The Moment of Freedom

*Note from the Vocal Team: As indicated, there are no prize results to be announced for this Challenge, only a $10,000 donation to United Help Ukraine which was sent on March 22, 2022. To view a special curated collection of stories from this Challenge, click here.

There are moments when art and creativity can seem small in the grand scheme of current events. And yet, creating during hard times helps us process and understand not only ourselves but each other.

Support and stand with Ukraine by joining the Moment of Freedom Challenge. Write a short story, essay, poem or personal account about freedom—the fight for it, the belief in it, the joy of it. Write about your personal experiences with freedom, how it impacts you, your community, anyone (or anything) you hold dear. Large or small, trivial or vital to your sense of self, we want to hear what freedom means to you.

Rather than awarding cash prizes, we’re going to donate $10,000 to United Help Ukraine. Once the Challenge is over, the Vocal Team will publish a collection of the 50 most powerful and inspiring stories. We encourage everyone to spread the word so we can support Ukraine through our art, together.

For your story to be eligible, it should be between 600 and 5,000 words and adhere to our Community Guidelines. Stories published on Vocal and entered into the contest up until April 5, 2022, at 11:59 PM EST will be entered for consideration. Official Rules for the Challenge can be found here.

To be eligible to enter the Challenge, you must be over the age of 13.