Prizes

First place: $5,000

Second place: $2,500

Third place: $1,000

Dates to know

January 7: Submissions open

February 16, 11:59 PM EST: Submissions closed

February 19: Winners announced

About this Challenge

Home is where the heart is, and for this Challenge, nostalgia runs high. Use your photography skills to capture the things that make your hometown so special to you. You don't have to be a professional photographer –– any original film photos, digital images, phone pictures, polaroids, or videos are encouraged –– to capture the essence of why the place you call home deserves some love.

Your hometown can mean the town where you grew up, but it doesn't have to! Anywhere you've made memories, or come to love, can turn into home. Either way, you know it like the back of your hand, so show us around through the lens of your camera. Enter the Hometown Feature Challenge and capture not just what your hometown looks like, but why it's such a special place. We can't wait to see what home looks like to you.

Requirements

For your story to be eligible, it must include original photography and be between 600 and 5,000 words and adhere to our Community Guidelines. Stories published on Vocal and entered into the contest up until February 16, 2021, at 11:59 PM EST will be entered for consideration. Official Rules for the Challenge can be found here.

The Hometown Feature 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 39 countries will not be eligible to win.