The Forgotten Room
Write a story that centers on a room that hasn’t been entered in years.
Prizes
- 5 Winners:
- $200
- 15 Runners-up:
- $15
- 10 Honorable Mentions:
- $5
Status
CompletedTimeline
Submissions opened
Sep 17, 2025
Submissions closed
Dec 04, 2025 4:59 AM CUT
Results
Dec 10, 2025
Prizes
- 5 Winners:
- $200
- 15 Runners-up:
- $15
- 10 Honorable Mentions:
- $5
Status
CompletedTimeline
Submissions opened
Sep 17, 2025
Submissions closed
Dec 04, 2025 4:59 AM CUT
Results
Dec 10, 2025
About this challenge
The Prompt
Write a story that centers on a room that hasn’t been entered in years.
This prompt is about the spaces we avoid and the stories they hold. A room that has not been entered in years is more than just four walls. It can be a vault for memories, a keeper of secrets, or a place where time feels strangely preserved.
What happens when someone finally steps inside? Does it unlock the past, change the present, or blur the line between the two?
In order for your submission to qualify, it must be:
- A fiction story.
- Between 600 and 3,000 words.
- Submitted to the Fiction community. Your story will be disqualified if it is submitted to any other community.
- Submitted before December 3, 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- Your work must be original and unpublished.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 600 and 3,000 words and adhere to our Community Guidelines.
Stories published on Vocal and entered into the Challenge up until December 3, 2025 at 11:59 PM EST will be entered for consideration. Official Rules for the Challenge can be found here.
The The Forgotten Room 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.
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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.
By Vocal Curation Team29 days ago in Resources
