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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#17: All the Fixin's

Next weekend is Thanksgiving in the United States! And while people have their own various traditions when it comes to marking the holiday, one thing remains fairly consistent: you get together with loved ones and you eat.

And in between mouthfuls, you talk! In fact, dinner conversation can be an excellent and overflowing source of writing inspiration — from family dynamics and long-observed dinner-time rituals, to new-comer partners meeting the family for the first time. A family dinner can truly be mapped out using a story structure: with a beginning, followed by rising action, peaking with a climax, and then wrapping up with a denouement.

This week, each of our prompts challenges you to write a short story involving a family dinner.

P.S – Know some kiddos who will be excited to do some reading over the holidays? Check out this list of the 35 best Thanksgiving books to read with kids.

This week's prompts

Write a story about a family dinner from the perspective of an in-law who's married into the family.

Thanksgiving – 33 stories

Write a story about a family dinner that includes someone unexpected showing up.

Thanksgiving – 80 stories

Write a story about a "chosen family" dinner, where no one is related by blood, but they still feel like family.

Holiday – 40 stories

Write a story about a family dinner that takes place in any time period other than the present.

Historical Fiction – 30 stories

Write a story about a family dinner that involves some kind of reconciliation.

Nonfiction – 30 stories

Stories

“The family I choose” by Nechama Leitner

Submitted to Contest #17

My cell phone rings at the other end of my desk; my hand feels heavy as I make a weak attempt to reach for it. Whoever is calling can leave a voicemail. Yes, it is 2019, but that shit still works. My teeth grind together in irritation when the ringing becomes insistent. Why is it when you misplace your phone, it rings for what feels like a second, and when you want the thing to stop ringing, it doesn't shut up? The jingling of my coworker, Jake's keys, softens my irritation by a mear minuscule when he walks into my office. I continue st...

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“Family in the Fall” by Joshua Ryan

Submitted to Contest #17

The door open bringing a freezing draft inside, a dark shape hidden beneath layers of ill fitting jackets and layers ambles through. In his arms are holiday gifts. They aren’t giftwrapped nor are they aren’t even toys. It’s food. More valuable than gold. “I found a supply drop that landed in one of the ruins not far away, there’s a lot of good stuff I got from it.” The boy under the jackets boasts, laying out a variety of pa...

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“Lost Families” by Alice Hale

Submitted to Contest #17

The children of Quentin Orphanage weren’t family. They had no family, that was why they were there in the first place. However, there were times when they would come together and things didn’t feel as broken as they were. A group of 12 orphans sat in a circle on the rooftop, in the middle there lay a dirty white bed sheet with various kinds of food piled up on it; small pieces of bread, edible plants, nuts and berries; whatever they could find. “Where are Jamie and Roman? They were supposed to be here by now,” a tall blonde girl wondere...

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“Tethered in the Shattering” by Chitra Shyam

Submitted to Contest #17

A burst of Crimson was how Steven would have described the sky.And standing with his feet ankle deep in the cool waters of the Andaman sea, a few miles to the north of Karon beach, Phuket, he gazed out at the most perfect Sunrise he’d ever seen.The sea was calm, and seagulls called. Fishermen dragged their boats, returning back to the shore after their early morning catch. It was boxing day, the day after Christmas, and he was there for a family lunch. With family who weren’t really his. But they his in every sense that made sense to hi...

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“Last Dinner” by Kathleen Tison

Submitted to Contest #17

The DinnerMonday, November 25, 201911:20 AM I watched him come down the last slope towards the house. Miranda watched as well. She'd met Joe once, two weeks ago, I think. Watching him, I wasn't sure of the time frame. Time, of late, had become harder to keep a hold of, harder to corral into organized herds. Joe lumbered closer. This huge man. Aging, yes, but still such an enormous person, like some remnant of a giant coming out of the woods. A beard flopping against his chest, feet the size ...

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“Belong: My Family” by Nurul Aziz

Submitted to Contest #17

"Hey, everyone! I'm home!" A young boy in his teenage years walked through the front door before shutting it behind him. "Kevin, you're late! I thought you're helping out with the dinner tonight?" He could hear the shouting as he took off his jacket and hung it up in the closet. He picked up his pace and rolled up his sleeves, "Sorry, sis. I was out with the team at the mall today. They couldn't wait to celebrate till next week so they moved the date to today instead." Reena, who was chopping up some potatoes, turned to Kevin as he walked in...

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“On Laura Esquivel and My Meals ” by Rosario Yap

Submitted to Contest #17

“On Laura Esquivel and My Meals” “You are no Laura Esquivel!” I told the young woman in the mirror. Like scenes from a movie, I saw the petite woman prepared meals that punctuated events of her life. “You are like Tita in Laura Esquivel’s Like Water for Chocolate.” I heard myself whisper to the woman again. Saying this opened some dusty boxes of memories I have long pushed under the rag. Memories, both happy and painful came rushing like stemmed water Dinegdeng nga saluyot. ( Okra leaves stew) How can I forget the first time I c...

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“Thanksgiving From a Can” by AJ Cooper

Submitted to Contest #17

We sat in a circle on the stone floor of the bunker. I looked at the calendar. November 28, 2099. Two months since the first bomb dropped. It was Thanksgiving now, but I knew it would be like none we’d ever had -- and not in a good way. My father finished opening up the canned foods and preserves then we joined hands to pray. “Father God, we thank you for this food and for the protection you’ve given us in this terrible time. We ask you continue to keep us safe and healthy and guide those outside. In your Son’s holy and precious name we pray...

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“The Dinner Guest” by Rory Schwartz

Submitted to Contest #17

Drake sighed as he walked down to the mailbox to send off his invitation. Ten years. It’d been ten years since the last time he’d seen his mother. Eleven years ago, Drake’s family had fallen on hard times. His father, Malcom, was an investor who was accused of embezzlement. His secretary was the real culprit, but she’d covered her tracks very well and had disappeared. Drake sneered bitterly. The secretary was his father’s mistress. Oh, the irony.Malcom was convicted and sent federal prison. All of their assets had been frozen or seized. &nbs...

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“The Spurned Versus the Incompetent ” by Arika Elizenberry

Submitted to Contest #17

D.J. and her Grandmother Muriel munched on cheddar biscuits in Chubby’s Diner. Melrose Diner was full because it was Mother's Day, so D.J. brought her to the one adjacent to it. Muriel showed her disdain for the rock music playing and eclectic fashion styles. “I don’t see how you can stand this music,” she scoffed. “Billie Holiday and Duke Ellington were musicians.” She chewed on her biscuit. Around the diner Philadelphian singing groups such as Blue Magic, the Delfonics, and the Intruders hung on the walls. Above their booth was a pic...

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“Straight Talk” by Unknown User

Submitted to Contest #17

My father raked the leaves for four days straight when Michael came out. As soon as he put down Michael’s letter saying he was gay, my father didn’t say a word; he just went outside and started raking. In between raking from morning till night, he ate, sat in his rocking chair, and then went to bed, not saying anything for most of the four days, despite my mother’s frantic pleas for him to say something about how he felt. Einstein once said “Look deep, deep into nature and then you will understand everything better.” I don’t think all that e...

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“The Things We Forget to Remember” by J.D. Morganne

Submitted to Contest #17

The voice must’ve belonged to an angel and not his mama, whose voice was raspy as someone who had smoked too many cigarettes. In this moment, an angel must’ve possessed her, made her voice twinkle like the Christmas star on their tree. Every year, for fifteen years, everyone came from all over to celebrate at his mama’s. The kitchen was always packed with camaraderie, new cousins to teach all the family secrets, which foul-breathed auntie to keep away from. Now, the house was silent aside from his mother’s singing. Not like a moment ago...

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“A Christmas Wish” by Unknown User

Submitted to Contest #17

Hi, my names Shyllo. This story is about a person who meant the world to me and held us all together.There was a time in my life that I felt a lot of love from my family growing up, I remember always waking up to the smell of coffee, my grandma Nellie’s home made biscuits with sausage gravy, and scrambled eggs. And being greated with the biggest, warmest hugs. Going for holliday vacations at grandmas house was always one of my most favorite things to do. My Gran would always have a chair by the stove having us fetch the items she needed to c...

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“Only God Has Placed Me Here” by Ava Medrano

Submitted to Contest #17

Slicing the turkey, I glared down at the juice gushing outward and steam cascading upwards from its body. The subtle moisture arising and dancing with itself; even the vapor within this stupid cooked turkey wasn't lonely. However, I stood inside my three room apartment on this so-called "Thankful Day" without anyone to eat with. Was it my fault? Am I too bitter?After sitting down at my own dining table, I stared at the view I received from my apartment; a solid brick wall. It was at that moment that I lost my appetite to sadness.Busting fort...

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“Dinner With Cinderella” by KD Jensen

Submitted to Contest #17

Dorabella Westham approached the dining room with a nearly overpowering sense of dread. It was the first time since she, her mother Agatha and her sister Lorena had moved into the castle that that they had taken a meal with Ella, the new Princess of Abelmore and Dorabella’s stepsister. For several years, Ella had born the brunt of the Westham women’s malice and cruelty. She’d been turned from daughter of a prosperous merchant into the lone maid of the once grand manor. Agatha and Lorena had taken great delight in s...

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$50

Prize money

213

Contest entries

0

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Nov 29, 2019 EST

Won by Ian Gonzales 🏆

Title: No Place Special

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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