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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✍️ 68 stories

“To Diana, Love, Dale” by Kim Meyers

Submitted to Contest #251

CW: groomingHead in my hands, I stare down at the phone in my lap, willing it to ring. The hospital staff insisted I go home to rest, but sleep eludes me. How can I, when the only family I have left lies unconscious in an operating room? The life of the man who helped raise me is in someone else’s hands. Pushing to my feet, I pace my brother’s study. His house is closer to the hospital and I find solace from being in the place he inhabits. The map I gave him several Christmases ago is centered on the wall, pins mark over a hundred...

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“E.A.P.” by Becky Mathes

Submitted to Contest #251

As the wind whipped across the sand, stirring up bits and pieces of broken seashells, the waves crashed against the rocks in the distance. But there was another sound – a strange sound. It wasn’t necessarily strange, but it was strange for my location. It was a sound I’d heard before, but not on a remote Massachusetts beach. It was the sound of pages turning very rapidly in a book. Almost as if someone was looking for something in it. It was early. The sun was barely starting to peak over the water’s edge. I knew I was likely the only ...

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“Pascal's Books” by Jason Dean

Submitted to Contest #251

He knew it was over after receiving the text message describing the ‘viscous’ male dog she had a close encounter with. Apparently, the message continued, the animal had approached Alice in the park whilst she was eating her leaf salad.The story seemed doubly unlikely to Tom, why would a dog be interested, and who hell the says leaf salad?To him, this little vignette simply reaffirmed his burgeoning resentment toward her. Rather than ask the dog what he wanted, she assumed he was trying to steal her lunch when he may just have wanted directio...

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“East Harlem” by Kyle Cox

Submitted to Contest #251

East Harlem New York is scum-hole! I knew this before I purchased my remodeled 19th century brownstone on 127th street. The realtor tried to sell me on the allure, the glitz and glamour of Harlem; with it’s intimate Renaissance period style Jazz clubs, trendy bars, hip eateries and it’s energetic nightlife, all of which are great selling points for —let’s say, a twenty four year old lead singer from somewhere like Lansing, Michigan who was moving to New York with three of his garage band members in pursuit of becoming famous in the Big Apple...

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“Confessions of a Time Traveling Serial Killer” by Dustin Cooley

Submitted to Contest #251

I woke up to a knock at the door, and as the knock persisted I frustratedly uncovered myself, looking at my phone I saw an email from the publishing company, another rejection. Sitting up I hobbled myself to the door to see a box on the ground. It was covered in tape and on the address I glanced at my name, David... Picking it up I thought, Why would the Fed Ex guy knock on the door if he is just going to leave the package on the ground? Throwing the box on the couch, I returned to bed to finish my sleep. After laying in bed f...

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“His Last Written Work” by John Steckley

Submitted to Contest #251

His Last Written Work The man known as a child by the name Eric, but who changed it as an adult, was writing as fast as he could to create a greater change. He had great trouble breathing these days and was worried that this would be the one book of his that would never got finished, that tuberculosis would not make such an achievement possible. He sat up on his hospital bed writing most of his waking hours. Maybe in a day or two the book would be completed. He still had hope, despite the deterioration of his physical con...

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“The Kings Script” by Yargle Yorgle

Submitted to Contest #251

*TW: Contains mentions of death, torture, and the odd bit of genocide* The Jai Halid, mother of all books, the writings before time.” “Mere legend” replied the dying farmer, a thin trickle of spittle hanging into his beard. Haelsuf cursed, he looked like he might strike the farmer, but he quieted after receiving a single withering glare from his companion. Haelsuf backed away and stood in a corner, hiding within the shadows, his broadsword swaying in its scabbard. The glow of a lantern washed the room with a slight light, p...

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“The Price” by Lindsay King

Submitted to Contest #251

The air in the room hung thick with the scent of old paper and mildew. Four students, huddled around a flickering oil lamp, held a leather-bound manuscript, its pages brittle with age. What they held was much more than a book. It held the secrets of the universe. A few weeks prior Whispers had spread across campus of a lost manuscript penned by an author known only as Betelgeuse. It was rumored that it contained secrets to unlock the language of the stars, granting unprecedented knowledge of the universe. Betelgeuse was a brilliant, eccentri...

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“Mia ” by Veronica S

Submitted to Contest #251

A book lays in my sister’s place. Sometimes she’s gone for hours because she is reading, gardening, or sewing and lost track of time. Always missing in action. This time it’s different. Thirty-four hours since she went up to her room to read. Books are her safe place, where she can forget that she lives in my shadow. I don’t mean to outshine her, but even now the sunlight through the window casts my long silhouette over the Mia shaped indent in the bed. My lip goes between my teeth as I stifle a scream that turns into a sob. No one has ...

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“"The Sorceress' Secret: The Unraveling Mystery of Seraphina's Legacy"” by Andrea Sturdivant

Submitted to Contest #251

The day had just begun to shed its last vestiges of night when Nicole found it. There, amidst the dusty, forgotten books that lined the creaky shelves of the old library, she saw it: a worn, leather-bound tome with a faded gold embossed title that seemed to glow against the dim light. Her heart skipped a beat as she reached out to take it, her fingers brushing against the smooth, cool surface. It was like touching a piece of history, a relic from a time long past.As she brought the book closer, she noticed that it didn't have a publication d...

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“The Librarian” by Nino Laquidara

Submitted to Contest #251

Tiberius walked amongst his scrolls one final time. The library was silent. All of its inhabitants had long since abandoned the place. The surrounding gardens were silent. None dared stay the night and risk certain death. The city – well, the city was a nightmare.Tiberius peered out the second story window. House after house burst into flames. Demons dressed in glittering bronze walked up and down the streets, setting fire to anything in sight. Tiberius was forced to shield his eyes as the sea reflected the blinding light. It was not as if h...

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“Dream Book” by Susan Lamphier

Submitted to Contest #251

"Connie, I'm telling you. There are a dozen browns in a single log," said her mother Lynn. "I know, Mom. You tell me that all the time!" "Well, I'm just saying." Lynn dug into her purse and dug out a ten dollar bill. "Don't go spending it on the first booth," she advised as she handed over the bill. Her daughter's eyes widened. Mom never gave out much money for fun stuff, but the fair was a once-a-year event, full of booths of food and trinkets. The fortu...

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“Fireflies” by Emily Grace

Submitted to Contest #251

I saw it there, out in the distance from miles away. This bright, orange yellow light. Now that I’ve reached the hill past the woods, there’s no light. Only a note, a half crumpled note with wet spots, stuck into a thorn of a sprouting rose. “Here, in my grasp, made of copper, filled with wax, is my lantern. To me, a symbol of hope and yearning, one also of honest reprieve. I stand here, at the cusp of surrounding woods, atop a rose budding hill, with moonlight shining above me. Tall grass sways gently and stars are tucked away by cloud...

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“Le Carte Rouge” by H.e. Ross

Submitted to Contest #251

Rod had that stupid smile that says he knows what life is all about as he joined Angie back on the street. He shoulder bumps her to communicate something good has happened. They are on the way to the motel and away from the book store. Rod looks at Angie, holding a book at chest level.Angie gives in, ‘Okay, what is the book?’ Rod smiles broadly holding the book closer to his chest. ‘It is the book.’Angie smirks, ‘What book?’ she asks, looking both ways as they cross the street.Rod slowly shakes his head as he looks both ways while cross...

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“The Library” by Charlotte Lewis

Submitted to Contest #251

THE LIBRARY Larisse was a bit peeved. She hated greeting duty. She moved to this station because she was promised better wages, better living quarters, and more Fun. Yes, Fun was capitalized. But once a month she had to greet the ship with newcomers. Fun was what you made of it. This was not it. She knew the history of the city she worked and lived in but, like most younger people, she was not particularly impressed. Larisse did acknowledge that science has progressed so rapidly since the 20th century everything accomplished then seems rathe...

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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

✍️ 68 stories

“To Diana, Love, Dale” by Kim Meyers

“E.A.P.” by Becky Mathes

“Pascal's Books” by Jason Dean

“East Harlem” by Kyle Cox

“Confessions of a Time Traveling Serial Killer” by Dustin Cooley

“His Last Written Work” by John Steckley

“The Kings Script” by Yargle Yorgle

“The Price” by Lindsay King

“Mia ” by Veronica S

“"The Sorceress' Secret: The Unraveling Mystery of Seraphina's Legacy"” by Andrea Sturdivant

“The Librarian” by Nino Laquidara

“Dream Book” by Susan Lamphier

“Fireflies” by Emily Grace

“Le Carte Rouge” by H.e. Ross

“The Library” by Charlotte Lewis

🌟 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

234

Contest entries

76

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: