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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#212: Signed, Sealed, Delivered

I don't really exchange letters with anyone, but if I did, I'd receive them with great anticipation. There's something very unpredictable about a letter: it can provide insight into a person's most private feelings, make a public statement, or share news of events big and small, from historic events to everyday gossip. You just never know until you open it.

This week's prompts are inspired by all things epistolary.

🥇 Winner

“The Last Of The Bright Young Things” by Wendy M

🏆 Winner of Contest #212

Friday 7th October 1932 - Adelphi Hotel, LiverpoolDearest darling Herbert,What excitement we have had! Mother and I boarded our train on Thursday. The conductor was a charming man. I swear he held my hand for just a moment too long. The weather was terrible, of course, but we were heading for the sun, and neither of us cared one jot. Then the thunderstorm started, which terrified Mother. She shrieked like she had seen a dozen mice with every rumble and flash. It was good fortune we shared our carriage solely with a group of nuns ...

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⭐️ Shortlisted

“No longer at this address” by Kevin Logue

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #212

John knew it was illegal, but that didn't hinder the temptation. For weeks it sat there, its unread secrets wanting to escape its crinkled manila prison. No one in the local shop or cafe ever heard of Ellie-Mae MacIntyre, never mind living at this address. That only intensified the handwritten letter's draw. Its cursive script, beautiful, elegantly old school, as if it came from the past. Who even sends letters anymore? So alluring, so tempting, so…He couldn't take it any more, that damned letter lurked on his console table for long eno...

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“Resigned ” by Nina H

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #212

Frederick Tuftman Resignation Letter August 23, 2023 Barbara McGraw, Head of Human Resources Crane Industries 3425 Industrial Way, Mooreville, West Virginia (503) 555-8240 To Whom It May Concern, And, we all know, this concerns everyone. So feel free to share this via group email, or I would really recommend a PowerPoint presentation where you can add photos and music. That’s a great idea. (Do they ever end with me? No, they don’t.) I’d recommend Laura in Business Affairs handle it. She’s the best with this type of th...

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“Post E” by Chris Miller

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #212

“I need to send this.” The young man took a package from inside his heavy suncoat and put it on the counter. It was wrapped in yellowed newspaper tied with chord made from discarded plastic packaging, gathered and spun back into utility by enterprising street vendors. “Ok, if you want me to address it for you that’ll be an extra ten pounds,” said the Postmaster, his voice a tin-can echo from behind his bulletproof window. “Ten! It won’t be that much to send it.” “Rules, I’m afraid. You should address it yourself, if you can. ...

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“Wrong Address” by Michael Martin

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #212

He just wanted George to shut his big mouth; Johnny had no idea what it would lead to. A postman cracking codes and chasing Communists in the middle of Nebraska? It was the stuff of cheap dime novels, not his life. At least, it wasn't supposed to be. George had just returned from his delivery route, walking in just after Margaret shut the door behind her. Johnny’s ear-to-ear smile disappeared the moment he heard the creak of the old post office’s wooden door just after she'd left. Couldn’t even enjoy it for a minute, he thought. At best...

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“River, Mountain and Valley Floor” by Paulette Lundy

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #212

Dear Majestic Mountain, I pray this letter finds you enjoying a clear sky and warm temperatures. I apologize for being so presumptuous that you might want to hear from me. You and I have been entwined for so long I felt it was time I told you how I feel. I have worked my way down your slopes, through your forests, and around your rocky shores all my life. I come from a source deep within you. I am intensely connected to you. We breathe together. When you are covered with bare trees, snow, and ice, I get low. When the snow melts, the ic...

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This week's prompts

Write a story in the form of a letter, or multiple letters back and forth.

Short Story – 147 stories

Write an epistolary story set during a major historical event. The event may be the subject of the letters directly, or be referenced in the background.

Historical Fiction – 30 stories

Write a story about a pair of pen pals.

Character – 26 stories

A mysterious letter is delivered to your character's home. It's not addressed to them, but they can't resist peeking...

Mystery – 64 stories

Set your story in a post office.

Fiction – 36 stories

Stories

“The Last Of The Bright Young Things” by Wendy M

🏆 Winner of Contest #212

Friday 7th October 1932 - Adelphi Hotel, LiverpoolDearest darling Herbert,What excitement we have had! Mother and I boarded our train on Thursday. The conductor was a charming man. I swear he held my hand for just a moment too long. The weather was terrible, of course, but we were heading for the sun, and neither of us cared one jot. Then the thunderstorm started, which terrified Mother. She shrieked like she had seen a dozen mice with every rumble and flash. It was good fortune we shared our carriage solely with a group of nuns ...

Read story

“No longer at this address” by Kevin Logue

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #212

John knew it was illegal, but that didn't hinder the temptation. For weeks it sat there, its unread secrets wanting to escape its crinkled manila prison. No one in the local shop or cafe ever heard of Ellie-Mae MacIntyre, never mind living at this address. That only intensified the handwritten letter's draw. Its cursive script, beautiful, elegantly old school, as if it came from the past. Who even sends letters anymore? So alluring, so tempting, so…He couldn't take it any more, that damned letter lurked on his console table for long eno...

Read story

“Thank You, Killer Nashville” by Mary Bendickson

Submitted to Contest #212

Thank you, Killer Nashville 8/23/23 Killer Nashville www killernashville.com Dear Founder Clay Stafford, the Faculty, Judges, Volunteers and all of Killer Nashville, I am writing this letter to express my sincere thanks and gratitude to your entire organization for honoring me with the winning medal in my category, Best Western, for your prestigious Claymore Award presented for the first fifty pages of an unpublished manuscript to an aspiring author. I never would have imagined myself as an award winning writer even a year and a half ag...

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“Distort 3000” by Derrick M Domican

Submitted to Contest #212

Hey. Testing testing. If you get this can you reply and tell me what time it is? -19.45Hi. Sorry, who is this, I don’t have your number saved? It’s 6.45. Your message is time-stamped 7.45, your phone time’s wrong. -18.45Holy shit.No way.I don’t believe this actually works. Sorry, just to be sure, is this Dave?-19.46Yeah, it’s Dave, who’s this?-18.46My phone time’s not wrong. It’s 7.45. This is so weird, your messages are popping into the chat up before mine, chronologically.I have to keep scrolling back up ...

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“The Amber letter” by Magdalena Brynard

Submitted to Contest #212

A heavy shudder shook the window panes as she wrote. The rushed keys of the typewriter pounded in unison as mortar after mortar fell decimating the city. London was falling but the letter had to reach him by morning. Emily wrote as fast as her fingers could but the ink on the ribbon seemed to fade after every turn of the paper. She couldn’t run out of ribbon at this exact moment but try as she might the ink would not stick to the paper. She jerked the paper from the typewriter and ran to the next; abandoned by its typist. The rushed words s...

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“Resigned ” by Nina H

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #212

Frederick Tuftman Resignation Letter August 23, 2023 Barbara McGraw, Head of Human Resources Crane Industries 3425 Industrial Way, Mooreville, West Virginia (503) 555-8240 To Whom It May Concern, And, we all know, this concerns everyone. So feel free to share this via group email, or I would really recommend a PowerPoint presentation where you can add photos and music. That’s a great idea. (Do they ever end with me? No, they don’t.) I’d recommend Laura in Business Affairs handle it. She’s the best with this type of th...

Read story

“Dear Cousin” by Michał Przywara

Submitted to Contest #212

October the 3rd, 1911Dearest Cousin Cecil,I find myself waking each morning, fondly reminded of one thing or another – whether the trill of a songbird, or the chittering of a squirrel, or the scent of a fresh pinecone, or even the brisk and sprightly rain – from my lovely time with you and the rest of the clan over this past summer. Headingsbrook Manor, with its rolling fields, its fresh woods, its docile sheep, and its jolly denizens, will forever hang upon my heart. I cannot stress just how grateful I am that you not only invited me to sum...

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“The Waiting Game” by Howard Halsall

Submitted to Contest #212

Tom Archer exited Rathbone’s Jewellers with a gift-wrapped engagement ring and a splitting headache following his hourlong ordeal with Isabel, the loquacious proprietor. She’d bombarded Tom with countless gemstones and relentless sales patter until he capitulated and picked a brilliant-cut solitaire in a white gold band. Even as Tom fumbled for his wallet, Isabel was assuring him the ring was a timeless classic that conveyed the traditional meaning of hope and agreement. It’s perfect for your prospective fiancée, she said.I’m sure you’r...

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“Letters from Malaysian Flight 370” by Scott Christenson

Submitted to Contest #212

[Voice message found in a mobile phone]Life is a mystery, isn’t it? One day we are in control of everything, taking exams, passing tests, choosing which job interview to attend. And then, if we work hard, we move up in our career, step by step.But the whole time, there’s a parallel universe that we don't control that affects us strongly. Our boyfriends get transferred to different cities, our employers go bankrupt, our friends get sick.I’ve made the right choices my entire life. I was polite to others, took care of my parents and grandparent...

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“Rumour and Ruination ” by Michelle Oliver

Submitted to Contest #212

It is an unacknowledged truth universally ignored, that a domestic servant in possession of a reputable employer must harbor a fervent inquisitiveness when an epistle of unknown origins arrives by post. Unsupervised, they are left to weave tales of intrigue from the strands of speculation, denied the privilege of glimpsing the secrets sealed within the mysterious missive.Her own curiosity ignited, young Nora Green had taken it upon herself to polish the immaculate entrance hall once again, with the intent purpose of gathering information as ...

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“Winners Club International” by Katharine Widdows

Submitted to Contest #212

The letter box clangs, and I abandon the most important meal of the day to investigate the post. Lifting four envelopes from the hallway carpet, I shuffle them square with each other and return to the breakfast bar.Bank statement. Check. Mailshot from Greenpeace. Check. Pre-election propaganda from the local independent candidate. Check. Good News From Winners Club International. What? Who is R. Thompson? Rachel? Richard? Did they live here before me? What have they won?The toaster pops as I pour fresh orange juice into my favourite glass. T...

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“The Letter Whisperer” by Delbert Griffith

Submitted to Contest #212

September 21, 2015 Martin Schuler read the letter. He then re-read the letter. Miriam waited patiently as the new dean of mathematics stared at the words on the paper. Schuler tossed the letter on his desk and toward Miriam. “What doe...

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“Philadelphia Writers Block Society - A Day Sentence” by Scott Christenson

Submitted to Contest #212

To: KevinMcMurdle@uiowa.eduFrom: JakeJohnston720@gmail.comSubject: An Awful Day at the Philadelphia Writers Block Society It has been an arduous journey writing the first draft of my Great American Novel. Every morning, I sit in front of my typewriter, the same model F Scott Fitzgerald used, and confront the page. Next to me sits the most trusted edition of Merriam-Webster. When the words to write don’t come, I scan the collected works of Fitzgerald, and a few volumes of Hemingway and Richard Yates.Most days, to warm up, I complete the ...

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“Clippings” by Rebecca Miles

Submitted to Contest #212

It was an envelope, small and pastel blue; sealed and then folded up as if it wanted to disappear or the sender had meant it to. Without name, address, or stamp it was like a summer’s sky on a cloudless day; it should have heralded opportunities, yet Simon felt only trepidation, turning the square over and over in his hands. His stomach had lurched when he’d opened the box this morning, sent as promised by the care home, and the letter had all but jumped out at him; flashes of the frightening Jack-in-a-box toy he’d tried to break when just a...

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“Just” by Beth Jackson

Submitted to Contest #212

Kat hovers on the threshold, one boot raised, and the meagre scraps of fabric she considers fashion, flapping against her thighs.“And stay out of my room. Don’t rifle through my shit or anything,” she says.I blink. Vulgar accusations from my flatmate aren’t uncommon, but still, it smarts when she throws such slander with gay abandon.“I shall do nothing of the sort,” I say.“Whatever.”She strides down the front steps, past the patch of flourishing daisies, and towards the dishevelled deathtrap of rusting parts she affectionately calls her car....

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$250

Prize money

303

Contest entries

129

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Aug 25, 2023 EST

Won by Wendy M 🏆

Title: The Last Of The Bright Young Things

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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