Skip to content
  • Home
  • Stories
  • Battles
  • Judgements
  • About
    • How This Works
  • Bear Pit
  • Human Echoes Site
  • T-shirts!
Black Gold by Joseph Devon

Black Gold by Joseph Devon

Under the shadows of the trees it was still cold. The far side of the stream, where the morning sun had been shining for some time, was beginning to warm and the sounds of melting snow mixed with the trickle of the stream as it ran its sandy course.

Current Battle

Welcome to The Writer's Arena, home of our weekly free short story contest! Every week two authors each write short stories based on a single prompt. Then, you the audience read the stories and cast your votes for the winner. Those votes will be weighed against the verdict from our judges. Only one story can emerge victorious! Sit back, and enjoy the show.
3 Comments

An Announcement from the Arena

  By Joseph Devon • December 21, 2016 Posts

After a lot of thought over the past few months, we have decided that we will not be opening up the arena again in January for a 2017 season. The simple fact is that Tony and Joe have been absolutely crushed for time as Human Echoes has grown and matured. … Continue reading

1 Comment

Tournament 2016 Final Round: JUDGEMENT!

  By tsouthcotte • December 14, 2016 Judgement

Ladies and gentlemen, the moment you’ve all been waiting for has arrived. It’s been a year in the making, but today we crown a new Writer’s Arena Champion. Today’s international bout is a rematch of our first tournament. Our fighters, Donald Jacob Uitvlugt and David Webb have clawed, scratched, and … Continue reading

No comments

2016 Tournament Final Round

  By Joseph Devon • December 6, 2016 Battle Threads

“Cloudcuckooland” by Donald Jacob Uitvlugt vs “Of a Feather” by David Webb   Greetings, short story lovers. And so we come to the final prompt for this year. Both authors have fought hard and delivered some incisive victories thus far and we are looking forward to this battle. Besides, who … Continue reading

5 Comments

“Cloudcuckooland” by Donald Jacob Uitvlugt

  By Joseph Devon • December 6, 2016 Stories

Once upon a time there lived a boy named Victor. Victor was a very sick child. He could not go outside to play with the other children. He couldn’t go for walks in the part or play on the sports teams. He couldn’t even go to school. Except for his … Continue reading

6 Comments

“Of a Feather” by David Webb

  By Joseph Devon • December 6, 2016 Stories

There was once a little American girl who liked to feed birds. There’s nothing unusual about that, you might think.  Lots of little girls are American and a great many of them also feed birds.  What was unusual, because a part of this story is true, is that the birds … Continue reading

3 Comments

TWA Tournament 2016 Round VI: Parents – JUDGEMENT!

  By tsouthcotte • November 14, 2016 Judgement

  Mondays are a slippery thing while fall slides into winter. Our days are shorter, our bellies fuller. Offices and homes are laden with sweets and orange arrangements. Industrious children rake leaves for cash while parents meticulously prepare their tables for the coming feasts. Perhaps its fitting that this semi-final … Continue reading

No comments

2016 Tournament Round VI: Parents

  By Joseph Devon • November 8, 2016 Battle Threads

“My Mother, The Superhero” by Donald Uitvlugt vs “Padre De Dios” by Thomas Mays   Greetings, short story lovers, and welcome to this round’s mystery prompt. We’ve explored a lot of different characters in the arena so far, but we rarely decide to focus in on one specific type of … Continue reading

3 Comments

“Padre De Dios” by Thomas Mays

  By Joseph Devon • November 8, 2016 Stories

The delta counter decremented to zero and Zachary Emilio Fuentes swore in frustration. He slapped the side of the cryo-cooled cabinet and stalked away to pace in the open end of the lab. Lydia Marchand raised an eyebrow, but that was the extent of her acknowledgement concerning Zef’s behavior. It … Continue reading

4 Comments

“My Mother, The Superhero” by Donald Uitvlugt

  By Joseph Devon • November 8, 2016 Stories

I got the call last Wednesday at 10 pm. I know it can’t be good news. Even though we both live in Chicago, my sister never calls just to talk. “Hey, Dufus.” No response to the hated nickname. It really must be serious. “It’s time, Marcus. If you’re coming, you … Continue reading

2 Comments

2016 Tournament Round V: Luck – JUDGEMENT!

  By tsouthcotte • November 7, 2016 Judgement

Happy election eve to our American readers. On this strangest of Mondays, we hide from commercials, sling mud at family members with differing opinions, and silently hope the machinations of some secret society aren’t at work. We also read short stories. With any luck, you’ve already read and voted for … Continue reading

No comments

2016 Tournament Round V: Luck

  By Joseph Devon • November 1, 2016 Battle Threads

“Be a Lady” by Lu Whitley vs “King of the World” by David Webb   Greetings, short story lovers. Today’s topic is a bit on the nebulous side. It’s hard to say if it even really exists. Those who believe in it know fully well that it governs their lives, … Continue reading

5 Comments

“Be a Lady” by Lu Whitley

  By Joseph Devon • November 1, 2016 Stories

“Full house: Queens over Fours.” The cards fan out for everyone to see, but it don’t matter, the guy sitting behind them’s been a hot streak all night. With that win, he’s turned eighty-three bucks into almost four thousand. He stacks his chips up all anal-like while the dealer sends … Continue reading

4 Comments

“King of the World” by David Webb

  By Joseph Devon • November 1, 2016 Stories

The people not cool enough for nightclubs meet in pubs and bars where their voices compete with, and are lost in, a pulsating mixture of feel-good music and big screen sports. They shriek at one another clutching over-priced drinks, strike poses, and adopt exaggerated expressions in order to be understood. … Continue reading

No comments

TWA Tournament Round IV: Neighbors – JUDGEMENT

  By tsouthcotte • October 17, 2016 Judgement

As the leaves turn colored and a chill creeps up during the night, we watch as autumn settles over the arena floor. With this judgement, the quarterfinal round of The Writer’s Arena Tournament comes to a close. One author will fall, the other will move on to glory in the … Continue reading

No comments

2016 Round IV: Neighbors

  By Joseph Devon • October 11, 2016 Battle Threads

“Alone” by Hannah Newell vs “Good Neighbors” by Donald Jacob Uitvlugt   Greetings, short story lovers, and welcome to Round 4 of the 2016 Arena Tournament. We asked our authors to explore a very specific type of relationship for the arena this week. It is a relationship built entirely on chance. … Continue reading

4 Comments

“Alone” by Hannah Newell

  By Joseph Devon • October 11, 2016 Hannah-Elizabeth Newell, Stories

I had a slowly rolling metal ball in my gut. That’s the feeling, at least. It had spikes that patiently tore at everything in me that was once peaceful. It never rested, it never stopped, and because it never left me it seemed to promise that it would remain for … Continue reading

3 Comments

“Good Neighbors” by Donald Jacob Uitvlugt

  By Joseph Devon • October 11, 2016 Stories

The angrier Tate Gibson got, the more amusing his wife found it. “Why don’t you go over there and talk to her?” Abby asked. “I shouldn’t have to go over there. She shouldn’t be playing her music so loud.” He shook his head. “If I had known the walls were … Continue reading

No comments

2016 Tournament Round III: Delivery – JUDGEMENT!

  By tsouthcotte • October 10, 2016 Judgement

The Writer’s Arena Tournament continues on, swallowing up its contestants and grinding them into story sausage. Another Monday is upon us, which means we must choose one story to be processed, and one to be spared. Our authors transported us to another time and place in these tales, literally delivering … Continue reading

2 Comments

2016 Tournament Round III: Delivery

  By Joseph Devon • October 4, 2016 Battle Threads

“Deadwood Run” by Tony Southcotte vs “The Foghorn Leghorn Tribulation” by Thomas Mays   Greetings, short story lovers, and welcome to the third quarterfinal round of our 2016 tournament. We’ve had some journeys so far in the arena, our walls are no stranger to the idea of a road trip, … Continue reading

4 Comments

“Deadwood Run” by Tony Southcotte

  By Joseph Devon • October 4, 2016 Stories, Tony Southcotte

The hem of Anne’s dress draped over a box of TNT. She’d been sitting in the shade of the wagon for most of the day while her father drove the horses forward. The flat plains had given way to the Black Hills mountains and the scent of fresh pine was … Continue reading

omega replica watches replica rolex watches omega replica
  • Home
  • Stories
  • Battles
  • Judgements
  • About
  • Bear Pit
  • Human Echoes Site
  • T-shirts!
Powered by Parabola & WordPress.