Top Stories
New stories you'll love, handpicked for you by our team and updated daily.
Dear Rachel. Top Story - August 2026.
Dear Rachel, It’s been just over a year now since you’ve been gone. What I hate most about this is I wasn’t there when you passed on. It suck because ever since the first day we met, you were always here for me. I remember when I first met you and Ken at church almost 9 years ago. When you found out I was an aspiring writer you couldn’t help but talk to me about it all the time. You loved telling me how you knew so many writers and that you were so sure that I would one day be a published author.
By Joe Patterson2 months ago in Confessions
In a Pickle?. Top Story - July 2026.
The post below has, of this writing, 23.9 thousand views. Amazingly; no one dinged me for typing 'Nit' instead of 'Not'. That is a small thing to be thankful for, but I'll take it, especially as most of the comments questioned my sanity, my cooking, and my birthplace.
By Judey Kalchik 2 months ago in Writers
Chapter One. Top Story - July 2026.
Last Call - The Prompt: Write a story inspired by the phrase "last call." "Last call" can mean different things depending on who's listening. It might be the end of a night, one final opportunity, or the moment someone realizes they're almost out of time. Write a story inspired by the phrase "last call." You can interpret it however you like. Set it in a bar, an airport, a hospital, a small town, or somewhere entirely unexpected. Focus on what happens when the clock is running out. Whether your characters seize the moment, hesitate, or let it slip away, let that sense of urgency drive the story.
By Denise E Lindquist2 months ago in Fiction
Just a Little More to the Left. Winner in Say It Again Challenge. Top Story - July 2026.
Oh, your picture drives me nuts! Lovely gift, lovely gist, lovely grit Can you help adjust and hang it? Push it hard, rock it hard, stir it hard. No! Just a little more to the left... There! You got it... Stop! Fuck! Too much! Let's go again! Yes, we 're here together. Yes. Look around, look alive, look alike I'll get off my phone, I promise. Few more clicks, few more pricks, few more ticks Oh, the portrayed you is better. 'Cause it's mine, you're not mine, this is mine I can do with it whatever. You don't know, you won't know, you can't know Move for me and make it perfect , Go sit there, in the shade, lose the braid That's too much for composition, Turn around, smile a bit, step aside Just a little more to the left Give your all, give it all, give me all There's the bull! Can't you aim? Don't you see? Can it be? That's a miss for you I told you! Did you hear? Did you swear ? Just a little more to the left And you'd had it. Had it all. Had it all. Had it all. Public public public and public transport, forums, schools, health Now you pay for them good money That's the dream : it starts with us ! And the sick, the poor, the homeless They don't vote, so they can't play Some must sit upon our wallets For the dream and for the land Oh how different would this world be So much free r, and so brave ! If we scoffed those fancy armchairs Just a little more to the left Like their hearts, our hearts, their nature In the middle, beating fast But its tip, its peak, its summit, You won't find it, It's NOT there Are you looking? Move your hand then Just a little more to the left Those who left don't get leftovers Those who left in times of war Those who left don't get called people By the ones who voted right Persevering in their efforts To correctly stuff their mouths And those left, once we're all dead then? What about their solemn rights? We have looted, we have stolen from their future to our comfort from their planet to our plate Stuff your face with fancy fortunes Leave them nothing! Leave them shite! Once it's over and you're dying, you'll be cold alone and old Happy wondering what happened! Why's there nothing left to give? Could we maybe look for balance, less perfection, less possession And make sure that when we're dying In between our perfect pictures, perfect selfies, perfect lies We could maybe scrounge together Just a little more to the left
By Sasha Desideri2 months ago in Poets
Whispering Pines. Top Story - July 2026.
Prologue: July 1994 Jennifer Evans could still taste the raspberry shimmer gloss she wore to her first week of summer camp. The smell of damp cedar hung heavy in the humid air. The bandana she had soaked in ice water wrapped tight around her neck as they readied for further instructions. Her mom’s car faded from sight down the dusty gravel road back towards civilization. Gate guard Rick locked the metal doors behind the last gaggle of parents, some of whom had never left a child at camp before. It would be four-weeks until she would see her mom again, promises of letters and care packages had been exchanged.
By K.H. Obergfoll2 months ago in Fiction
We're Lying About Reading Now?. Top Story - July 2026.
Out of all the things I expected there to be controversy about online, I didn’t think reading would be one of them. I mean come on, it’s reading. It’s a fun hobby for some, a livelihood for others, something we’ve all done for school and even for pleasure. It seems asinine for there to be any controversy about reading.
By caitodoesstuff2 months ago in BookClub
HARRY MADE A BAREBACK RIDER . Top Story - July 2026.
The very first Dire Straits album/cd is famous for Sultans of Swing. But to me, the best song on there is all the rest of the songs. a thought about one in particular kept popping into my thoughts-IN THE GALERIA. It is a story about Harry-a sculptor/artiste that created masterpieces, but none paid attention to him-it was not what people thought of as masterpieces or great works of art, BUT there were limitations not of his own making that left him out. I feel this way and I wondered how to write what I was feeling and I was mulling it over in my mind as I fell asleep last night. Somehow, I was able to recall/recreate my thoughts and put it to pen:
By Victor Mendez2 months ago in Poets
Martin Luther King Jr. and the love he lost. Top Story - July 2026.
In 1973, R&B group Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes had a hit single titled The Love I Lost. I thought of this tune after reading a story about Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and a love he lost from his college days. The tale is quite tragic because there was only one reason 19-year-old Dr. King and Betty Moitz could not marry.
By Cheryl E Preston2 months ago in Geeks
How are you?. Runner-Up in Say It Again Challenge. Top Story - July 2026.
How are you? they spill barely pronouncing the words proud of themselves for doing their part How are you? they mutter not out of interest but because the world has told them it’s impolite to talk about themselves before getting these words out of the way How are you? they read their compulsory line trusting you to honour the unwritten rule and answer correctly How are you? they mumble already hearing the "fine" in their minds any other answer a statistical improbability and a major inconvenience How are you? they ask already rehearsing the delivery of their own news in their heads How are you? "Oh me? I’m just a girl, wearing my smile like a borrowed coat. It suits me well, yet I can’t wait to take it off. How am I, you ask? I’m like a yellow birch leaf in November, still holding on. Mourning each and every sun ray I've ever taken for granted. You wanna know how I am? I’m like a cubed wrinkly potato floating in an under-seasoned protein-lacking soup you make two days before payday. I’m like the E in 'blue', like the B in 'doubt', and the fucking L in 'salmon'—still here and theoretically necessary, yet only paid attention to mistakenly." You hear your mind race. Your slight sigh goes unnoticed and you deliver your perfect "I’m fine." then add with a rehearsed, polished-to-perfection smile, "How are you ?"
By Cristal S.2 months ago in Poets
"Backrooms" (2026): One Concept Too Many?. Top Story - July 2026.
Where does this hallway lead? “Backrooms” entered theaters in 2026. Clark discovers a mysterious entrance in the basement of his building. It leads to various hallways. When he disappears, Mary, Clark’s therapist, investigates for herself.
By Marielle Sabbag2 months ago in Geeks
Humanity’s Only Hope. Honorable Mention in Too Hot for This Challenge. Top Story - July 2026.
They say murder rates go up in a heat wave. I understood why when the power went out in my building on one of the hottest days on record. The grinding of my air conditioner’s fan coming to a halt was echoed in the grinding of my teeth.
By Ophelia Keane Braeden2 months ago in Humor
What I plan to do with my one wild and precious 36th summer. Top Story - July 2026.
I made enough plans to shame the stars. I scattered them across the sky like constellations: following train tracks, and skinny dipping in rivers. Eating lángos standing up at beach bars until there isn't a grease-less spot on our sun-roasted bodies left. Or we could wander through cities, our pockets full of the wrong maps. I'd call myself Lucy, and you'd refuse to play your part. But in my head I'd still pretend you're Mario, the exchange student who only needed a little love. Plans are like fireflies—cup one in your hands, a flicker and it's already gone. So this is what I plan to do with my one wild and precious 36th summer: memorize the blades of grass, kiss the face of passing storms, search for true darkness until I, too become a glowing whisper before laying my bones in loving hands.
By Imola Tóth2 months ago in Poets
