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Discover weekly, the best short stories

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

790+ Black Short Stories to read

Submitted by writers on Reedsy Prompts to our weekly writing contest. Discover the best new stories by Black authors, written to themed prompts and curated by our judges.

Black Short Stories – Page 6 of 53

Saut d’Eau Waterfall

Submitted to Contest #265

I had been told that Saut D’Eau is the Haitian celebration of the voudoun loas, or spirits, D’Ambala and Simbi, that takes place in a mountain oasis of a wonderful waterfall. It was a story that I could not miss. I told Davou, my photographer, about Saut d’Eau like I knew all about it. He got excited and we went, borrowing a Toyota Land Cruiser from a friend’s rental car business. He warned that he road was windy and that the falls were up, way up on a mountain. He was right. It was a lousy road and after numerous mechanical stalls because o...

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Memories

Submitted to Contest #264

July 30, 2023 Gayle opened the box labeled Pictures and Memories and sank into the abysmal puddle of her own making. The first picture out of the box was one face-down bearing the date: July 30, 2022, exactly one year ago today. The picture displays the man Gayle loved and still loves on his wedding day to another bride. A picture of two friends, moments before he said, “I do.” Gayle didn’t want to be there and opted to stay away, but as her beloved said to her, “I can’t get married without you. You have carried me through so much and I tru...

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Don’t Hold This Speech At My funeral

Submitted to Contest #264

Don’t Hold This Speech At My funeral Dear those I left behind…The world caved in and I let it. None of you were enough. None of you showed me the way out of the darkness. I swallowed every sunset and muted the chirping of the birds. Under my feet, the green grass withered. Under my touch, the flower petals browned.I was not born like this. You made me this way. The world taunted and tormented my heart until it gave in. Born compassionate, I was. Turned bitter, I am. Bitter enough to mark down the names of those who hurt me. Bitter enoug...

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The Heir

Submitted to Contest #263

“So, what do you do for fun?” “Hm?” I raise an eyebrow. “Oh.” I think about it for a moment. What do I do for fun? I know what I used to do. The memory of it flashes behind my eyes as quick as lightning—me, my sisters, and our father standing on a rooftop together as the sun sets over the city’s horizon. Dad looked down at me smiling, the sun illuminating his dark brown skin. My sisters and I were happy to be with him, sharing such a picturesque moment. Then came the screams. The city below was engulfed in fire, and so were most of the peo...

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Life Beyond the Sea

Submitted to Contest #262

My feet sway in the ocean’s cool waters and I watch as the sun paints the sky with its being, adding various shades of yellows and oranges. The breeze feels amazing against my clammy skin on this dreadfully hot day. Averting my gaze from the sea’s beyond, I turn to the ships at the docks wondering which one belongs to Luvenia, or Lovie as she has preferred this summer season.  Oh Lovie. My mind starts to wander to the many smoldering gazes and subtle touches.​​ The secret meetings and days filled with endless passion. I began to crave t...

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SWEATING TO LOOK GOOD

Submitted to Contest #262

It's the beginning of summer and already the heat index is on over kill. Every New Years Eve, my resolution is to lose weight so that I can get into a swimsuit with confidents or at lease find a suit I can fit my large bottom in. If I could just move the fat around like take what's on my stomach and push it up to my breasts and not so much on the hips or thighs move that to my butt. Now summer is here, and I haven't lost a pound. Did I think I would, I find out every year that my diet starts tomorrow act runs out of time. Now summer is here,...

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Thanks?

Submitted to Contest #261

Dear Dad,It has been almost forty years since you stepped out of my life in the most cliché-ridden manner possible. Not just a bad heart that attacked you; not just on the day that you were to be released from hospital; not just when all the signs were good for you and your health. It was the day itself that stays with me.Seriously? December 23rd? I guess that you really wanted to avoid the holidays that year, right?Sorry, bad joke. They seem to be the only kinds I have when I think about you. We had even purchased a gift for you (Christmas ...

22 likes 18 comments 18
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Twin Adventures: The Secret, A Curse, A Monster

Submitted to Contest #259

The Richardson, the wealthiest family in Linstead, Jamaica, had decided to host a barbecue. Twins, Sean and Sadie were arguing over which juice to take from a cooler when a car swerved into the driveway.A woman came out of the old station wagon, with rollers in her hair and yard slippers on her feet. "Trevor! Trevor!"“Let’s go to the back,” Sean said. The back was where the other kids were, playing water sports.Sadie wanted to get in on the action. She pushed through the throng of people that had now encircled the woman. “Trevor, what d...

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The Boy with the Lighthouse Smile

Submitted to Contest #259

With his heart racing like a drum, Olumide stood at the door of his new school. After twelve years in a peaceful village, he found himself in the noisy metropolis of Lagos. He felt insignificant and alone amidst the deafening roar of automobile horns, the chitchat of numerous students, and the towering concrete structures. With his lips closed, he felt the prominence of his front teeth as he stroked his tongue over them. His teeth had earned him the nickname "Bamidele" (meaning "the one who came with me") in his village. He couldn't help but...

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A Midnight Insomniacs "Dream" - Smoke and Caffeine

Submitted to Contest #257

"Oh to sleep." - by the light of the moon... Alas the Midsummer moon has come and gone many, many moons ago and now... now the sky it wretched. A deep, deep darkness has consumed the night...so unnerving, one dare not close their eyes for fear of never opening them again. "Oh to dream." - the thought, so rebellious, one gasps in surprise at the mischief of even imagining such luxury. "No, there is no dreaming." That ship sunk long, long ago- besieged by pirates, with pens in pin striped pants, destroying the sails they swung from with fire ...

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White Privilege

Submitted to Contest #256

Every game felt like a symphony to eighteen-year-old Kelvin White. The chirp of athletic shoes on the parquet floor. The rhythmic drumming of a basketball pounding wood, building tension as he planned his approach to the hoop, surrounded by a cacophony of whistles, whoops and thunderous applause inside the Lower Merion High School Gymnasium outside Philadelphia where, in this orchestration, Kelvin was the conductor, leading the players down the court, directing the drive with a pass here, a pick there, finishing off with a cymbal-like crash ...

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GEORGE

Submitted to Contest #256

Rhodesia declared a unilateral declaration of Independence from Britain in 1965 to avoid black rule. A bush war erupted. Black freedom fighters attacked the white Rhodesian forces for control of the country which they called Zimbabwe. Men and women were enlisted. Mixed race people could work with whites, even though they had a ‘black African’ mixed heredity.   Brady Barracks. Bulawayo. Rhodesia. Africa. 1973 The stark sunlight outside was flat. Like another world. The tar shimmered through the dwarf marigolds at the base of t...

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Whisper On a Breeze

Submitted to Contest #253

Whisper On a Breeze by Mary M Reid   The soft glow of the sun casts its light across the clear waters of Wasaga Beach. The calming rhythmic hum of the water at dawn reflects in the tranquil temperament of the birds resting along the shore. White waves creep to the shoreline, bringing deposits of new sand with them then retrieving for more. In some places along the waters edge, spots of seaweed accompany the sand.   The early morning shades of soft blues, pinks, and golds fill the sky. A few feathery clouds scatter random...

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Flaccid Perpetua

Submitted to Contest #253

-But are you doing ok…You backspace on the WhatsApp text as the turning in your stomach tells you that this is why you are sitting on this old sofa in your colleague’s converted garage in the first place.The money from the house being sold had been transferred into your bank account earlier that day and you are treating yourself to a delicious serving of fish and chips you got delivered by Uber Eats. The delivery driver was from Somalia, who got citizenship through asylum as his family was murdered in Mogadishu in 2013. His name was Mo....

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a moment of a price of glory

Submitted to Contest #253

in the days of olden times back to the school younger days when preferred studying and reading books and didn't have many friends,as one s study and books were important ,and top subject for her was English,this was back in the olden days of the 1980s ,sure she had been bullied at school for her study and books instead of being with the crowd.as time went by and the high school years have started and gone,mum asked 'what are you to do in life ,she only replied 'not sure ,maybe just read in the library,and so her mum worked on getting her wor...

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RBE | Illustrated Short Stories | 2024-06

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