A System That Isn’t Working

The Prompt

Systems promise order. They organize behavior, distribute power, and offer the comfort of predictability. When they fail, the failure is often quiet at first, experienced as friction rather than collapse.

This challenge asks you to focus on that misalignment. The system may be large or small, public or intimate. What matters is how it operates and who is shaped, limited, or overlooked by its design. You do not need to diagnose the problem or propose a fix. Attention is enough.

In order for your submission to qualify, it must be:

• Between 600 and 3,000 words.
• Submitted to the Humans community. Your story will be disqualified if it is submitted to any other community.
• Submitted before February 27, 2026 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• Your work must be original and unpublished.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

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 February 27, 2026 at 11:59 PM EST will be entered for consideration. Official Rules for the Challenge can be found here.

The A System That Isn’t Working 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.