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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 – 67 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 – 70 stories

End your story with two characters reconciling.

Adults – 47 stories

Stories

“The Uncontacted” by Vincent McCarthy

Submitted to Contest #211

The feeling of the heat from the fire on his face was comforting, the flickering shadows of the flames danced on the walls and ceiling above him. He was comfortable. The room was silent but for the crackle of the flames consuming the logs stacked in a perfect pile inside the fireplace. His glass was almost empty, the ice now melted, he turned and looked towards a grubby bottle of rum on the table next to him. "I should probably drink the rest of this" he thought to himself. He reached across from his rocking chair, grabbed the bottle and pou...

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“Tomorrow” by Tanya Miranda

Submitted to Contest #211

Rachel climbed up the ladder of her wide bookcase to the topmost shelf and stretched as far as she could to pull out her mother’s sacred book. The leather-bound cover felt warm in her hands despite the cold night, natural and welcoming, as if it had been waiting for her all these years. A chill traveled down Rachel’s spine, and she raised the collar of her robe to cover her neck. She descended the ladder and ran to the sofa beside the fireplace, where Jacob held Lydia in his arms. “Found it.” Rachel knelt at Lydia’s side, placing the book...

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“Eternal Flame” by A. M. Conger

Submitted to Contest #211

The flickering flames in the fireplace were unable to provide the light and warmth I desired. Sitting on the overstuffed and overused sofa with an unopened book to my left and steaming Earl Grey to my right, I stared into the weak fire. Matteo made the best fires, bright enough to read by and hot enough to warm your soul. His fires were perfect. Perfect amount of fuel and air, perfect amount of tending to and nurturing of. Unfortunately, this fire was not one of Matteo's. This fire was dim and cold, impotent and weak. Not only could I not ...

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“An Evening at the Fire with Josephs ” by Michael Robinson

Submitted to Contest #211

     I looked into the fireplace, mesmerized by the flickering flames. Sting beside me, Professor Adamson swirled his cognac in its snifter, watching the firelight through the cinnamon-colored liquid.      “I suppose we should do something about it,” I ventured, broaching the subject for the umpteenth time this evening.      Adamson started from his reverie. He took a sip from his snifter before replying. “No,” he said for the umpteenth time this evenin...

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“Ash Will Come” by Winterlynne Norvic

Submitted to Contest #211

“What do you think it’s like out there?” They ask. I do not glance over at them as I peer through the flickering flame to the room beyond.  The room made of dead things.  I flare brighter in agitation as I take it in, majestic and once towering trees brought down and desecrated to make the floors, walls, and ceilings of the boxes mortals built for themselves. Ripped apart and reconstructed to make objects they filled these boxes with. Strange, forced, unnatural shapes they would lounge in and store things in like tree...

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“A Worry for Another Day” by Danielle Barr

Submitted to Contest #211

“Brad, everything in me is saying this intel is good. We’ve got…hours to get the word out, mobilize a shitload of C-17s. Someone’s gotta activate the alert system..” A waterfall of the right things to do and the complete impossibility of getting all of it done in time cascaded through my brain and I suddenly felt like I was drowning. I felt the panic begin to strangle me and took a shaky breath to steady my voice. “Even still, there’s just nowhere near enough landing zones or birds- or pilots!- even for all of DC, much less the whole country...

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“Moving Forward Together” by Patricia C

Submitted to Contest #211

Marley fought back a yawn. She had already been driving for five hours but knew she had another three to go. She glanced over to the passenger seat, where Clara was fast asleep. She and her sister had agreed to take turns driving so they wouldn't have to find a place to stay during the twenty-hour drive they had in front of them. As Marley continued down the long, empty stretch of highway, her thoughts drifted to her sister. Clara had been distant lately, and Marley couldn't figure out why. Was it because of the divorce? Marley knew that t...

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“strangers” by Eden Kay

Submitted to Contest #211

I’m in the passenger seat of my mother’s white Honda Civic, half ready for school and beyond exhausted. I lift my leg up and place my foot on the dashboard to tie my shoe. Criss-cross, pull it under, tighten, bunny ears—I got used to it quickly, when I was a young girl. My brother still can’t tie his shoes, he’s twelve but his mindset is nothing but childish and inexperienced. That’s beside the point, anyway, I finish the first shoe and switch legs to tie the other. At this point, we’re pulling up to my school and I look up. My heart stops. ...

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“Your Personal Savior” by Mary Stanley

Submitted to Contest #211

I figured out where Jesus lived. I was walking home from SuperFresh and made him out through the shaded wilderness of the yard that turned out to be his. He was wearing basketball shorts, his light brown hair falling down his bare back. It was the middle of a muggy Long Island heat wave, and I could feel humid sweat dripping down my own back. It sounded like Jesus was cracking nuts — acorns or something? — into a big plastic garbage bag. The bag was already more than half full. I kept walking, wishing there was someone I could tell about my ...

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“Ad Aeternum” by Zyn Marlin

Submitted to Contest #211

It is the beginning of everything and he awakens like a drowning person breaching the surface with a toehold on the shore. what is a person what is water what is breathing what is shore But all of it is already inside his consciousness. And then: “Come find me, David,” they say, and the longing is like a supernova expanding inside his being, and he is too small to contain it all, and this is not in his consciousness and he is afraid. what is david what is fear WHAT IS THAT WHAT IS THAT WHAT IS THAT And then he is gone. # “Do you rem...

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“Elmer and Earl” by Dave Bolin

Submitted to Contest #211

Every day at three pm throughout the month of June, the sprawling oak cast the perfect shadow over the bench at the far end of Winslow Park. Both men knew this, and it was always a race to see who could first lay claim to it. Arrive too soon, and you had to sit under a judging sun, punishing you for your greed. Arrive too late, and you had to endure the ridicule of your rival. It was a slow race, both men now in their mid-eighties; a walker-aided, creaking conquest of prime bird-feeding space. And though the contest lacked the athletic pro...

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“Tribute” by Pat O'Brien

Submitted to Contest #211

In the hour before dawn, we slip out in the darkness, gliding over the deep black Atlantic.  The only sound is the chug of the engine. The boat noses east, where the sky pales to grey, and then magenta, until a crescent of rising sun casts golden rays upon the rolling water.  As the sun moves higher, the water and the sky merge into the brilliant piercing blue of impending autumn. For more than seventy summers, we have bobbed and rolled in this old boat. In these later years, in the winter, he'd haul her out of the brin...

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“The Fire This Time” by Jeff Veyera

Submitted to Contest #211

       The crackling flames were a time machine. They took him back to the past, to better times, to youth and vigor and laughter. He missed laughter. Everything now was sadness and anger.               He shifted in his chair, feeling his anger rise. He was wet again. Why didn’t somebody do something about it? The dampness was akin to a swimsuit, the recollection of which drew him back to the beach, the sun ...

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“ That One With the Hair…” by Angel Hadjipopgeorgiev

Submitted to Contest #211

                 That One With the Hair…  The room is bright and astonishingly large compared to the solitary bed where my withered body lies. It has nothing in common with the previous one, which had sheltered various sufferers of different ages, competing successfully in the quantity of diseases. My son, with some hesitation, sold my unnecessary house to provide me with this equally unnecessary comfort, but his filial duty and the upbringing I had i...

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“Isabella; A life” by Erica Gardiner

Submitted to Contest #211

Nothing really happens for an old lady in her 70s. All she has is her memories, even as they fade away. In the heart of a small village in southern Brazil, lived an elderly woman named Isabella. Her silver hair reaching her waist and her eyes which showed wisdom. She spent her days tending to her lush garden, filled with vibrant flowers and fragrant herbs. Her home, a cottage with walls that showed ancient writings and traditions. The villagers often whispered about Isabella, saying she was a witch and disgusting. Nobody came near Isabella a...

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$250

Prize money

304

Contest entries

107

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!

Prompts | Big Blue Hand | 2024-11

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Prompts | Big Blue Hand | 2024-11

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