Winning Stories
The Tenth Playground Challenge - May 2025
1st Place
“The Vocabulary of Love” by Alyssa Beatty
Brooklyn, NY, USA
Follow Alyssa: Website or Instagram
Cas is reeling after the death of her marriage. And now, a snowstorm has stranded her at her childhood home with her siblings, who don’t handle painful topics well.
2nd Place
“What Happens Now” by Elysia Rourke
Almonte, ON, Canada
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When her mother has a disturbing premonition about her estranged brother, a woman will do anything to stop it from happening.
3rd Place
“When the Soul Catcher Knocks” by MM Schreier
Chilly by the Sea, MA, USA
Follow MM: Website or Bluesky
Ada is dead and wants nothing to do with the afterlife. Charley is alive and is desperate to contact someone on the other side.
4th Place
“Tracy” by Cosette de Lorenzo
Sydney, Australia
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As Cyclone Tracy threatens the city of Darwin, a grief-stricken family begin to rebuild themselves.
5th Place
“Maybe Next Year” by Rachael Miller
Brooklyn, NY, USA
At a renaissance festival, a group of suitors vye for a grieving princess’s heart. Disinterested in the competition, the princess reconnects with the person she’s lost, and the person that still remains.
6th Place
“The Haunting of Clement Hart” by Riel Rosehill
Towcester, Northamptonshire, UK
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Clement Hart is stuck in his new house, haunted by the woodland animal mounts made by an amateur taxidermist he can't stop thinking about.
7th Place
“Somewhere Between” by Russell Mickler
Vancouver, WA, USA
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Hank Whitaker, a journalist, stumbles upon Don Mateo Corvalán, an ailing Argentinian widower who claims to hear the voices of the dead from a dry well.
8th Place
“Caballito” by Kelsey Goforth
Toronto, ON, Canada
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Alma is forced to confront the meaning of life when she encounters a mysterious bird.
9th Place
“The Wild Comet Infantino” by Michael J. Vowles
London, UK
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A veteran estranged from his family returns home for a celebration of life commemorating his brother's death.
10th Place
“The Vulture” by Stephanie Whitelaw
London, UK
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A disillusioned journalist tests the limits of her integrity on an unexpected snow day.
Honorable Mentions:
Tampa, FL, USA
In a dystopian future, a man must race against time on a desperate hunting trip. At stake are the lives of his wife and daughter.
“The Girl in the Well” by Alan Falkingham
Cincinnati, OH, USA
Follow Alan: Website
The story of how one man uses the death of his pet dog to try and mend a broken marriage.
“I Am Jakob Miller” by Galen Gower
Memphis, TN, USA
Follow Galen: Website or ToadShadeZine
A journalist examines his tattered sanity on assignment to interview a wealthy art collector.
“The Long Road Home” by David Roe
Hubbards, NS, Canada
Sam Vail runs the Tidewater Tavern in sleepy Shoreham, Nova Scotia. She's in the midst of the busy Christmas season when an old friend returns to town.
“Holler Calls” by Katie Garner
Santa Ana, CA, USA
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When a tavern owner takes in a runaway, the mysterious forces that surround his Appalachian holler take an interest.
“The Distance Between” by Maxwell Thorne
Ipswich, QLD, Australia
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The wealthy and elusive, Adriano Iago Rinnoteveni, requests to meet with journalist, Julian Allard, in Buenos Aires.
“With the Nightjars” by ML Strijdom
Johannesburg, South Africa
A woman grapples with peace in a war-torn tented town in the Karoo.
“What We Carry” by Sonja Faul
Amsterdam, Netherlands
Two estranged sisters must confront buried family secrets during a snowstorm.
“Eventide” by Landon Miller
Edmonton, AB, Canada
A curmudgeonly taxidermist plays sage while attending a local woman's funeral.
“Overwhelming Gravity” by Charlie Rogers
New York, NY, USA
Follow Charlie: Website
A day of fun takes an unexpected turn as two friends confront their separate traumas.
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Classic Short Stories
“Sonny’s Blues” - by James Baldwin (1957)
“The Yellow Wallpaper” - by Charlotte Perkins Gilman (1892)
“The Storm” - by Kate Chopin (1898)
“Babylon Revisited” - by F. Scott Fitzgerald (1931)
“The Cask of Amontillado” - by Edgar Allen Poe (1846)
The websites linked above are not affiliated with Writers' Playground, LLC. We thank them for sharing these beautiful classic tales.