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- Your work must be original and unpublished.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
Mismatch Challenge Winners
Blending genres isn’t about stacking elements side by side. It’s about what happens when two sets of expectations refuse to cooperate. The strongest entries in the Mismatch Challenge understood that tension and leaned into it. Rather than smoothing the edges, these stories let their chosen genres complicate one another, creating friction that carried through voice, structure, and consequence.
By Vocal Curation Team12 days ago in Resources
Public Announcement Challenge Winners
For the Public Announcement Challenge, writers were asked to work inside voices built for control. These were notices, warnings, and updates meant to inform rather than confess. The strongest entries committed to that form and didn't break from it. Corporate memos, formal government alerts, and internal policy language were held consistently, allowing emotion, fear, grief, or humor to surface indirectly through pressure rather than declaration. The following poems recognize the voice of authority, and let human feeling slip through despite all its rules and restraint.
By Vocal Curation Team17 days ago in Resources
