SWS: Leave the Light On Challenge Winners

For Leave the Light On, we asked for stories that unfold over a single night. Between sunset and sunrise, you gave us rooms thick with memory, countdowns that tightened with every passing second, forests alive with prayer and doubt, and hauntings that refused to stay buried.

These are the stories that did more than pass the hours of a long night. They left us changed by dawn.

And while summer may be winding down, there are still two weeks left in the Vocal+ Summer Writing Series. That's plenty of time to leave your mark before the season fades.

🏆 Winners

Water Trails by Joe O’Connor

Joe O’Connor's story sits heavy with love and loss, playing out in a quiet farmhouse where grief feels alive. It’s moving without ever being loud, the kind of piece that stays with you like a memory you can’t shake.

The Countdown by Kenny Penn

Kenny Penn throws you into a night that ticks down like a live wire; it's tense, sharp, and impossible to look away from. By the time it ends, you’re left holding your breath, wondering what you would have done.

The Haint of Blue Heron Creek by Sandor Szabo

Sandor Szabo's entry pulls you straight into the dark with its mix of family, folklore, and fear. That final image is the kind of chill that doesn’t fade when the lights come on.

Before the Amen: A Teenage Gospel by Nina Domricheva

Nina Domricheva writes the night like a battle between doubt and devotion, all caught in a single prayer. It’s tense and tender at once, a story that feels as fragile as it is unforgettable.

The Coffins Came At 8 by Sarah O'Grady

Sarah O'Grady's story carries you through a heavy night where time itself feels thick. What makes it stick is the quiet shift at the end, a reminder that even the smallest light matters.

🎖️ Runners-up

• Blame Not the Father by Leigh Victoria Phan, MS, MFA
• The Bite Beneath the Oak by M.R. Cameo
• The Last Waltz at Leviathan by Paul Stewart
• The Genesis Incident by Emma McWilliams
• Waiting by Cathy Schieffelin
• A Message In The Dark by Dean Bainbridge
• GLASS by Gem
• Dining Out by Rachel Deeming
• The Planet of Utqiagvik by Gerard DiLeo
• Inner Demons by Bea Weaver
• Metamorphosisters by Tinka Boudit She/Her
• Just One Call by M. Fritz Wunderli
• Look the Sheepdog in the Eye by Lauren Everdell
• Leave the Light On by Kaitlin Oster
• Candle in the Window by Judey Kalchik

🏅 Honorable Mentions

• Elaine by River and Celia in Underland
• Talitha by Tracy Kreuzburg
• Flying Feathers by James U. Rizzi
• Stay by Jessica Smith
• The Porch Between Us by Imola Tóth
• Late Night Confessions by the Fluorescent Light by Sandy Gillman
• The Pale Eye of Bethel Moor by Tim Carmichael
• You Stayed by Melissa Wong
• Don't sleep in the Dark 🏚️ by Antoni De'Leon
• Where The Dark Winds Gather by mesa

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