Stories of the Week: Contest #325
Welcome back to your weekly wrap-up of the Reedsy Prompts contest! This week’s tales are hot off the press, so settle in and check out our latest contest winner, the runners-up, and recent popular entries in your preferred genres below.
Also, don’t forget to like and comment on your favorites! Our authors work hard on their submissions every week — your support and feedback mean the world to them.
Winner 🏆
Dust
by
Firyal Quraishi
In a land where dust is permanent and dreams have dried up, a cynical sibling grapples with survival and a rabbit with a vendetta.
💡 Inspired by the prompt:
End your story in a way that leaves the reader with a sense of uncertainty or doubt.
📌 Why it won: Guest judge The Book Belle said, "I was really struck by how unique this story felt — it lingered in my mind long after I finished reading it. The recurring figure of the half-shot rabbit is such a powerful motif, probing at the boundary between the real and the uncanny. I especially loved the jarring time-jump toward the end. That abrupt leap unsettles the reader (in the best way), leaving us scrambling to piece together what must have happened to the protagonist and her sister in the intervening years. The tone of voice is confident and compelling, and I loved the atmosphere created from the very first sentence. It left me unsettled, curious, a little haunted… in exactly the way a great story should!"
Runners-up 🏅
Voices
by
Ashley Donnell
A lonely woman in a decaying farmhouse entertains an unexpected visit from a curious toddler. What could go wrong?
💡 Inspired by the prompt:
Start your story with the sensation of a breeze brushing against someone’s skin.
The Glad Man
by
Christopher C
After his divorce, Alain stops looking into mirrors... until a tall man with a grin too wide to be friendly starts looking back. Can he confront this eerie reflection before it’s too late?
💡 Inspired by the prompt:
Your character sees something unfamiliar out of the corner of their eye. What happens next?
Stories you might like 👀
This week’s top stories from your preferred genres.
Crime
The Chef of Saint Dymphna
by
Kay Reynolds
Fish Eyes
by
Howard Seeley
Horror
THE QUIET FRIEND
by
N. S. Streets
It could just be the wind...
by
Zoe Dixon
Funny
A Well-Timed Butt Pinch
by
Daniel Rogers
The Endless Pour
by
Boni Woodland
And there you have it: the latest and greatest of this week! If you want to change your preferred genres or opt out of this newsletter, you can do so anytime in your Account Settings.
Stay tuned for next week’s wrap-up, which will feature stories from the "The Last Laugh with Peter Cameron" edition of our contest.
Happy reading,
Isabella, Chief Story Curator @ Reedsy
P.S. Want to be featured in this newsletter? Submit a story to the current edition of our contest, "Whiskers & Witchcraft with Rebecca van Laer", for the chance to receive fame, glory, and a top prize of $250!
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