Prizes

First place: $1,000

Second place: $500

Third place: $250

Dates to know

January 13: Submissions open

January 19, 11:59 PM EST: Submissions closed

January 22: Winners announced

About this Challenge

This week's Challenge is simple: write a creative fictional story, no longer than 2,000 words. You can take any direction you'd like—the only element of your story we require is that you include a barn owl at some point in your narrative. Whether it's an integral part of your story or just a brief detail, it's the only requirement your tale must include. 🦉

Are you a lost hiker, strolling through a wooded trail? Or, maybe you and your friends are on a mid-winter camping trip. Do you hear an ominous cry, hooting in the distance? A barn owl can be a good luck charm or a cursed omen––it's entirely up to you. Whether your story is a fable, fairy tale, or alludes mystery––let your imagination take flight!

Requirements

For your story to be eligible, it must be between 600 and 2,000 words and adhere to our Community Guidelines. Stories published on Vocal and entered into the contest up until January 19, 2021, at 11:59 PM EST will be entered for consideration. Official Rules for the Challenge can be found here.

The Night Owl 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 35 countries will not be eligible to win.