5010+ Creative Nonfiction Short Stories to read

Submitted by writers on Reedsy Prompts to our weekly writing contest. The creative nonfiction stories on this page deliver exactly what it says on the tin: true stories told in weird and wonderful ways.

🏆 Winning stories

“They haven't even won my heart and mind” by Maxwell Brooks

🏆 Winner of Contest #276

I feel the JACKAL sway below me, the dust-red road unrolling in front and the stunted mahogany scrub flashing alongside. We pass women bent double under towering loads of firewood and are passed by young men on mopeds in turn. I make it a point to always wave - with my left hand only, the right stays welded to the .50 cal. You can always tell there’s a village ahead because the trees start to thin and the umber houses begin to multiply. They could have been built yesterday or a hundred years ago and the only thing that changes is the age of ...

72 likes 31 comments 31

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“You” by Elizabeth Hoban

🏆 Winner of Contest #260

We were death partners before we were friends. The day we met some 30 years ago, I was so pregnant with my first child, I resembled an over-stuffed sausage about to burst its casing. I’d forsaken style weeks earlier when my shoes no longer fit. I couldn’t even reach around my massive torso to shave my legs; limbs sporting enough hair to scrape clean a barbecue grill.  You, on the other hand, had just wrapped-up an open-house and strode across my threshold for the first time, like a seasoned runway model. I’ll never forget your chic...

144 likes 110 comments 110

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“Careful—You’ll Slip, Fall, and Die on Those Slippery Slopes ” by Liv Chocolate

🏆 Winner of Contest #182

cw: references to sexual assault, kidnapping, and murderThe first time I crossed a street by myself—as in, without one or both of my parents present—I was seventeen. My parents warned me that the outside world was dangerous, and that, if something were to happen to me, I wouldn't know what to do. According to my parents, kidnappers, murderers, and kidnapper-murderers lurked on every corner of our small, suburban town where, statistically, my chances of becoming the victim of a violent crime were less than my chances of being allowed to ...

220 likes 194 comments 194

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⭐️ Recommended stories

“Never Let You Go” by Cameron Navarre

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #280

Mom? Can you hear me? 01110111 01101000 01100001 00111111 00100000 01001001 00100000 01100011 01100001 01101110 00100111 01110100 00101110 00101110 00101110 Mom, this is Chris…your son Chris, can you hear me?01100011 01101000 01110010 01101001 01110011 0111100…Chrisy? 01001001 00100000 01100110 01100101 01100101 01101100…I feel…so tired… They said you might feel…er…have a simulated feeling of grogginess. That’s the digital anesthetics tapering off. Chrisy…where am I? It sounds…I can hear your voice all around me… It’s okay Mom, I know you ar...

15 likes 6 comments 6

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“Eureka” by Colin Hanner

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #276

(This story discusses prison conditions, violence, and human suffering. Reader discretion is advised.) A local university was seeking a writer for a year-long position in its prison education program, and as part of the job, I was to go into the Facility—a century-old maximum security prison—three to four times a month and visit with incarcerated students, many of whom had been incarcerated for decades and would continue to be well after they graduated from the program. Some, I learned shortly after taking the job, would never leave. Until I...

17 likes 6 comments 6

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“Another Origami Nothing” by Carina Caccia

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #276

Maybe I’m trying to see shape, structure, where there is none. Good morning. Glass of ginger tea. Paper tag mangled: a little origami nothing. Now let’s unscrunch last Thursday. Wow, has it been a week already?I didn’t see him, not at first, even though he was right in front of me, approaching. I scanned the tables outside, unfamiliar faces, and made to go inside – and that’s when I saw him. Quite small, very thin, dressed in dull blues and greys, a windbreaker. He’d almost camouflaged into the pavement, the drab greens and browns of the str...

19 likes 14 comments 14

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“Saturday Is The Coldest Day of The Year” by Cordelia Ng-Christopher

Submitted to Contest #281

Monday.  I am freezing. My hands are stiff, tight, and red, nearing purple. I’m walking forward. One foot in front of the other. What else did I do but continue to walk forward on Monday? Just going forward isn’t enough to keep my blood moving. I feel it thicken with every step.Saturday…Tuesday.  My girlfriend has been texting me, and I just feel bothered. She says that I’ve been distant and she wants the same amount of effort. That’s not right. It’s Tuesday, and my girlfriend is texting me. I’m trying to respond, but my hands are ...

1 like 0 comments 0

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“Home for the Holidays” by Abi Kemp

Submitted to Contest #281

Home for the HolidaysAbigale F. Kemp My father often took my brother and me fishing at Alpine Lake, a reservoir close to my childhood home, and while I looked up to my brother, I was never very interested in the actual fishing aspect of our trips to the lake. I usually stuck to running around and being an annoyance, definitely scaring any fish away if there were any in the first place. One afternoon while my brother and father were fishing, amidst my boredom I decided to catch a fish. I dumped my father’s almost-empty coffee cup into a bush...

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“The Coldest Day of the Year” by Lara Sgouridis

Submitted to Contest #281

  “I’ve never wished to be sweating more than today.” I mumbled to my darling child, Bartholomew, my tabby cat. I trudged my way into my kitchen, checking the thermometer on the wall. -10°C. I don’t think I’d ever seen it so cold. I made my way over to the coffee maker, turning it on. If I was going to make it through the coldest day of the year, I knew I would need some coffee to keep me warm. While the coffee brewed, I leaned on the counter, flinching away once I feel how cold the marble is. I stood in the kitchen, half asle...

2 likes 0 comments 0

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“Liar, Liar” by Viga Boland

Submitted to Contest #281

<only mild suggestion of childhood mental abuse>I watch her now as she carefully lowers herself into what she hopes will be a comfortable chair for at least half an hour. Only I notice the wince that escapes her lips before she plasters on her best smile for the family. It’s Christmas. Only tidings of comfort and joy today, please and thank you.“Are you ok, Grandma?” 12-year-old Emily asks. “Would you like a cushion for your back?”She shoos Emily away gently with assurances she is fine. Liar, liar, pants on fire! That’s what I use...

13 likes 13 comments 13

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“I SEE YOU AS YOU COME AND GO” by Candy Burrowbridge

Submitted to Contest #281

Today is the first day of Fall and the new shipment of home goods will arrive later this afternoon. A young stocker, George, had the responsibility of unloading the boxes when they arrived. My box was one of them. My earliest memory was George pulling me out of the darkness and into the glow of florescent lightning. I was being put on display with all the others like me. We were all waiting and hoping for someone to choose us. I WAS CHOOSEN! I was brought home to be part of the Oldenberger's family. They had bought their first home in a slee...

1 like 0 comments 0

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“The Life” by Evangelist Wright

Submitted to Contest #281

THE LIFE If I would have known how my life would have turned out, I never would have done what I did. When I say “Be careful what you wish for,” that's one I wished I’d have listened to. It was a cold and thankless night when it all started, as I remembered it. The drapes were brand new and the clock was ticking. I remember thinking to myself– what is this thing called love? I opened my eyes and your face was the first thing I saw smiling at me. There was such an earnestness in your eyes. I could not tell you then, all I could do was lose ...

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“Snow Days” by Dory Nicolas

Submitted to Contest #281

                               Snow Days                                               by Dor’y Nicolas Minnesota kids grow up ...

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“A Nightingale's Tale” by Katie Mobley

Submitted to Contest #281

"Live like you die tomorrow"The Birds;He first came when the sun set. The fledglings were still squawking on the highest branches when he slinked through the undergrowth- mischief in his steps. The great night hunters- The Owls sat in wait, their bright amber eyes following his tracks. While the songbirds went to sleep, the Owls would remember and whisperer the tales to the singers to spread through the forest upon daybreak. The Mockingbird sings his melancholy echo. His interest perked in the figure passing below. The Nightingale watches: h...

5 likes 2 comments 2

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“Ironic Hubris Party Guest” by Lily Finch

Submitted to Contest #281

Oh, how delightful it is to be here among such intriguing companies! The audacity of it all is undeniable, isn't it? A certain bravado, a charming overconfidence, permeates the air, dancing around the table like a well-rehearsed performance. Isn't it almost like we're all part of a grand prank? The conversations swirl with a mix of wit and whim. Isn't it fascinating how irony unfolds? It's that delightful twist where what you anticipate takes a surprising turn, leading to the opposite of your expectations. Quite the conversation starter, wou...

12 likes 5 comments 5

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“Mrs. Ellis” by Cameron Navarre

Submitted to Contest #280

HELLO! Hello, is this Mrs. Ellis? …HELLO? Hello, is this Mrs.— I CAN'T HEAR YOU! HOLD ON! …I've got my hearing aids in now. Who is this? Hello Mrs. Ellis, we’re calling on behalf of the Future Events Administration. …the WHAT? The Future Events Administration. We— Well then, what is your name? I like to know who I’m talking to, you know? Yes, of course Mrs. Ellis. Just so that you are aware, we are not a human representative. We are a virtual agent, reference number 33457-02, but you can refer to us as Aly if you would prefer. …Are you are a...

11 likes 2 comments 2

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“Never Let You Go” by Cameron Navarre

⭐️ Shortlisted for Contest #280

Mom? Can you hear me? 01110111 01101000 01100001 00111111 00100000 01001001 00100000 01100011 01100001 01101110 00100111 01110100 00101110 00101110 00101110 Mom, this is Chris…your son Chris, can you hear me?01100011 01101000 01110010 01101001 01110011 0111100…Chrisy? 01001001 00100000 01100110 01100101 01100101 01101100…I feel…so tired… They said you might feel…er…have a simulated feeling of grogginess. That’s the digital anesthetics tapering off. Chrisy…where am I? It sounds…I can hear your voice all around me… It’s okay Mom, I know you ar...

15 likes 6 comments 6

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“Lines (In-Between) Lines” by R. Leinad

Submitted to Contest #280

Contains: Strong/Explicit language“I am so sick of being the only one at work that’s broke.”“What do you mean? We have money. We can save, we just have to watch our spending.”“Sure we can or do you mean I have to save? I have to make the money. (I am so tired)”“Wait. What the heck does that mean? What are you trying to say?”“I am just saying, when are you going to pick up the slack? (This is your fault) You are always broke and always having to touch the savings. (I wish I had a better partner) It’s like I put money in there and it just disa...

7 likes 1 comment 1

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“Fright Height on the Mountain” by Stefania Katz

Submitted to Contest #281

She has radiant glow with a quickening heartbeat on His view; He is divine. She is observing the church service with an acute listening and ignoring the distraction of people walking to pay their respects. The sense of destiny to believe in His enormous miracles is a huge gift as she knows His monastery since His friend, a Nun discovered His skeleton relics. He is an ethereal essence glowing; He is protecting from the malicious and He is whispering advice with wisdom to the select-one, His friend. The rumor said that He is a shadowy figure w...

11 likes 2 comments 2

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“Bedtime Routine” by Sharon Thatcher

Submitted to Contest #280

TW: Adoption/Birth Mother 6:45 – It is a Tuesday evening. Your bath time. But tonight, instead of running there and leaving your clothes strewn on the floor, you knock your glass off the table in haste, the glistening shards and pieces scattering, the milk running away. You carefully help with a quick clean up job before you ask if we can do this instead of your bath. 6:47 – As you go into the freshly renovated bathroom, you ask again if you can skip your bath tonight. You already know what the answer will be and eventually relent. Naked as ...

4 likes 0 comments 0

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“My 1987 Nicaraguan Encounter ” by Lily Finch

Submitted to Contest #280

My Nicaraguan Adventure Faced with a life-and-death situation at 17 years old caused traumatic feelings that lasted a short time or lingered under the surface for a long time before they rose to the top, and those involved were forced to deal with it head-on.  Near-death experiences are not viewed by those who hear about them from the teller’s lips as immediate, acute, and dangerous as much as they were. The fear, the bubbles of anxiety, and the emotion that runs rampant throughout the teller's body as the information is relayed are emo...

10 likes 14 comments 14

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