Resources
From tips and tricks to product updates and inspiration, explore our resources to learn how to grow as a Vocal creator.
Challenges
The Aquarium Challenge Winners
We never have to look far for unexpected interpretations of our prompts, and this Challenge was no different. A simple sentence- "Write a story about an aquarium" - gave us a kaleidoscope of stories. There were aquaria in space, humans in aquaria, animals escaping their glass enclosures and others finding comfort within the glass. There was glass that cracked and glass that could not be broken, to say nothing of the characters’ hearts and emotions- fragile, intricate, hardened, broken. Some Creators lamented the aquarium while others celebrated its beauty.
By Vocal Curation Team3 years ago in Resources
From Across the Room Poetry Challenge Winners
From across the room (or rather, the screen), the Vocal Team fell head over heels in love with nearly 3,500 poems submitted to the Vocal+ “From Across The Room" Challenge. Inspired by the idea of love at first sight, the Vocal creative community once again delivered with heart and soul. After a month and a half of reading love poems, and with final judging by Kirun Kapur, esteemed editor of the Beloit Poetry Journal and creative writing professor at Amherst College, we are thrilled to announce our winners.
By Vocal Team4 years ago in Resources
Announcing the Vocal+ Fiction Awards Challenge WINNERS
February 25, 2022. We've had this date circled on our calendar for a long time. Leading up to this date, we've read more than 13,000 stories submitted to the Vocal+ Fiction Awards. We've had more than 13,000 meetings (not really, but it feels like it) to narrow that list down to 1,025 incredible finalists. Our team of curators and Judges, led by Vocal's Lead Editorial Innovator and our Content Specialists, have been reading, re-reading, and carefully considering all of these finalists.
By Vocal Team4 years ago in Resources
Meet the Vocal Challenge Judges
Since the launch of Challenges on January 21st, 2020, Vocal Creators from around the world have enjoyed over 125 opportunities (and counting) to turn their creativity into cash, rewards, and prestige. Through stories involving little black books, night owls, dystopian societies, and even just life as we know it, we've become extremely close with the ever-growing creative community on Vocal.
By Vocal Curation Team4 years ago in Resources
Announcing the Return of the Night Owl Challenge Winners and Runners-Up
The Vocal Curation Team is excited to announce the winners and runners-up for the Return of the Night Owl Vocal+ Challenge. As a reminder, the Grand Prize for this Challenge is $20,000. The Second Place prize is $5,000, and 100 Runners-Up will win $50 each.
By Vocal Team4 years ago in Resources
Interview with Eugena Oh: Judge of the ‘We Have a Dream’ Vocal+ Challenge
In a society stunted by intergenerational poverty, Eugena Oh and the "I Have a Dream" Foundation are leveling the field by offering holistic, individualized support for disadvantaged youths and families across the globe. Inspired by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech, the nonprofit empowers children (“Dreamers”) in under-resourced communities to graduate from college by equipping them with the skills and knowledge to succeed in postsecondary school, along with tuition support to aid in removing financial barriers.
By Vocal Curation Team4 years ago in Resources
Announcing the Vocal+ Fiction Awards Finalists
Three months ago, Vocal launched its most epic Challenge to date: The Vocal+ Fiction Awards. As a recap, here's what our head Judge and Vocal's Lead Editorial Innovator, author and former Booker Prize judge Erica Wagner, had to say about this Challenge:
By Vocal Team4 years ago in Resources
Introducing the Vocal+ Fiction Awards
Since the launch of Challenges nearly two years ago, our mission has remained consistent: inspire great stories and put money directly into the hands of our most unique, innovative creators. Now, we're celebrating two huge milestones simultaneously. As of this week, over 100,000 stories have been entered into Challenges, and we have given away over $500,000 directly to our creators. That's one hundred thousand ways to inspire, and a half a million reasons to celebrate your creativity.
By Vocal Team4 years ago in Resources
How the Vocal Team Selects Challenge Winners
This bit of clarification has been a long time coming now. The Little Black Book Challenge closed around the middle of March of 2021, and it proved so much larger than we ever could have anticipated. I decided right then, as soon as it really hit us just how huge the impact of that Challenge had been, that it was time to offer more information and transparency about how Challenges actually operate. We knew that we had more new creators coming on board than we had ever seen at once, and we knew that with a prize that large, the stakes were a lot higher. It was time for an update.
By Vocal Team4 years ago in Resources
