The Ritual of Winter
Share a personal essay or creative nonfiction piece about a winter ritual.
Prizes
- 5 Winners:
- $200
- 15 Runners-up:
- $15
- 10 Honorable Mentions:
- $5
Status
CompletedTimeline
Submissions opened
Sep 17, 2025
Submissions closed
Dec 18, 2025 4:59 AM CUT
Results
Jan 09, 2026
Prizes
- 5 Winners:
- $200
- 15 Runners-up:
- $15
- 10 Honorable Mentions:
- $5
Status
CompletedTimeline
Submissions opened
Sep 17, 2025
Submissions closed
Dec 18, 2025 4:59 AM CUT
Results
Jan 09, 2026
About this challenge
The Prompt
Share a personal essay or creative nonfiction piece about a winter ritual.
Winter carries its own rhythms. Candles lit against the dark. Meals prepared and shared. Traditions that mark the season, whether inherited, invented, or quietly personal.
This prompt invites you to reflect on a ritual that belongs to winter. It might be cultural, it might be intimate, or it might be entirely your own.
Write like the season itself is guiding the memory.
In order for your submission to qualify, it must be:
- A personal essay or creative nonfiction 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 December 17, 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- Your work must be original and unpublished.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 December 17, 2025 at 11:59 PM EST will be entered for consideration. Official Rules for the Challenge can be found here.
The The Ritual of Winter 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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