Bedtime Stories

The books we read growing up help form our identities, and the death of a beloved children's author whose books were an integral part of childhood can be a devastating loss. So, as an homage to Eric Carle, Beverly Cleary, and so many other classic children's authors who helped us become who we are, we've derived a challenge from a cherished childhood tradition: the bedtime story.

Enter the Bedtime Story Challenge and tell us about a bedtime story you loved as a child, or one that you hope to share with your children, grandchildren, or nieces and nephews. Maybe it's a classic fairy tale or a children's book that was popular when you were a child, or a family story that's been passed down for generations. Maybe you'll channel your inner A.A. Milne or Meghan Markle and write us a completely original bedtime story for your own family. No matter the origin, please be sure to tell us why this story has special meaning and why you feel it would inspire a child's imagination.

We look forward to being transported back to bedtime!

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 June 29, 2021, at 11:59 PM EST will be entered for consideration. Official Rules for the Challenge can be found here.

The Bedtime Stories 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 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 countries will not be eligible to win.