
Return of the Night Owl
Share a piece of short fiction that includes a barn owl at any point in your narrative.
Prizes
- First Place:
- $20,000
- Second Place:
- $5,000
- 100 Runners-up:
- $50 each
For this Challenge, in addition to the First and Second Place winners, we’ll be rewarding 100 Runners-up with a prize of $50 each. All winners will be notified via email, as well as spotlighted in a story published on the official Vocal Team account.
Status
CompletedTimeline
Submissions opened
Dec 30, 2021
Submissions closed
Jan 26, 2022 4:59 AM CUT
Results
Feb 08, 2022
Prizes
- First Place:
- $20,000
- Second Place:
- $5,000
- 100 Runners-up:
- $50 each
For this Challenge, in addition to the First and Second Place winners, we’ll be rewarding 100 Runners-up with a prize of $50 each. All winners will be notified via email, as well as spotlighted in a story published on the official Vocal Team account.
Status
CompletedTimeline
Submissions opened
Dec 30, 2021
Submissions closed
Jan 26, 2022 4:59 AM CUT
Results
Feb 08, 2022
About this challenge
*Note from the Vocal Team: The Judges have spoken, and the winners have been chosen for the Return of the Night Owl Challenge! See if your story made the list here!
This Challenge is a throwback to our first major Fiction Challenge. The Vocal community has grown a lot since we launched The Night Owl Challenge back in January 2021. We decided to revisit the nostalgic prompt that got all those creative juices flowing. So, once again, we’re asking you to share a piece of short fiction that includes a barn owl at any point in your narrative. Let's kick off 2022 with the same imaginative gusto that we felt a year ago!
But here’s the thing: This Challenge is ONLY accepting new, original stories for consideration. Any story entered into The Night Owl Challenge in January 2021 will not be eligible to win, and thus will be removed from this Challenge. New Challenge, new stories only!
How to enter
For your story to be eligible, it should be between 600 and 5,000 words and adhere to our Community Guidelines. Stories published on Vocal and entered into the contest up until January 25, 2022, at 11:59 PM EST will be entered for consideration. Official Rules for the Challenge can be found here.
The Return of the Night Owl 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 the grand prize, second place, third place, and runners-up prizes, you must be over the age of 13 and residing 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 to have a Stripe account created and connected in order to receive the prizes. For this reason, entrants located outside of any of these countries will not be eligible to win.
Open challenges
Challenges you can enter now for a chance to win.
Instructions Included
Tell a story in the form of instructions, guidelines, or a how-to manual for something fictional or mundane.
$200 Grand Prize6 days leftNothing But Voices
Write a complete short story using only dialogue. No descriptions, no dialogue tags, and no internal thoughts. Just voices on the page.
$200 Grand Prize13 days leftPublic Announcement
Write a poem that takes the form of a public announcement, notice, or warning.
$200 Grand Prize18 days leftMismatch
Write a story that blends two contrasting genres, such as horror and romance, science fiction and western, or fantasy and noir.
$200 Grand Prize20 days leftCraft Over Catharsis
Write a story that prioritizes structure, technique, or form over emotional release.
$200 Grand Prize27 days leftInstructions for a Feeling
Write a poem that gives instructions for how to experience, create, or avoid a feeling.
$200 Grand Prize32 days leftRituals of Affection
Write a story about a recurring ritual tied to love, romance, or connection. Something about it is unusual, unsettling, or unexplained.
$200 Grand Prize34 days left
Challenge resources
The Ritual of Winter Challenge Winners
Welcome to the Winners Announcement for The Ritual of Winter challenge. This prompt focused on winter rituals and the meaning that settles into them over time. The top pieces stay grounded in ordinary acts and repeated routines, letting winter shape the work through pace, attention, and restraint.
By Vocal Curation Teama day ago in 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 Team3 days 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 Team29 days ago in Resources






