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Top Stories
Find new, handpicked stories you’ll love, updated daily.
Pandora’s Burden
“My brother warned me to not accept gifts from the one who commissioned you,” said Epimetheus to the woman clad in silvery raiments standing at the entrance to the temple. Her silver tiara and the silver rings on her fingers and toes glinted in the firelight cast by torches set on either side of the doorway. Lingering in the shadows, beyond the reach of the flames as she was, he could not tell what she held in her hands. At first what appeared to be a box was perhaps a funerary urn, or maybe merely an apple.
By J. Otis Haasabout 2 hours ago in Fiction
Author’s Advice
If you would’ve asked me 20 years ago did I know I’d become a writer and an author, I would’ve said “nope, ain’t happening”. As fate would have it I did become an author and I can honestly say I’m loving it so far. It really does feel good to be a writer. I’ve learned a lot on this journey and I feel like with even me being as new to this world as I am, there’s some wisdom I need to share with every other aspiring author.
By Joe Patterson2 days ago in Journal
Thief In The Night
To the thief in the night that took and replicated what once was mine: Honestly, I feel kind of bad for you. It’s funny, because we hardly know each other. I only know of you through the magazines you’ve written and the broadcasts you have televised in the past — as well as through the public mentions of you from your show business connections there.
By Snarky Lisa6 days ago in Humans
Challenges
Enter themed storytelling contests to put your creativity to the test.
What the Myth Gets Wrong
Write a story set in a world where a well-known myth exists that focuses on a detail the myth simplifies, ignores, or distorts.
$200 Grand Prize6 hours leftSomething Is Beginning, I Think
Write a story that opens at the edge of a beginning that feels uncertain, partial, or reluctant and avoid resolution.
$200 Grand Prize7 days leftSay It Plainly
Write a poem that states its central concern directly without metaphor, indirection, or symbolic substitution.
$200 Grand Prize14 days left
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Resources
Discover tips, guides, updates, and spotlights from our team.
A Transparent Look at Vocal Challenges and Top Stories
Almost three years ago, we shared a resource article that served as a place for people to suggest new challenge prompts. We thought it would be a good idea to refresh that thread, and take the opportunity to answer a few common questions about top stories, how challenges are judged and how submissions are reviewed.
By Vocal Curation Teama day ago in Resources
A System That Isn’t Working Challenge Winners
Systems promise order. They organize behavior, distribute opportunity, and suggest that if everyone follows the rules, things will work. The entries in A System That Isn’t Working look closely at what happens when that promise begins to slip.
By Vocal Curation Team2 days ago in Resources
📢 Raise Your Voice Thread: 03/05/2026
Our “Raise Your Voice Threads” are hosted most alternating Thursdays at 12PM ET to offer creators more avenues to uncover exceptional stories on Vocal. As we are continuously searching for fresh creators and inspiring stories, this thread provides an opportunity to exchange and discuss the stories that have moved and motivated us on Vocal.
By Raise Your Voice by Vocal8 days ago in Resources
A More Human Vocal
When we launched Vocal nearly a decade ago, the world was a very different place. LLMs did not exist, and stories were created one at a time by people sitting down to write, revise, and share something personal. Many of our assumptions about publishing, trust, and participation were built for a world where effort and output were inseparable.
By Justin @ Vocal8 days ago in Resources
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