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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#142: Librarian Love

April 16th is National Librarian Day in the US! You may know your local librarian as the person who helps you find your next great read, but librarians accomplish a lot that we may never notice — acquiring new books, helping patrons conduct research, and working with schools or other community groups. 


Ultimately, a librarian’s main job is to continue democratizing information so everyone can have access to whatever it is they want to learn. Pretty cool!


We believe librarians are massively important public servants in any thriving community, so to celebrate them we’re inviting you to write a story based on one of these five prompts:

This week's prompts

Start your story with someone being given a book recommendation.

Middle School – 33 stories

Write a story about a librarian that doesn’t fit into the common librarian stereotypes.

Fiction – 62 stories

Write about a character on the hunt to solve a mystery who uses their local library (or librarian) as a source of information.

Thriller and Suspense – 25 stories

Write a story that includes one character reading aloud to another.

Dialogue – 30 stories

Write about somebody who likes to work in silence.

Dialogue – 25 stories

Stories

“Poetry Aloud” by Sarah O'Donovan

Submitted to Contest #142

Chapter 1 Me and John always fit together. Our bodies, our minds. We were like a jigsaw piece, each corner smooth and perfectly aligned with an equally smooth incave in the matching piece. Yet, each piece had its own faults that gave it character and personality. And then maybe those gaps grew wider without me realising. Or maybe I put a wrong piece in somewhere and set the balance off. Either way, all I know is now I’m alone in the world. John won’t even talk to me. He should know all that bullshit about Cooper and me was pure school drama....

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“Brother John a.k.a Greg Johnson” by Jonathan Morris

Submitted to Contest #142

The closure of the abbey was hard on all the brothers. But none felt the loss as deeply or more profoundly than Brother John. Brother John had been cloistered at St. Gabriel’s for the last 47 years and had been silent for the last 45.  The Trappist monastery was an unusually quiet place for the then 19 year old Greg Johnson. Greg had been an outgoing and talkative boy. He was a talented athlete, popular with the girls in his high school, and enjoyed everything with youthful vigor and exuberance. Hiding just underneath the surface howev...

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“Shower Physics” by Ashley Bowie

Submitted to Contest #142

 If they would all just shut up I could get some things done around here. As precious and fumbling as they are, my favorite time is when they are all asleep. All day long it’s; I need help, I need answers, I need more time, I need money. Always with the money. When they sleep is when I can see their problems with out the words. I can feel their exhaustion, I can feel the anxiety of not yet being sure of what they want but knowing they need something. They always need something. Is that my fault? I thought I gave them everything, gave th...

4 comments 4
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“The Librarian” by Alexandra David

Submitted to Contest #142

Maddy, come here. Hop on the bed. I have a present for your 14th birthday and I want you to have it now. She was surprised she was getting a present before her birthday, but was suddenly all fidgety to see what it was.Take a look her grandpa said smiling. He loved watching her open presents from him, throwing the wrapping paper all around the room, trying to get faster to what was inside.Under the balloon wrapping paper there was a thick, heavy, purple book with a lot of words of different fonts and sizes, inscribed on the front cover, ...

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“The Book” by Annette C

Submitted to Contest #142

The sun was shining brightly in an endless blue sky while Evaness and Verna were in front of their house giving away free books to anyone who walked by. Faun stood at the door keeping a watchful eye. She preferred that they sell the books to make some money, but her daughters were more of a donate type. As Evaness spoke to a lovely couple that stopped by to pick up some books for their children, Verna kneeled to pet their dog. Faun smiled at the young couple then was momentarily distracted by what seemed to be a homeless man approaching the ...

0 comments 0
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“Just Peachy” by Erin Belmares

Submitted to Contest #142

"God why is this so difficult?" I asked myself aloud. A shush came from the nearby librarian and I instinctively rolled my eyes at her. I scanned the bookshelves not knowing what I was looking at and sighed quietly.  I don't need to be getting kicked outta the library now, not when my assignment's literally due tomorrow. I don't even know what I'm fucking looking at.  I bit my lip ring as I tried reading the book titles on the spines trying to look for one to catch my eyes. Have books always looked this boring? I saw a bo...

2 comments 2
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“90 pages 10 pages” by Mi Sha

Submitted to Contest #142

‘The shadows of the Wind’ that’s the book you should read next Julie.Thanks Michael, let me google and see what it is about. Hmm thatseems to be a mystery book. I am not sure if I would want to read mystery book.Julie, do you like books that are well written, take you toplaces and ignite your imagination?Yes, I do Michael.Do you like books which connect you with characters, and you getto feel what they are feeling?Yes of course that’s the best part of the books.So why not a mystery book if you are getting all these thingsthat you are looking...

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“Of Vice and Kinsmen” by Kelita Sim

Submitted to Contest #142

As Amina’s eyes zip down to the next row of paperbacks and finally locate the correct section, she ironically fails to notice the squatting man browsing through the lower shelf. The man barely loses balance, but his grumbling unsettles Amina. She snatches the recommended book and backs out of the narrow aisle, profusely apologising. Feeling flustered, she presses the novel against her chest and slides into the view of the front desk’s library assistant. She has fortunately bagged the last copy.Why is my heart beating so fast?!The collision w...

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“The King's Count” by Cameron Sides

Submitted to Contest #142

Upon the death of his wife, the king went mad with sorrow. For days on end he sat silent on his throne, eyes down, his whole court frozen around him, no one daring to speak lest the ominous crackling potential in the air turn them into a lightning rod. Nothing could break the king’s trance, it seemed, not his favorite stories from the court jester, nor his favorite dishes from the court cook. Even his chief adviser’s soothing and cajoling could not rouse him, as the adviser deployed upon his king the same sing-song tones he used to manage hi...

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“The Sword Swallowing Librarian” by Gary Robinson

Submitted to Contest #142

The Life of a Sword Swallowing Librarian Duke leaned out the bay window and inhaled the smell of the warm ocean air. His heart fluttered and he smiled. Duke knew any sign of spring meant him returning to the streets to perform his sword swallowing act. Duke looked below to the crowded sidewalk. “Good money to be made today,” he thought. He had a special skill that allowed him to earn cash on the street. There were only fourteen sword swallowers in North America, and none of them performed on the urban center sidewalks. With his act and cur...

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“Afternoons with Ms. Witherspoon” by Courtney Renee

Submitted to Contest #142

Activity hour was a sweet solace, promised to me at 2 pm of every workday. For an hour I sent the children to another instructor for a break from the mundane. This was my time to recuperate, grade work, and restore the day’s destruction upon the classroom.  Monday, they played music. Tuesday was art. Wednesday was athletics. Thursday was spent with the guidance counselor. Friday was with the librarian, Ms. Witherspoon. My second graders, naturally full of excitement, would return from activity hour with stories to tell, regardless of...

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“Shaping Summitville” by Alex Wheatley

Submitted to Contest #142

“No, Mr. G!” His fourth graders were seated on the checkered carpet. He perched on a stool in the back of the stuffy library, his back to the whiteboard and children’s books A-K to his left. He watched the fan spin overhead, trying to keep the kids from seeing whatever emotions flitted across his face. “You can’t leave! You just got here!” The other kids shouted their agreement. As he brought a stern finger to his lips, the cries continued at a slightly lesser volume. “Where are you going?” “But we haven’t finished Henry’s story! ...

4 comments 4
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“The Reality of Fiction ” by Carmen Lee

Submitted to Contest #142

“Hey yeah, I wanna shhh, baby. Here I go, here I go, here I go again. Shhh shhhh ba-doop.”“Yes, here you again,” she remarked to herself through gritted teeth. For the last two hours she had been listening to this man turn Salt N Peppa into a quiet joke that was ironically not quiet at all, the cadence of his deep voice crescendoing and decrescendoing as he roamed up and down the many lanes of bookshelves. All she wanted to do was put her head down and finish this project. Is the library not the place for this exact situation? Peace N Quiet ...

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“The Keeper of Books” by Ashley Cullen

Submitted to Contest #142

“This time, can you pick out a fictional book, one with chapters, please?” she says, prodding and impatient. Both boys stop short in front of the glass doors and look back at her, silently pleading. Their bodies instinctively turn toward the section filled with factoids, statistics, and world records. Their shoulders slump and they sigh, eyes rolling up in disgust, but stubbornly they move along.The automatic doors swish open, bringing a gust of air inside with them, a spill of summertime humidity thick as glue. The circulation desk sits emp...

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“THE LIBRARIAN - MRS. M” by Vijay Likhite

Submitted to Contest #142

Mrs. M, the senior librarian entered the library building of Boston University at 11 in the morning,. She used the elevator and reached the 5th floor to enter her cabin. Settled herself and looked around through the glass panel. Only a couple of students were seen scanning some books. Mrs. M wondered whether that treasure of knowledge was being utilized by the students effectively for carrying out research work. She got the idea of doing some project work herself along with some students. She wanted to see the effectiveness of attracting stu...

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$250

Prize money

175

Contest entries

129

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Apr 22, 2022 EST

Won by Deidra Whitt Lovegren 🏆

Title: What You Can Do With Your Book

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 | Many Hands | 2024-09

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Prompts | Many Hands | 2024-09

Join our weekly contest

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