Create a Story that Captures the Winter Spirit!
✨🌟✨🌟✨🌟✨🌟✨🌟✨🌟✨🌟✨🌟✨🌟✨🌟✨🌟✨🌟Disclaimer: You’ve been tagged to inform you about our pub and our Winter Trabble Contest. Read on, to learn how to submit, vote for your favorite writers, and discover the rewards awaiting the winners. If you prefer not to be tagged in our stories anymore, please let us know. Most importantly, I’d like to extend my heartfelt gratitude to all 500 of you, our wonderful writers and readers. We’ve just reached this milestone, you can see the announcement in the image below. And… if you haven’t already, we’d love to have you follow our publication and join us on this journey!
Dear Cherished Community,
I’d hoped to share all of this with you last Sunday, but exhaustion had other plans.
Instead, I used this week to catch up on articles, emails, private notes, and responses.
If I’ve missed replying to you or overlooked a message — please forgive me!
This past month has been a whirlwind, to say the least.
So, here’s to progress — word by word, page by page, and chapter by chapter.
Thank you for your patience, your kindness, and most of all, your continued support. It means the world.
Warmly,
Julia
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Special Thanks
Our editorial efforts include sometimes proofreading, formatting, improving titles and subtitles, writing SEO descriptions, adding tags, and promoting your stories on Medium groups, Facebook, and WordPress. We also hold contests to keep things fresh!
I am convinced that 2025 will bring many chances for all of us. Let us continue to grow together!
Many thanks to all our supporters, including those who preferred to remain anonymous. On this occasion, I deeply thank our special supporters, Miguel Santiago, and Mike Vinson, for their invaluable support and hope for a continued collaboration.
Finally, please take a moment to follow and engage with them.
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🏆The Winter Trabble Contest🏆
Explore the charm, mystery, and marvels of winter. Your story might be:
- An ice quest or frosty adventure.
- Romance under aurorae.
- A chilling twist in the snow.
- A wintry utopia or dystopian cold spell.
Let your creativity breathe life into winter, where the season itself is the backdrop, the challenge, or the character.
Allow your imagination to bring winter to life, using the season as a backdrop, obstacle, or character.
In 300 words or less, capture the essence of winter in all its forms.
What stories does the frost tell you? Write them down and make winter the star!
Enter our NLS Winter Trabble Contest and stand a chance to win big!
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🏆Contest Details🏆
What to Submit
- Fiction, max 300 words
- Theme: Winter Wonders
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How to Submit
- Follow our publication.
- Become an active reader and writer for our publication.
- Read and publish at least 20 stories this winter with us.
- Submit directly to our publication, the New Literary Society. Use the title format: Trabble Contest: [Your Title], and the tag #Fiction.
- Language: English.
- No fees.
- Submission deadline: February 28th, 2025
- Prizes awarded by: March 15th, 2025
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How to Vote
Simply clap! (The number of claps divided by the number of clappers will determine the popularity prize.)
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Prizes
- New Literary Society Prize
- Popularity Prize
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If You Win, Here’s What Awaits You
- Social Media Promotion: You and your work will be promoted on social media channels, increasing your visibility.
- Author Interviews: You will be interviewed, and the interviews will be published to highlight your achievements and creative process.
- Diplomas: You will receive personalized certificates recognizing your accomplishments.
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Before the Competition: The Gallant Saint
Throughout my childhood, I slept guarded by a candle-smudged icon, which I could hardly decipher. In fact, the wood presented to the sight some reddish-brown spots, golden flashes here and there, and many dark shadows, as if the Light had penetrated from the other world to here, to purify the holy wood.
I liked to believe that it took care of me, and that’s exactly how it was. First, no one died under it, to my knowledge, which was a true feat for an icon over a hundred years old. And then, whenever I had any suffering or uncertainty, it made its presence felt.
About a year ago, the roof broke, and the attic filled with ice floes, which suddenly melted, pouring into my room.
At that moment, I was caught in an embrace with my fiancé.
The ceiling light bulb flickered before shattering with a deafening noise. In the meantime, the apartment had filled with filth, and water continued to trickle down the walls. The downpour persisted for two nights and a day. We labored, carrying buckets of sludge and unsure of what to do with ourselves, until the ceiling cracked in one corner, right above the icon.
As the storm seemed to calm down, we fell asleep, embraced, on our couch. Towards morning — silence. The next day, birds chirped, closer than ever. Through the crack in the ceiling, the sun was rising. I looked at the icon in astonishment, especially since it seemed shining in that light.
At the beginning of spring, I left the icon in the care of a restorer who couldn’t tell me anything more about it than I already knew, namely that it was old, but not very old, it seemed rotten and somewhat burned by the candle flame. The man added that the age of an icon does not matter because many are ugly or have compromised painting, but if the wood was good, it could be painted over true art. A few months later, I sought out the restorer, asking him not to alter the original painting because I wanted to preserve the original. However, the man was difficult to persuade, making me suspicious. Did he perhaps sell it?
I only calmed down when I saw the work on the drawing board.
A gallant scene emerged from under the smoke, painted long ago by an unknown artist on a worn piece of wood.
There were two, even three pairs of young people. Two of the boys were bowing at the ladies’ feet. From the bushes, two others were lurking, admiring the deep necklines and round arms.
A lot of love there and a lot of Light here.
I told myself that the icon was incarnated from faith, from the candle, from love, and that, for the same reasons, one day it left.
Support my projects on Ko-Fi.
Thanks a lot!
– Julia Kalman
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Dear Cherished Followers, Writers, and Friends of Our Publication,
We warmly invite you all to participate in our contest and, if you haven’t already, to join our community as writers and active readers. Share your stories, connect with others, and become an integral part of our growing publication. If you’d prefer not to be tagged in future posts, please feel free to let us know.
Your Editors:
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Our Writers, in Alphabetical Order:
L. Jean Davis , AB Zar , Jane Evgeniia Dubrov , Just Robyne , Ketul Panseriya , Luna , Sophia Chanu , Valy Oltean , Zoran Rogic , Michael Thorn , Stephen P. Conrad , Arun Kumaar Khanda , Ashley Noel , M Aslam Waheed , Amanda Weir-Gertzog , Bambboo Devi , Bernadette E Wallace , Braileigh Belair , Brenda Hukel, MBA , Cecília Santos , Charisse Tyson , Cort Twitty , Deborah Grace 🌈 , Deirdre (“Writer in the Abyss” ) , Diana Raj Kumari , Real Life Topics Revealed , Donna Cowden , Effie Katrakazos , Edith Gallagher Boyd , Elaine Haw , Erdal Crane , Fleda.B , Frank Parker , Fred: Almost Famous , Giuseppe Bartoli , HyaenaDad 🧨 , Bernard Ray , – The Dribbler — , Jae Richards Media , Shadab Tufail , Janet Daniels-Thomas , Jan C. McLarty , Jean Jacket 81 , J & J (Jessica & Joshua J. Lyon, QMHP, ACNP) , Jeff Turner , Kyishia Reed , K. M. Lang , Ken Van Camp , KGMunro , Lacey Dearie , Laney Mills , Larry Nowicki , Lee Byrd , Littlelustlamb , The Soul Salon , The Original Human Content Journal , Margaret Gypsy , Mark Bodnarczuk , Martino Sacchi , Matthew Maniaci , D M Basha India , Michael John Scott , Miguel Santiago , Mihaela Marilena Chitac , Mimosa Days , Monica Lunot Kuker , Bill Lindner , Nevena Pascaleva , Rachel Anderson , Nurul Huda Jamaluddin , Pervin Shaikh , Peter Last , Peter Sassi , Ute Luppertz ✨ , Rick Allen , Author_Grant.Tate , Rita H Rowe , Mary Acton , Shabbir Ahmad Awan , Sharleez Safi , Shayla Renee 💖 , SINK OR SWIM , Mike Hickman , Stephen Dalton , Stuart Aken , Susi Moore , Bethany Swick , Trish Church , Aaron Waddell , The Momma Dom ~ Playing With Myself And Loving It! , Susana The Starholder⭐ , Vadim Dambreville , Vaso Papadopoulou , Nicole Gillette , Veronica Llorca-Smith 🍋 , Mike Vinson , 🚀 🚀 Manifestations of LOVE ✅🍿 , Juliet Romeo , William P. Gerace , Hannah Andrews , Yasemin Yiğit Kuru , Zizi Majid
Our Esteemed Followers, Readers, and Friends: We Invite You to Join Us as Writers:
(Please excuse us for not being able to tag all of you; perhaps another time.)
Paolo Ferrari, Bruce Coulter , Isabel Lugo Jarboe , Royal Alvis , SHAHID SULTAN , Professor António Francisco , Elaine Haw , Dr James Smith , Vernalisa (Doyenne Dreamer) , Frank Ontario 🦋🕊️🌍 , EdithTali , Ask Kremena Kirilova , Golam Rob , Mickey Hadick , Jacquelyn Luby , Johnnie Calloway , Gael MacLean , Maureen Murphy , keisuke ando , Damion Davis , AmyLee, Writer || Fiction, Personal Essays, Poetry , Yahya Nauval Faris , Iqra Ameen , Darrin Atkins , Nadim Khattar, PhD , Richard Bailey , William P. Gerace , Cee R. , Despina Manendi , Kyishia Reed , RhaeOfEnlightenment , Written By Mo Jo Jo (Melissa LaDue) , Margaret Sefton , Amy Potter , Dr. Hiten Solanki , Mark Watson , Trista Signe Ainsworth , Lar Arty , Bernadette E Wallace , EmmiAnita Osasona , Dr Elizabeth , Gavin Keeney , Lewiscoaches , James Mullen , Tony Leo , AdeloVant , Kerem Ağıröz , Aline S. , Yolk Gemini , Jess Create , Marilyn Flower , Mukundarajan V N , Constance Williams , Jason Vincent , Firatocal , 🚀 Wayne Dragon King🚀 , Kenneth Lee Warner , Grandpa Chuckles , Brian Jax Rinaldi , Renae Kentuckywoman (D Renae Keith) , Taner Güler , PREM SAGAR SUNCHU , Konaru Shaku/釋 光成 , Michael Chief , ❤️ ❤️ Never Give Up Ninja ❤️ ❤️ , Mark Ian Norsbook , Steve Robinson , Nigel Watts 🍊 , Jeannie.Chambers , Melissa Corrigan , Sarah Writtenhouse , Edger Ai Bington , Pervin Shaikh , Deanna Bugalski 💋, gab1930s , Buffy Stachel
Julia Kalman 