Short Stories
The "73 Words in the 732" contest seeks original short stories that contain seventy-three words or fewer. Stories can be on any theme or topic, and a panel of library staff will select the best short stories, which will appear on the library's website.
The contest is open through the month of May every year. All ages are welcome to participate and East Brunswick residency is not required.
The Black Mermaid
Her origins are lost in the mists of time. Shadows of rumors place her far back in ancient Mesopotamia. A Muslim cleric living in the shadow of Turkey's Mount Nemrut claims she was discovered by...
Shikhar Dixit
Raisin Rage
In her twenties, Ruby’s perfect shade was Revlon’s ‘Raisin Rage’. A vampy red lipstick: it never overpromised. But the name?
“What would make a raisin angry?” Ruby laughed.
In midlife...
Andrea Santo Felcone
Tea & Misery
Forcing Jesse to have “afternoon tea like The Royals” felt extra passive-aggressive, even by Lisa’s standards. He’d told her before: coffee (with cake) was for happy times; while tea (with honey...
Andrea Santo Felcone
Get Up
I was sleeping. It was my first day of summer vacation. I had just completed my junior year of high school. My summer plan was to get a job and save for a car. At 7:30, I suddenly woke to the...
Donald Carugati
Gravel
"Mary kicked the gravel as she walked, forming clouds of dust up to her knees. She imagined her feet were on fire and each step was only a few seconds away from setting the ground ablaze.
...
Harry Marks
Eyes of a Child
He gathered them all around to show his new sculptures he just finished. After looking for sometime one said “How come you never put faces on your work?”
You can add how you feel and what...
PO
The Moth
A moth is trapped between the screen and glass of my patio door. It crawled in through some small hole. It flits about, landing on the glass and then the screen, not remembering how it got in. It...
Phyllis Francese
Together in the Dark
We were all together in the dark. Listening with bated breath as the couple fought. We could hear them going at it. It sounded like the end of their world. Finally it came to an end with her...
Franklin Cota
The Divorce
As Cole's fist prepared to strike for the very first time in fifteen years of marriage, Ellen intended to square off against him. She had earned her 1st degree black belt in Aikijujitsu, yet her...
Shikhar Dixit
Beach Blanket Mystery
The best beach down the shore. Quiet and peaceful. ‘‘Twas a mile walk down a sandy trail to get there, but well worth it. Funny, as I got closer, I realized all the footprints were pointing...
Joe Rutch
Still Waters
He was not what I expected. Unassuming...dorky, even. But then he fixed me with those eyes of his, and a sudden surge of primal fight-or-fight instinct reminded me why I had come here in the first...
Natania Birnbaum
Earth Day
I didn’t know it was Earth Day when I saw the fox furtively cross Cranbury Road beating the oncoming vehicles during my morning jog. Mouth full; was it prey or progeny ? It was happiness!