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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

“Loose Lips Sink More Than Ships” by Bob Faszczewski

Submitted to Contest #200

After operating one of the most successful and popular taverns in Annapolis for 30 years Johnny Spertulla was happy to hang it up in a move to the quiet Eastern Shore resort town of Snow Hill, Maryland. Little did he know that a group of his new neighbors would attempt to dash his hopes for a new life filled with weekend mornings of fishing the Atlantic and whiling away his afternoons in minimal stakes poker games. On his first day in town, Johnny stopped by the local gr...

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“Quantum banana breaks internet” by Robert Egan

Submitted to Contest #200

The video that broke the internet was about bananas. It blindsided everyone. The doomscrollers would later say they saw it coming, and the trolls would claim they did it. But on the day that the internet fell they were all just watching videos like everyone else: videos that offered simple fixes, tips and tricks; videos of bloopers, body shots, traffic stops, dance-offs, and staged candid camera moments. They were all watching, searching for traces of their ideal selves, watching and waiting to feel something. But most didn't see the...

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“The Eternal Offer” by Daniel Rogers

Submitted to Contest #200

The two of them looked ordinary. Nothing stood out. The clothes. The hair. The shoes. All typical. Moving among the mass of New Yorkers and tourists, they easily blended in. Admittingly, this wasn't a challenge in Time Square. There were so many nut cases; ordinary people looked odd. And odd was par for the course on this street. “I hate New York!” Said one of the two–a tall man with white hair pulled back into a ponytail, a muscular frame, and a stern look. “Messed up Time Tickers! Why do they try so hard to be freaks?” “They are just t...

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“The Town Crier” by Kendall Defoe

Submitted to Contest #200

“Hear ye, hear ye…!” He really went all out this week. I mean, no one expected Albert to wear the full outfit that early into the celebrations. It was six in the morning, and he was right in the dead center of Antonville, right underneath the bunting and the flags, standing by the statue of the town founder (not important right now, but you know the place is called Antonville, so…), and he did not even have a microphone or bullhorn. But I heard him. He was right by my café and I had just gotten up to make the coffee for the day. Not that I d...

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“Programmed Danger” by Arjun Goel

Submitted to Contest #200

I pressed my ear against the dark brown oak wood, trying to make sense of the faint whispers coming from within the room. It was difficult to decipher the complete sentences, as the words were all jumbled up and blended. As I continued to listen, I realized that the people inside the room were three FBI agents. I wasn't sure why they were there, but I knew it had something to do with my older brother. After about four minutes, I heard someone approaching the door on the other side, prompting me to quickly scramble back and hide in the k...

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“A Far, Far Better Thing...Really?” by Murray Burns

Submitted to Contest #200

A Far, Far Better Thing…Really? “You should not honor men more than the truth." - PlatoCursed by a moment, plagued by an image, and torn between two loyalties, the torment persists. Friendship, love, conscience, and truth swirled around in my brain, engaged in a debilitating battle that could have no winner. Why must I suffer for that which I did not do? Images planted in the mind take root, grow with the passage...

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“Taken” by Patricia Merewether

Submitted to Contest #200

"Fill your mind before you empty your mouth." ― Habeeb Akande Anna sucked in sweet fresh air through a small opening at the bottom of her prison's door. She listened to crickets and peeper frogs, wishing she was back in her cottage with her parents and little brother. This tiny, dark, stone cell only revealed a slice of daylight when someone brought her meal and changed her water bucket and privy pot. Even then, she was told to turn away and not speak. After the door closed, darkness again descended, and Anna felt for her food bowl. Fo...

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“Progie Paradise” by Joe Smallwood

Submitted to Contest #200

I wasn’t just an only child; I was supposed to be progenated. Pasteurized, homogenized, progenated. New word for a new time. Humanity can be perfected. We came out of the slime and if we don’t plan to stay friends with what made us forever, then progenation is needed.Now don’t start saying that I’m in league with the antiprogs, just because I didn’t complete the treatment! I have a perfectly good reason for that. It’s true an antiprog came to me and got me to quit. She was my own mother! What would you do? Besides progenation wasn’t mandator...

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“Be Careful What You Say” by Nicholas Thomas

Submitted to Contest #200

“Be careful what you say,” my mom used to tell me, “It just might come true.” I never did believe her. *** Today is my first day of sophomore year. I’m not exactly what you’d call a ‘popular’ kid in school. Though I spent one year here already, I didn’t manage to make many friends. So that is my goal for this school year - to make as many new friends as possible! That’s sort o...

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“Know-it-all” by Adrienne Miller

Submitted to Contest #200

The streets are exploding with joy. The world’s most beautiful woman on the arm of their beautiful, if slightly disappointing, prince. Helen and Paris. They glide over Troy’s stone-hewn streets, effervescent like a picture drawn by the gods. Even Hektor smiles. Hektor, who is usually far too serious to let himself be swayed by public spectacles. Hektor, who is commonly known as the less-disappointing prince. “Look, I’m just saying –”, I start, fruitlessly. For the fifth time. “I know what you’re saying, Kassandra”, Andromache admon...

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“The Secret Promise” by Peanut Raccoon

Submitted to Contest #200

TW: bullying, slight physical violence, insinuated abuse, mental illnessGossip has never been an activity that I have particularly enjoyed, having been on the bad end of that sort of thing, I've always tried to stay out of it. It effects my life to this day, and I don't think I could ever do that to another person.One classmate in particular, Tracy Julica. She was the worst for it. Some would even say she was the root of the issue. Get on her good side, and you might as well have a force field around you, protecting you from every bad rumor ...

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“The Keyblade Chronicles (Chapters 1-4)” by Ian T. Smyth

Submitted to Contest #200

THE KEYBLADE CHRONICLES CHAPTERS 1-5 Prologue In the future, a fascist dictatorship known as The Authority has taken over the known universe. The Authority has set up trade routes between neighbouring star systems using a device known as a Starpod, invented by Baxtar CEO Maurice Hepburn. The people of Manoor have long held a prophecy that a saviour would come with the Keyblade, and item capable of cutting through the fabric of the universe itself so they can escape into an alternate reality where The Authori...

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“Caroline Crawly” by Colleen Ireland

Submitted to Contest #200

They were too busy, the women of the town, to notice me when they gathered at the diner, Miss Lolly’s. Every Sunday, it was the church ladies, melty pink mints in their purses, lips pressed tight to hold back curses as their self-appointed leader, Ms. Amy Sprechen, a woman of no personal reflection, would share what no one else dares. Ms. Amy’s limited view of everything new allowed her to stay in the past, the power of her perfect hair and hourglass figure built to last. Ms. Amy’s husband, Mr. Ben, owned the bank, a dress shop, and a lunch ...

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“Healing Through the Grapevine” by Ian James

Submitted to Contest #200

"Look, I'm not crazy," Adrian kept saying. He'd lost count how many times he'd echoed those words, and they hung in the air, heavy with his plea for understanding. His gaze landed on the man across from him - an emissary of worry and empathy. Adrian had figured out, right off the bat, that this guy wasn't here to buy an electric guitar. There was something about the weariness in his eyes, the lines of concern etched on his forehead, the sparse hair clinging to his scalp."Who put you up to this?" Adrian asked him. The man responded with ...

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“Thou Shalt Not Speak” by Pryor Rose

Submitted to Contest #200

"My lips are sealed, I promise." No longer did those words leave the safety of her tongue had she seen the fire sizzle within the gaze of her captor. Truly she wished she hadn't seen the actions before her, hoped even that what she saw had been a mirage of her own delusions brought on by the heat of the desert and dehydration, but such was a lost prayer as the person met her gaze.In that moment she cursed her love for horror and science-fiction. If she had not seen the show on television about skinwalkers she wouldn't be out here walking thr...

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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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