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CONTEST ENDED – Thank you for submitting your stories!

#5: Ernest Hemingway

Hemingway's novella The Old Man and the Sea was published for the first time in Life Magazine on September 1st, 1952. The story went on to win the Pulitzer Prize the following year, turning Hemingway into a bonafide international celebrity. And remember, this story was published decades after some of his now most famous works, like A Farewell to Arms and For Whom the Bells Tolls. A good reminder that it's never too late to achieve literary acclaim!

To celebrate the last full-length work published during Hemingway's lifetime, this week's prompts reflect topics and themes from some of his best-known works. (No need to have read any of Hemingway's books to use these prompts, but if you're looking to get better acquainted with his works, check out this Hemingway reading guide!)

This week's prompts

Write a story about someone who finds life meaning in an unexpected place.

Fiction – 34 stories

Write a story about two unlikely people falling in love.

Romance – 40 stories

Write a story about someone who decides to confront their fears head-on.

Character – 35 stories

Write a story about someone striving for a "comeback."

Adventure – 11 stories

Write a story about someone who is tired of their day-to-day routines.

Sad – 36 stories

Stories

“HENPECK” by Jay Kasperbauer

Submitted to Contest #5

The alarm went off and would have woken him had he not already been awake. He found himself fully rested by the time it rang. From where he laid he could still see the horizontal lines of street light askew on the wall next to the bed. It was hardly dusk yet and half of the world was still asleep. With his left hand he tossed the blanket aside and slid his legs to the edge of the bed as he sat upright. After a brief moment of thoughtlessness he recounted his dreams. Another recurring dream, nothing new to interpret. Windows open, he sat with...

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“Shame or Sacrifice ” by Kevin Barkman

Submitted to Contest #5

The damp air sagged and settled over the cold ground leaving droplets of water tracing lines on every surface. Every breath coated the inside of my mouth and lungs with fresh tasting dew. The streetlights looked hazy and distant through the damp air. The sun still clung to the dark in the distant east, and the city hadn’t thought to wake up yet. I stood with my back to the wind, taking a deep breaths and watching my breath freeze and drift with the breeze. The cold snuck past my Carharts and through my Cat jacket, hoodie, and right...

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“A Legion of Angels” by Rudy Uribe

Submitted to Contest #5

Jim had always heard that your life flashes before your eyes just before you die. A part of him hoped that wasn’t true. Jim Harding, was celebrating his sixty-fifth birthday in a hospital bed. A few people thought he was crazy scheduling his hip replacement surgery on his birthday, but Jim couldn’t think of a better gift. The nurse came in with an update. “You’re still a couple of hours out,” she said. “The operation before you is running long, so feel ...

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“Mad crush for Miss Rainbow...” by Matthew Harris

Submitted to Contest #5

A smidgen less than two score and half years ago, this then sixth grader (at Henry Kline Boyer Elementary School located in Evansburg, Pennsylvania) underwent a visible transformation. As a socially outcast (podcasts, instagram, facebook... nor other social media yet to be invented or conceived), painfully shy, tremendously withdrawn prepubescent, my existence practically invisible. Never sought out to bolster any reign dear team, nor stroked as the teachers’ pet, I figuratively donned an invisible cloak. In essence, I played a constant meta...

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“The Winds of Change” by Daniel Kiss

Submitted to Contest #5

Tyler, a socially awkward kid who was always interested in the fantasy aspect of life rather than reality. His parents could never understand why, and his father would always question his son’s ability to be able to find a good friend group and even a girlfriend, for his other brothers Eric and Aaron had already been dating their girlfriends for about three years now. Tyler was indeed only in his third year of high school but that didn’t stop him from trying to find girls who would be interested in him. Wanting to make his father proud of hi...

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“Unexpected” by Hello It's Me

Submitted to Contest #5

I was lonely. Always lonely. Nobody to talk to, nobody calling to ask, "How are you doing?" Maybe I was ugly. Maybe they think I'm delusional. What am I supposed to do? I spend all day at a convenient store, wearing ripped and dirty clothes. I check my pocket, there are only a few cents left. I cried and cried and feel pity for myself. Why do I have to exist in this world? I have nobody who knows me. I don't even know if I know myself. When I finished my eyes were all red like blood. There's a knife nearby. I grabbed it, holding it like my l...

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“Don't Hurry to Judge” by Gunel Huseynova

Submitted to Contest #5

Early morning of a clear March day. The central street of the city is busy and crowdy as always. People crossing the street, hundreds of cars on the roads in a rush. Kaden is getting ready to go to his office at his family house as usual. He is a young businessman who values decency and morality above everything. He just cannot stand people who lead low lifestyle, prefer the easiest ways to earn for life and so on. On another busy street, a young and pretty girl is preparing ...

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“The Mysterious Town Called Locurhts” by Avi Weist

Submitted to Contest #5

Louisa was one of the 100 single women in Locurhts. She had one big difference between them and her. She did not want to be the one marrying the prince. This year Prince Alec would be in line to marry and take the throne to become the new king. All the single women would be forced to take part in the Marriage Trials. The Marriage Trials were a series of tests that the single women in Locurhts had to take when their prince was to be married. Most women swooned and fell for the prince trying their hardest to become his wife, but Louisa was dif...

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“The Bare Necessities ” by Traci Davenport

Submitted to Contest #5

When I was young, I loved the movie, The Jungle Book.I loved the inherent dangers of it all. How an interaction between this innocent child and each new animal could go either way. Would he be eaten alive, would he make new friend? And the friendships were the real draw for me. I was excited to think and touched to see an impossibility become a possibility. It thrilled me. Somehow many years before I would come to know my black sheep status within my own family, I was drawn to this outsider and how he seemingly overcame these boundaries. How...

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“Remember Me” by Skylar Althouse

Submitted to Contest #5

We are collectors, a well known fact. But we each have our own kind of treasure. Some may collect jewels, or books, or bones. But I prefer the intangible: memories. Many travelers get lost in the woods and end up coming by my cave. We are solitary creatures, so the right company can be a welcome release from the habits of our long lives. I feed the travelers and offer them rest by my fire. As they sit they tell me stories of where they have come from and where they hope to go. And as they speak...

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“One Night at the Diner” by Halo Roberts

Submitted to Contest #5

One Night at the DinerBy Halo Roberts Jenny My feet hurt. Not a shock when I’ve been on them for 13 hours. Phil promised to get another girl to cover the second shift, but also not a shock, he ‘forgot’. My hair feels like it’s soaked up most of the grease from the fryer that bubbles away back in the kitchen. I’m not sure what the smear on the front of my apron is, but it looks weirdly like bird crap. It has been a day. A table of high school kids have finished up and I plaster my happy face on as I wave them out the door. I built you guys fo...

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“Light & Dark” by Anna Blass

Submitted to Contest #5

Upon a child’s dreams, there was a castle on a hill. Not your dreary, stone castle of grey cobbles and iron bolts. This castle seemed to glow with the sunlight reflecting off its white walls. It was silver and white, and all who looked on it were happy and good. Inside the castle lived a glowing King and Queen, who were of an elf-like race. Not your small elves with pointy ears and short legs. These elves were tall and wise. They had long white hair that flowed from their heads in curls, waves, or ringlets, and all the peop...

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“DRYAD” by Marie Maher

Submitted to Contest #5

We were outside, in the garden, when it happened. I remember it was dark, though the moon was fat and bright. “Reggie” I said softly, and moved forward to take his hand. I felt some remorse, it was true. He was so dull, so hopeless, so wrong for me. But still, I was sorry for the hurt I was about to cause him; yet the excitement inside me was bubbling, raising higher in my breast, threatening to spill from my mouth and eyes and ears like white hot lava.Reg saw it in my face and recoiled. Shock replaced suspicion on his shrivelled features an...

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“Skinny Yin” by Helen O'Connor

Submitted to Contest #5

The old man was going to sea. This fact would be revealed to him in twelve minutes time. Presently, he was battling the stubborn lid of the marmalade jar. Click. Finally. Ahhhhhh! That smell! A clandestine night-time plucking of oranges on a Spanish street had gone into making that sweet preserve. Victory achieved, Jack sent his knife into the very corners of the jar. He scraped the amber jelly onto his single slice of wholemeal toast. That was the last of it now. Oh well, there we go. Outside, chill rain mithered...

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“So I Married My Stalker” by Ann Winfield

Submitted to Contest #5

Despondent, depressed, discouraged: Harold felt all those "D" words since his wife passed away. The art gallery disliked showing old paintings but his heart wasn't open to creating new ones. The gallery owner called again last week, "Harold, when can we expect a piece from you?" "Don't start with me Lou." Harold's voice monotone through the cell phone. He couldn't muster enough energy to modulate it. &...

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$50

Prize money

156

Contest entries

0

Stories

Ended on 23:59 - Sep 06, 2019 EST

Won by Yves. ♙ 🏆

Title: World Got Smaller

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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