#274: October Country with Peter Cameron
Donât forget to use the hashtag #ReedsyOctober to share your creepy tales (and potentially be featured on our social accounts)!
This week, we're running a takeover in collaboration with Peter Cameron, an Emmy-nominated screenwriter and supernatural enthusiast whose credits include Amazon Primeâs Carnival Row and WandaVision, Moon Knight, and Werewolf by Night for Marvel Studios. His latest project, the deliciously spooky Agatha All Along, is now streaming on Disney+. This contestâs winner will not only be awarded $250 â theyâll also receive a special bonus prize: personal feedback from Peter! Here's what he has to say about his special takeover:
Ray Bradbury's work first transported me to October Country in middle school, and I'm not quite sure I ever left. To me, this literary world deserves to be mentioned in the same breath as Oz, Middle Earth, or Neverland. If you've never had the pleasure, here's a description from the man himself:
âOctober Country... that country where it is always turning late in the year. That country where the hills are fog and the rivers are mist; where noons go quickly, dusks and twilights linger, and midnights stay⌠That country whose people are autumn people, thinking only autumn thoughts. Whose people passing at night on the empty walks sound like rain...â
Get the gist? This week, letâs pack our bags and explore the territory for ourselves. 'Tis the season for cozy horror, after all. So here we go... Anchor yourself in an emotional truth, don't let the genre trappings distract you too much, and let's run headlong into the Weird. Warning: here be monsters⌠if we're lucky!
Special Update: The Results
Peter Cameron's top three picks for this takeover were: 1) "Sweetbread: An Epilogue" 2) "RE: The Heat Death of the Sun" and 3) "THAT THING ON THE HILL"
Here's what he had to say about the winning story: "That Bradbury-October feeling was woven into every word of 'Sweetbread: An Epilogue.' The concept is deceptively simple, the coda to a fairy tale we know and know well, but Madeleine Pasquale is a sly storyteller indeed. Between their shell-shocked narrator, keen sense of atmosphere, and poetic execution, I couldn't have enjoyed it more!"
Congratulations to contest winner Madeleine Pasquale and the runners-up, Katy Lindsey and Liam Morris!
đĽ Winner
âSweetbread: An Epilogueâ by M. Darrow
đ Winner of Contest #274
âď¸ Shortlisted
âRE: The Heat Death of the Sunâ by Katy Lindsey
âď¸ Shortlisted for Contest #274
âTHAT THING ON THE HILLâ by Willem Foss
âď¸ Shortlisted for Contest #274
This week's prompts
Center your story on a character filled with love and fear in equal measure.
Character â 65 stories
Write a story that includes the line âFate is resourceful.â
Short Story â 77 stories
Use a personal memory to craft a ghost story.
Dramatic â 72 stories
Write a story where a creature turns up in an unexpected way.
Short Story â 99 stories
Stories
âSweetbread: An Epilogueâ by M. Darrow
đ Winner of Contest #274
âNOISES FROM THE WARDROBEâ by Shirley Medhurst
Submitted to Contest #274
âLove's Not an Alien Conceptâ by Alexis Araneta
Submitted to Contest #274
âMaryâ by Stasia Komadinko
Submitted to Contest #274
âThe Thunder Beastâ by Howard Halsall
Submitted to Contest #274
âThe Tell-Tale Clockâ by Daniel Rogers
Submitted to Contest #274
âLiferâ by Mary Bendickson
Submitted to Contest #274
âThe Ghost of Old Jeb Brownâ by Ty Warmbrodt
Submitted to Contest #274
âEternal Exchangeâ by B.R Wilson
Submitted to Contest #274
âNight Creatures on the Ship Destiny's Dreams â by Kristi Gott
Submitted to Contest #274
âMilk-Fedâ by RJ Holmquist
Submitted to Contest #274
âHopeâ by Michelle Oliver
Submitted to Contest #274
âA Cat Named Catâ by Christy Ford
Submitted to Contest #274
âA Good Dentistâ by MJ Brewer
Submitted to Contest #274
âMorbid Infatuationâ by Max Wightwick
Submitted to Contest #274
$250
Prize money
406
Contest entries
120
Stories
Ended on 23:59 - Nov 01, 2024 EST
Won by M. Darrow đ
Title: Sweetbread: An Epilogue
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.
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