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Discover weekly, the best short stories

Looking for a steady supply of american short stories? Every week thousands of writers submit stories to our writing contest.

150+ American Short Stories to read

Submitted by writers on Reedsy Prompts to our weekly writing contest. Looking for great American short stories you can read for free? Whether they’re written by American authors, set in the USA, or just have that ever-elusive quality of Americana, this is the page you’re looking for.

American Short Stories – Page 10 of 10

Uncle Hank's Headache

Submitted to Contest #299

Uncle Hank’s Headache One hot afternoon in 1967, Aunt Beverly parked the elementary school bus at our house and started checking under the seats for stray kids. She drove for Uncle Hank when he had a headache. As I helped my three-year-old cousin down the steps, Uncle Hank strolled out of the house. I was amazed to see him. He usually kept to himself in the garage. “Hey girls, come see my baby boa constrictor.” He held up a shiny gray snake about two feet long. Terry Ann ran to him. “Lemme hold the worm, Daddy.” Aunt Beverly ru...

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Silent Treatment

Submitted to Contest #299

Dr. Bream’s new client, Alfred, entered the office. The psychiatrist sensed his nervous energy. He seemed to vibrate like a wind-up doll. His eyes darted.They shook hands and sat.Alfred didn’t wait. Words poured out like from an open floodgate. “Doctor, I don’t know, can you do anything for me? Does this happen all the time? Only to me? Never happened to me before. Stuff always happens to me. But never… My life… My wife. My job… Agnes, nagging Agnes… and Smiley… Spinning out of control. I mean my marriage… Wife’s not spinning. She doesn’t ev...

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Coffee and Catastrophes

Submitted to Contest #299

This is the story of how one woman—unshowered, underslept, and emotionally unstable—nearly committed a felony over a cup of coffee.It all began like most mornings in postpartum life: with a loud scream. Not hers, though hers was absolutely on the way. No, this was her baby daughter—who, from the moment she entered the world, had been less “perfect little angel” and more “siren of the underworld.”The delivering doctor had blinked, half-startled, as her newborn daughter let out a cry that rattled the window panes and said flatly: “Well. She’s ...

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Green Juice and Egos: A Farmer’s Market Fable

Submitted to Contest #299

Green Juice and Egos: A Farmer’s Market Fable(Because sometimes the biggest drama isn’t on reality TV—it’s in front of a juice booth.)One of my more unforgettable experiences at the farmer’s market happened on a sunny afternoon that started off just like any other. I was manning a booth, selling healthy snacks and drinks to the wellness-obsessed weekend warriors—samples of flaxseed crackers, bottles of cold-pressed juices, and the star of our show—the green drink with a cult following and a reputation.It was thick, slightly menacing in color...

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the Gauntlet of Luv

Submitted to Contest #299

Contains sexual situations and naughty wordsIf you aspire to be a Hot, you must first possess a swinish amount of good looks and an abundance of well-endowed body parts. Any 'Average' person attempting the 'Gauntlet of Luv.' is like a gerbil trying to scale Mt. Everest. But, if you are deemed a potential Hot, you must step out into the world with one goal; Locate, make contact, and engage with as many Hots as your twisted ego can withstand. Knowing full well you will be utterly destroyed. Humiliated to the very core of your being. This one s...

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The Peacemaker

Submitted to Contest #299

CW: Strong language, sexual harassment, violenceIt’s High Noon in Doomstone, embedded deep in the southern Bible Belt like a crapulous cancer coagulated in the country’s colon, where the only discernible difference between the local Pastor and a radical Mad Mullah is the colour of the robes and the shape of the headgear: in the former’s case, conical. Even the hardware is the same - lethal rifles festoon the shoulders of their respective followers like garlands on a Christmas tree - or dates from a palm tree, depending on the adherents’ part...

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How NOT to Install a New Roman Shade

Submitted to Contest #299

I won’t bore everyone with the whole story of how I ended up standing on a precariously propped-up stepladder holding a Roman shade with a tension rod stuck in it. Suffice it to say that I had a bad kitty who destroyed the mini-blinds I had on my windows, and I had to hang something cat-proof on my bedroom window or risk becoming free entertainment for every Peeping Tom in the neighborhood. Yes, this is a true story. It happened. The following is a tale of brave female daring. I knew I could install that shade myself without having to call i...

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Lyle

Submitted to Contest #298

Lyle paced in the FBI agent’s office, an old fashioned leather duffel bag sat on the floor by the chair. It contained the few things he was taking into his new life. He had just testified against his boss for immunity in an accounting scheme. He still couldn’t figure out how his fingerprints got on ledgers he had never even seen. “Are you ready?” Agent Burrows walked into the room and smiled at Lyle. “Mr Corrupt has left the building. I can get you to the train station without him seeing you.” “The train station? I'm going on a train.” “Yo...

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The Shit of Theseus

Submitted to Contest #298

This is an honest to god true story. It was my 30th birthday and I was sitting alone on the third stool from the left at the bar of The Olive Pit. I was drunker than I should have been considering it was only 6:30pm, but a man only turns 30 once and I wanted to treat myself.No, don’t admit that you were alone and that all your friends abandoned you.This is an honest to god true story. It was my 30th birthday and I was sitting alone at the bar of The Olive Pit. Some friends were planning on meeting me there later. I’d had a few to drink, but ...

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Make Me Laugh,Seriously!

Submitted to Contest #299

Write a story to make the reader laugh. Hold your horses, I think I’ve got this. Wait for it, you know what happens next. Absolutely nothing! One hundred percent writer’s block just settled its ugly head on my keys. My friends are laughing at the boastful way I told them how it would be me this time. I would be the winner of the prize. I told them all that I was taking them out for a beer. Ha ha. I get up from my typewriter and head to the kitchen for a snack. I stare at the abyss of the open refrigerator waiting for inspiration. ...

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The Funniest and Realest

Submitted to Contest #298

I love my body.I truely do. Everything about it. Everything, that is, except my ears.They’re not just big.Big ears I could live with. All the better to hear you with, my dear.But they’re—sorry bunnies—fricking big rabbit ears.Seriously.They stick up about seven inches from the top of my head. And no, they don’t flop over. And no, they aren't soft and furry like the read deal.They’re human ears. Made out of fleshy cartilage just like yours. Only humongous.Too big to cover with a wig or a hat.And too embarrassing not to.So, no surprise, I’m a ...

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Kid Hollywood

Submitted to Contest #299

KID HOLLYWOOD by Moss Hall My career as a kid movie actor began on a high note and gradually slid into the dumper. My mother had signed me up with the Central Casting Agency shortly after my birth, and at the age of six months I was signed to play the baby son of a major A List actress in a film directed by William Wellman. The film tanked. So there I was, washed up at the age of one. But this didn’t stop Mom. Central Casting continued to call and I appeared in some 30 more flicks over the next ten years. I hated it. Being dragged out of...

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I'll Be Back

Submitted to Contest #299

I was fourteen the first time I snuck out. As a lowly freshman, I was trying to overcome a heart-wrenching breakup with my first love. He was a senior—handsome, kind, and funny. He came from a wealthy family, though I didn't care one way or the other, even if riding in his Acura totally boosted my cool factor. He was at the top of his class both academically and in popularity. I considered him completely out of my league. It shocked me when he asked me out and further shocked me when we fell head-over-heels in love. Our relationship began at...

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Hide and Seek 1984

Submitted to Contest #299

It was Christmas Eve, 1984, at my grandma’s house. Her townhouse was packed with what felt like 100 family members ranging in age from 2 to 75, some more beloved than others. Great Aunt Mandy was likely the least beloved by the cousins. While arguably a decent person, she was, well, crabby. She didn’t like kids and had zero tolerance for our shenanigans. Some cousins enjoyed winding her up like a top and watching her spin, shouting at kids in an angry, dizzying, and unpredictable rant. Others, like me, were terrified of her and preferred to...

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Forsooth Sayer

Submitted to Contest #299

Harry made suggestive gestures around the voluptuous crystal ball, his eyes rolling back into his head revealing only the bloodshot whites. He chanted words that could have been Arabic with a smattering of Hebrew recalled from a Bar Mitzvah. Most of the words were gibberish. The teenage trio at the table tried to hold back, but one couldn’t manage. “Dude, it’s like you’re grabbing a boob!” Hysterics ensued. Harry’s eyes rolled forward to glare. “It’s how I connect with the spirits,” he said, any trace of an exotic accent gone. “Do you want ...

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RBE | Illustrated Short Stories | 2024-06

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