A Knock at the Door
Write a story that begins with an unexpected knock at the door and unravels from there.
Prizes
- 5 Winners:
- $200
- 15 Runners-up:
- $15
- 10 Honorable Mentions:
- $5
Status
CompletedTimeline
Submissions opened
Sep 17, 2025
Submissions closed
Oct 09, 2025 3:59 AM CUT
Results
Oct 22, 2025
Prizes
- 5 Winners:
- $200
- 15 Runners-up:
- $15
- 10 Honorable Mentions:
- $5
Status
CompletedTimeline
Submissions opened
Sep 17, 2025
Submissions closed
Oct 09, 2025 3:59 AM CUT
Results
Oct 22, 2025
About this challenge
The Prompt
Write a story that begins with an unexpected knock at the door and unravels from there.
This Challenge is about the moment that breaks the stillness. A quiet night, an unexpected sound or maybe a knock at the door that shouldn’t be there.
It could be someone your character knows, fears or never imagined. The knock is only the beginning. What matters is what follows. Start there and let the story unfold with each step toward the door.
Write like something strange has just arrived.
In order for your submission to qualify, it must be:
- A fiction story.
- Between 600 and 3,000 words.
- Submitted to the Fiction community. Your story will be disqualified if it is submitted to any other community.
- Submitted before October 8, 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- Your work must be original and unpublished.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 600 and 3,000 words and adhere to our Community Guidelines.
Stories published on Vocal and entered into the Challenge up until October 8, 2025 at 11:59 PM EST will be entered for consideration. Official Rules for the Challenge can be found here.
The A Knock at the Door Challenge is exclusive to Vocal+ members. To learn more and upgrade to Vocal+, visit https://vocal.media/vocal-plus.
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.
Open challenges
Challenges you can enter now for a chance to win.
Negative Space
Write a poem shaped by what's missing. Let an absence, omission, or empty space become as important as what you put on the page.
$1,000 Grand Prize2 days leftYou Are Here
Write a story entirely in second person that puts the reader somewhere they aren't supposed to be.
$1,000 Grand Prize9 days leftOctober
Write a poem that makes October feel like a place you can enter.
$1,000 Grand Prize16 days leftDead Air
Write a horror story about a broadcast, recording, phone call, or transmission that should not exist.
$1,000 Grand Prize23 days leftScroll No More
Imagine that every smartphone in the world suddenly stops working. Write about what happens next.
$1,000 Grand Prize30 days leftNo One Remembers It That Way
Write about a memory that you and someone else remember completely differently.
$1,000 Grand Prize37 days leftSteal From Yourself
Return to something you wrote years ago and use one idea, image, character, or line from it to create something entirely new.
$1,000 Grand Prize44 days leftNot on the Menu
Write about something memorable you ate that you'd never find on a restaurant menu.
$1,000 Grand Prize51 days left
Challenge resources
Already Here Challenge Winners
Useful tools can change your life before you think to question them. That’s really what made these Already Here entries interesting. Writers looked past the initial “how is this possible?” and paid attention to how quickly something remarkable becomes part of the routine. The strongest pieces didn’t ask us to choose between being impressed and being uneasy. They understood why people welcome these changes, then noticed what else shifts once we get used to them.
By Vocal Curation Team7 days ago in Resources
Last Call Challenge Winners
There were plenty of ringing phones and closing bars in Last Call , but the prompt took us to some unexpected places too. A fading birdsong, a goodbye that doesn't quite get finished, and people who don't suddenly become better versions of themselves just because time is running out. Some held on, some let go, and some missed their chance entirely. That's what made these stories stick.
By Vocal Curation Team14 days ago in Resources
Twenty-Four Hours Challenge Winners
The best Twenty-Four Hours entries weren’t really about fitting as much as possible into a day. They were about showing us a version of a place that felt personal, shaped by favorite stops, old memories, local quirks, and the little things you only notice only after knowing somewhere for a long time.
By Vocal Curation Team20 days ago in Resources
