You Are Here

The Prompt

Second person puts the reader inside the story. You don't watch someone else cross a line. You do.

Write a story entirely in second person that puts "you" somewhere you aren't supposed to be. Maybe you've wandered into the wrong room, shown up where you weren't invited, crossed a boundary you didn't know was there, or found yourself in a situation you have no business being part of.

Wherever you end up, make the second-person perspective matter. Use "you" to close the distance between the reader and the story, and make that feeling of being somewhere you shouldn't be impossible to shake.

Thanks to Noel T. Cumberland for suggesting this challenge!

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

• Written entirely in the second person
• 3,000 words or less.
• Submitted to the Fiction community. Your story will be disqualified if it is submitted to any other community.
• Submitted before October 9, 2026 at 11:59 PM EST.
• Your work must be original and unpublished.

The Prizes

• Grand Prize: $1000
• 4 Winners: $200 each
• 10 Honorable Mentions: $15 each

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

Stories published on Vocal and entered into the Challenge up until October 9, 2026 at 11:59 PM EST will be entered for consideration. Official Rules for the Challenge can be found here.

The You Are Here 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.