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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.

General – 39 stories

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

General – 68 stories

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

General – 28 stories

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

General – 35 stories

Write about somebody who likes to work in silence.

General – 26 stories

Stories

“The Harpy Librarian” by Malik White

Sylise was one of Grand Isle Library’s most beloved and committed librarians. Born of harpy descent, her scaled hands and taloned feet made her stand out from her peers. The brown feathered wings that sprouted from her back made traversal around the grand library easy, especially when she needed to grab a book on the top shelf. Be it human or elf, thief or hero, she gave everyone a chance to take out her books, on the o...

18 comments 18 SHORTLIST ⭐️
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“The Dartist” by Sharon Hancock

Warning: Some reference to mental health, and of course, Violence and gore.*****   She adjusted her eye patch and focused her one, good eye on the infinite potential of the blank canvas. Tongue between lips, she paced on silent socked feet …turning, visualizing, imagining. She felt the hum of inspiration that sprouted in the back of her mind; growing and blossoming as it crept forward in her consciousness. Tapping the end of the paintbrush on her lips, she cocked her head and narrowed her eye. On her next inha...

18 comments 18
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“It’s My Party! 🦏 🪩 🎁 ” by Pj Aitken

Staring at his shoes as they scraped petulantly along the floor towards his seat, Ronnie the Rhino tried his best to remember exactly how he got to this point. Wracking his brains to no avail he sat down and whispered to his colleague to help him remember. Whispering back two wonderful words into his ear, Ronnie’s eyes glazed over as he leapt back with gusto to those heady days before he had to tolerate all this nonsense.————Fifteen months previously, after yet another day of meetings, meetings, meetings, a younger and more ...

4 comments 4
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“The Head Librarian” by Laura Jarosz

Mrs. Audrey Lambert adjusted her steel-gray bun and nudged her glasses a little bit farther up her nose as she unlocked the library doors and marched resolutely inside to begin the day. As she arrived at her desk and stowed her purse in its designated drawer, her gaze lingered for a moment on the nameplate sitting on the edge of her desktop: Audrey Lambert Assistant Librarian ...

11 comments 11
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“(adjective): characterised by friendliness and absence of discord” by Jay Mc Kenzie

“It’s amicable,” she says. Her voice sounds tinny and far away. “It’s just…time to move on.”We stare at the phone, Mum, Dad and I, as if we’re expecting it to do something surprising. It’s lying on the table, on loudspeaker, at Gemma’s request. She offers us a couple of vague details that tell us precisely nothing, before promising to call again tomorrow. Dad and I are on our feet high-fiving before Mum has even pressed the end call button. “It’s going to be rough,” says Mum. “Yeah, but…”We grin.&nbs...

23 comments 23
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“Crimson Spurts” by Suma Jayachandar

I wouldn’t have come home, had my brother not left it.I alight from a black and yellow auto-rickshaw. My parents are not expecting me. So, nobody picked me up from the railway station.I pay the driver. He turns the tri-wheeler around and sputters away. I stand in front of imposing gates, with pink and white bougainvillea bursting from its sides. My hands tremble as I unlatch it after nearly 5 years. I crack it open just enough for me to slip in with my backpack.The sweet fragrance of jasmine tries to ward off the bitt...

12 comments 12
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“Wounds as Old as Time” by J.C. Lovero

Happily ever after was overrated.The children clapped as Belle waved her wand in the air. Shimmering motes of magic danced around the three little pigs before transporting them back through the Fade. With a full cart of books yet to be re-shelved, she purposefully chose a shorter tale for tonight’s reading. “Can we read another one, Miss Belle?” a little boy asked.“Pretty please?” a little girl begged, her pigtails bobbing up and down with her.She tucked her wand into an oversized pocket of her cerulean bl...

28 comments 28
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“The Tale of Sir Danielle Longbow” by Graham Kinross

Sir Danielle Longbow woke tired, sweaty, and dehydrated. Her smile stretched from ear to ear as she looked at Lupita Smith asleep next to her. Months and an ocean apart had been tortuous. To make up for it they had kissed until they were screaming with ecstasy. Neither had stopped until their bodies betrayed them with unconsciousness.             Kissing the soft brown skin of Lupita’s chest Danielle waited for he...

11 comments 11
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“Afterclap” by Chris Campbell

“You know where you’re standing, Mister?... You’re on Hell Street and I intend sending you right down to the bottom of it.” Confronted in the middle of the town’s thoroughfare by a mere slip of a girl dressed in men’s clothing, the inebriated cowboy wasn’t quite sure whether to fight, run, or laugh the girl home to her momma’s teet. Wynonna Belle was as tough as librarians come in the scheme of things all western. Youngest born of three siblings – all girls – she had to be hard as old nails to survive the harsh realities of...

6 comments 6
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“The First Five Years” by Takata Felix

The First Five Years. That’s what the diner guy said. I mean, he was a bit seedy looking, and he had a gross mustard stain on the belly of his shirt, but what did I have to lose? So here I am at the bookstore looking up this random title. Ok, here it is! Wait a minute. This little girl on the cover kind of looks like I did- but only kind of- when I was small. I check out at the counter with a young boy of about seventeen. He’s got shoulder-length wavy brown hair and a mouth full of braces. I think he’s the owner’s nephew or somet...

13 comments 13
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“Once an Enemy, Now a Prince” by Graham Kinross

To Lupita Smith the smell of a library was heaven. To Sir Danielle Longbow it was a sharp reminder that she’d spent most of her life illiterate. It was also a reminder that she sneezed in dusty places.            “Welcome to my humble commode,” said Carl Northman brightly, arms spread with a book in one. “No, wait. Wrong word.” He flipped the book open again. “Abode. My humble abode.” He frowned.           &nbsp...

13 comments 13
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“Dewey Decimal Disasters” by L.M. Lydon

TO: reports@macroshift.com FROM: smreed@metropol.lib.gov RE: Archivobot Initial Performance Report DATE: January 15, 2029 To Whom It May Concern: Per your company’s request and as required by the terms of our contract in exchange for the preferential, discounted financial terms extended to our library as a governmental entity, I am hereby submitting my first p...

12 comments 12
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“You Are” by Oliver Bisky

(TW for miscarriage and child death.)Maybe we should play a game. That’s immersive enough, right?A game?Monopoly. Scrabble? Something—I don’t know!Yeah, let’s introduce him to social constructs. He’ll surely understand that.Do you have any better ideas?Well…Oh wow, I love that game!

4 comments 4
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“Shhhhh!” by John K Adams

Shhhhh! They called it spring. Intellectual crocuses sent shoots peeking through encrusted snow. After years of unrest followed by martial law, curfews began to be relaxed. The generation who came of age during the darkness began to explore the potential offered by their rediscovered liberties. The young man known as ‘Roach’ entered the library. Though warm outside, he wore a hoody pulled o...

2 comments 2
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“Vigil” by 𝔊𝔲𝔞𝔡𝔞𝔩𝔲𝔭𝔢 𝔗𝔢𝔩𝔠𝔬𝔫𝔱𝔞𝔯

Candlelight gleams on the wooden rafters overhead as the chanting of The Exsultet fills the darkened church. Then the voices of the choir swell in multiple responsorial Psalms, and readings are intoned as flames flicker atop the white wax tapers the congregation hold in their hands. A quiet thrill goes through me as I listen to the first chapter of the book of Genesis - “And the earth was void and empty, and darkness was upon the face of the deep; and the spirit of God moved over the waters.” ...

36 comments 36
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$250

Prize money

196

Contest entries

139

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Apr 22, 2022 EST

Won by Deidra 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!

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