Skip to content

50-Word Stories

Brand new bite-sized fiction every weekday!

  • About
  • News
  • Stories
    • Top Stories
    • Adventurous Stories
    • Amusing Stories
    • Artistic Stories
    • Odd Stories
    • Poetry
    • Puns and Wordplay
    • Touching Stories
  • Submissions
  • Hall of Fame
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • RSS

JOHN H. DROMEY: Cookie Cutter Currencies

January 27, 2014Amusing, SubmissionsEuro, funny, John H Dromey, malapropism, oreoTim

Before landing, Annie reminded her husband, “Many countries in the European Union don’t use dollars, pounds, or pesos. Their official monetary unit is the euro.”

Later, in a curio shop, Harry pointed to an objet d’art without a price tag and asked the clerk, “How much is that in Oreos?”


John H. Dromey has had short fiction published in Gumshoe Review, Liquid Imagination, MicroHorror and elsewhere.

  • Share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook
  • Share on X (Opens in new window) X
  • Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email
  • More
  • Share on Tumblr (Opens in new window) Tumblr
  • Share on Reddit (Opens in new window) Reddit
Leave a comment

EMILY RUTH VERONA: Facts

January 27, 2014Artistic, Submissionsaccident, driving, Emily Ruth Verona, hit and run, neglect, tragedyTim

The night road is bitter and black. His old, tired eyes are no match for it.

The radio static buzzes, an earful of gnats. He drives along. The tires thump rhythmically against the gravel.

A blur dashes into the road. Thump. He doesn’t see it. THUMP. He keeps on driving.


Emily Ruth Verona received her Bachelor of Arts in Creative Writing and Cinema Studies from the State University of New York at Purchase. She lives in New Jersey.

  • Share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook
  • Share on X (Opens in new window) X
  • Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email
  • More
  • Share on Tumblr (Opens in new window) Tumblr
  • Share on Reddit (Opens in new window) Reddit
View all 4 comments

MARIAN BROOKS: Adam’s Secret

January 23, 2014Amusing, Submissions, Touchingchildren, cute, death, funny, Marian Brooks, sadTim

Roseanne held her five-year-old grandson’s hand all during the burial service for her husband, Sidney.

Adam looked up and saw tears in her eyes. He said, “Don’t cry, Grand mom. I can get Grand pop back.”

“How will you do that, Adam?” she asked.

“I have a shovel,” he whispered.


Recently retired, Marian Brooks has begun to write some short fiction. Her work has appeared in Word Riot, The Story Shack, The Linnet’s Wings, The Short Humour Site, and others.

  • Share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook
  • Share on X (Opens in new window) X
  • Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email
  • More
  • Share on Tumblr (Opens in new window) Tumblr
  • Share on Reddit (Opens in new window) Reddit
View all 2 comments

EMILY HIGGINS: The Multicolored World

January 23, 2014Artistic, Submissionsbeautiful, Emily Higgins, fly, surrealTim

Fluorescent lights reflected onto the cool, rushed water. I walked to the side of the falls, climbing over the fence that I peered over as a child.

Quickly, I checked to make sure no one was watching, then I threw myself over the edge and spread my wings, taking flight.


Emily is a fourteen-year-old girl living in New Jersey. Her dream is to graduate college with an degree in English and finish her first novel by the end of high school.

  • Share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook
  • Share on X (Opens in new window) X
  • Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email
  • More
  • Share on Tumblr (Opens in new window) Tumblr
  • Share on Reddit (Opens in new window) Reddit
View all 4 comments

TITANS GIRL: Power Struggle

January 22, 2014Amusing, Submissionsbaby, temper tantrum, Titans Girl, twistTim

I’ve had enough of this!

Being held out on, pushed away at every attempt. Does she not understand that I need this?

Staring up at the ceiling; watching the fan go round; going crazy.

She gets to call all the shots… I’m hungry!

Just give me some darn breast milk!


Titans Girl is a teacher from Darwin, NT, Australia.

  • Share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook
  • Share on X (Opens in new window) X
  • Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email
  • More
  • Share on Tumblr (Opens in new window) Tumblr
  • Share on Reddit (Opens in new window) Reddit
One comment so far

DEBORAH WALKER: Cathedral

January 22, 2014Odd, Submissionsaliens, Deborah Walker, humanity, strange, tourTim

Yes. This tour is quite legal.

Observe the unnecessary space.

The quietness is rather extraordinary, isn’t it?

I respectfully disagree. It’s quite orthodox to contemplate the aliens’ mind set.

This is a complex carbohydrate. This is alcohol. Please activate your toxicity filters.

This is not illegal.

Please eat and drink.


Deborah thinks: least said, soonest mended. Find her on her blog: Deborah Walker’s Bibliography.

  • Share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook
  • Share on X (Opens in new window) X
  • Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email
  • More
  • Share on Tumblr (Opens in new window) Tumblr
  • Share on Reddit (Opens in new window) Reddit
Leave a comment

JON HARAHAN: Salesman

January 21, 2014Amusing, Submissionsjobs, Jon Harahan, morning routine, thankfulnessTim

After rolling out of bed at 8:00 every morning, I shuffle into the kitchen. I make breakfast. I shower, iron wrinkled dress shirts, and read headlines pretending to be news.

I leave my house for work at 10:00 and remind myself to be thankful that I’m not a coal miner.


Jon Harahan used to be a writer. He now sells beer for a living. It’s nice work if you can get it.

  • Share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook
  • Share on X (Opens in new window) X
  • Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email
  • More
  • Share on Tumblr (Opens in new window) Tumblr
  • Share on Reddit (Opens in new window) Reddit
Leave a comment

TONY CLUTTON: Hunting to Survive

January 21, 2014Artistic, Submissionsapocalypse, cannibalism, dystopia, terrible, Tony CluttonTim

There, by the pond, was the prey. Taking careful aim, I killed it instantly.

Ever since the drought three years ago things had been bad. Really bad.

Global warming? More like global meltdown. But survive we had.

Throwing the twitching body of the boy over my shoulder, I headed home.


Tony is 54 and lives in Manchester, UK. He became interested in 50-word stories after helping his son with his homework, and enjoyed the challenge of bringing a story to life in so few words.

  • Share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook
  • Share on X (Opens in new window) X
  • Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email
  • More
  • Share on Tumblr (Opens in new window) Tumblr
  • Share on Reddit (Opens in new window) Reddit
Leave a comment

JEFF SWITT: Chicken Soup

January 20, 2014Amusing, Submissionsanimal, carnivore, chicken, eat, Jeff Switt, killTim

The aroma of chicken soup teases my nostrils, now red and swollen.

I squinch my eyes from sinus pain. Temples throb. Joints ache.

My pity party halts as I reflect on the chicken’s last day.  What it ate. How it died.

Maybe I’ll eat scrambled eggs and buttered toast instead.


Jeff Switt likes to write.

  • Share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook
  • Share on X (Opens in new window) X
  • Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email
  • More
  • Share on Tumblr (Opens in new window) Tumblr
  • Share on Reddit (Opens in new window) Reddit
View all 4 comments

BETH TILLMAN: Napkin Eulogy

January 20, 2014Submissions, TouchingBeth Tillman, cute, funeral, petTim

We held a backyard funeral for Oscar the dachshund. I delivered a memorial about squirrels, ear scritches, and bacon.

Our toddler loved him fiercely. I asked if he wanted to add anything. He knelt, patted the grave, and offered, “Just, ‘Good boy.'”

He always did know what Oscar liked best.


Beth is a whirling dervish who pauses now and again to write something.  Her blog can be found at sideglimpses.blogspot.com and she can be found drinking coffee.

  • Share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook
  • Share on X (Opens in new window) X
  • Email a link to a friend (Opens in new window) Email
  • More
  • Share on Tumblr (Opens in new window) Tumblr
  • Share on Reddit (Opens in new window) Reddit
View all 3 comments

Posts navigation

← Older posts
Newer posts →

News

2025 Story of the Year
The winner is… Paul D’Arcy!

Story of the Week/Month/Year
Think you’ve written something worthy of the Top Stories page? Send it in and you could win a monthly cash prize!

Subscribe via Email

Popular Stories (Past Month)

  • LISA McEVOY: Dead Silence ( 48 )
  • JIM PARISI: Personal Effects ( 30 )
  • DEBORAH TAPPER: Birthday Girl ( 25 )
  • COLIN RUFFELL: Breakfast Blues ( 25 )
  • LIAM MacDONALD: The Absent Sound of a Silently Burning Bridge ( 23 )
  • ANGELA CARLTON: The One Who Can't Close Her Eyes ( 19 )
  • CAROL HUEBSCH REEVES: Again and Again ( 19 )
  • CYNTHIA CHRISMAN: Barren ( 15 )
  • LISA CHAMBERS: Falling in Love ( 15 )
  • MIKE KEYSER: Peace by Piece ( 14 )
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Proudly powered by WordPress