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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#242: Fine Art

Museums are magical places. There’s something so special about admiring art in sacred, silent spaces, together with complete strangers. In museums, time is suspended; you can forget about the outside world and lose yourself in the paintings, sculptures, and other artwork around you.


This week, let’s write some stories inspired by art and museums. Think about some of your favorite galleries, or consider creating a brand-new museum the world has yet to see. Let your imagination run wild, and maybe even try writing in a new genre. For this contest, the sky’s the limit!

This week's prompts

Write about a gallery whose paintings come alive at night.

Fantasy – 66 stories

Write about someone who accidentally destroys a museum’s most valuable artifact.

Funny – 31 stories

Write about an art thief who is struggling to commit the perfect heist.

Adventure – 31 stories

Write about two characters who meet and/or fall in love in a museum.

Romance – 98 stories

Start or end your story with a character who gets trapped inside a museum overnight.

Thriller and Suspense – 38 stories

Stories

“The Boy and the Lion” by Len Rely

Submitted to Contest #242

 The castle was in the young boy’s eye, like the glint of a small gray linnet that lives in the eye of a falcon whose home is the sky. It stood on a hill in the distance, he had been inside it only once when his mother was mistress to one of the gentlewomen there. He thought the word “mistress” meant something honorable, not a word that means a boy has no father.Inside the castle was glittering stained glass that cast its glow on canvas and velvet walls, woodwork carved from uniquely large knots filamented with spirals of gold dust. But...

2 comments 2
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“Rooms with a Hue” by Bailey Primus

Submitted to Contest #242

BEEP BEEP BEEPThe incessant calls from my alarm clock woke me from absurd dream about wandering aimlessly in the scorching heat of a barren desert while melting clocks dripped numbers from the sky. I was equally as happy to be awake as annoyed that it was so early. Today I begin my new job as a museum guide; I’ve been looking forward to this new job venture for weeks. I stumbled out of bed and sleepily made my way to the kitchen to start the coffee pot. The aroma reinvigorated and motivated me to get moving. I sipped on that first cup lazily...

1 comment 1
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“The living Museum” by Jeff McDonald

Submitted to Contest #242

In a small town in America, there lived a teenager named Alex. He was an ordinary teenager who loved playing video games and hanging out with his friends. One day, his mother, who worked for a big tech company, had to go on a business trip to Inverness, Scotland. Reluctantly, she took Alex along with her, much to his dismay. He was not excited about spending his summer vacation in a foreign country. As they arrived in Inverness, Alex's boredom only grew. The city seemed dull and uninteresting to him. His mother, noticing his lack of enthusia...

2 comments 2
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“"Step Up"” by Karla S. Bryant

Submitted to Contest #242

Next week will make it a year since I became a security guard, more politely called a “gallery attendant”, at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. I’d lived in Philly my entire life, but when I got the position and reported for training, it was the first time I’d ever entered the building. I grew up in Roxborough and in the ‘90s would have perfectly fit the description of a Roxy Chick. Big hair, small clothes, and make-up that rocked. Just like in the Bruce Springsteen song, our glory days were in high school. After that, most of the girls got ma...

4 comments 4
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“The Broken Box and the Five Pandoras” by Holly Gilbert

Submitted to Contest #242

“...What… What in the name of all that’s decent in this world have you done?” Have you ever been in a terrible situation where you messed up so badly… you left a teacher almost speechless and considered changing your identity and running away? This happened to me and four other students. My name is Cassie Gray. I am the only human being in my class. I have only one friend, who is a fairy girl who is short and round. Fairies in my world are usually the size of humans. Her name is Bernice Calm. She doesn’t really fit her namesake. She is ter...

4 comments 4
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“A Blessed Misfortune” by Samuel Pastrana

Submitted to Contest #242

A BLESSED MISFORTUNE_______________________                                                    By S. Pastrana  In the dim light of dawn, the disturbing sound of her mobile phone on the bedside table woke Sophie up. A cacophony of unexpected notifications began to arrive. The phone...

9 comments 9
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“Careful Steps Tread on Dangers” by Nicholas Schramm

Submitted to Contest #242

I did everything I could; I really did. First, I tried to reason with Mr. Whentley, then I pleaded, and finally I begged. “It must be Wednesday, Samuel. That’s when they’ll be in town, and you know how valuable their time is. I will not make them wait.” “But-but . . .” My protests were left in his wake as he strode from the room. Conversely, I was stuck to my place, reluctant to move as if doing so was a final admission that my protests had been quashed for good. When I could finally accept the quashing, I returned to my cramped office and ...

4 comments 4
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“Art for Art's Sake” by Melanie Yorke

Submitted to Contest #242

Anne was bored. It had been fine, in theory, agreeing to take her niece to the Art Gallery, she liked spending time with Izzy, it was free to get in and she would get cool Aunty points for indulging Izzy’s ‘artzy fartzy’ phase. However, in reality, it was exhausting. She’d oo’ed and ah’ed and generally put in an Oscar worthy performance as “Art Appreciating Aunt” but they’d been here two hours now and Anne felt like they’d walked a marathon at a snails pace.Her feet ached and she really didn’t think she could bear to stand in front of anothe...

4 comments 4
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“A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Gallery” by Hillary McDonald

Submitted to Contest #242

My nose itches.It started as a light tickle, but now it’s so bad my eyes are watering. Three people are still watching me, and if I move now, it’ll get taken out of my paycheck.Any minute now, they’re going to walk away, and then I can scratch, I think to myself.I’m probably one of the few people in the world who went to an art gallery and ended up as part of the exhibit. But that’s what happens when you (accidentally!) destroy a priceless piece of art that is more valuable than your ordinary mortal soul.Two people walk away. The third linge...

6 comments 6
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“Julius Ceasar and Mannequin Bones” by Poop Man

Submitted to Contest #242

Alex could barely stand the hot, rancid breath in his face, the absence of the rest of his senses heightening his perception. His legs and arms ached from being in the same standing, cramped position for hours. The pocketknife pressed against his leg from his pocket with extreme pressure. He hissed, to not be overheard by anyone except his intended target,"Carl! Move! Over!"He heard a scuffling next to him, the coffin creaking with shifting weight, then a sharp jab in the side of his ribs. "God damn!" he heaved under his breath."Sorry!" Carl...

2 comments 2
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“Midnight Mischief” by D.J. Gonsalves

Submitted to Contest #242

The crisp night air nipped at Huebert’s cheeks. Just a few more minutes of silent patience before his part of the job started.  Leaning against the concrete wall of the Modern Museum of Art, he pivoted his head from left to right to make sure there was no one patrolling outside the building.  “Ok Pierre,” Huebert whispered into his Bluetooth earbud. “All quiet on the western front.”  He pulled up his black long sleeve and checked his watch - exactly 11:58pm - two minutes before a vital shift change of security guards.  Fo...

2 comments 2
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“The Hiroshige Heist” by Denise A Nisbet (Wallis)

Submitted to Contest #242

Write about an art thief who isstruggling to commit the perfectheist. #242, Fine Art.The Hiroshige HeistDenise A. NisbetCreeping around the Royal Academy of Arts like the Pink Panther …dum dadum dadumdadumdadum …do you know what we did? We stayed and hid when the gallery closed and now we had the run of the whole place, even if it was pitch dark. We were after Hiroshige. Who? Hiroshige. We were in love with the Japanese woodcut artist; you know the bloke who did The Wave, and Sudden Shower over Ohashi Bridge. You don’t know about t...

2 comments 2
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“The Vulture Crown ” by Siobhan H

Submitted to Contest #242

“Jonny, I need your help, there onto me and I don’t have much time!”“Don’t worry I’m coming down to your level now.”“Argh!”“Marco? Marco are you there?”“They caught me Jonny! Run!”2 months earlier Paris is just the thing I needed after these past few weeks. It is not easy leaving such a high-end job. Here I was thinking that working for the governments secret cooperation would be an interesting line of work. “To a knew life,” I cheered and clinked my glasses together gulping down the rest of my beer.Loud buzzing reaches my ears. Peering down...

5 comments 5
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“A PIECE OF CAKE” by Glenna Agnew

Submitted to Contest #242

 A PIECE OF CAKE  I crossed my arms and leaned against the wall of the museum, discreetly scanning the location of the security cameras in the main lobby. The museum tour guide was starting her spiel to those gathered for her tour of the museum.“Welcome to The Royal Ontario Museum, or ROM as it is known to the locals, this is the largest metropolitan museum in the heart of Toronto. As a matter of fact,  the ROM  is the largest museum in all of Canada. It is the home of thousands, no, actually, millions of artifacts, care...

1 comment 1
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“The Greatsword of Azura” by Cajek Veilwinter

Submitted to Contest #242

Farah templed her fingers as she watched the two young creatures sitting across from each other at the little wooden table discuss their plan. The storm that usually dripped over the town of Vulane was raging that night, and thus the tavern was nearly vacant except for Farah, her two ‘protoges’ and the barkeep at the other end of the establishment - too busy cleaning glasses and getting drunk on his own supply to bother them. Farah - the renowned ferret thief - had only had one ale and she could barely follow what the other two were talking ...

1 comment 1
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$250

Prize money

264

Contest entries

118

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Mar 22, 2024 EST

Won by Niamh O'Dea 🏆

Title: Do Not Touch

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 | Many Hands | 2024-09

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