Menu

Menu
Prompts
Contests
Stories
Blog
Featured stories
Activity feed

Discover weekly, the best short stories

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

150+ Fiction Short Stories to read

Submitted by writers on Reedsy Prompts to our weekly writing contest. If you’re looking for the best fiction short stories to read online, we’ve got you covered. Wide-ranging and ever-curious, these free short stories will meet your reading needs.

Fiction Short Stories – Page 2 of 10

Clause and Effect

Submitted to Contest #310

I cried out in frustration as I plopped down on my bed. The measly 13 likes on my latest Instagram post glared at me from my smart phone. “I don’t get it, Ally,” I stated in exasperation. “What am I doing wrong?” The black feline’s only reply was a soft meow. “How has ‘Gemstone & Allycat’ not gone viral yet? We’re both adorable!” This time Ally replied with a more aggressive meow. “Okay, okay,” I answered as I walked out of the bedroom and into the kitchen, Ally on my heels. Absentmindedly, I scooped a portion of the dry cat food i...

3 likes 0 comments 0
Read story

The Curse of Fame

Submitted to Contest #310

What would she do for her words to be seen, to be felt? What would she do to have her words be understood? Eris’s mind wanders as she sifts through the dozens of emails on her work computer. What would she do to finally let someone see the thick draft collecting dust inside her desk? The fear of advocating for her work and the fear of never letting the world see her story battle each other in her mind while she tries to focus on the screen. She sighs and gives up on the never ending emails, and moves towards the even bigger pile of physical...

4 likes 0 comments 0
Read story

Risa's book

Submitted to Contest #310

Risa bent over the antique book binding she was repairing. She had just completed mending the front cover when the bell over the front door chimed. A group of teenage girls sauntered in, giggling. “May I help you”“We are just looking,” A pretty girl with dark brown hair replied. “If I can help you with anything let me know” Risa watched the group disperse throughout the small bookshop. There were six to eight of them; she wasn’t sure some disappeared behind the rows of bookshelves. Risa moved to the cash register, from there she could see ...

3 likes 0 comments 0
Read story

Too much Smelling Good? Feeling Good? (Trop de bonnes odeurs? Se sentir Bien?)

Submitted to Contest #310

Prompt: Write about someone who makes a deal for viral fame-but their rising popularity comes with unexpected (or dangerous) side effects. Too Much Smelling Good? Feeling Good? (Trop de bonnes odeurs? Se Sentir Bien?) Most likely you have heard of great musicians or painters that have their hands insured for millions of dollars to protect their artistic genius and livelihood. How I wish it was the same for me in the fragrance industry I chose as my career. That type of insurance would catapult me to an amazing level of recognition. But ...

4 likes 0 comments 0
Read story

Poisonous Stardom

Submitted to Contest #310

TW: Mention of suicide through overdose HHM @Harmony Haven Music It has been 4 years since Dawn Drake’s death, and we at Harmony Haven are still deeply saddened by her passing. Dawn was one of the brightest stars we have raised since she was a teenager. She had the brightest smile on her face when interacting with her fans or recording a new album, excited when she heard a fan cover one of her songs, and talking about it for days, doing silly little pranks on movie sets. To honor her legacy, on her birthday at Calming Oasis at 5 PM, we are h...

3 likes 0 comments 0
Read story

The Four

Submitted to Contest #310

I’m ecstatic! The Rahway Book Club selection committee invited me to read at their June meeting. Me, Chuck Tompkins, a newly published poet. Who knew? The four ladies of the selection committee are the pillars of the Jersey artsy-fartsy community. Everyone defers to them. Everyone seeks them out for their approval and possible acceptance into their circle. As sycophantic as the next wannabe successful artist, I’m no exception. After their invitation, my excitement kept me awake for days! My career is about to be made. The critical wor...

6 likes 0 comments 0
Read story

The South May Rise Again

Submitted to Contest #310

Standing on the third rung of a tall wooden ladder, at the back of her bookshop, Gracie glanced at her wristwatch inherited from Nana Sarah and noted it was long past time to turn out the lights and lock up for the night. As Gracie slid a National Parks travel guide into place amidst the shop’s non-fiction stacks, she heard the unmistakable sound of books tumbling to the floor, up front. Followed by the jangling of the front door’s bell chimes, then the resounding stillness of silence.“Who’s there?” she called out, her voice shaky. Gracie ne...

1 like 0 comments 0
Read story

Blissfully uncertain

Submitted to Contest #310

The AC is busted again, so we’re stuck on the porch trying to cool down. Even out here, the air feels like soup, that stifling summer-in-the-city weather that always has me looking up Alaska’s housing prices on Zillow. “I’m telling you, man. It’s like that white woman thing about actualizing your goals.” Benny stares at me, one eyebrow raised, as if I just told him I bought a time share. I can tell he doesn’t believe a word I’m saying, but I need to tell someone and he’s the only one I can say it to if I want to avoid grippy socks. “Seriousl...

4 likes 0 comments 0
Read story

The Stolen Story of a Forgotten Life

Submitted to Contest #310

Anything with a scent in here makes you nauseous. Except for coffee. That’s the only uninvited smell that doesn’t make me want to puke. She stood there holding one of those overpriced takeaway cups from the coffee shop next door. No surprise she took it to go. I’d rather sit on a stick than those damn uncomfortable chairs they have. And my tiny store’s squeezed between that pretentious coffee place and a clothing store that’s shut most of the year. At least I get some peace on that side. What was I saying? Oh yeah, coffee. God damn, that...

2 likes 0 comments 0
Read story

Ink and Blood

Submitted to Contest #310

Ink and BloodA Short StoryLinda M. White2528 Word Count Terria Mitchell stood staring at the tall dark man straight from the pages of her fantasy story. Instead of standing on the path where she had left him, he was blocking an aisle at the grocery store. As her female protagonist had done in her narrative, Terria stopped and scrutinized him, admiring his tall, strong physique. He was not dressed in the garbs that she had imagined for him, but she would never mistake his presence. As her dark and brooding stranger had done in he...

1 like 0 comments 0
Read story

Nothing in Between

Submitted to Contest #310

Nothing in BetweenKenneth Bignell Years of struggle. A creative writing degree from the University of New Mexico—no easy slog. Cory had poured his heart and soul into story after story, only to be met with rejection after rejection.He’d given up more than once. He’d watched peers succeed, their books climbing bestseller lists. Some of them deserved it. Many, in his opinion, did not—works of shallow drivel, pandering to a public increasingly enamored with cheap thrills, jump-scare plots, and hollow relationships.Reality TV in print. Propped u...

2 likes 0 comments 0
Read story

HR

Submitted to Contest #310

We call ourselves Hominimum Repertores. Finders of people. Our life's work is to scour the world for the right person for the right thing, one role at a time. We often sit in brightly-lit cubicles, behind screens always placed at the ergonomically approved height - top half of the screen at eye level, elbows square on the desk, back straight, knees at a 90 degree angle - and read through every little accomplishment that could pass for achievement until the candidate's past and future are as clear to us as the black Times New Roman font again...

17 likes 0 comments 0
Read story

The Price of Infamy

Submitted to Contest #310

Content warning: This story contains profanity and sexual content Damnit! How the hell did they find me this time?A young woman with caramel skin, long flowing black hair, and golden hazel eyes looks back at the discarded gyro she just bought from a street vendor sprawled on the dirty, wet, brown concrete sidewalk. Its tasty veggies, meat, and seasonings never to bless her yearning taste buds.I haven’t had anything but Chinese takeout for almost a week now! How am I still the talk of the town?! She is dressed as incognito as she could, but e...

3 likes 0 comments 0
Read story

The Missing Sister

Submitted to Contest #310

I first heard Angela Rhodes was missing twenty years ago while I was still at school. There were posters of her everywhere. We were the same age. Thirteen. She didn’t live far from me and the safe, relatively affluent neighbourhood was in a panic. Girls simply didn’t go missing around here. They never solved it. Eventually the shiny posters peeled and faded, Angela’s face no longer recognisable. I hadn’t thought about the case for a long time until I opened The Old Curiosity Bookshop. During one of my first weeks, Angela’s sister Saskia came...

2 likes 0 comments 0
Read story

The Widow’s Guide to Moving On (Sort Of)

Submitted to Contest #310

Day 1: The Ham Incident Frank died at 6:17 a.m. on a Tuesday. By 10:42 a.m., someone brought a ham.It was still warm.I hadn’t even brushed my teeth. I was still wearing the sweatpants I’d slept in—correction, the sweatpants I hadn’t slept in, because no one sleeps on Day 0 of becoming a widow. They just lie there, staring at the ceiling, wondering if they’re supposed to call someone or if death notifies people on its own like some grim newsletter.The ham arrived in a foil tray, courtesy of Helen McAllister, whom I haven’t spoken to since she...

11 likes 2 comments 2
Read story
RBE | Illustrated Short Stories | 2024-06

Bring your short stories to life

Fuse character, story, and conflict with tools in Reedsy Studio. All for free.