this place, the sound of the waves crashing against the rocks always combined so beautifully with the words we'd managed to say to each other all this time. We liked to sit on an old log by the cliff, against the backdrop of an abandoned and unsightly beacon. Someday this place will grow grass and we will be gone, but today our laughter, our passionate conversations, and our revelations bring joy to this lonely beacon every night. "What's that cut on your arm? Did you have it ye...

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“On the Move” by Shelby Hayes

Submitted to Contest #132

“Jamie, why are your belongings still unpacked? The movers will be here in less than an hour!” Leanne yelled, slightly annoyed.Jamie sighed and said, “I’m tired of moving, Mom. I don’t want to start all over again. I like it here.”Leanne, just shy of 36 years old, was fit and naturally beautiful. A single mother to Jamie. She had her when she was just 19 in a small town in Iowa. The two of them were never in one place for long. Leanne was a police officer and it required her to relocate every two years - mostly when life was getting comforta...

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“Are you there god, It's me again?” by Michelle Mc Kenna

Submitted to Contest #132

“Are you there God, It’s me again?” I’ve watched as your works have become action. I have listened to your messages and carried them to others. I have even sat for hours and days in contemplation and you have never once disillusioned me. Thank you for your words and actions. I come to you now to inquire about the book of wisdom. It is said that you are all-knowing and that we have within us the same powers as you have. I have seen sadness and happiness. I have known sorrow and elation. I seek to understand and appreciate others coming to ...

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$250

Prize money

280

Contest entries

127

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Feb 11, 2022 EST

Won by Adam El Nabli 🏆

Title: Inshallah

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!

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