The Summer That Wasn’t

This Challenge is part of the Vocal+ Summer Writing Series. Learn more

The Prompt

Not every summer is made of golden light and unforgettable memories. Some summers never start. Some fall apart before they begin. This challenge invites you to tell a story set in a season of disappointment, change, or something left unfinished.

Maybe your characters had plans that unraveled. Maybe it rained every day. Maybe someone left, or someone stayed too long. Your story can be grounded in realism or drift into something surreal. What matters is the feeling: nostalgia, regret, longing, or the quiet ache of what almost was.

Let this be a story about the summer that could have been, and what it left behind.

In order for your submission to qualify, it must be:

• A fiction story (any genre or tone).
• Between 600 and 3,000 words.
• Submitted to the Fiction community. Your story will be disqualified if it is submitted to any other community.
• Submitted before August 1, 2025 at 11:59 PM EST.
• Your work must be original and unpublished.

The Prizes

• 5 Winners: $200 each
• 15 Runners-up: $15 each
• 10 Honorable Mentions: $5 each

For your story to be eligible, it must be between 600 and 3,000 words and adhere to our Community Guidelines.

Stories published on Vocal and entered into the Challenge up until August 1, 2025 at 11:59 PM EST will be entered for consideration. Official Rules for the Challenge can be found here.

The The Summer That Wasn’t Challenge is exclusive to Vocal+ members. To learn more and upgrade to Vocal+, visit https://vocal.media/vocal-plus.

To be eligible to win, you must be over the age of 13 and reside 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 a Stripe account created and connected to receive prizes. Entrants located outside of these countries will not be eligible to win.