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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#200: Heard it Through the Grapevine

It’s perhaps not our most virtuous impulse, but it’s a very human one. The desire to gossip, tell tales, and share stories we’ve heard about others doesn’t always win us friends, but it’s born from a real evolutionary need. Psychologists speculate that the original purpose of gossip was to keep us safe, helping our ancestors identify potential threats, build bonds, and learn what behavior was deemed acceptable or unacceptable by their peers. And, for better or worse, that habit has stuck.

Of course, gossip can (and often does) go too far. It’s up to you how it plays out in this week’s stories; will your characters face consequences for their loose lips, or will gossiping actually save the day?

This week's prompts

Write a story that includes the line “my lips are sealed.”

Adults – 96 stories

Write a story about a piece of gossip that becomes more and more distorted as it passes from person to person.

Adults – 33 stories

Your character is known as the town gossip. One day, it comes back to bite them.

Adults – 22 stories

Write a story about someone trying to track down the source of a rumor.

Adults – 35 stories

Your main character has a secret superpower; the gossip they spread always comes true.

Adults – 24 stories

Stories

“Rumor Has it” by Allyson Miller

Submitted to Contest #200

The southern heat clung to the red bricks of the Panacea Brewing Company, mingling with the scent of fried green tomatoes and fermented beverages. Tuffs of grass and dandelions sprouted around the entrance. People trickled in and out the doors in waves as the sun began to set. Angie fiddled with her purse strap while walking towards the glass doors. “C’mon, Angie,” she muttered. “Nothin’ to be scared of.” She s...

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“Madam Grace” by Kimberly Walker

Submitted to Contest #200

Madam Grace Clairvoyance is the ability to see what is unclear. Clairvoyance means clear seeing, according to many dictionaries. Skeptics don’t believe people can truly see what will happen or has already occurred unless there is proof. Lydia Grace lives at the end of Sycamore in the big two-story house in the cul-de-sac. She is a well-known psychic in Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina, in the ’80s. She would screen her calls and limit visitors. Meals on Wheels delivers lunches to her and my grandma five days a week. Grandma has known Madam Gr...

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“The Last Thaw ” by Bri Smith

Submitted to Contest #200

CW: Mention of death, grieving The windows rattled with the winter wind, masking the harsh sound of my sister’s coughing. I weaved between the dancing shadows within the castle, my slippers clopping against the smooth stone, echoing through the empty chambers. Asger was close, his steps quiet yet rigid from the years in the Guard. I needed to find them. The meeting. When I reached the double-set doors of ornately carved runes, I pressed close, the sounds of hushed voices moving through the room beyond. “Three more...

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“The Pastor's Smashed Computer” by Mitchell Kaye

Submitted to Contest #200

In Evans, Arkansas, just as much out of boredom as religiosity, you go to church. Evans is four thousand people smack in the middle of the Ozarks, the range of mountains that straddles Oklahoma, Missouri, Arkansas, and just the littlest bit of Kansas. If you drive through Evans, not being from there, you’ll get some stares. It’s that kind of small town. The church is the biggest building in Evans, with the next biggest being the Walmart Supercenter. The school, which teaches kindergarten through 12th grade, is a close third. The l...

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“Gossip?” by Chuck Thompson

Submitted to Contest #200

Gossip. What a delicious word, a fulfilling word; perfect for a habit or a goal. For me, it started in second grade. Tom Evans, poor kid, had crossed eyes, buck teeth, and bad breath. I asked Marcie Smith if it was true that he ate mice for breakfast before coming to school. Was that why he had buck teeth like a mouse and why his breath was so nasty? Was it rotting mice flesh? I laughed to watch her point at Tom from across the playground and shock her friends with tales of the nastiness in which Tom partook....

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“Downfall” by Sara Brown

Submitted to Contest #200

“We have to go, he’ll wake up from all this noise.” The unrest in his brother’s voice wasn’t enough to be worrisome. It might not have been noticeable to Cloud and Patches—and that’s what was most important. “Wouldn’t want that now would we?” Cloud’s accent made it almost impossible for him to ever sound sincere. Ash knew his brother flashed Cloud a look. “We say nothing of this in the morning.” “Consider my lips sealed,” Cloud sassed. “I hope they stay that way,” Patches murmured. “I heard that.” “Already breaking your pr...

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“The Block Mayor” by Andrea Corwin

Submitted to Contest #200

Like every warm day, Terrence is finishing this day on his L-shaped porch, sipping whisky from a dented flask. Cars pass by slowly, and he watches young women pushing babies in strollers; he hears the neighbors' arguments and knows which have a regular income and those who are unemployed. Terrence is the self-appointed block mayor, laying judgment on his fellow folk. "Hi, Terrence; how are you this fine sunny day?" Terrence sits up straight, wanting to give a good impression. "I am superb, Miss Myrna, thank you. And yourself?" He...

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“GRENNA – Where the Dead Doth Dally” by Danyal Bokhari

Submitted to Contest #200

They called it Grenna. That small seaside town, populated only by the mews of starving seagulls and the whistling of the frigid winds, gave birth to hysteria that spread like wildfire. Every newspaper peddled the same story, the only differences being editorial expressions of skepticism or religious fearmongering. It all came under the same headline, which embedded itself into the conversational assembly line hours after the first publication: Grenna - Where the Dead Doth Dally. ‘Tis true that the catalyst was mere hearsay, but the sour...

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“The Court of Rumors” by Mariana Mier

Submitted to Contest #200

The rumors that spread throughout court are always fascinating. Unless they’re about you. This is what Sabine had to learn the hard way. It was bound to happen. She avoided any rumors being spread about her for nineteen years. Not a single person has passed through the Court of Aelharst and not had a rumor about them ignite. Still, she had hoped whatever they came up with about her was foolish. An unimportant piece of chit-chat that would die out in less than a day. Turns out, that was the last thing they were going to do. At first...

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“Body at the Quarry” by Sarah Gallegos

Submitted to Contest #200

Sweat was running down my back as I sat across from the police officer. These meetings had become so frequent that I should be used to them by now. Still, no matter how many times I sat in this chair, it never got easier. The officer whose name badge read “Perkins” cleared his throat and clasped his hands on the table. A cup of untouched coffee sat in front of me, the smell of Folgers filling the room. Oddly enough, it was the only thing settling my racing thoughts. It reminded me of Saturdays at my grandparent’s house when I would watch c...

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“Lips and Ships” by Fi Brie

Submitted to Contest #200

LIBBY On Monday at 10:00, I slapped my long overdue resignation letter onto my supervisor’s desk at the Daily Horn. By 11:30, Billy Brenden’s decaying corpse had been unearthed on the Tuldark Estate renovation site. By noon, with plenty of fresh coffee and pastries to sweeten the deal, Rowena Parrot, said supervisor, had convinced me that God was at work and the discovery was the Horn’s ticket to salvation. And at 13:00, I had flung a handful of croissants and my crumpled letter, onto the passenger seat of my father’s old Volvo, swung in an ...

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“Eyebrows” by Erin Malley

Submitted to Contest #200

“I mean I don’t think anyone really believes that it’s true,” Alyssa laughs, “I really wouldn’t worry about it”. I clear my throat. But the flash of disappointment stays on my face just a moment too long. Long enough for Alyssa. “Oh….Oh!! You liked it! You wanted people to believe it! Hold on. Did you start this shit?” That’s ridiculous. Of Course not. I’m not smart enough to be that calculating. All I can do is scoff. A scoff has saved me many times– interrogations about crushes, compliments I had to brush off...

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“The Eavesdropper” by Mark Gagnon

Submitted to Contest #200

The congregation bowed their heads in reverent reflection as the Vicar droned on about the evils of sin and the ultimate reward for the righteous. His ability to preach about topics they had recently been thinking about baffled them. This week's sermon covered infidelity and the desires of the flesh versus chastity and faithful adherence to wedding vows. As he delved deeper into the subject, several women shifted uneasily on the church pew. Multiple men adjusted their gaze to the floor and refused to look up. They all felt as though he was a...

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“We Don’t Do Plastics” by Dylan Wrenn

Submitted to Contest #200

“Come on in,” he said, an octave too high. He wiped away the empty space with a graceful arm and welcomed her into their home. A green butler, stilted, awkward, and unsure, but in his head was only poise and grace. Appearances were crucial. She could not find out it was him. This was a fair fight.She did not know him.He did not know her.For all she knew, he was always this calm and hospitable. Unflappable. Forged in tougher stuff than she was. She was a bad mother, and her child, Grace, was a little asshole. Who cares what she does for ...

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“They Were All But Tea Leaves in Her Cup” by Carina Caccia

Submitted to Contest #200

Maggie was never a particularly bad girl, but she had, at an early age, discovered that she could speak reality into existence, that words had weight. “Could you pass me the apricot jam?” she said, her voice hoarse with age. Her wrinkled hands caressed the knife, her index finger firm against its long silver spine. She returned it to the jar where it clattered against the glass lip. Crunch, breadcrumbs. “Truth is,” she said with a mouthful of toast, “I made it all up.” She r...

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$250

Prize money

210

Contest entries

116

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Jun 02, 2023 EST

Won by Katharine Widdows 🏆

Title: Three Questions

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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