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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#175: Pitching In

With thousands of yearly participants from around the globe, our contest has grown into one of the largest writing communities in the world. We’re very proud of it, and we couldn’t be more excited to see it grow further. But all this would be impossible without the help of our Reedsy Prompts judges, who generously dedicate their time and expertise to review story submissions and keep this community thriving (if you fancy joining them, by the way, you can!).

To celebrate their work, this week’s prompts are a love letter to the everyday heroes who are chipping in, helping out, and lending their skills to their community.

🥇 Winner

“All I Want For Christmas is Fair Labor Practices” by Elizabeth Henkel

🏆 Winner of Contest #175

“I told you, Billy, I’m out of the game. Have been for a long time.” Gustmas Tinseltrolley took a long, slow sip of his hot cocoa as Billy “The Jingle” Bellringer stood in the living room of his cozy log cabin, deep in the Canadian Rockies. He knew the second the broad-shouldered elf had knocked on his door that, at the least, trouble was afoot. At the most? All of Christmas could be on the line. “The Big Guy needs you, Gus. The kids need you. You were the best gift wrapper the North had since tissue paper was invented. Besides, Claus said ...

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⭐️ Shortlisted

“A Thing of Value” by Laurel Hanson

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #175

“You should not be doing that.”I looked down at the frail bird of a woman leaning on her cane in front of me. Her eyes were the kind of faded blue you can only get by leaving denim out in the sun too long. They nested in a mass of wrinkles, a face like a dried apple doll. Still, there was a sharpness in her glare that drilled into me from a good foot and a half below my chin. I’d hit 6’ this summer, so this lady was short, but she also looked like she wasn’t going to take any lip from anyone.I had been warned to be polite to Mrs. Grunwa...

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“Personal Growth” by Matt Francis

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #175

The edge of my spade finds a crack in the dirt, and very carefully I push my weight down onto its handle, driving the blade deeper and deeper into the ground until it is covered completely. Switching my grip, I pull back on the handle and remove a small pile of earth from its shallow, pitiful hole, dumping it unceremoniously to the side. I wipe my brow of the sweat that is already starting to form there. Small, devious, and glistening clues giving me away as somebody new. Somebody who has never done this part before. But it's not the digging...

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“Found You” by Kelly L

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #175

Grandma is dying but she has lived a long and good life. At the age of ninety-seven, she was in remarkably good shape until a cancer diagnosis three months ago. She made it clear from the start that she didn’t want to fight it. No chemo, no radiation, no surgeries. “Just keep me comfortable and let me die in my own home,” was all she asked. My sister, Laurie, and I were supposed to be taking turns staying with her in her house, but Laurie works a lot. I am basically staying here full-time. Fortunately, my job is a remote research positi...

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“A Carefully Manicured Lawn” by Haley Roeder

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #175

Hestia and her young neighbor slide the oak sapling into the gaping hole dug in the earth.“Hold it straight, now,” Hestia says gruffly as she shovels dirt around the root ball.“I can do this part, if you want? I’m younger and, uh,” the neighbor trails off as Hestia gives her best scathing look.They finish the task in silence.---40 Hours AgoHestia opens another Diet Coke, the crack and fizzle a welcome sound to her ears. She knows it will be the death of her, but it is her vice of choice, and she will gladly take it to the grave. When the aci...

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“Scraps” by Elisa Stone Leahy

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #175

SCRAPS By Elisa Stone Leahy There were only three of them in the backyard, but it was cramped and crowded. It defied physics how cramped it felt, Rain thought. Perhaps it was because they were sharing it with approximately two million mosquitoes. More likely, she decided, it was because the smell of manure on Uncle Roy’s mud boots and Ms. Watson’s cheap perfume mingled into an oppressive cloud that weighed down the air around them. The backyard was only the size of a large bathroom, or a garden shed, but on this end-of-summer day it seeme...

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“The Gardener” by Jarod Smith

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #175

Her hands were the color of the earth around them, ungloved like roots.“We try too hard,” she had mumbled when I noted the bare skin. “Put too much work into keeping separate from anything alive.”It was the longest sentence I’d ever heard in that dry-leaf voice. She was an orator of actions, and she had small interest in philosophies she couldn’t touch. In the month since I met the gardener, I learned that she had no love of talk, no interest in convenience, and no respect for weakness. A tree-hugging Spartan. If I had to be here, though, th...

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This week's prompts

Start your story with two people planting a tree together.

Short Story – 50 stories

Write a story about someone who volunteers to read for others at the local library, and how it impacts their community.

Adults – 22 stories

Write about a character who discovers something while raking leaves in their neighborhood.

Mystery – 40 stories

Write about a professional who is called back to serve their community after retirement.

Character – 17 stories

Write a story that includes someone saying, “Thank you for that.”

Dialogue – 47 stories

Stories

“All I Want For Christmas is Fair Labor Practices” by Elizabeth Henkel

🏆 Winner of Contest #175

“I told you, Billy, I’m out of the game. Have been for a long time.” Gustmas Tinseltrolley took a long, slow sip of his hot cocoa as Billy “The Jingle” Bellringer stood in the living room of his cozy log cabin, deep in the Canadian Rockies. He knew the second the broad-shouldered elf had knocked on his door that, at the least, trouble was afoot. At the most? All of Christmas could be on the line. “The Big Guy needs you, Gus. The kids need you. You were the best gift wrapper the North had since tissue paper was invented. Besides, Claus said ...

Read story

“Gray Matters” by Thom With An H

Submitted to Contest #175

Two pairs of eyes fixed on each other, neither blinking. One set, bright and blue, are full of life. Those eyes stare purposefully. The other set, not quite so bright or blue, are hollow and drawn and stare without choice. “Robert, what are you doing?” The familiar voice shatters the silence and ends the contest in a draw.“I don’t know Grandma,” Robert answers as he attaches himself to the old woman’s leg. "I was outside raking leaves and I saw Grandpa in the window. He seemed to be staring at me so I ran inside to see what he want...

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“The Wizard's Tower” by Michał Przywara

Submitted to Contest #175

Trandelomacus heard a commotion outside his prison door. He stepped away from his balcony, and the idyllic view of the rolling hills and lazy sheep on a fine summer’s day, and sighed. Outside the door, he heard the dull jangle of heavy keys accented by the pitched squawking of angry politicians. The iron-bound wooden door lumbered open with a groan. There was Hubert, the one soldier in town and his jailer and constant companion – and behind him was a crowd of aldermen. They were red-faced and growling, all struggling to fit through the doorw...

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“Doug” by Wendy Kaminski

Submitted to Contest #175

My husband and I found Doug at a Home Depot Arbor Day event during our first year in Washington State. Doug and his fellow twiglings were enveloped in plastic and laid out on a table en masse, free to all takers in celebration of the day. Though he didn’t have a name at that time, he was a Douglas Fir, and so - naturally - he became known as Doug before we even left the store.We weren’t there that day for that purpose, so I spent the entire trip home Googling the care and feeding of your new baby fir. We had bitten off a lot more than we mig...

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“A Thing of Value” by Laurel Hanson

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #175

“You should not be doing that.”I looked down at the frail bird of a woman leaning on her cane in front of me. Her eyes were the kind of faded blue you can only get by leaving denim out in the sun too long. They nested in a mass of wrinkles, a face like a dried apple doll. Still, there was a sharpness in her glare that drilled into me from a good foot and a half below my chin. I’d hit 6’ this summer, so this lady was short, but she also looked like she wasn’t going to take any lip from anyone.I had been warned to be polite to Mrs. Grunwa...

Read story

“Seeds” by Zack Powell

Submitted to Contest #175

Content warning: Allusions to teen pregnancy and child loss *** The tree, like most things, is Beth's idea. It is August, late summer, too hot for TV and too cool for bathing suits. School starts again next week, fourth grade. Now is the perfect time, Beth says, to plant a tree. "They need sunshine to grow, Annie," she adds, holding her watering can in front of her like a Halloween bucket. The two of them stand at the edge of Beth's unmown backyard, out where the grass makes their knees itchy, out by the fence that's missing one of its...

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“A Love to Read” by Corey Melin

Submitted to Contest #175

Gerald is an actor. Gerald is an avid reader of countless novels. Gerald has an excellent memory, so he can recite pages from a book without looking at it. Gerald has been told many times how he can be famous for his talents. Gerald can be a rich man with his talents. What does Gerald say to these people? “I can care less about being famous or rich. The talent given used to put a smile on someone’s face. To give someone hope for the future. To make their day a littl...

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“Banged Up” by Graham Kinross

Submitted to Contest #175

TW: Swearing, death, sexual references. Mayko’s black hair tickled Arthas Jacques face, lit by a halo of white light. “You’re awake. Thank goodness.” That soothing mix of upper-class English and French accents from her at once wise and youthful face instantly brought to mind his ex-girlfriend, Konnie. Even through the haze of his sedation, Arthas knew to keep that to himself. “Where am I?” He asked, looking around at a curtain which had once been white. &nb...

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“An ABC” by Rebecca Miles

Submitted to Contest #175

Allusions to abuse I hate books. Every story I’ve ever overheard has been a load of rubbish from start to finish, nothing at all like how life actually is. Given this, it is a bit weird that I go every afternoon to my local library as soon as school is out. I stay until the librarian, Miss Robin, rings the bell and I have to leave, heading slowly to number 83 Prickleby Road: the brick box with the broken gate I should call home.Today is no exception. I leave dusk at the door as I slip into the warm bright lights of Woolverton library. I han...

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“Your Elm Tree” by AnneMarie Miles

Submitted to Contest #175

When I was still in my mother’s belly, my parents planted a tree together in the backyard of their new home. They hadn’t even moved in any of their belongings into the house yet, but my mother had insisted: “She is already sprouting her little limbs, Mason! I want her tree to start sprouting, too!”With both their hands cupped together and full, my parents both dropped a hearty scoop of fresh soil onto the seed. My father patted it down with a shovel he’d borrowed from his dad. My mother gave it its first water using her old iron watering can...

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“Bigfoot in the Leaves” by Story Time

Submitted to Contest #175

Bigfoot begged me not to say anything.“I’ll just stay right here,” he said, tugging the leaves back over himself, “You can carry on raking the rest of the yard. This never happened, ma’am. Nothing to see here.”Before Henry left, I never raked leaves. Henry took care of the yard and I took care of the house and the cars. Henry couldn’t change the oil or unclog a sink, but I wouldn’t know what to do with a lawnmower if you gave me a six-week course in cutting grass. When the leaves fell in the Fall, it was Henry’s job to go out and rake the le...

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“The Town That Fights Monsters” by Wendy Kaminski

Submitted to Contest #175

By Wendy Kaminski Staff Writer First settled in the 1780s, the town of New Madrid, Missouri, appears charming but otherwise unremarkable. It’s a relatively small town of approximately 2,800 residents, a few shops, a small school and a boardwalk, all nestled atop an Omega-shaped bend in the mighty Mississippi River. Located in the “bootheel” region of the Show Me State, this part of the US gets all four seasons, and though there’s no enticement here for investors nor industry, the residents are genuine, friendly and helpful. They are t...

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“Mariko” by Scott Christenson

Submitted to Contest #175

It's a chill late winter morning in Tokyo, but we sit in a perfect climate controlled office tower that looms over everything around it in a central part of the city.Mariko, my coworker, comes over and taps my shoulder, “I have a problem I want to tell you about.” She's also offering me a chocolate from a box of chocolates. I take one and eat it greedily. She smiles as if she’s about to tell a fun story. Over the past two years I've noticed that the bigger the problem is, the more animated, almost ebullient, she becomes. “What’s th...

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“The Storyteller” by Wally Schmidt

Submitted to Contest #175

It is impossible to form a perfect circle, so the children position themselves in a lopsided one around Mrs. Beasley, the soon-to-be retired librarian. She loves her job and all the library patrons, the children who come for story hour, the high school misfits who take refuge in the library during lunch hour, the unhoused who drift in for warmth and a cushioned seat. But she is getting on in years and it is time to enlist someone who is younger and has more energy. That someone is Diana, who has just completed her degree in Information and L...

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“The Legacy of Dr. Theodore Marten” by Edward Latham

Submitted to Contest #175

I am the best paranormal investigator in the world. You might call me a ghost hunter, but that would only reveal your own ignorance as to the subtlety of my work.My job requires a unique blend of skills that very few possess: an incredible amount of cunning and creativity, an unexpected volume of physical prowess, and a great degree of empathy.You see, exorcising a ghost is easy; the most common priest could do it. Catching a ghost on the other hand, now that, is a real talent, and of course, it’s one in which I have a one hundred percent su...

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$250

Prize money

176

Contest entries

105

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Dec 09, 2022 EST

Won by Elizabeth Henkel 🏆

Title: All I Want For Christmas is Fair Labor Practices

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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