Shortys2026 Stories

A warm welcome to our poets and storytellers! Whether you're joining us for the first time or returning for another year, we're delighted to have you here. The Shortys is a place to challenge yourself, celebrate creativity, and connect with a community united by a love of words and creative expression. On September 1st, this year's prompts will be revealed. You'll then have the entire month to bring your ideas to life and share your work. So sharpen your wits and ready your words. We're here to encourage one another, cheer each other on, and have fun. We can't wait to read what you create. Let the ride begin. The Shortys Team

A collection of short fiction for the 2026 Smackdown.

It's autumn of 1962 in the town of Gorey in County Wexford, Ireland. Sister Mary has lived here for almost eleven years, sent to the Lorretto Convent and Roman Catholic Church after giving birth to her daughter, Imelda, out of wedlock. One evening, she plans to meet her daughter one last time before she heads off to boarding school, but when Imelda doesn't show, Sister Mary bears witness to another kind of meeting altogether. Two men awash in moonlight, one chasing after the other, a brutal encounter that ends in murder. Or does it? Sister Mary doesn't know that she can trust her sin-addled mind. When she rushes back to her church to seek the guidance of her holy namesake, the Virgin Mary, she finds the good Father Colin, to her great relief. But as she seeks his holy advice, she begins to wonder whether he is really as good as she once thought him to be. This is my entry for the Shortys, inspired by the following prompt: You watch in disbelief as their fangs descend, revealing the truth they've been hiding. Content warnings: Depictions of violence, explicit sexual content, blasphemy, religious trauma, purity culture, explicit language.

Jungkook had his 𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐤𝐞𝐧𝐝 completely planned out. Just him, his dog Bam, and zero drama! But, now Jungkook is 𝐬𝐭𝐮𝐜𝐤 sharing a roof with the coldest, most annoying, insanely flirty guy he knows. They can't agree on a single thing, but their dogs becomes instant best friends. And after one ridiculously chaotic weekend, Jungkook is left trying to figure out if he actually hates his neighbor... or if he's in serious 𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐞.

Entries for #Shortys2026

Violet Kudus, head of Amaranth Group, signs a partnership with Ethan Ambrose, Head of Rose Group. But all is not as it seems. Violet isn't just a businesswoman, and Ethan is not just a new business partner. So let's try this again. Violet Kudus, head of the Dragon Clan, meets Ethan Ambrose, head of a clan of wolf shifters. But is this really their first meeting? Amaranth/Amarantos: in mythology, an imaginary flower that never fades or loses its color -ˋˏ ────── 𓆩⚡𓆪 ────── ˎˊ- Shortys 2026 Prompt: You watch in disbelief as their fangs descend, revealing the truth they've been hiding.

Damn you, Cole Rafferty! When girl-Ricky (not boy-Ricky), collides with "Raff," her worst ex-frenemy, during a tense hockey game, it doesn't end well for her. For someone who's never had a problem "playing with the boys," the hospital bed is pure torture. She has no time for that. College is just around the corner. Her entire hockey career is hanging in the balance! Alone with her thoughts, Ricky is trying to recall why she "hates" the Rafferty family and falls short, despite the injuries. Yeah, their histories are intertwined, and they're sordid as all heck. True, there's an actual body count and that skate almost had her name on it. But Cole's a victim of his circumstances, too. It was "probably" an accident. That doesn't mean she has to "like him," like she used to, but still, the ice around her heart might be thawing, just a little. . . #Theshortys2026 #Shortys2026 #Shortstory #Hockey

Her life should be over before it even begins. That is the only way the whole community will thrive. However, she is ruthless for a human and armed with questions. She wouldn't go down without a fight. Will she be sacrificed?

The feeling of bittersweet love.

<3

One sense is absent, but beauty persists in many forms. -ˋˏ ────── 𓆩🌿𓆪 ────── ˎˊ- Shortys 2026 Prompt: Inspired by What a Wonderful World by Louis Armstrong - Tell a story through the eyes of a character who finds beauty in a world that everyone else has learned to overlook.

Commander Poopo Saves Marley

Something mystical happens when the moon is full. The hidden is revealed, life emerges from death, and a new star is born. These are the tales of those stars.

#1 collectionofhorrorstories #2 shorthorrorstories #3 Anthology #6 creepystories 8/31/26-9/1/26 #7 weird 9/8 (11 of 17 stories are published. I will be releasing one per week just in time for Halloween!) Step into the Darker Side of Dusk! Seventeen supernatural short stories of sinister suspense. Ordinary men and women. Familiar streets and workplaces. Yet lurking within every shadow, something strange awaits. Ghosts. Demons. Creatures unnamed, and things unexplainable. Forces that warp the perceptions of reality and bend the edges of sanity while penetrating through the cracks of our world. Inside this collection, you will encounter a parent's worst nightmare while playing tea time, a deserted roadway along the railroad hiding something far worse than abandoned cars. A painting with a cursed history, a police officer's career unraveling amongst impossible screams, sudden rain, and fallen ash. A mysterious tattooed woman's subtle smile, a stalking statue. A strange, flickering, panic inducing glow along the shore, each becomes a threshold to the uncanny and paranormal. Each story twists from the known to the unimaginable, revealing endings that leave you questioning the reality and experience of the characters and the events. The sun is setting. The time is now. The world as you know it fades. Dare to cross into the Darker Side of Dusk.

My second collection of short stories, but longer than the works in my Read my Shorts collection. This volume consists of anything more than 1000 words and includes new works, re-writes of a few older pieces and anything else I found on my computer that I'd forgotten to post before. It will contain steampunk, historical fiction, urban fantasy, science fiction, fantasy, slipstream, sci-fantasy, horror, paranormal, general oddity and anything else that happens to fall out of my ears as ideas formulate into stories. Enjoy. Comments and constructive feedback always welcomed.

come delve into my world it's love it's darkness it's light it's shadiness let me take you on an adventure let me unfasten your heart despite the hardship despite the pain let me hold your hand let's embark on my ship the heart couldn't be truer instinct is your compass let me show you the world let me discover your heart come ## I'm not poetic in any way, so this is just a collection of free-verses I thought is worth sharing. Cover by @TheTigerWriter

By 2150, astrology is no longer a matter of belief. Birth charts determine where people live, whom they can marry, and what crimes they are statistically capable of committing. Digital tarot programs calculate the future with near-perfect accuracy, and the law treats their predictions as fact. Nia, an unlicensed Cancer chart reader surviving in the port city of Pisces, has learned to question what the official readings leave unsaid. When a frightened stranger's cards predict that he will commit murder before sunrise--and identify Nia as his victim--she discovers a second outcome hidden beneath the approved forecast. Someone is not merely predicting the future. They are arranging it. With the help of a mysterious Libra hacker, Nia is drawn into a conflict spanning all twelve zodiac territories. To survive, she must uncover who controls the predictions before the system turns her rebellion into proof that it was right about her all along.

An eclectic mix of short stories written for contests, challenges, online magazines, or just for fun.

For twenty-three-year-old Merit, marrying her childhood crush, Daniel, was supposed to be the start of her happily ever after. Instead, her wedding night features a freezing cold shoulder, a sudden period disaster, and zero romance. When she repeatedly catches Daniel in incredibly compromising positions with his chaotic best friend, Ayo, Merit's hyper-emotional mind hits a frantic roadblock: Is her new billionaire husband secretly gay? A laugh-out-loud, sweet, and chaotic Nigerian romance about the dangers of extreme overthinking.

Rome, 1557. Fifteen-year-old Filomena 'the Amazon' has learned that survival in a home for abandoned girls run by nuns depends upon keeping her head down and her hands busy. When Suor Pacifica is found dead on the kitchen floor, Filomena inherits the good sister's duties and, for the first time in her life, a bed of her own and a glimpse of a future shaped by her gift for cooking. Then a mute, blood-soaked girl appears inside the walled herb garden. A trail of blood leads Filomena through Rome's fogbound streets to the reedy banks of the Tiber, where a murdered man floats beneath the shadow of Castel Sant' Angelo. The night guard is eager to accept the easiest explanation. Filomena is left with a terrified orphan whose stubborn silence conceals a dangerous truth.