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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#3: Calling All Bookworms

This week, each of our prompts is loosely inspired by some of the most beloved literature of all time. Can you match every prompt to the book it takes its root from? Hint: the five novels are included in this blog post of books to read in your lifetime.

🥇 Winner

“The Things That Do Not Float” by Joshua G. J. Insole

🏆 Winner of Contest #3

Shaun jumped from the cliff’s edge. With each passing second, he felt the temperature drop and the pressure rise. The sensation of the movement was faint; if he closed his eyes, it felt as if he weren’t moving at all. Down and down he went, falling forever. “Do you have to?” his mum had asked. He dropped, he was dropping, he would continue to drop, always, always. “Would you like me to come with you?” his dad had asked. Further and further he coasted away from the world above and behind him. “I don’t know why you’re bothering, it’s all gone ...

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⭐️ Shortlisted

“Moon Watch” by Zilla Babbitt

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #3

“Why do you wear a man’s watch?” I asked my grandmother as she tucked me into bed. She placed my Blankie next to me and my three-year-old fist curled around it. “So that I can tell you when you need to go to bed,” she replied. “She doesn’t care when you go to bed,” said my grandfather, pulling the covers over my head and tickling me through the quilt that his mother had made, long ago. My grandmother laughs and ushers him out, and flicks off the light behind her. “Goodnight, honey,” “Goodnight, Meemee,” I say quietly.I fiddled with Bla...

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“Jennifer” by Bethany Robertson

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #3

I worry about the man who I live with. We have a close, if distant relationship. A quiet routine. Every morning we share breakfast, always the same, cheerios with milk. Every night, a microwave-dinner. Sometimes he watches television. He flips from channel to channel. News. Sometimes a sit-com. He never laughs, though. He is still young. He has started graying early, but it barely touches his temples. He still has over half of his life ahead of him. But as he sags against the couch, holding a pillow to his chest while gazin...

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“How Does It Do It?” by Matthew Ward

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #3

“And even you might be surprised just how tasty they are.” Father closes the storybook and kisses his son, Harry, on the forehead. He lingers on the edge of the bed until his son’s eyelids fall shut. Silence is the loudest sound, the moon is the brightest light, and the rhythmic rise and fall of his son’s chest are the sharpest movements. Harry slips closer and closer to slumber until a soft squeak drifts across the airwaves and tickles his ears. Not the squeak of a door or a window, nor the squeak of new shoes. The squeak of a mouse.....

Read story

“The Witch Doctor” by Liv Palmbos

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #3

The night was chilly and cold, and the breeze had a bitterness in it that seemed to hint at a premature winter for the inhabitants of Culsbury. Almost everyone in the little village was sheltered against the stiff wind, huddled against the oncoming cold-front behind shabby wooden clapboards, or thin, fraying blankets. Nothing was to be heard in the village except the howling of the wind, and the occasional clopping of horse hooves against the cobblestones. Lord Tybalt of Culsbury was braving the frosty night air with nothing but his horse, ...

Read story

“Where We Were” by Amy Wannenburgh

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #3

There is a teddy bear, fluff oozing from its patchy stomach, sprawled in the dust on the cement floor. One eye has been ripped out. It is tiny, and it is alone. I shouldn’t have come here. Sam stands near the front door, eyes watching my every move, hands fidgeting at her sides as if she’s about to lunge forward and drag me from this place. Maybe she will. Maybe I’d let her. I glance back at her. “You can come in.”She shifts on her feet, biting her lip. Her eyes skit right through me and scale all four walls around us before she answers. “I’...

Read story

“On the Outside” by Valerie Ward

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #3

The field is duplexes now. Our field. That long expanse of grass where we used to hit golf balls--remember that time you hit the side of Jerry’s house?-- is now filled with brick buildings, paved driveways leading to the road. They block the view of the lake. Some of the neighbors still have signs that say Say No to Duplexes! poking out of their yards. The house that used to be my house looks exactly the same on the outside. White house, black shutters, red front door. I wonder if I step inside if I’ll still see the tile entry where yo...

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This week's prompts

Write a story about a teenager visiting the place where they grew up.

Dramatic – 31 stories

Write a story about a matchmaker.

Romance – 27 stories

Write a story about a parent putting their child to bed.

Adults – 32 stories

Write a story about an ordinary day in a person's life. Use their internal dialogue to make the story interesting.

Dialogue – 26 stories

Write a story about someone who wins a contest and the prize of their dreams.

High School – 14 stories

Stories

“The Things That Do Not Float” by Joshua G. J. Insole

🏆 Winner of Contest #3

Shaun jumped from the cliff’s edge. With each passing second, he felt the temperature drop and the pressure rise. The sensation of the movement was faint; if he closed his eyes, it felt as if he weren’t moving at all. Down and down he went, falling forever. “Do you have to?” his mum had asked. He dropped, he was dropping, he would continue to drop, always, always. “Would you like me to come with you?” his dad had asked. Further and further he coasted away from the world above and behind him. “I don’t know why you’re bothering, it’s all gone ...

Read story

“Moon Watch” by Zilla Babbitt

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #3

“Why do you wear a man’s watch?” I asked my grandmother as she tucked me into bed. She placed my Blankie next to me and my three-year-old fist curled around it. “So that I can tell you when you need to go to bed,” she replied. “She doesn’t care when you go to bed,” said my grandfather, pulling the covers over my head and tickling me through the quilt that his mother had made, long ago. My grandmother laughs and ushers him out, and flicks off the light behind her. “Goodnight, honey,” “Goodnight, Meemee,” I say quietly.I fiddled with Bla...

Read story

“Brave” by Maybe Jupiter

Submitted to Contest #3

I sit, very still. If I stand up, then they will see me. If I move to the sides, the thorns will prick me. Either way, I'm going to die. I don't struggle, not anymore. I've learnt that struggling is bad.Bad, bad, bad. They laugh at you when you struggle, just like they did when I first came here.Bad, bad, bad.I shudder.My throat burns, more than ever. It feels as though a ball of fire has gone through it. I've never had a ball of fire go through my throat before. But they won't be afraid to do it.They're not afraid. They're never afraid. Not...

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“Beauty and the Model” by John K Adams

Submitted to Contest #3

Aaron was beautiful. Women would exclaim it and then cover their mouths in embarrassment. Even some guys would tell him. They all would soon discover, this was not the best way to start a conversation with Aaron. Mesmerized by his beautiful face, women would forget to listen to him. They could not keep their side of a conversation for the distraction.He hated it. Aaron had heard the words: ‘penetrating blue eyes,’ ‘riveting,’ ‘stunning,’ ‘chiseled features’ and more, far too often. Introduce yourself with one of these clichés and he would tu...

Read story

“Jennifer” by Bethany Robertson

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #3

I worry about the man who I live with. We have a close, if distant relationship. A quiet routine. Every morning we share breakfast, always the same, cheerios with milk. Every night, a microwave-dinner. Sometimes he watches television. He flips from channel to channel. News. Sometimes a sit-com. He never laughs, though. He is still young. He has started graying early, but it barely touches his temples. He still has over half of his life ahead of him. But as he sags against the couch, holding a pillow to his chest while gazin...

Read story

“How Does It Do It?” by Matthew Ward

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #3

“And even you might be surprised just how tasty they are.” Father closes the storybook and kisses his son, Harry, on the forehead. He lingers on the edge of the bed until his son’s eyelids fall shut. Silence is the loudest sound, the moon is the brightest light, and the rhythmic rise and fall of his son’s chest are the sharpest movements. Harry slips closer and closer to slumber until a soft squeak drifts across the airwaves and tickles his ears. Not the squeak of a door or a window, nor the squeak of new shoes. The squeak of a mouse.....

Read story

“The Witch Doctor” by Liv Palmbos

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #3

The night was chilly and cold, and the breeze had a bitterness in it that seemed to hint at a premature winter for the inhabitants of Culsbury. Almost everyone in the little village was sheltered against the stiff wind, huddled against the oncoming cold-front behind shabby wooden clapboards, or thin, fraying blankets. Nothing was to be heard in the village except the howling of the wind, and the occasional clopping of horse hooves against the cobblestones. Lord Tybalt of Culsbury was braving the frosty night air with nothing but his horse, ...

Read story

“On the Outside” by Valerie Ward

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #3

The field is duplexes now. Our field. That long expanse of grass where we used to hit golf balls--remember that time you hit the side of Jerry’s house?-- is now filled with brick buildings, paved driveways leading to the road. They block the view of the lake. Some of the neighbors still have signs that say Say No to Duplexes! poking out of their yards. The house that used to be my house looks exactly the same on the outside. White house, black shutters, red front door. I wonder if I step inside if I’ll still see the tile entry where yo...

Read story

“Where We Were” by Amy Wannenburgh

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #3

There is a teddy bear, fluff oozing from its patchy stomach, sprawled in the dust on the cement floor. One eye has been ripped out. It is tiny, and it is alone. I shouldn’t have come here. Sam stands near the front door, eyes watching my every move, hands fidgeting at her sides as if she’s about to lunge forward and drag me from this place. Maybe she will. Maybe I’d let her. I glance back at her. “You can come in.”She shifts on her feet, biting her lip. Her eyes skit right through me and scale all four walls around us before she answers. “I’...

Read story

“Bedtime Story” by John K Adams

Submitted to Contest #3

Dan read his daughter a bedtime story while sitting on her bed. But Phoebe kept on fidgeting. He closed the book, marking his place with a finger.“What’s wrong, kiddo? Don’t you like ‘Hansel and Gretel’?”“It’s kind of boring, Daddy.”“What do you mean? I always read from ‘The Little People’s Book of Fairy Tales’.”“Is that the same one, when Little Red Riding Hood makes friends with the wolf?”“Wolves are an endangered species, honey.”“But so was Little Red…”Dan cleared his throat. “What’s wrong with Hansel and Gretel?”“Pro’bly the ending. But ...

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“Maybe” by Kate Reilly

Submitted to Contest #3

I sigh, leaning against the door frame, watching her in the dim light of the room. The window panes cast shadows across her face, like prison bars...but I can't decide if they are keeping her safe or safely locked away. I can tell from the color of her cheeks that she has been crying, and the strain in her neck tells me that she is hurting, even in sleep. My eyes trace the bed, landing on the small bundle that has been secured by an avalanche of pillows and blankets, tucked safely into the center of the queen bed. My daughter's body curls ar...

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“Lake House” by Gayatri Varma

Submitted to Contest #3

Home is never the same without you. I took a stroll, the smell reminded me of you, strong and vivid, and I could feel it resonate with my breath. I missed you, it was like you were there watching but I couldn’t see. We were twelve when we made the promise, ‘to be on the lookout for each other no matter what’, we blew the candle in the darkroom, creating the eerie atmosphere you wanted for dramatic effect. Since then we always searched for something evil, you said it will be a demon but I believed it to be something unknown like the stories y...

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“From A Place That Is Gone” by Adriana K. Maxwell

Submitted to Contest #3

The flowers are gone. The butterfly garden my father and I painted together disappeared the day my home became only a house. Purple coneflowers, black-eyed Susans, blue lupines, daisies, and Queen Anne’s lace and butterflies dancing around my bedroom, all gone. Even my own two little flowers in the corner that I painted with fingers trembling with perfectionism. Daddy says the shadows of the flowers can still be seen through the standard stale gray paint if you look carefully. I miss the happy sunshine yellow. I miss when...

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“What about Cupid” by Toyosi Ajiboye

Submitted to Contest #3

Sayani looks around herself and sees she is surrounded by her friends and family, she smiles. They all look happy and content. She felt the green-eyed monster trying to make an appearance, they were all paired up with someone she felt like the eleventh wheel. She stared at her sister and her best friend, glaring at them slightly, not once have they thanked her for getting them together."Ungrateful fruits.", She thoughtShe turned to her cousin and her friend's sister, they didn't thank her either. She frowned at herself. It never bothered her...

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“Occupational Hazards” by Kira Krieger

Submitted to Contest #3

Grady sat at his kitchen island in the dark of night. In the dim light of a small over head light, he gently dismantled and cleaned his Smith & Wesson. He took his time, like caring for a child. When he was done, he laid it to rest in a box that was on the counter. With it safely place in the back of a drawer, he tiptoed down the hall towards his bedroom. Only the sound was grasshoppers playing music. As he came near the first door in the hallway, he slowed. He drew near, expecting on...

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$50

Prize money

130

Contest entries

0

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Aug 23, 2019 EST

Won by Joshua G. J. Insole 🏆

Title: The Things That Do Not Float

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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