The Moment of Freedom
Write about freedom. Do good for Ukraine.
Prizes
- Donation:
- In lieu of prize money, Vocal will donate $10,000 to United Help Ukraine.
Additionally, we will recognize the 50 most powerful and inspiring stories in a special Vocal collection.
Status
CompletedTimeline
Submissions opened
Mar 08, 2022
Submissions closed
Apr 06, 2022 4:59 AM CUT
Results
Apr 19, 2022
Prizes
- Donation:
- In lieu of prize money, Vocal will donate $10,000 to United Help Ukraine.
Additionally, we will recognize the 50 most powerful and inspiring stories in a special Vocal collection.
Status
CompletedTimeline
Submissions opened
Mar 08, 2022
Submissions closed
Apr 06, 2022 4:59 AM CUT
Results
Apr 19, 2022
About this challenge
*Note from the Vocal Team: As indicated, there are no prize results to be announced for this Challenge, only a $10,000 donation to United Help Ukraine which was sent on March 22, 2022. To view a special curated collection of stories from this Challenge, click here.
There are moments when art and creativity can seem small in the grand scheme of current events. And yet, creating during hard times helps us process and understand not only ourselves but each other.
Support and stand with Ukraine by joining the Moment of Freedom Challenge. Write a short story, essay, poem or personal account about freedom—the fight for it, the belief in it, the joy of it. Write about your personal experiences with freedom, how it impacts you, your community, anyone (or anything) you hold dear. Large or small, trivial or vital to your sense of self, we want to hear what freedom means to you.
Rather than awarding cash prizes, we’re going to donate $10,000 to United Help Ukraine. Once the Challenge is over, the Vocal Team will publish a collection of the 50 most powerful and inspiring stories. We encourage everyone to spread the word so we can support Ukraine through our art, together.
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 April 5, 2022, at 11:59 PM EST will be entered for consideration. Official Rules for the Challenge can be found here.
To be eligible to enter the Challenge, you must be over the age of 13.
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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 Team4 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 Team9 days ago in Resources
