Top Stories
Stories in Fiction that you'll love, handpicked by our team.
The Photo that Never Was. Honorable Mention in You Had to Be There. Top Story - May 2026.
If you look closely at this photo, you will notice there is no cow standing on the front porch. In fact, there is no photo anywhere of a cow standing on the porch of this house.
By A. J. Schoenfeld6 months ago in Fiction
War and Peas. Top Story - May 2026.
Jemma hops from one webbed foot to the other, her impatience beating a loud slapping rhythm on the kitchen flagstones. Mother was always so slow. All grown-ups are slow. They say boring things like, Soon, and I'll be there in a minute, and I'll just...
By L.C. Schäfer6 months ago in Fiction
Hide and Seek. Top Story - May 2026.
Aryn arrived on time to her babysitting appointment at the Charles house. The day had been exceedingly average until this point. The weather had been nice, a clear, warm day. School had been unremarkable, which suited Aryn fine. Predictable monotony was always preferable to locker room teasing or finding maxi-pads stuck to her desk. She expected the evening to be uneventful, too. While 6-year-olds are full of energy and sometimes surprises, Willow was an only child. Sitting for one kid generally meant a controlled kind of chaos.
By Rebekah Conard6 months ago in Fiction
Love's Arena. Top Story - May 2026.
Night's euphoric glow in the long breath of stillness. A sharp, still air that hangs, as my voiceless words stumble in my throat. I am out of place here, a cut out, pasted down onto love's arena: a tournament of a woman, abandoned by her lover.
By Susan L. Marshall6 months ago in Fiction
Fish in The Basement. Top Story - April 2026.
When I was about a year old, my parents decided that their family of five was growing fast, and space had become limited. They bought a very cheap house in a rural farm town in southwest Minnesota. The house had been broken into and badly vandalized before they purchased it, but that was not an issue, as my father was a master carpenter and saw that the house had good bones. After the house was made livable, our family moved in.
By Kris Kimsey6 months ago in Fiction
Dead End Hiking. Top Story - April 2026.
I told him I wasn’t in the mood. No, not that, you dirty-minded imbecile—just not in the mood for hiking. It had rained, so the trails would be muddy, with thunderstorms looming. I was tired from a busy work week and had not slept well. He insisted, badgering me, challenging me to a duel on the mountain, and, fool for him that I am, I finally agreed after hours of cajoling.
By Andrea Corwin 6 months ago in Fiction
Three Kings . Top Story - April 2026.
Things might have gone very differently if the war had gone on, but they ended the draft right before we graduated. For three guys with zero college aspirations, who had been fully expecting, if not exactly looking forward to, getting shipped overseas to die, we were suddenly lost, though we didn't realize it at the time. I knew I wouldn’t have come back. I don’t have the sort of killer instinct required to survive a war. Phil doesn’t either. Brandon, on the other hand, is made of something different. They would have made a four star general out of him, if they didn’t wind up court martialing him along the way.
By J. Otis Haas6 months ago in Fiction
Delayed. Top Story - April 2026.
Until the very last moment, Ella had hoped that it wouldn’t rain. It started drizzling the second she reached her platform, and it absolutely shouldn’t have surprised her. In fact, if the past week was any indicator of how the day was going to go, she could’ve predicted it with certainty.
By Cristal S.6 months ago in Fiction
The Count. Top Story - April 2026. Content Warning.
They had dressed her in warmer clothes, with strategic cuts in the fabric for access. "You're already in a chilly tower," they warned, "and you will feel very cold afterwards. Come down and get warm by the fire, he will leave you just enough energy to do so. There's a fur robe by the door." And they left, and she shivered - but this was her choice, and that gave her a small piece of comfort.
By Meredith Harmon6 months ago in Fiction
The Note I Cannot Read. Winner in The Unhappy Ending Challenge. Top Story - April 2026.
April 11th, 2001 I remember when poetry was young, and my voice was... fresh. I think that's the word. Fresh. A gentle summer's breeze would captivate and hold my attention as I wrought its legacy on a lazy Tuesday afternoon. I recall with glee the sound of ducks at the pond quacking for scraps of breadcrumbs from the children who had harassed their parents to leave the gardening for a few hours.
By Paul Stewart6 months ago in Fiction
