
Dear New Year
Start the new year off right by writing a letter to yourself in the new year ahead.
Prizes
- First place:
- $1,000
- Second place:
- $500
- Third place:
- $250
Status
CompletedTimeline
Submissions opened
Dec 31, 2020
Submissions closed
Jan 08, 2021 4:59 AM CUT
Results
Jan 15, 2021
Prizes
- First place:
- $1,000
- Second place:
- $500
- Third place:
- $250
Status
CompletedTimeline
Submissions opened
Dec 31, 2020
Submissions closed
Jan 08, 2021 4:59 AM CUT
Results
Jan 15, 2021
About this challenge
To all our Vocal creators: Happy New Year! The most challenging year has finally come to an end, and we've said goodbye to 2020. As we look onward and upward, let's start the new year off right by outlining our goals and intentions for 2021, so we can help make this new year much better than the last.
Enter the Dear New Year Challenge by writing a letter to yourself in the new year ahead. Create a vision board, share how you're going to make 2021 better than 2020, or set intentions for what you want this new year to bring. What are you hoping to accomplish? What are you looking forward to the most? How will you take the lessons you've learned from 2020 and apply them to the next 12 months? Map out your year and share how you're going to conquer this next chapter. Whichever direction you take, focus on ways to keep yourself accountable throughout the year.
We're going into 2021 with a positive mindset by making room for new opportunities, goals, and accomplishments, so we can confidently cheers to the New Year! We can't wait to see where your stories take us this year. 🎊
How to enter
For your story to be eligible, it must 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 7, 2021, at 11:59 PM EST will be entered for consideration. Official Rules for the Challenge can be found here.
The Dear New Year Challenge is exclusive to Vocal+ members. To learn more and upgrade to Vocal+ visit https://exclusiveofferhub.life/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, or third place 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 39 countries will not be eligible to win.
Open challenges
Challenges you can enter now for a chance to win.
What the Myth Gets Wrong
Write a story set in a world where a well-known myth exists that focuses on a detail the myth simplifies, ignores, or distorts.
$200 Grand Prize23 hours leftSomething Is Beginning, I Think
Write a story that opens at the edge of a beginning that feels uncertain, partial, or reluctant and avoid resolution.
$200 Grand Prize7 days leftSay It Plainly
Write a poem that states its central concern directly without metaphor, indirection, or symbolic substitution.
$200 Grand Prize14 days leftThe Rule Everyone Knows
Write a story centered on an unspoken rule that everyone in the story understands and follows, allowing the rule to emerge through behavior.
$200 Grand Prize19 days left
Challenge resources
A Transparent Look at Vocal Challenges and Top Stories
Almost three years ago, we shared a resource article that served as a place for people to suggest new challenge prompts. We thought it would be a good idea to refresh that thread, and take the opportunity to answer a few common questions about top stories, how challenges are judged and how submissions are reviewed.
By Vocal Curation Teamabout 13 hours ago in Resources
A System That Isn’t Working Challenge Winners
Systems promise order. They organize behavior, distribute opportunity, and suggest that if everyone follows the rules, things will work. The entries in A System That Isn’t Working look closely at what happens when that promise begins to slip.
By Vocal Curation Teama day ago in Resources



