Write a story about discovering a lost manuscript. It can be from a famous (or infamous) author, or an unknown one.

Posted in Mystery on May 17, 2024

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✍️ 69 stories

“The Abyss” by Francis Groleau

Submitted to Contest #251

Trigger warning: the following content contains references to physical violence and suicide. My moments of lucidity are increasingly scarce, so this might be the last coherent message I will ever write. And although this text contains elements of narrative writing, I assure you that it is as close to reality as I remember it to be. It may very well be regarded as the incoherent ramblings of a madman, but I believe that bringing clarity to the events that led to my institutionalization is of utmost importance. As a professional courtesy...

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“The little one” by Laura Camacho Frias

Submitted to Contest #251

My grandfather always kept a little brown leather journal in his chest pocket. It was his constant companion, the one I would see in the evenings and the one that, at dinner time, peeked out of his shirt, playing hide and seek with me. I always wondered what secrets it held, what adventures it chronicled, and what cheeky details of adult conversations it concealed. But he did not write that; all he wrote were lists. He did not write about anyone or anything that had happened. There were no fantastic stories to tell me about. He wrote the thi...

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“Time's Unlikely Gift ” by Pen Bragan

Submitted to Contest #251

Anna stood, suitcase in hand, in front of the old white farmhouse, as the caseworker drove away, kicking up dust in her wake. The front door swung open and Aunt Betty stepped out, hand raised in greeting. Having been raised the only child of a mother who preferred alcohol to her daughter, Anna was quite used to being dropped off at unfamiliar homes, with unfamiliar people. She never quite felt like she belonged anywhere. This was no different. Aunt Betty, as she was known, was a sweet old lady who opened her home to many foster kids ove...

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“Chapter 4: The Floating Barbican.” by Ken Cartisano

Submitted to Contest #251

Like a group of hooligans after a close scrape with the law, they were all giddy with adrenaline. Once the laughter had died away, the three of them clinked their glasses together, downed their drinks, and allowed themselves to slip into a more somber mood. Though she saw the professor snatch the mysterious black folder with her own eyes, she eyed Norman’s larger, battered acquisition: A fat, wrinkled, stained, bulging ream of handwritten pages. A manuscript. Cathy addressed Norman directly, as the Professor looked on. “So, what did you get...

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“A Novel Encounter” by David Newcombe

Submitted to Contest #251

Strangely, when Andy saw the house, he felt a little easier. He’d expected something more grandiose and manorial, but this was something that could belong to a nouveau riche music idol; imposing flashy and tasteless. The edifice clung in gaudy splendour to the verdant sides of the Malvern Hills, beset by neighbours of a more conservative appearance. It seemed that, whether a nouveau riche author or pop star, there were no differences, having simply become wealthy through a different medium. In his considerable research, Andy disco...

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“Soul Strings” by Keri Dyck

Submitted to Contest #251

It is the 14,000th epoch since the breaking apart of the lands. My name is Ava. I was born in Calton to a family of coal miners, but I have been sent away to study because of my gift. There is a string, no thicker than a line of chalk, connecting each person’s heart to somewhere high above. One holiday, when the sky was free of sooty clouds, I could have sworn they pointed in the direction of the Imminent One’s tower. (The strings were so vertical that the tower must be high indeed!) When I was younger, I thought everyone could s...

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“The Cusp of Chaos” by Fern Everton

Submitted to Contest #251

CW: This piece contains religious themes that are not meant to accurately follow holy texts. It also includes profanity. Viewer discretion is advised.*All of the characters in this piece are entirely fictitious and are not based on real people. Any character that resembles any person— dead or alive— is purely coincidental. “There is no god.” I read the opening line of the old manuscript aloud, its pages coated in dust and creased several times over from being buried in an old library until tonight. I don’t want to even look at the fol...

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“Love Story” by Peter Wallace

Submitted to Contest #251

Jack originally took the job at the bookstore because he really needed the money. The joy of graduating with a degree in English composition was short lived, as he soon realized the career path for people with that degree was to get another degree and then another one on top of that. He didn’t want to teach, so, he was regretful of his collegiate decisions. Mr. Lyons, the owner of “Papyrus,” was a nice enough boss. Odd, but nice. It was a mystery to Jack how the store broke even since the customer traffic was, to be generous, sparse. The cus...

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“The Hawthorne House Mirror” by KT George

Submitted to Contest #251

Evelyn Harper stood in the middle of her new, old house, hands on her hips, surveying the chaos around her. Dust motes danced in the rays of the late afternoon sun that filtered through the grimy windows of Hawthorne House, a crumbling brick 150-year-old Tudor-style home she saved from demolition a month ago. Like her, it had seen better days—weathered by time and neglect but still standing, resilient. The house was a reflection of her current state: aged, weathered, but not without hope for restoration. Recently divorced after 25 years of m...

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“Lost Manuscript” by Wendy Rappeport

Submitted to Contest #251

Errol died suddenly. He left a neat apartment packed with creativity and no living soul to appreciate or own it.His motor bike collided with a bus and death was instant, but he had not left a will or any directions about the distribution of his belongings. Errol had many interests, including oil painting and drawing, he was a talented pianist and read extensively. How little we really knew about our friend and was revealed to us when we entered his apartment with a key from the landlord. Eve and I had been Errol’s closest friends and the onl...

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“Dreamscares” by Bailey Primus

Submitted to Contest #251

“Toss it here!”Cleo jumped up with every ounce of vigor she had and landed on a large patch of grass, which, although normally described as being plush and soft to land on, was quite scratchy and bumpy. She got up and brushed herself off, inspecting the beginnings of a small bruise on her elbow.“I think that’s enough fun for me. I’ve got an early day tomorrow.”Cleo picked the ball up off the ground and threw it to her friend who was halfway in their car already.“I’ll call you later!”Cleo wandered around the open baseball diamond a little whi...

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“The Remains of Time” by Michael Palmieri

Submitted to Contest #251

Thomas moaned and groaned as his eyes fluttered open, waking up to start another day. He swung his legs over the side of the bed and rubbed his face, feeling the rough stubble on his cheeks. With a sigh, he made his way to the bathroom. He looked at himself in the mirror and flinched at the reflection staring back at him. An old man, weary and lined with age, gazed back. “When did I get so old?” he murmured to no one in particular. After freshening up, Thomas dressed in his usual attire—a comfortable shirt and trousers—and exited his room. T...

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“Hemingway's Lost Suitcase” by Victor Lana

Submitted to Contest #251

In December 1922, Ernest Hemingway’s wife Hadley lost his suitcase filled with all his written work – what he called his “juvenilia” in a letter to Ezra Pound – in a Paris train station. It has never been found until now. I bought an old house on the north shore of Long Island with a view of the sea. A fledgling writer, I had come into an inheritance and hoped that this place would be conducive to getting my creativity flowing. I certainly imagined myself capable of doing any...

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“Hidden” by Maylissa Noel

Submitted to Contest #251

Hope got an unforeseen call that changed her life forever. “Good evening, am I speaking with Ms. Ellis?” “Yes, this is Ms. Ellis. Who may I ask is speaking?”“This is Mr. Whittaker from Gregory Whittaker & Associates. Are you able to speak at this moment? And do you have some where you can have this conversation in private?”As soon as Hope heard the voice and the introduction of his name she knew.“Yes, I have some time now to speak?”Hope had just gotten home from her two-week trip to beautiful Scotland and was unpacking her belo...

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“Tome” by P.B. Lindberg

Submitted to Contest #251

It had to be mine, for I had to know the truth. I had journeyed for months before I received even a humble hint of the tome’s existence. The sun scorched me as if it held a grudge against me, the wind whipped my face like a scourge, and all streams of water fled from me. I should have understood and listened to these signs, these obvious rebukes of nature, yet in my quest to find the truth, I could not keep my legs from marching onward with a foolish determination.I had first travelled through the desert in search of the oasis, for it was th...

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Write a story about discovering a lost manuscript. It can be from a famous (or infamous) author, or an unknown one.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 69 stories

“The Abyss” by Francis Groleau

“The little one” by Laura Camacho Frias

“Time's Unlikely Gift ” by Pen Bragan

“Chapter 4: The Floating Barbican.” by Ken Cartisano

“A Novel Encounter” by David Newcombe

“Soul Strings” by Keri Dyck

“The Cusp of Chaos” by Fern Everton

“Love Story” by Peter Wallace

“The Hawthorne House Mirror” by KT George

“Lost Manuscript” by Wendy Rappeport

“Dreamscares” by Bailey Primus

“The Remains of Time” by Michael Palmieri

“Hemingway's Lost Suitcase” by Victor Lana

“Hidden” by Maylissa Noel

“Tome” by P.B. Lindberg

🌟 Similar prompts

Your protagonist is a writer who discovers a new favorite author. How does their writing, or even their own personality, change as the protagonist falls under the writer’s influence?

Write a story about a future academic (or another influential person) “rediscovering” a book that, in its time, was dismissed. The book can be fictitious or real.

Dream up a secret library. Write a story about an adventurer who discovers it. What’s in the library? Why was it kept secret?

Your protagonist is a voracious reader. Lately, they’ve been noticing odd synchronicities in the books he or she is reading. What does the protagonist discover is happening?

Contest #251

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

235

Contest entries

76

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: