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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...

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

“Trailblazer” by Carolyn O'B

Submitted to Contest #257

 INT. - OLIVIA’S AND HER ROOMMATE TIM’S APARTMENT - SATURDAY EVENINGPhone rings. OLIVIA (Answers phone) Hello Jane. JANEWill you answer when I’m in a car crash and calling from a stranger’s phone? OLIVIAIf I don’t recognize the caller ID, I don’t answer. And if you’re in a car crash, I hope you have the sense to dial emergency before calling me. JANEDon’t ever let me use you as my emergency contact. Olivia huffs. JANESpeaking of emergencies, I have been summoned to Scranton. Can you stay here with Babs until Sunday? OLIVIAWell, I guess...

1 comment 1
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“Yorick: A Tragedy in Three Acts” by George Georgerfrost@gmail.com

Submitted to Contest #257

ACT I  It is several years before the great tragedy of Hamlet takes place at Elsinore between his father and his brother Claudius which results in murder and usurping of the kingdom when Claudius marries the widow Gertrude and the whole rigmarole. Before his unexpected passing, Yorick had a front row seat of all that was rotten in Denmark.   l  YORICK: (Soliloquy, starts seated at a table with a table of fine material covering the table.  On the table is a chessboard set up for a game) Hello, come on into the chambers of ...

2 comments 2
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“Necessary Evil” by Галина Вишнёвая

Submitted to Contest #257

Fade In:Ext. City street - day                                                 Act   1We open on a busy New York intersection. A tall blonde Black woman with a mock-up of angel wings is crossing on the pedestrian. The construction bang, gibberish, and stomping over rain puddles as backg...

4 comments 4
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“Claire's very good fortune” by Jim Cowles

Submitted to Contest #257

Claire’s good fortune1,682 words Claire was walking on air. Just a few nights before, she had met a guy who knocked her right off her feet. It all started when a few of her girlfriends took her to see a local musician, someone she had heard about from a friend, someone who had been performing at the “Back Door” for the last several weeks. She was taken back by him, and could not believe the immediate connection they had; it seemed as though he was singing every song for her, and they stared into each other’s eyes throughout the evening. Late...

1 comment 1
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“Kyoto Sunset” by Colin Barry

Submitted to Contest #257

Sharon Stanton is exhausted. And this time, it wasn't just the jetlag. Being a location scout for Athena Pictures had its perks: traveling, mingling with movie stars, and attending red-carpet premiers dressed to the nines. At least, that is what she thought when she applied for the job.Over the last two years, Sharon was flying all over the world for romcoms, action-packed blockbusters, and the occasional period drama. Living out of two duffel bags and drug store brand toiletries differed from what Sharon had in mind. Of course, there was...

1 comment 1
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“Seraphina: The Knight of Alaric” by Eve M

Submitted to Contest #257

In a realm where magic flowed like rivers through the ancient forests and dragons soared across the skies, a young knight named Seraphina lived. She was known throughout the kingdom for her courage and unwavering sense of justice. Seraphina had been trained since childhood in the arts of combat and magic, a rare combination that marked her as a prodigy among her peers. But Seraphina carried a burden that weighed heavily on her heart. Long ago, her father, Sir Alaric, had ventured into the cursed depths of the Blackwood Forest to confront a d...

2 comments 2
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“The Understudy” by Skott's Ghost

Submitted to Contest #257

Half an hour has passed, and the entire cast's seething resentment towards Owen, the now former actor of main character Hamlet, remains unabated. Owen was expelled after allegedly disfiguring a fellow student in a horrifying act of bullying that shook the entire campus since the news broke out. To make matters worst, the expulsion occurred as the cast began wrapping up the final chapter of the famous Shakespeare tragedy, which means they have to start all the way over from the beginning, and a new actor needed to be picked, dragging Director...

0 comments 0
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“BEYOND THE TEMPEST” by Mae Siu-Wai Stroshane

Submitted to Contest #257

Part IOne fair breezy morning in the time of good Queen Bess, a ship called the "Dover" made its way towards land after nearly being shipwrecked on a desert island. The sun warmed the sailors’ bare backs as they hauled on the ropes and raised the sails, singing lustily. A party of well-heeled passengers strolled along the deck and exclaimed at the wide expanse of clear blue sky and glassy water.Among their number was a former magician and his soon-to-be-wed daughter, a king and his son, and other assorted nobles. Prospero, the magician, had ...

10 comments 10
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“Romeo and Juliet” by Elizabeth Schomburg

Submitted to Contest #257

I have not been here before. It does not look how it does in my dreams. It does not feel how I imagined it to. Then again, I haven’t felt many things how I imagine I am supposed to for weeks. I thought I would feel things more deeply. I thought everything would hurt, and it did. But you didn’t tell me how quickly my pain would succumb to numbness. You didn’t tell me how easy it is there in the ether. You told me you would see me again. You told me you would see me again. You’re not far now, I’m sure. I’ve walked nearly the entire length of ...

1 comment 1
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“Vendis” by Carol Stewart

Submitted to Contest #257

***Infrequent profanity***Even before she’d achieved celebrity status on prime-time dating show, Cloud Nine, Venus Eastman’s following, both online and in reality – the unscripted kind - had been talked about with envy. Indeed, for all she’d had her critics, condemned as being far too remote and aloof, or else too shallow and lacking in intelligence to be deserving of such attention, her model-girl figure, perfect make-up and fashion-sense, combined with her quiet air of confidence, had seen her up there on every extra-curricular High School...

4 comments 4
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“Romeo and Juliet met at work” by Laura Camacho Frias

Submitted to Contest #257

Rivalries exist everywhere: between countries, families, friends, and work. Recent disputes fuel some of them; others are so old that no one remembers how they started. My name is Juliet. Despite everything I heard when I started my career, nothing stopped me. I was raised to be great. I was educated and lectured about overcoming whatever was thrown at me. Failing was not an option, but I failed a lot. Still, I persevered. I was stubborn and resilient. That never changed. I worked as a product manager in a big multinational company. I s...

11 comments 11
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“Hamlet and Referee” by Michael Lane

Submitted to Contest #257

1748- 'Word' Wordcount. HAMLET AND REFEREE SCENE ONE: INT. A TRADITIONAL PRODUCTION OF 'HAMLET', BY WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE, IS UNDERWAY. WITHIN THE PLAY INT. NIGHT. BACKGROUND IS 'CASTLE BATTLEMENTS'.  Enter HAMLET. Dressed in black, at back of stage. He carries a skull. We feel the actor, glorying in the role. His big chance to score with the audience. He moves forwards as he speaks, addressing the skull, as well as the audience. HAMLET:To be or not to be - That is the question.Whether it is nobler in the mind to suffer FX. A Wh...

1 comment 1
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“Donovan the Pine” by Grayden McIntyre

Submitted to Contest #257

CAST OF CHARACTERS Donovan…………………………….…The middle pine. Adult man stands on a chair. He’s like if an annoying child knew big words. Medium height, messy hair, beady eyes but not beady enough to deflect the audience’s pity. Jeffrey…………………………………A tree who is leader of the Bark Brigade. Short and stout. Gruff mustache. Gruff eyebrows. The square jaw of a true American. Optional southern accent. Connie………………………………..A tree who is the psychiatreest. Old gal. Glasses. Optional Michigan accent. Lance…………………………………..A tree who dies immediately. Hope i...

2 comments 2
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“The Nose Knows” by Daniel R. Mangru

Submitted to Contest #257

The dirt under her multicolored fingernails left a trail down his lower back as Jane Sanderson methodically clawed her way down his spine. Her legs wrapped around his waist so tight that her thighs made it hard for him to breathe. It didn't help that the rest of her calves crossed over and locked at the ankles, keeping him firmly in place. She continued using her heels as spurs against his buttocks aggressively to signal him to keep the motion. Then it happened again for the fifth time in the span of two minutes and this time she would have...

0 comments 0
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“To Brave Him when He Takes Thee Hence” by Cameron Hagerty

Submitted to Contest #257

I have always yearned for the sky, and the freedom it has brought. It’s not an original dream, I know. The sparkling blue and green wings with which I fly are evidence of that, the collected work of hundreds, thousands, perhaps even millions before me desperately reaching for the sun before the arms of their children grew them closer to that grand finishing line. No, I am not the only pigeon to have dreamt of the wonders past the stratosphere. But still my whole life, I have chased it as if the first to become mad with curiosity and wonder, ...

2 comments 2
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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!

Prompts | Many Hands | 2024-09

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Prompts | Many Hands | 2024-09

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