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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#22: Auld Lang Syne

From the Times Square Ball drop to the old Spanish tradition of trying to fit 12 grapes into your mouth at midnight — New Year's Eve comes with a host of different rituals and traditions.

Maybe a new one of yours will be submitting a New Year's-themed story to the Reedsy Prompts contest? 😊 In which case, we don't want to keep you any longer! So...

10...9...8...7...6...5...4...3...2...1... write! And have yourself a Happy New Year.

This week's prompts

Write a short story about a person who goes to bed on Valentine's Day and wakes up in 1920.

Holiday – 41 stories

Write a short story about someone with unconventional New Year's traditions.

Holiday – 44 stories

Two strangers meet at a New Year's Eve party. They spend the party together, and then never see each other again.

Winter – 79 stories

Write a short story in which the last line is the countdown to midnight on New Year's Eve.

Winter – 97 stories

Write a short story about someone who does not spend December 31st celebrating New Year's Eve.

Winter – 77 stories

Stories

“What of perfection” by Agathe Burrier

Submitted to Contest #22

60.That’s how it has to start, right? You need a countdown for your story to work, but most importantly, you need it to be long enough for you to have the time to actually tell your story. You have thought about it a little, and you think you’ll end with the last ten seconds – that way, it’ll have reached its full dramatic potential – so it seems obvious that your countdown needs to be longer than that. To summarize, you need a number of seconds bigger than ten, which would preferably have something to do with the way time is measured.Well, ...

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“The Tournament of Peace” by Courtney Myers

Submitted to Contest #22

The Peacemakers SagaExtra Scene I: The Tournament of PeaceBy: C.N. Myers0000The Context (as translated from Nephilim language):The Nephilim are human-souled beings of both angelic and human blood who can live for a little over three thousand years. Due to their semi-supernatural biology, Nephilim mature at about the same rate as humans but age much, much more slowly, and they possess incredible powers like great strength, endurance, speed, miraculous healing, etc. They are also renowned in the human world for their warrior heritage and great...

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“That Happy Smile” by Iona Cottle

Submitted to Contest #22

“You know, I’m sure it’s bad luck to be grumpy at a party.” Lisa looked up from her drink to the person who’d just spoken to her, but there was something about his smile that stopped her from just biting his head off. “Sorry. Not really in the party mood.” “Then why are you here?” Unlike most men he hadn’t taken the opportunity to sit down and slide close to her yet, and his respectful distance only endeared him more to her. “It’s New Year’s Eve. You’ve got to be at a party, haven’t you.” “You think? I mean, it happens every year.” “I know b...

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“Axiom the Third” by Arthur Tiberio

Submitted to Contest #22

Time, as the magister of Manchuria had written long, long ago, had a tendency to pick favorites. By which was meant, in the primordial pecking order of various realities, it was actually quite rare to find one in which Time presented itself with any sort of self-respect. For every universe in which He was the sort to show up at steakhouses in a pinstripe vest, and talk amiably with His disciples over a glass of Chardonnay and perhaps a nice soup, there are at least a thousand in which He is the type to drive by that same steakhouse at one in...

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“Pixie Dust” by Linda Herskovic

Submitted to Contest #22

PIXIE DUSTBY LINDA HERSKOVICAmy looked around at all the unfamiliar faces. She wasn’t sure what she was doing there. She didn’t feel very social. She was planning on staying home, finishing up all seven seasons of Mad Men on Netflix for the fourth time and going to bed early. It had been a truly epic cruddy year and she wasn’t expecting much from the upcoming one. And now she had to put on a party face.The apartment was done up very festive. There was a lot of chattering and some jazz background music, like a scene in a movie. She stood ther...

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“Ineffable Fireworks” by Charisa Dwi Santika

Submitted to Contest #22

"So you mean tonight we will end here?" I said to start the conversation. Tonight is New Year's Eve. Everyone is downtown down there. Watching various kinds of shows until later in the peak at midnight, they will light fireworks that are very magnificent from year to year. This man next to me never answers my question. I'm confused, when everyone is busy celebrating, he instead pulled me here. On the hill behind the city. This hill is beautiful. I can see everything from here. The rays of light from each of the city's performance lights look...

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“Birds Eye View of the Roaring Twenties” by Sue Marsh

Submitted to Contest #22

A Birds Eye View of the Roaring Twenties &n...

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“Why Good Friday Came on New Year's Eve” by Deborah Mercer

Submitted to Contest #22

I was about to say that our New Year’s music wasn’t the sound of the waltzes and marches from that gilded and flower-bedecked Concert Hall in Vienna, convincing ourselves that it was better on TV as we got to see the dancers and the scenery as well as hearing the music. But it was, though even when I was quite little, something struck a false note about the encores that you just knew were going to happen, and the orchestrated clapping at the very end, with the very raggedness having something that wasn’t entirely random about it.&n...

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“I'll Call You” by Jane Andrews

Submitted to Contest #22

The room is hot and crowded with far too many people, some of whom she knows but mostly strangers – friends of Beth’s from university. Alice takes another sip from the glass that was thrust into her hand when she arrived ten minutes ago, wondering why she is here instead of celebrating the new year – the new millennium – with her family. “Because Beth’s your best friend,” she whispers to herself. “Always has been.” But she knows that’s not true anymore: the confident girl who’s knocking back shots almost as fast as a comedian delivering non-...

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“Once Spit on, Twice Shy” by Deborah Mercer

Submitted to Contest #22

I still feel mean about it. And if I’m honest, not just that I’m being mean to Ross, but that I’m being mean to ME! He’s great company, has a sense of humour not unlike mine (and experience has taught me that’s by no means a given!) and manages to be both an interesting talker and a good listener. Dammit, I want to see him again! I’m not saying anything permanent or profound would come of it or that we’d ever be more than friends, but everything in me is screaming, give it a go! Why did ...

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“The Realm's” by Emily Ku

Submitted to Contest #22

I was about to go to my warm, soft bed in a cold winter night when I hear something. A voice was calling to me. The voice was saying, “Eve. Come here, and let me tell you what you must beware of.” I tried to ask the thing where it was, and it said, “I am where your father died.” I quickly got out of bed, and ran to the car. I wanted to drive there right away, but knew it wasn’t safe since I was only fifteen. I decided to run, but quickly regretted it. About fifteen minutes in, I started panting. I forgot how far away the grave was. I finally...

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“The New Years Eve Feud!” by Randi W

Submitted to Contest #22

December 31, 2019 Adam Parker reached for the large box of specialty chocolates when another hand quickly snatched the box from the shelf. Irritation filled his mind as he turned towards the chocolate thief, when he saw the perpetrator. His eyes grew wide with annoyance, of course, how could Adam expect anything else. "You!" growled Adam standing up to his full height of 5' 6", "I should have known it was you when the air froze!" "Did you really think I would allow you to have ...

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“Double vision” by Sam Kirk

Submitted to Contest #22

“Ladies and gentlemen, we have landed in Lima. It is now 2.35 pm local time. The weather is nice and sunny, with a comfortable temperature of 72 degrees Fahrenheit. Thank you for flying with us today and enjoy your stay in the colorful country of Peru” – the pilot announced.“We look forward to having you onboard again, soon” – the lead stewardess added.“I can’t believe we’re here, Peter. It’s been my dream to climb Machu Picchu for the longest time. And we’re finally going to do it” – Emma said to her boyfriend in the seat next to her.He loo...

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“Cat and mouse” by Sam Kirk

Submitted to Contest #22

“It’s this unknown number calling again” – Sarah announced as she picked up her phone from the coffee table.“Answer it” – Hannah suggested, taking a sip of her marshmallow filled hot cocoa.“They’ve called twice already. What if something happened to your parents and someone is trying to get a hold of you?” – she continued.Sarah looked at her friend in disbelief. Hannah was such a good-natured person, but she didn’t always think things through before saying things out loud. “Good job trying to freak me out” – Sarah replied, placing the phone ...

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“Stuck in the Past” by Samuel Cardy

Submitted to Contest #22

Jack stared at the grubby door. Weather-beaten, graffitied, scratched, dinted, it was a wonder it was still standing. Something in its withered condition seemed to reflect the reluctance hanging within him. Something in its familiar, disappointing countenance reminded him of who was seated on the other side. He eased it open and stepped in. If the front door looked run-down, the inside of the pub was no better. Somehow, despite the fact smoking in public had been banned for ten...

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$50

Prize money

338

Contest entries

0

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Jan 03, 2020 EST

Won by Emily Hemmings 🏆

Title: Pagliacci on the Q Train

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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