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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

“The Magical Librarian of Madison” by C.C. Roth

Submitted to Contest #142

Jacob Sullivan huddled up against the shelves, the dark metal digging into his backbone as he rested his head and exhaled for the first time in the past hour. He only dared to close his eyes as the familiar smell of old pages sent the message to his brain that he was safe, concealed amongst the fiction section in Madison Public Library. The ceiling tiles, he noticed, were a strange and pockmarked pasty color; not quite white, not quite gray, and several badly in need of repair. If he wanted, he could use the marks to count the minutes until ...

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“Necromancy For Beginners” by Nell Hall

Submitted to Contest #142

“For matters such as these, I would personally recommend ‘A Beginners’ Guide to Necromancy. Very easy to follow. Great results.” The old woman held out a large, very old looking, book. The black leather cover was cracked in so many places that it rendered the title almost unreadable; the yellowed pages curled around the edges. Mallory stared hard at the old woman and at the large book, not sure whether to accept it. She wanted this to work, but she was still cautious. After all, she was 8 now; she had to act grown up. “How do I know you are...

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“The Birth of Mary” by Howard Seeley

Submitted to Contest #142

As I slid into my silk panties, I knew I was tasting forbidden fruit. The thought of this biblical reference passed through my mind, reminding me of my Bible thumping father. He had been a stern man, and if he could see me now, he would roll over in his grave. “Gary, how could you do something so unimaginable?” “Gary, how could you do something so unimaginable?” he would have shouted. But death had a way of silencing people, leaving me with the last word. “You’re dead, Dad, and now I’m going to start living my true life.” A dim light, illumi...

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“A Test worth a Million Books” by Maizie Bymers

Submitted to Contest #142

I'm Charlotte (Charli) Dodge, daughter of the queen of books, Rosie Dodge, head of the central library, and also a librarian. We even live in the library. But that's a secret so don't tell anyone. We get in and out normally through one specific bookshelf in the library, the fantasy books. I'm talking, the hobbit, lord of the rings, harry potter, oh sorry I got off track but today's special. My mom, the literal queen of books, and keeper of the forgotten world are about to interview me to join her council. "Enter," My mom's voice came when I...

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“Heads or Tails” by Aaliyah Hussain

Submitted to Contest #142

July 21st, 2011Jenna Lowe was well aware that a hot, thirty-four degrees day in London was as rare as her father skipping his afternoon siesta. Incredibly rare, and hard to miss. It was one p.m. The summer heat was at its peak, inviting most of London outdoors. Sun out, shirts off, ice cold beers cracked open. The news channel had deemed it the ‘Hottest Day of the Year,’ and that it most definitely was. Jenna sauntered outside, her flip-flops rubbing against her feet, making them feel hot and clammy. She raised her hand...

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“The Ephemeral Nature of Love” by Shuvayon Mukherjee

Submitted to Contest #142

Grandad died before I understood how I felt about him.A week after he passed, my mother - no doubt grappling with her own demons of regret - left to me the task of sorting through his belongings. I sat in the cramped living room of a stranger and looked around helplessly. Grandad was more of an idea than a person. Others spoke of him as a decorated military man, later in life a successful investment banker par excellence. A widower, a single father and later a Grandad. Whether any of it was true mattered little. I never got to know...

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“Mighty Huntress” by Carmen Ella

Submitted to Contest #142

Witney sat at home while her mama went off to work to wash dishes all night long at a restaurant. Witney would prefer that her mama would stay and play instead of going off to work everyday. So was the way that life went for Witney. Daddy was retired and could play all night if Witney wanted. But there was just something special about hanging out with mama. Mama had to go out and work, because, as mama says, "Soup, doesn't make money or buy itself." Witney liked soup. Witney decided that if she wanted soup, then...

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“Student Becomes Master” by James Grasham

Submitted to Contest #142

‘All men are Kings in their own home, quarters or buzz… buss?’ Lucas struggled over the word, trying to wrap his tongue around it. ‘Business.’ Said Luthar, not taking his eyes from their fire. He’d read the same thin book a hundred times or more, learning the ways and values of the guild. ‘Never… question a man’s authority whilst in the presence of his subordinates, to do so would… diminish?’ Lucas looked at Luthar who returned a silent nod. ‘His authority. Any issue that you take with his instruction must be addressed privately, man to ...

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“Sulley working in the shadows” by Eve C

Submitted to Contest #142

Sulley was introverted, non-compliant and non-conformist, he was pretty orderly and organised as compared to most people his age. Since his early childhood years he had never as much as liked large companies of friends, or even smaller groups of people. He stuck with his own ideas and appeared to be conceited to people, but in reality, he was just shy and awkward in social situations, and so it registered in his mind that he was better off being reclusive. Sulley was a teenager who loved technology, he would often watch vide...

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“Don’t Judge a Life by its Cover” by Chris Rohe

Submitted to Contest #142

“May I recommend J.D. Salinger’s A Catcher in the Rye?” said an older gentleman who had walked up next to me while I was standing in front of the shelves of classic literature at the local library. I looked over at the man who reminded me of an old 1970’s mobster; dressed in a blue suede jacket, with tan slacks and on his feet, white Ian Drummond dress shoes. His suit is complete with a light blue flat cap like golfers wear. Large gold-trimmed glasses were black as night but prescription lenses over his eyes. Even behind the gray hairs flo...

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“We Want Your Story” by Bennett Richardson

Submitted to Contest #142

“Gladys. You. Will. LOVE IT!” Mary said, as she thrust the large tome into my arms. “Oh, no thank you. I’m not really looking for–” “No, you have to read it. The main character is SO you!” She interjected. Before I had a chance to refuse the offer of this giant book, which I had no way of effectively carrying during my 2 mile walk home, she had said goodbye and she was on her way. “Damnit.” I muttered to myself as I attempted to find a comfortable way to hold the book. Mary was somewhere between an acquaintance and a friend. She trea...

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“The Last Library” by Jack Karolewski

Submitted to Contest #142

Perhaps it was inevitable. For what is life but a never-ending cavalcade of change and loss? People around the world stopped purchasing -- then soon, completely stopped reading -- physical books and other print media such as newspapers and magazines. Bookstores and publishers went out of business. Writers went broke and gave up hope, and ultimately abandoned their chosen profession. Finally, one by one, libraries across the globe were closed and repurposed. This...

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“Derek the Librarian” by Allya Nosmada

Submitted to Contest #142

When you go to the library, you expect a quiet, sweet, old lady, right? Or at least your librarian is always a woman. I don’t know why, but my librarian must always be a woman. She’s my go to when I desperately need a book and I don’t know what it is. But my librarian always knows what I need; somehow she just knows. So when I went to the library on Tuesday after work, really in need of a book, I was shocked not to find Susan, or Nancy, or even Gina who works part-time, but this Derek character. Yes, he’s talk, dark and handsome, but I ...

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“Plending Library” by T.M. Kehoe

Submitted to Contest #142

Ian sat on a park bench on the village green, enjoying a rare sunny English spring day. He had landed his dream job in London two months ago, and while he couldn’t deny the excitement, he also had to admit that constantly being surrounded by concrete and brick was soul-crushing. This fine Saturday he had nothing planned, so on a whim, traveled to Euston Station and hopped on the next train. He had no idea where it was going, and he didn’t care. He just wanted to get away from central London for the day.Half an hour later, with the city far b...

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“The Labyrinth of Whispers” by Ariel Niforatos

Submitted to Contest #142

It was said she was made of words, created from stanzas and lyrical sentences that came to life to form her being. She had always been there, silently tucking books into their proper places, her ocean-blue hair like a bird fluttering between the shelves. She looked young but her eyes were old. Her skin was covered in stories, black and grey and purple ink bleeding into clocks and hearts and names that children would often whisper among themselves to guess their origin. Some speculated she bore the names of those she had l...

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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!

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