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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#262: Turn Up the Heat

What’s not to love about summer? There's something so wonderful about spending lazy afternoons taking a stroll in the sunshine or cooling off with an ice-cold drink by a pool. I can still remember how excited I would feel on the last day of school, just hours away from barbecues, beach days, and family picnics.

With summer in full swing for many of us, let’s write some stories that center around long, sweltering days. Will your tale take place at a fancy resort or a crowded park? How about a county fair or an island getaway? No matter what you choose, make sure to bring on the heat!

This week's prompts

Write about a summer vacation gone wrong.

Summer – 66 stories

Start or end your story with a heatwave announcement.

Summer – 34 stories

Write about a character who is allergic to heat.

Summer – 26 stories

Center your story around an unexpected summer fling.

Summer – 53 stories

Set your story during the hottest day of the year.

Summer – 88 stories

Stories

“Ladybird, Ladybird” by Carol Stewart

Submitted to Contest #262

***TW fire***July 1976, the hottest day of the summer so far, perhaps the hottest since UK records began, and in the driest of years. Even Scotland, known for its rainfall, had imposed a hosepipe ban. Everything about this day was intense; the heat, the glare, the colour clash – sun and sky, yellow, blue and naked above the wilting green - and ladybirds, each a blink of a sty-in-the-eye of the borderland cemetery mourners, red swarm through their black and white swelter, their cluster of onyx and pearl broken ring, diamond in a box.Ashes to ...

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“Antimachia” by Charlotte Cooper

Submitted to Contest #262

Antimachia Freedom tastes like frozen Ouzo shots at 4am, with no one to tell you it’s a bad idea.I found that out myself the summer I went to Greece with my friends. We learned a lot that summer, but only one experience would alter my life forever. Lisa and Cheryl had been my best friends since the first week of school. Our mum’s met at a school fundraiser, bonded over a bottle of wine and the weekly play dates began. Our birthdays were within a week of each other and after our joint fifth birthday party in my back g...

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“The Private Hotel” by Rebecca Hurst

Submitted to Contest #262

On a high sedimentary cliff overlooking a small fishing town in north Devon, England, there stood a rather unique hotel. It was built in the 1880s, which made it something of a parvenue in comparison to its shoreline neighbours, some of which could remember, within their walls, witches dragged from their rooms, the hooves of Cromwell’s horses, and various and sundry drumbeats of early-modern history. The town church, and several buildings adjoining it, had been around since the Second Crusade. The town pub was built in the rei...

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“Hotter Than Hot” by E. H. Main

Submitted to Contest #262

Chapter 1 (Pepper) The fan oscillating back and forth over my body was not nearly enough to cool me. I had long since rid myself of any sweat absorbed clothing I had been wearing before. Now all I can do is lay naked in the path of the sad attempt of a breeze and hope for a quick death. Sweat rolled down my face in thick, hot rivulets that no amount of wiping could rid me of. It was hot. No scratch that, it was sweltering. Steaming. Boiling. Absolutely miserable. Why were we so unlucky to have our AC break on the hottes...

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“The Rider” by James Johnson

Submitted to Contest #262

The cool summer rains lashed the paved streets radiating from the ancient Drum Tower on the cusp of Xi’an’s Muslim Quarter. Throngs of tourists skipped between grimy puddles beneath a field of umbrellas, shielding t-shirts and summer dresses from the deluge. The murky sky, which cleaved the heavens and this ancient Chinese city, had loomed ominously all morning. Thirteen million smartphones, alive to the threat, had convulsed with yellow warnings for storms and heavy rain. Undeterred, the street vendors lined the alleyways, stationed behind ...

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“Earning the Golden Bandage Award ” by George Georgerfrost@gmail.com

Submitted to Contest #262

Being an adult Boy Scout Leader can be a rewarding experience, so I was told before signing the contract. When I turned the signed contract in, the man hid his smirk. This should have been my first clue, but I wanted to help out the troop where my son was now a member. “Hey there, welcome aboard.” The scoutmaster, Mr. Hinge shook my hand, “You have joined just in time.” “How so?” I asked in complete naivety. “Summer camp is in three weeks. We are going to Camp Geronimo this year.” Mr. Hinge told me as his smirk reappe...

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“Inferno” by James Scott

Submitted to Contest #262

A single green shoot, pushing up from between the slightest of gaps in the dusty concrete, almost seemed to be enjoying throwing a minute splash of colour against the dead landscape. Too young to classify as anything beyond simply life, Cassian knew upon catching sight of it that come dawn the beautiful green thread would be reduced to nothing but another muted, dry husk. He looked up from his study of the infant plant to monitor the hazy glow on the horizon that signaled the imminent rising sun. The heat of it already evaporating any humidi...

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“Birthday Dreams” by Nicholas Thomas

Submitted to Contest #262

Today marks another trip around the sun for me – it’s my birthday! I’m being treated to a whole day out by my two daughters, Marie and Leigh. With me being a night owl – and of course, my two girls got that from me, too – we decided it would be more exciting if we slept in a little and went out for celebrations at night. Our first stop, Starbucks. I had an iced vanilla latte which I indulgently guzzled down, but that’s okay; it was delicious, and it’s OK to splurge a little on the night of your birthday. &n...

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“England Turns up the heat for 90 minutes! UEFA Euro 2004 ” by Stefania Katz

Submitted to Contest #262

"Due to the extreme heat forecasted for the next few days, cooling centres will be open across the city. Please visit our website for locations and hours of operation."Tailed Flower, a girl, is studying for the Panhellenic exams to enter the university. The study started two years ago with private lessons and group lessons. In the mornings she was at school, in the evenings she was at the tutorial schools, and she was studying at night and noon. Two years and the only thing she could hear was: study, sleep, eat. the exams are always in June....

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“The Candy Man” by Amanda Stogsdill

Submitted to Contest #262

Candy Man by Amanda Stogsdill "Judy? Judy? Can you hear me?"In my dark closet, I stifle giggles, listening as Nancy's footsteps fade down the hallway. Releasing a silent laugh, I emerge from my hiding place."There you are! Mom's been holding dinner." Nancy flashes a big grin. "You can't fool me, Judy. I know where you hide." Leave it to Nancy to ruin my afternoon! I think. Showing my irritation by ignoring her, we head downstairs to dinner.Nancy and I are stepsisters. When my parents got divorced when I was little, Mom married my stepda...

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“The holiday” by Laura Camacho Frias

Submitted to Contest #262

I've never considered myself highly adventurous, but through the years, many have told me that some of my choices might not have been the easiest on the catalog. I've always traveled with my children, and when the first two were small, I always did it in their father's company. Still, when my third son was one year old, and the other two were a constant menace to my mental health, I decided to fly solo and leave my husband at home, who was trying to finish some last-minute deliverables. I had too many holidays after the pregnancy and the mat...

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“Rate Your Stay” by Karen McDermott

Submitted to Contest #262

1st July 2024 Vanessa: Hi! I’m looking forward to staying in your gorgeous, quiet cottage. I’ve booked it as a writer friend suggested a change of scene for me while I finish the first draft of my debut novel. I’m not purposefully being boastful by the way – the site was just recommending I introduce myself and give a reason for my stay :) Best wishes, Vanessa. P.S. If I get published, you’ll definitely get a mention in the acknowledgements! StarHost: Thank you for booking your stay at Acorn Cottage. Check in is with a lockbox. The code a...

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“Bull Session” by Mike McSorley

Submitted to Contest #262

Bull Session The final Wednesday was getaway day for both the Memphis Blues and the Sacramento Saints with a Businessman’s Special at 12:30. For the baseball purist, every game should be a day game. The schedule makers back east in their air-conditioned offices had not considered late July weather in Sacramento. It wasn’t just hot. It was a steamer. The humidity, coupled with the late-July heat, made the atmosphere in the Saints’ bullpen almost unbearable. The pitchers did what they could to keep cool. Water-soaked towels worn across the ba...

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“Traffic” by Gregg Voss

Submitted to Contest #262

Time. Temp. Time. Temp. 12:07 p.m. 98 degrees. 12:08 p.m. 99 degrees. Withering mid-August heat billowed from the Capitol Drive pavement and obscured Park State Bank’s Irish-emerald sign, blurring the tiny, jaundiced Lite-Brite bulbs on the marquee that served as a courtesy to the drivers passing below. ...

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“The Glory of Nothingness” by Anna Fothergill

Submitted to Contest #262

The swallows dipped and dive-bombed, feathered pilots dog-fighting across a cloudless sky. My skin was sun-kissed, burnished gold in the unexpected July heatwave. This was England. Temperatures above 21 degrees Celsius were not something we understood. There was nothing to be done but spend the long days wearing a big hat and big glasses, posing by a turquoise pool in a motif reminiscent of Golden Age Hollywood. This glamourous visage was in fact staged in Surrey, in a corner of lush growth tucked away in the garden of England. The onl...

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$250

Prize money

267

Contest entries

91

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Aug 09, 2024 EST

Won by Tess Ross-Callahan 🏆

Title: Hair-Dryer Day

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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