Painted Prose
Write a story inspired by a work of art.
Prizes
- Grand Prize:
- $500
- Second Place:
- $250
- 10 Runners-Up:
- $50
Status
CompletedTimeline
Submissions opened
Jun 05, 2023
Submissions closed
Jul 01, 2023 3:59 AM CUT
Results
Jul 21, 2023
Prizes
- Grand Prize:
- $500
- Second Place:
- $250
- 10 Runners-Up:
- $50
Status
CompletedTimeline
Submissions opened
Jun 05, 2023
Submissions closed
Jul 01, 2023 3:59 AM CUT
Results
Jul 21, 2023
About this challenge
The Prompt
Write a story inspired by a work of art. Make the artwork your featured image and give credit to the artist in the caption.
"Art is not what you see, but what you make others see." - Edgar Degas
In honor of the launch of the Art Community, this challenge invites you to create a narrative that incorporates elements, themes, or characters from the chosen artwork. You may choose any artwork that resonates with you, whether it be a painting, sculpture, photograph, or any other form of visual art, created by yourself or another artist. The artwork will serve as a visual prompt, igniting your imagination and setting the stage for the story that unfolds.
You may explore the backstory of the artwork, delve into the emotions it evokes, or invent a completely new storyline inspired by its visual cues. The goal is to bring the artwork to life through the power of storytelling, immersing readers in a vivid and engaging tale.
Be sure to include the selected artwork as the featured image for your story and provide proper credit to the artist in the caption.
In order for your submission to qualify, it must:
- Be between 600-5,000 words.
- Be entered into the Art Community.
- Include the artwork that inspired the story as the featured image and credit the artist in the caption.
The Prizes
- Grand Prize: $500
- Second Place: $250
- 10 Runners-Up: $50
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 11:59 PM ET on June 30th will be entered for consideration. Official Rules for the Challenge can be found here.
The Painted Prose Challenge is exclusive to Vocal+ members. To learn more and upgrade to Vocal+ visit https://vocal.media/vocal-plus.
To be eligible to win the grand prize, second place, or runners-up 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 countries will not be eligible to win.
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Challenge resources
In Eclipse Challenge Winners
Creator Dane BH is one of our Vocal stalwarts. We’re so grateful to all of your in our Vocal community, and so thrilled by your achievements. This is the third time Dane has won one of our challenges, and she appears too on our Vocal podcast, Write Here, Write Now — take a listen if you haven’t already. But she’s not our winner because we know her: the subtlety and simplicity of we watched the world go dark. together. is what made it our winner of the In Eclipse challenge, with the grace and ease of its lines and observation. As it happens it also expresses the community spirit that means so much to us.
Vocal Curation TeamPublished 2 days ago in ResourcesWhispering Woods Challenge Winners
Congratulations to Morgan Christy Rickards for their winning Whispering Woods story, Guardian at the Gate. Morgan has been a Vocal creator since February 2021, and this is their first time placing in Challenge — well done, starting with a win! Guardian at the Gate draws evocatively from Welsh tales of the Cantre'r Gwaelod, a lost sunken kingdom between the forest and the sea. Heledd’s dangerous adventure pulls her towards the water but her spirit is anchored in the woods: Morgan’s writing is atmospheric and exciting.
Vocal Curation TeamPublished about a month ago in ResourcesSnacktime Sonata Challenge Winners
Well, your Snacktime Sonatas made us hungry, and that’s about the highest compliment we have. Food — taste, smell, sensation — is a powerful conduit to the past, to memories pleasurable and painful and sometimes bittersweet, a mixture of comfort and challenge. Congratulations to Penny Fuller for Sativa — it’s a first win for Penny — a hymn to the “secret, unbounded/freedoms” of fresh peas in the pod. The narrative voice of the poem doesn’t really want to be outside, but finds joy in the green things of the earth; this is a lovely work of resilience.
Vocal Curation TeamPublished about a month ago in Resources