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.
Being Wrong
Underneath the old navy blue sweatshirt
I took with me,
to all those chilly nights out back by the smoky fire pit,
is a rolled up sock I should’ve, but didn’t, wash.
And...
Amanda J. Visokay
Place Past Perfect
She is just as much of a place to me as a person.
Second floor walk-up. Skylights illuminate with clarity all day long. Nightfall, when she arrives; LEDs that automatically come on....
Shikhar Dixit
Such a mean thing…
A presence lurked behind me. I slowly became frightened. A figure at the edge of my vision shrieked. I can admit it now, I screamed, too. Jessica burst into wild laughter; this girl who rarely...
Shikhar Dixit
The Cartographer's New Home
Maliel had spent centuries crafting the world with a cartographer's hunger.
He poured gold beneath one nation's soil, cool rivers through its valleys, clear skies above its honeyed fields....
Monica Shah
Ghosting Road
The flirtations crescendoed at the final summer party in the city. Laughter and alcohol led to my first ride on his motorcycle. After he handed me his only helmet he fastened a quilted navy hood...
C. Tobias
On Wings of Liberty
Two angels were stuck at JFK just before the Fourth of July.
“Indeed, all are created equal,” said the first. “Have Americans made much progress in the last 250 years?”
“The Bill of...
Igor Kluev
Importance of Self Care
I talked to a woman while waiting. She spoke of the creative items she made and of her many reponsibilities she has to help her family. I was impressed. I realized that she did not give herself...
Carole A. Doerr
Every Child Deserves a Book
My love of reading began when I was four, listening to my father read aloud to my mother. Then the war came just as I started reading on my own. Books became so rare that I cried when one ended,...
Hoa from Neptune
The Charioteer
Mom yelled in peak traffic, “You can’t go through this alley. Bars at the other end will block rickshaws!” How she knew this, how we’d get out, who knew? But our unflinching charioteer steered on...
Prajakta Paranjpe
Gal Pals
Doggy gal pals Magenta and Chloe became friends on their own. No humans involved. From her porch, Chloe woofed “hi” to Magenta as she walked by. Magenta yipped hello and pulled Leah, her human, to...
Donna Lee Goldberg
Good Neighbors
Magenta is a dog and Louie is a cat. They aren’t friends, but these pets are good neighbors. Magenta likes the soft, warm lawn at Louie’s house. The grass feels good under her paws when she...
Donna Lee Goldberg
An Ending?
I'm at the end, my life a failure. So upon the stool I stand, thick rope cinched around my throat, knot centered before my hyoid bone, and whisper a prayer for the dying. I step off ….
The...