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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#211: Cozy Corner

You’ve probably noticed that cozy fiction has been on the rise for several years, and even more so post-pandemic. Cozy mysteries about grandparent sleuths, pets, food, bookshops, and villages have flourished, allowing people to dabble in suspense while still maintaining a sense of warmth, familiarity, and comfort. The same is beginning to happen in the fantasy genre (think of Travis Baldree’s Legends and Lattes, about an orc opening a coffee shop), so it’s clear that the appeal of wholesome, comforting fiction exceeds the mystery genre.

With that in mind, let’s get comfy — as much as summertime allows! Put on your imaginary cardigans and let’s see what this week’s homely prompts will yield.

This week's prompts

Write a story starring an octogenarian who’s more than meets the eye.

Fiction – 68 stories

Begin your story with a librarian searching for something.

Fiction – 70 stories

Write a story involving a friendship with an adorable animal.

Fluff – 50 stories

Set or begin your story in a room lit by the flickering flames of the fireplace.

Fiction – 71 stories

End your story with two characters reconciling.

Adults – 49 stories

Stories

“Oh Brigita” by Irene Cornwell

Submitted to Contest #211

This story contains sadness. Oh, Brigita. It has been a mere week and two days since you died. My daughter-in-law from heaven has actually gone to heaven. How I wish I could tell you our son Tim and I are talking everyday. As you would know, Tim is actually quite a silent soul. You, dear heart were the gatekeeper. You were the one with e-mail and face book posts and telephone calling. He needs to talk and I think it is very healthy. He is sharing every moment of these past three months. You didn't want to leave him or Jacob or Nora. He says ...

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“THOSE HIEROGLYPHICS” by Mara Masolini

Submitted to Contest #211

THOSE HIEROGLYPHICS Nothing, it wasn’t there. That page or sheet on which signs that looked like hieroglyphs were traced had disappeared. He had caught a glimpse of it when he was absentmindedly leafing through Lucretius’” De rerum nature”. Just at that moment, his colleague Greta had called him for an emergency. David had left the book on the table and when had returned the book was no longer there. He had looked for it on the shelves, had found it, and had started searching frantically for that sheet ( with hieroglyphic...

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“An Eyre of Mischief” by J Hublick

Submitted to Contest #211

A spider walked on spindly legs toward a filthy corner underneath the desk of Marsha M. Willard. Marsha watched it as she pressed her cheek hard against the cold floor and felt her body respond with fresh goosebumps. There was an alarming amount of dust and she made a mental note to do a thorough and rigorous sweep first thing tomorrow. She sighed. Other than her eight-legged squatter, there was nothing else under there. She pushed herself up to a cross-legged seat and thought of where else she could look. Circulation desk, card cata...

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“The Library of Meadow Sea” by Darius Vinesar

Submitted to Contest #211

After days of traveling through the endless grass and flowers of the Meadow Sea, the two travelers finally arrived at their destination: the Library of All Things. The brothers had spotted it a few days ago, and from a dark smudge on the horizon it had grown into the gigantic structure that stood before them now. The Library seemed to stretch now to the sky and beyond, its very towers raking the drifting clouds. To the boys’ eyes, it looked like mountain, shaped into being by the very gods themselves. The oracle had told them the Libr...

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“Uncanny Adventures” by Jermaine Packer

Submitted to Contest #211

“Have you seen the librarian?” Isaiah asked a fellow visitor in the library. After a brief inspection, the other guest shook his head indicating he agreed that the librarian was M.I.A. That was until a blur was seen running across the back of the library. “Wait, I think I see her,” Isaiah said as he started his way toward the anomaly. “Excuse me, are you the librarian?” he asks to the lady standing in the corner. She turns and flashes Isaiah a brilliant smile. “Why yes I am. You can call me Ana. How are you today?” “I’m great. I was wonderin...

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“Inaaya and the Gentle Giant” by Ishan Gupta

Submitted to Contest #211

Once upon a time, in a land far away, there lived a precious 4-year-old girl named Inaaya. Her heart was as expansive as the endless sky, brimming with love, innocence, and boundless curiosity. Inaaya's family had embarked on a journey from India to the distant shores of Ireland, a journey dictated by her parents' work. This transition brought them to a foreign land, leaving behind the familiar and embracing the unknown. Despite her tender age, Inaaya was a beacon of strength, adapting to this new chapter of life with a grace that seemed alm...

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“Let Me Tell You About My Best Friend” by Jonah Yuhas

Submitted to Contest #211

Animals give humans the most loyal friendships in the world, and they love us unconditionally, to be honest, one day when my furry friend dies it will break me and while I shed tears writing this, I can't help but to remember all the good memories we've shared together. Six years ago I was anxious to pick out my very own puppy and my husband driving the car to Stockton, CA asked me if I had any name ideas for a male, and the first name that came to mind was Max. Simple and cliché I didn't care, his name will be Max. Andrew already had a Sibe...

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“La Lupa ” by Mia Long

Submitted to Contest #211

Tobias kicked a patch of grass as he strode further away from the schoolhouse. His fair face was thunderous beneath the sweat soaked strands of his bright hair. The skin around his left eye was red. It would soon turn a mottled purple, maybe even black.Harvey Foster always threw the hardest punches. He was older than Tobias, stronger than him, and meaner. The stinging urge to cry grew the further away he got from the building. Tobias wouldn’t give him the satisfaction. He wouldn’t give any of them the satisfaction of making him drop a single...

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“Fire” by Shawna Burge

Submitted to Contest #211

FIRE Andy Pearson © 2023 I don’t believe that honesty is the best policy between two people lying on a rug in front of a crackling fire. Time before the orange glow of a blaze is meant to be romantic and filled with heart-felt untruths. Endearing little moments of dreams that both know aren’t true, but by fire light should be. She ran her index finger over my forearm while I gazed into the fire. Then she asked the question that started the blaze that burned the evening down. “Can you believe that we’ve been married five years?” Car...

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“Toxic Love” by Drew Herron

Submitted to Contest #211

Arthur Marol sat in his study with an Agatha Christie novel on his lap. He had been reading the words for nearly two hours but his thoughts were far away. The sunlight which had illuminated the study earlier had gone with the hours, and the crackling fire was all that lit the words on the pages. His shadow danced with the flames across the wooden walls and bookshelves behind his chair. In front of him was a coffee table with a decanter, two empty glasses, and a wristwatch. Occasionally, he traded glances to the spread on the table and his o...

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“A Memory Revisited ” by Corey Root

Submitted to Contest #211

The warmth of the flames licked at the bottom of Ernie’s propped-up feet. Snow continued to fall outside as it had done all day. Ernie’s recliner was positioned next to the window so he could look out, always entranced by snow falling in the nighttime. Nearly imperceptible, so much beauty radiated in what could be perceived. The shadows of each snowflake created a mystical scene, lulling his mind into times of the past. Times that like the flickering, rolling flames of his fireplace spread and enveloped him in comfort and warmth. ...

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“The Trip Home” by Darling Jackson

Submitted to Contest #211

The trip home Written by: Darling Jackson The flames flickered and crackled, swallowing the darkness attempting to envelope it. Embers floated and swirled off of the fire like small sprites. The heat wrapped me in a heavy cloak, chasing away any lingering heaviness from the day. The wind howled, making the flames dance and swirl towards the west; almost like the flames were reaching for home, just like me. The flames represented my soul in a way; the way the flames reach but are rooted to wherever I go, like the way my heart re...

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“The Familiar Ways We Rot” by Sky *

Submitted to Contest #211

It was October, and the world was beautiful in its unique decay. The way of the body, stiffening then slackening and becoming brittle from bone; the ashes that sprout from the remain of hollowed eyes, the low light plants that dig homes into the empty holes riddled throughout a body. The falling of only the most fragile leaves at only the harshest of moments, when the wind is unforgiving and the howling of it all covers the inherent noise of the world, the promises of rain, the unkempt yards, the wilted flowers. It is around this t...

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“In Defense of She, Who Stands Forsaken” by Vince Salamone

Submitted to Contest #211

Silvio flickered in the doorway, fixed like a shadow, as if cast into being by the golden fire at work within the simple hearth. From his vantage the small study revealed itself in full, and the window at its edge, whereupon he watched with pursed lips the falling snow. Winter had been at play in Rullenroot for several ellipses now, and though his cycles of service in the Order had indoctrinated him to all manner of climes, his southern blood would forever balk at such miserable fare. Old wounds twanged. He resisted touching his face, where ...

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“The Death of Lilith Monstrath” by Gabrielle Stengele

Submitted to Contest #211

The flames were dull, growing tired of their dance, stumbling and sinking into themselves as if they were a person trudging through the desert. It had been working hard to bite back at the cold that seeped in from outdoors, but luckily, even as it died out, Lilith’s body was curled in the shape of a fetus beneath a blanket while her cold, limp skull floated in her ocean of blonde hair, contained within my lap that formed a valley. Although the night was closing in on me and my head was getting heavy, I still had to trace every frec...

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$250

Prize money

308

Contest entries

108

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Aug 18, 2023 EST

Won by Kenz Ross 🏆

Title: Do Flamethrowers Belong In The Library?

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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