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. Ages 18 and older are welcome to participate and East Brunswick residency is not required.
Hope
It has been a long winter: long nights, grey, cold, rainy, sad, isolating, endless.
But spring always returns. We are reminded that we come alive again by new growth, color, singing birds,...
Cecelia Regan
Panic
...
Sara Fischer
What Teens Today are Really Like
"Dana, could you go whisper to Ms. Perez (the adored math teacher) that I could use a hug?" (She’s a mom friend who "gets it.") It was a rough week - back and forth to the hospital. Room 310’s...
Amanda Visokay
20/40
How long has this been going on? Thoughts of being left behind, missing out and a sudden suspicion of adults hit me over the head in my eighth year.
I had just opened that new magnetic pink...
c tobias
Time Makes You Bolder
In my seventies, apprehensive, determined to go into Home Depot, not leave until I got everything on my list.
Miles later I pushed cart into checkout lane.
"I think if I shall ever die...
Eileen Hahn
A Day I Will Not Forget
I was eating lunch at my desk. I heard and felt a loud rumble. Had a transformer blown up? There was smoke and we evacuated. We put scarves or ripped shirt sleeves around our soot-covered faces....
Patricia Tagliaferro
Furever Friends
We were worried when our dog sitter Maxie got a tiny puppy named Teddy. Our dog Magenta barks a lot at unfamiliar dogs. So Maxie introduced them slowly, keeping Teddy in a pen. The dogs sniffed...
Donna Lee Goldberg
What She Didn’t Say
“What do you do?” he asked, just as her daughter snatched a book from another child, triggering tears. She swooped in, murmured apologies, returned the book, soothed both kids. “I’m... a stay-at-...
Alexandria Theordor
Vehicle Violations
"My wonderful old car had seen better days. Right sideview mirror was taped, left taillight was out, muffler had a hole, and inspection was overdue. A state trooper stopped me.
"Sir, your...
Donald Carugati
Humanity At Stake
My people may be facing a war due to recent events. Blood will shed. Soldiers will die. Their families will grieve. Poor people will suffer the most. Religious and political terms will be thrown...
Serenity Dash
New World
I don’t like what the world is becoming. The older I get the more I realize how badly I wish things would stay the same. With new technology and advances, more scams and issues become the norm. I...
Deanna Perlmutter
The Cabin in the Pines
Fog swirled around Lucy's ankles as she photographed the abandoned cabin in the Pine Barrens. She captured the crooked weather vane, blood-dark stains beneath peeling wallpaper, claw marks scoring...