Maps of the Self
Write a personal essay, memoir, or reflective piece that creates a map of something intangible.
Prizes
- 5 Winners:
- $200
- 15 Runners-up:
- $15
- 10 Honorable Mentions:
- $5
Status
CompletedTimeline
Submissions opened
Sep 17, 2025
Submissions closed
Nov 20, 2025 4:59 AM CUT
Results
Nov 26, 2025
Prizes
- 5 Winners:
- $200
- 15 Runners-up:
- $15
- 10 Honorable Mentions:
- $5
Status
CompletedTimeline
Submissions opened
Sep 17, 2025
Submissions closed
Nov 20, 2025 4:59 AM CUT
Results
Nov 26, 2025
About this challenge
The Prompt
Write a personal essay, memoir, or reflective piece that creates a map of something intangible.
We all carry maps. Of places we've been. People we've known. Versions of ourselves we’re still trying to understand.
This Challenge invites you to chart something that can’t be seen on a page. A memory. A relationship. A shift within. Draw the shape of it through story, reflection, or lived experience.
Write like you’re tracing a path only you could follow.
In order for your submission to qualify, it must be:
- A personal essay, memoir, or reflective piece.
- Between 500 and 2,500 words.
- Submitted to the Humans community. Your story will be disqualified if it is submitted to any other community.
- Submitted before November 19, 2025 at 11:59 PM EST.
- Your work must be original and unpublished.
The Prizes
- 5 Winners: $200 each
- 15 Runners-up: $15 each
- 10 Honorable Mentions: $5 each
How to enter
For your story to be eligible, it must be between 500 and 2,500 words and adhere to our Community Guidelines.
Stories published on Vocal and entered into the Challenge up until November 19, 2025 at 11:59 PM EST will be entered for consideration. Official Rules for the Challenge can be found here.
The Maps of the Self Challenge is exclusive to Vocal+ members. To learn more and upgrade to Vocal+, visit https://shopping-feedback.today/vocal-plus%3C/span%3E%3C/span%3E%3C/span%3E%3C/a%3E.%3C/p%3E%3Cp class="css-1923z11-Text">To be eligible to win, you must be over the age of 13 and reside in a country where Stripe is available at the time of entry. A complete list of countries where Stripe is available can be found here—winners will need a Stripe account created and connected to receive prizes. Entrants located outside of these countries will not be eligible to win.
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Challenge resources
FPS: The Last Flame Challenge Winners
Welcome to our first Winners Announcement of the year and to the final challenge in the Fall Poetry Series. The Last Flame invited writers to sit with endings, using fire as a central image to consider what remains when something burns out: ash, warmth, memory, silence, or the faint promise of what comes next. The strongest pieces treated endings as gradual rather than sudden, allowing them to flicker, dim, and linger.
By Vocal Curation Teamabout 6 hours ago in Resources
FPS: Villanelle of Regret Challenge Winners
Some feelings don’t fade. They repeat. The Villanelle of Regret challenged poets to write into that return. To let regret, longing, and obsession build with each pass, rather than resolve. The strongest entries trusted repetition to carry the weight.
By Vocal Curation Team26 days ago in Resources
The Forgotten Room Challenge Winners
Some doors stay shut because crossing the threshold changes something. In The Forgotten Room, writers stepped into spaces thick with dust, memory, and silence. What they found there wasn’t always safe or clear, but it was honest, layered, and unforgettable. Here, setting isn’t background noise; it’s the heart of the story, carrying the weight of what’s been hidden or avoided.
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