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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#257: Shakespeare

He's the writer who requires no introduction. Probably the world's most famous playwright and poet, Shakespeare's tragedies, comedies, and sonnets have been studied and performed for the last 400 years. You'll be hard pressed to find someone who wasn't forced to read 'Sonnet 18' in English class, or to appear in a regrettable high school production of Romeo and Juliet. But he's a mainstay of our literary education for a reason. His writing is ubiquitous and seminal, and there's really no overstating the influence Shakespeare has had on art, literature, and even our day-to-day speech.

It's almost unbelievable that, in the hundreds of short story contests we've hosted, we've never dedicated one to the Bard himself — and so, this week is the week...

🥇 Winner

“Your Animal Side” by Keba Ghardt

🏆 Winner of Contest #257

Eddie was sweating. He'd been told, before putting on the suit, to drink a ton of water, so much your stomach hurts, and he bet there was an extra ten pounds of perspiration in the cheap costume fur. It certainly smelled like it, but rule one of wearing the suit: never take off the head. "That's an automatic write up," said Rob. "If you do it, and Faye finds out you subbed in without approval, you are off weekend hours, my friend. Good luck sucking up Tuesday tips." "I get it, I get it," Eddie had insisted. "I'll stay away from French revolu...

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⭐️ Shortlisted

“His Big Break” by Howard Halsall

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #257

I couldn’t bear waiting at home all week, but I didn’t want to miss the call. They told me they were interested so the phone might ring at any time. Maybe they weren’t concerned about my availability or they were playing hard to get? I’ve had important roles before, of course. No sign of a romantic lead, but that could happen. Whatever part I’m playing, even if it’s a walk-on, I own it and make my mark. I’m a serious person and can’t help getting involved. But it’s funny, you know, because I never get the serious roles. Everyone remembe...

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“Chasing Juliet” by Jane Andrews

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #257

“You should totally go for it,” Artie says, giving my shoulder a squeeze as we stand gazing at the poster on the school’s bulletin board. ‘Romeo and Juliet – auditions this Thursday after school,’ the words proclaim. “Me?” My voice is the frightened squeak of a small animal cornered by a predator. Why would I want to put myself through the embarrassment and almost certain humiliation of something like that? &...

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“Romeo and Juliet” by Kathryn Bidwell

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #257

“Please, come into my office.”“Yes, Prince- Principal Escalus,” Juliet couldn’t keep the tremor out of her voice as she toyed with the bottom of her plaid skirt and entered the unfamiliar office. She had been in here a few times seeing as the Academy was like a second home to her. She’d been enrolled in Kindergarten before she could even tie her school uniform tie or shiny black shoes. She sat on the hard plastic chair across from the Principal’s oak desk.“I hope you are having a good morning,” Principal Escalus said, although Juliet knew th...

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“The Tempest” by Summer Larson

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #257

Promise turned in her bed, pushing at the snake that had settled its weight across her chest as it did every night, "Move," she commanded, heaving the monster with all her strength. The snake slithered off her chest and pressed up against the length of her body. When she had first enslaved Caliban in her empty home, it felt like a guardian. She had welcomed the monster; it had kept her safe from the reporters and intrusive acquaintances, all hungry for a piece of her story. It was a comfort. She had begged it to protect her and never leave h...

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“Two Gentlemen of Verona” by Debra Tillar

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #257

Two Gentlemen of Veronaby Debra Tillar In fair Verona town one festive day As flags and cheers and trumpets rent the air, Party boats festooned the waterway And singing crowds adorned the central square. The regiment had rallied in the street, Called to arms and ordered to defend Their northern border cities and defeat The French aggressors to the bitter end. With hope and pride the town folk celebrated The soldiers as they mustered for the cause. With kisses, handshakes, hugs unmoderated, Roses, garlands, fanfare, songs, applause. On th...

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“A Tragic Hero Remembers” by Peter Wallace

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #257

It was a lot like being in jail. Some people called him a hero, but he sure didn’t feel like one. He just did what seemed like the right thing to do at the time. That’s all. The worst part is that he could remember it all in startling detail. Stuart was born with a surprisingly good memory. It was a help when he played card games, but it made the games too easy for him. It helped him in school, all the way through college. He didn’t need to study much. Information just stayed with him. He was pretty sure he didn’t have an eidetic memory, li...

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This week's prompts

Write a story named after, and inspired by, one of Shakespeare's plays. Think modern retellings, metanarratives, subversions, etc.

Narrative – 72 stories

Write your story in the form of a script, complete with stage directions.

Narrative – 33 stories

Write a story in which a case of mistaken identity plays a pivotal role.

Funny – 24 stories

Write a story about a tragic hero.

Dramatic – 57 stories

Set your story during rehearsals for a production of a Shakespeare play.

High School – 29 stories

Stories

“Your Animal Side” by Keba Ghardt

🏆 Winner of Contest #257

Eddie was sweating. He'd been told, before putting on the suit, to drink a ton of water, so much your stomach hurts, and he bet there was an extra ten pounds of perspiration in the cheap costume fur. It certainly smelled like it, but rule one of wearing the suit: never take off the head. "That's an automatic write up," said Rob. "If you do it, and Faye finds out you subbed in without approval, you are off weekend hours, my friend. Good luck sucking up Tuesday tips." "I get it, I get it," Eddie had insisted. "I'll stay away from French revolu...

Read story

“His Big Break” by Howard Halsall

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #257

I couldn’t bear waiting at home all week, but I didn’t want to miss the call. They told me they were interested so the phone might ring at any time. Maybe they weren’t concerned about my availability or they were playing hard to get? I’ve had important roles before, of course. No sign of a romantic lead, but that could happen. Whatever part I’m playing, even if it’s a walk-on, I own it and make my mark. I’m a serious person and can’t help getting involved. But it’s funny, you know, because I never get the serious roles. Everyone remembe...

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“The Untaming of the Shrew” by Alexis Araneta

Submitted to Contest #257

CW: Gratuitous swearing (including Renaissance swear words)Let me set the record straight, first and foremost: No, contrary to what that doddypoll William Shakespeare wrote in his dramatic work, no, I have not been tamed. In fact, if I may clarify, I will never ever be tamed, not then and not now.(Oh, let me repeat that in a language, a bunch of lines, you understand.)That’s right. Good ol’ Willy Shakes all played you, shut off the spotlight of the truth about me and illuminated a fabrication in the brightest of ambers and deep cobalt blue. ...

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“Much Ado About Nothing” by Mary Bendickson

Submitted to Contest #257

Much Ado About Nothing“About face! March! Hup, two, three, four. Hup, two, three, four. Halt! About face! March! Hup, two...”This goes on in daylight and in darkness.“Red, yellow, black and white. We keep everything in sight. Day and night.” Marching Mustard remarked. “We are the Watchmen keeping watch over the rails of the ramparts in Messina...”“Halt!” comes the command.“Oomph. I hate it when you stop so suddenly, Colonel Catsuppi. You being red and me so white we'll come out pink colliding all the time.” Ranchairo exclaimed.“That would cr...

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“Being Her” by Trudy Jas

Submitted to Contest #257

Mason Campbell, reporter with the Atlanta Constitution, feels frustrated. For the past fifteen minutes he’s been trying to interview Miss Chancey Jarvis. Though Miss Jarvis is patiently answering his questions, her answers are vague.“Miss Jarvis, you have lived here for more than sixty years, Is that right?” He asks.“Yes, it is my home.”“But people don’t live permanently in homeless shelters, do they?”“So, I’ve been told.”“How come you have?”“This is where I live. Will you be much longer? I need to put the towels in the dryer.” She fidg...

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“Not Every Stumper Can be Cute” by Daniel Rogers

Submitted to Contest #257

"By Xer-Bane! What are they doing?!" I shouted. Selwyn soldiers were chasing a poor, helpless stumper through the woods. For the life of me, I couldn't figure out why our allies would want to harm one of our loveable magic tree stumps. It infuriated me. They were shooting arrows, but the stumper dodged most of them by using trees as shields. I saw a few stuck in him, but they didn't slow him down. From my vantage point, I could see a small gorge hidden by a hill. If I could get there fast enough, perhaps I could hide the stumper in that gorg...

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“Cast of Characters” by Hannah Lynn

Submitted to Contest #257

“You have to tell him, Jackie.” “Actually, I don’t have to,” came the quick response. “He deserves to know,” Robin whispered urgently. Dipping her paintbrush into the newly opened can, Jackie thought once again how strongly she disagreed with her friend’s statement. After the way he had treated her, he didn’t deserve anything. *** “Again, Anthony. Read the line like you actually mean it.” “Lady, by yonder blessed moon I swear… that tips with silver all these fruit-tree tops,” he read the words scribbled on the scrap of paper. “Thos...

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“Rowena and Julian” by Julia Buzdygan

Submitted to Contest #257

The bell rang and all students lethargically directed themselves towards their respective classrooms. School sucks, sure, but high school is the worst of them all. At least that’s how Julian felt, when he sat at his desk and took out his notebook and pen. Every day he spent between those walls was dragging awfully and he was longing for the last ring of the bell, so he can run down to the basement, to his after school chess club meetings. He loved playing chess with his mates, beat them one by one, using newly learned techniques that he stud...

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“The Hero Train” by Marty B

Submitted to Contest #257

***discussion of suicide****You have to be completely dead to be buried at Arlington National Cemetery, not just mostly dead. But I went anyway, figuring I could kill off the rest of me easy enough on the cross country trip with whiskey, or if desperate, my Sig Sauer. What had been saved after the surgeries, the best bits, I had secured in a box. Army hospitals don’t have much in the way of ceremonial boxes, so I used what I could find. I thought about using my Silver Star presentation box, or the Purple ...

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“HAMLET (THE OTHER ONE)” by Darvico Ulmeli

Submitted to Contest #257

ACT ISCENE I: A GRAVEYARD AT NIGHT(The scene opens with a full moon hanging high in the sky, casting an eerie glow over the weathered gravestones. The gravestones, covered in moss and ivy, stand like silent sentinels at night. Shadows dance across the ground as the moonlight filters through the gnarled branches of ancient trees. A chilling wind whispers through the trees, rustling leaves and creating an atmosphere of melancholy and foreboding. The air is thick with damp earth and decaying leaves.)(Enter HAMLET, a young man with a troubled ex...

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“Chasing Juliet” by Jane Andrews

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #257

“You should totally go for it,” Artie says, giving my shoulder a squeeze as we stand gazing at the poster on the school’s bulletin board. ‘Romeo and Juliet – auditions this Thursday after school,’ the words proclaim. “Me?” My voice is the frightened squeak of a small animal cornered by a predator. Why would I want to put myself through the embarrassment and almost certain humiliation of something like that? &...

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“Just a Boy” by Ty Warmbrodt

Submitted to Contest #257

The jungles of Vietnam were no place for boys like Sean Delany to go to become men, but Uncle Sam thought otherwise. Sean was our medic. Drafted fresh out of high school where he led his football team to the state championships, he was only seventeen. His family owned a wheat farm in Kansas where he grew up on hard work, stern discipline, and biblical teachings. We all liked Sean. I don’t think the boy ever met a stranger. He’d crawl up in a foxhole at dusk, and with what light remaining read the little pocket bible he carried with him. The ...

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“Romeo and Juliet” by Jessie Laverton

Submitted to Contest #257

They call me Nanny Finch. I don't do much nannying anymore mind, my charge is all grown up. The Capelins kept me on even when she reached adulthood. I made myself useful, making cups of tea and whatnot, but that wasn't what they paid me for. It eased their conscience, you see, to know she wasn't too lonely. God knows they didn't know how to keep her company themselves. And then it was only natural I looked after her own son when the time came. So, I'm still here, despite that Justine, that's her name, is going on for forty-two now. But the e...

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“The Silicon Throne: A Modern Retelling of Hamlet” by Alexandra Noir

Submitted to Contest #257

Act I: The Appearance The sun plays among the glass and steel skyscrapers, rising like the giants we remember from the stories our parents read to us before bed. Each cloud seemed like cotton candy in the eyes of the children running in the park, cheerful. I haven't felt happiness for some time now. The long shadows of the buildings stretch like giant fingers over the urban landscape that seems so silent and yet chaotic. A cacophony filled with silence that does not bode well. Elsinore Enterprises, once a fortress of innovation and promises,...

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“The Comedy of Nigerian Novelists” by Scott Christenson

Submitted to Contest #257

Janitor Tobe Adeoyo trudged through the dimly lit halls of 50 East 34th Street. The clock had just struck 8 pm, and he proceeded wearily from office to office, ready to clean any mess left behind by the editors, sub-editors, publicists, and literary agents of New York’s publishing community.Fourteen long years have passed since he left the small town of Otukpo in Eastern Nigeria to chase the American dream. Life in the Big Apple was like a bad plate of jollof rice: spicy, unpredictable, and occasionally burnt. One thing remained certain –Tob...

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$250

Prize money

215

Contest entries

79

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Jul 05, 2024 EST

Won by Keba Ghardt 🏆

Title: Your Animal Side

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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