Top Stories
New stories you'll love, handpicked for you by our team and updated daily.
A Perfect Evening. Top Story - July 2024.
Somewhere between the food, the drinks (so many!) and hugs from friends, I found peace. Lots of soul searching lately probably helped. I've made my decision. I made the announcement at work last week that I'm leaving to live in Australia. They're all really excited for me. It feels good. Tonight they brought me out for a lovely meal. They gave me a huge card with heartfelt messages, flowers, wine, and gift vouchers. I was touched. They said things like, "We'll have to come and visit!" It's so weird because it sounds so real and so empty at the same time. Real because they believe it as they're saying it, and empty because I know they won't. I went along with it because it made them happy. It made me happy, too. To borrow another sliver of reality for the space of a heartbeat. "Yes, definitely," I say, "I can't wait." My voice sounds so normal. They've gone home now. My Uber is waiting. The driver is nice. He can see I'm struggling with the gifts. He helps me load them into the car. "Nice problem to have," he says. There's something about his tone, so cheery and so sincere. It cuts through this sharply bittersweet moment and the truth spills out. "I'm dying." He does a double-take.
By L.C. Schäfer2 years ago in Fiction
Reverence. Top Story - July 2024.
June 3rd, 1980 After a hundred lifetimes it never gets old. The waves, tired and peaceful, break along this stretch of shore, resonating in the distance. The soothing melody is harmonic, synching with the calm rhythms of solitude. I've grown to rely on their sanctity to pacify this busy soul, deserving more credit than I remember to give. It balances in the end—they understand my detachment from self, my detachment from this everchanging world...
By Lamar Wiggins2 years ago in Fiction
The Sins of My Father. Top Story - July 2024.
My Father chases the bottom of a bottle like it holds the universes best kept secrets. He's not a religious man; raised Lutheran, but he finds his Hail Mary's in the ecstasy of poison. He drinks from it, it drinks from him, and there he finds ritual in his God- this my body, and I give it up for you.
By Christiane Winter2 years ago in Poets
A Brief History of MPAA Movie Ratings. Top Story - July 2024.
We all know the modern ratings system: G, PG, PG-13, R, and NC-17. What many may not know is how movie ratings have evolved since the dawn of cinema. For demographic purposes, I will be referring to the system as the MPAA ratings system (Motion Pictures of America Association)--as I am talking about the American ratings system, and the ratings system is different all over the world.
By Jennifer Childers2 years ago in FYI
Summer Solstice Challenge Winners
‘Safety Net’, by Meredith Harmon, begins in a confiding tone. ‘What town?’ the tale asks. ‘We're an enclave. We're farmers. We till the soil like our forefathers, and our children's children's children will till it, till the end of time.’ There is a folkloric sensibility here, suited to the prompt, but also something contemporary and practical. This winning story of a community trying to protect and preserve itself has echoes of Shirley Jackson’s famous tale ‘The Lottery’, Meredith is a strong Vocal Creator with 225 stories to her name; and this is her second first place win of a challenge; huge congratulations.
By Vocal Curation Team2 years ago in Resources
McMurtry’s Bucket List. Top Story - July 2024.
McMurtry is tying flies when he first hears the helicopter approaching up the sound. His ears may be sprouting snowy tufts to match what hair peeks out from under his cap, but they’re as keen as they were sixty years ago.
By Matthew Clapham2 years ago in Fiction
You Never Asked. Top Story - July 2024.
I don't know when I decided I had to choose between expecting nothing and expecting disappointment. Every time, for the longest time, I chose to expect you to show up for me, but I guess I learned the outcome would never be what I wanted.
By Kay Husnick2 years ago in Poets
What Hope Is There?. Top Story - July 2024.
The following was an entry for this year’s Hubert Butler Essay Prize. The prompt was “With narratives of conflict currently distorted by misinformation and the substitution of memory for history, what are the chances of reconciliation?” It was originally written in April/May 2024. Please enjoy.
By Conor Matthews2 years ago in The Swamp
Hunt the Darkness . Top Story - July 2024.
The sky oozed blood red as the sun dropped below the lonely forest and the moon crept upwards. The day was gone and the darkness settled across the empty hamlet. Here was where he had been brought to remove, the great shadow that hung so malevolently over the whole area. Clymold the monster slayer had been called on by the town elders to free the people from the clutches of the creature.
By Simon Curtis2 years ago in Horror
