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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#223: Academia

A recent re-watch of Gilmore Girls has had me thinking about academic life — there’s something uniquely compelling in the combination of idolized institutions, tweed, the pursuit of knowledge, and thousands of young people all living in close quarters. I’m not alone: dark academia is an established genre by now.

This week, let’s step into the halls of ivy together — I’ve got academics, libraries, students, and exams in these prompts, so whether your imaginary life in the academy is dark, fantastical, suspenseful, or humorous, I hope you’ll find a prompt that feels right.

This week's prompts

Start your story with a student discovering a hidden room in a university library.

Mystery – 77 stories

Write about two rival academics pursuing the same grant.

Character – 14 stories

Write a story in which a jaded academic makes an unexpected, rash decision.

Angst – 41 stories

Write about a student reporter uncovering a university scandal.

Mystery – 22 stories

Set your story during exam season, when tensions run high and a minor incident sends your protagonist into a panic spiral.

Character – 30 stories

Stories

“Ethics Class” by Jennifer Stowell

Submitted to Contest #223

Why am I the only one here? I never see any of my classmates studying anywhere, yet they all seem to be doing so well in their classes. This thought is how Juliet starts most of her library visits lately. Although not every person needs to study as intensely as she does, Juliet has been noticing more and more that the university library is usually empty. She can be there early in the morning, midday or late in the evening, yet no one is visibly there with her except a librarian busy doing whatever librarians do. The first time she realized...

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“The Creeping Under Dunsmuir” by Benjamin Hall

Submitted to Contest #223

I am writing this in a state of fear, the kind that comes with the express knowledge that something is coming for you, and the only thing standing between you and the end was your own obsessive curiosity. My phone was lost in the abyss of unknown horrors that could've been avoided had I just shown up during office hours. Professor Liam Lasky was an English Professor at Dunsmuir University. He was perfect. I know that this will initially come off as a school girl with a crush, and maybe there is some truth to that, but my mind races with wha...

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“The Victor's Fall” by Marian Lemont

Submitted to Contest #223

Carl White, a particular man, noticed his fresh cup of coffee had grown cold in the hour that had passed since he began drafting his proposal. He perused his progress with a dissatisfied sniff–dissatisfied because he found most things these days dissatisfying, from conversations with his wife to student essays to his own, precious research. Perfectionism, the quality that had once propelled him so far in life, had since devolved into a general disdain for all that did not meet his standards. And since his standards had grown increasingly hig...

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“Change of Plans” by Hannah Lynn

Submitted to Contest #223

“Shot of Jack Daniels.” “Don’t you think you’ve had enough?” “Did I ask what you think, or did I ask for a shot?” “Bitch,” the bartender mumbled under his breath loud enough for me to hear. He was right. I was being a bitch, in one of those moods where nothing felt quite right. The agitation was getting worse day by day, had been building for months. Looking back, the entire semester was a shit show of anxiety. “What’s your problem?” Gen grabbed another handful of stale pretzels, grimacing, but eating them...

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“ Speaking of Time” by Keith Menendez

Submitted to Contest #223

Mario ran through the blizzard snow, which was accumulating outside an Columbia University academic building. He saw the blue Nissan sedan with its hazard lights flashing, which Emmy told him about minutes before. He almost fell on some ice before he reached the door. He opened the back door and tumbled into the seat. EC gave him a heart-warming smile. She wore a green toboggan and her full-length silver puffy coat. He closed the door. “Hi!” EC said. “Hi. Thanks for picking me up. Right on...

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“I'll be seeing you” by Sina Wilson

Submitted to Contest #223

“I’ll be seeing you, Melina.” “Thank you, Professor Randall.” She paused before she walked away. “And then you’ll tell me where I can find God?” “Yes, Melina.” He didn’t know why he said that to her. He taught biology, not philosophy. He waved goodbye to his student and walked out of the classroom. Windows. Lockers. A piece of crumpled paper, being blown through the hallway like tumbleweed in a Western. The afternoon sun threw its rays through the windows, pulling on the shadows, making them grow sleek, just like his dreams had become. ...

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“When Real Life is better than Fiction” by Kaitlyn Wadsworth

Submitted to Contest #223

When Real Life is Better than Fiction – Loosely based on a true story. Names changed.“Derek, now that we’re alone, I’d like to ask you to the Homecoming Dance,” she said.Derek Rodgers looked furtively behind him even though he doubted another Derek stood there.“You mean me?” He stared at her, one of the prettiest girls in the college.“Of course, I mean you. Rumor has it that you want to go to the Dance.”Derek hung his head, his cheeks pink. ‘Rumor’ – a hyperbole! “I did want to go. B - but you can go with anyone. You don’t need me.”“I have b...

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“Ep 2 - Mightier Than The Pen - SERIES: Adventures of A&J” by Mary Black Rose

Submitted to Contest #223

Did I ever tell you about the time way back when my cousin Jeremy used his ‘superpowers’ to get me out of a pretty sticky situation?No?Well, back in the 1950s, my cousin Jeremy and I were pretty close pals.That kid had the luck of an Irish mafia boss, who could not only dodge bullets, he dodged traffic jams, the line into the Red Sox game during the World Series, bad grades when grading was on a curve, and he hadn’t studied one ounce and misplaced keys on that random day a black hole swallowed up all of his belongings. And he managed to acco...

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“In a flurry of wings” by Elise G

Submitted to Contest #223

My head lies slumped against the window, a glass stained with many years of spit, tears, and grime. My hands lie in front of me, wrapped in cold metal, cuffed to the seat in front. Past the grilled partition that separates us, a woman’s sultry voice drifts through, the radio turned up uncomfortably loud, the driver tapping his calloused hands against the leather wheel. He occasionally looks up at me, bushy eyebrows slightly crinkled, catching a glimpse of my face besides the cut-out photograph of a little girl taped on the rearview mirror. S...

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“A Voyage With The Greeks” by PJ Town

Submitted to Contest #223

It shouldn’t have been there. Jed had taken books from that section before and he’d never seen a door. But there it was, at the end of the aisle, between Greek Philosophy on the left, and History of Europe on the right. A dusty old door, with peeling black paint – totally out of place in the modern library.He was thinking of going to the desk to ask old Mrs Porter about it, but then he remembered what she was like. She’d take ages to come and check, and she’d insist that Jed stick around while she did. He really couldn’t spare the time: it w...

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“Battling Metaphysicians” by Luca King Greek

Submitted to Contest #223

Reggie was in a hidden room, the tower room, then he suddenly wasn't.“I swear it’s the truth; he gave us the assignment in the tutorial last week, while you were at the doctors” said Delia, a bit too enthusiastically, “Fitz wants a two-page essay at the end of the today”, she couldn’t quite suppress a smug smile when she saw Reggie’s alarm. She flipped open her ring-binder to a neatly typed document and read the prompt out loud,” Why is the world, as a whole, as it is actually, and not otherwise?” and she managed to sound arrogant,...

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“The Joy of Reading” by DH Irving

Submitted to Contest #223

Libraries are boring. I know, simply saying something that willfully ignorant is enough to make every boomer in the world clutch their pearls in shock and disgust; but it doesn’t make it any less true. No one my age actually or willingly reads books anymore. Sure, they’re foisted upon us in the classroom, and when we’re being monitored, we thumb through the weird smelling pages as we attempt to glean whatever information we can in the most archaic and painstakingly boring way possible, but it’s not like we’re thrilled to do it. On our ow...

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“Jasm” by Candice Toney

Submitted to Contest #223

Lola sighed as she dropped her pencil onto the table. What she really wanted to do was break it in half or slam it down, but the noise to her frustration would not have been appreciated in the IUPUI campus library. Finals was just one week away before winter break and, between working a full time job and attending all her classes, that did not leave her with much time to study for the twelve credit hours she assigned herself this semester. Note to self: check for online courses next semester, she thought to herself as she grabbed her water b...

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“May the Best Player Win” by Evelyn Holiday

Submitted to Contest #223

May the Best Player Win By: Evey Ghorley Would you kill for a grant? I know most probably say no. Well, let me put it this way: would you kill for a million dollars? When phrased like that it sounds a little more compelling, doesn’t it? Suddenly, murder doesn’t sound so dreadfully terrible. However you do the murder, you begin to create excuses in order to make yourself feel a bit better. Nobody is really getting hurt, and you get to live your dream! That’s not so bad! Well, stop right there. Just stop. I used to th...

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“Changing Lanes” by Jed Cope

Submitted to Contest #223

It was whilst driving that Professor Giles Latham made the momentous decision. This rash and outlandish decision had been brewing for some time now. In the airing cupboard, far too close to the immersion heater it sat bubbling away. The proportions of the ingredients thrown into the ponderously burgeoning container were perilously incorrect and so an explosion was inevitable. It was anyone’s guess as to when the explosion would take place, but the magnitude would be attention seeking, that was for sure. Also for sure was the mess it would ma...

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$250

Prize money

184

Contest entries

84

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Nov 10, 2023 EST

Won by AnneMarie Miles 🏆

Title: Cerulean

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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