The Dragon Beside Me
Write about a woman (en) who has inspired you.
Prizes
- Co-Grand Prize:
- $200
- Co-Grand Prize:
- $200
- 10 Runners-up:
- $20
Status
CompletedTimeline
Submissions opened
Feb 17, 2024
Submissions closed
Mar 12, 2024 3:59 AM CUT
Results
Mar 21, 2024
Prizes
- Co-Grand Prize:
- $200
- Co-Grand Prize:
- $200
- 10 Runners-up:
- $20
Status
CompletedTimeline
Submissions opened
Feb 17, 2024
Submissions closed
Mar 12, 2024 3:59 AM CUT
Results
Mar 21, 2024
About this challenge
For the first time ever, Vocal is co-sponsoring a creator-led challenge in honor of International Women's Day and it's open to ALL Vocal creators. Voices in Minor (ViM) has a new ‘ChallAnge’- a challenge directly related to women. You can stay up-to-date with Voices in Minor by joining their Facebook Group here.
The Prompt
In 600-800 words, write about a woman (en) who has inspired you for ‘International Woman's Day’ this Year of the Dragon 2024.
🐉
Whether it be the inspiration and passionate voice of Maya Angelou, the resilience of Nobel Laureate Malala Yousafza or the quiet enduring strength of a cherished Grandmother, we all have a woman or women in our lives that have been beside us in one way or another. Whether that be through nurturing care, words of wisdom or a compelling voice that reached out in the dark... we want to learn about the female that was beside you as you navigated your life journey.
ViM chose the title, ‘The Dragon Beside Me’ because the dragon represents strength, love and determination, mixed with a little sprinkle of enigmatic magic dust.
A few ideas to ponder:
"Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world.
- Harriet Tubman
"I’ve learned that I still have a lot to learn... I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel."
- Maya Angelou
"For most of history, Anonymous was a woman."
- Virginia Woolf
"A woman is like a tea bag - you can't tell how strong she is until you put her in hot water."
- Eleanor Roosevelt:
And finally, some poetic inspiration in the words of another great:
The New Colossus by Emma Lazarus (1883):
Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,
With conquering limbs astride from land to land;
Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name
Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command
The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.
"Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she
With silent lips. "Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!
🐉
In order for your submission to qualify, it must be:
- Between 600-800 words.
You can submit any genre or format and place in the community of your own choosing.
Judging
- Vocal will review the entries and create a shortlist.
- ViM will select the 2 co-grand prize winners and 10 runners-up from the shortlist.
The Prizes
- 2 Co-Grand Prizes: $200
- 10 Runners-Up: $20
*The Dragon Beside Me Challenge is co-sponsored by Vocal. Vocal is not affiliated with ViM.
How to enter
For your story to be eligible, it should be between 600 and 800 words, and adhere to our Community Guidelines. Stories published on Vocal and entered into the contest up until 11:59 PM ET on March 11th, 2024 will be entered for consideration. Official Rules for the Challenge can be found here.
The Dragon Beside Me Challenge is open to all Vocal members.
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
You Are Here Challenge Winners
For You Are Here , we asked writers to put readers somewhere they weren't supposed to be. What really stood out in the stories that placed was how often that line wasn't so clear. Sometimes you knew you were pushing your luck, sometimes you had every right to be there, and sometimes you didn't get much of a choice. Writing in second person made those situations feel a lot harder to watch from the sidelines.
By Vocal Curation Team3 days ago in Resources
Negative Space Challenge Winners
For Negative Space , we asked writers to explore how much can be said through what's left out. Our favorite entries found clever ways to make those silences, gaps, and unanswered questions feel just as important as the words themselves.
By Vocal Curation Team10 days ago in Resources
Out of Season Challenge Winners
We’re trying something new with our challenge awards structure. Starting with Out of Season , each challenge will recognize one grand prize , four winners , and ten honorable mentions . That’s 15 stories to celebrate, with a little extra love for the top pick. For this challenge, the strongest stories made the timing matter. Something showing up early or returning when it shouldn’t changed what people did, what they assumed, or how they saw each other. There was humor in trying to carry on as usual, and sadness in realizing why the usual schedule no longer worked. Sometimes the wrong time of year turned out to be just when someone needed it.
By Vocal Curation Team17 days ago in Resources
