Top Stories
New stories you'll love, handpicked for you by our team and updated daily.
Early August: 10 Goals Accomplished . Top Story - August 2025.
Another one of my 2025 writing goals accomplished, and this one is amazing for a couple reasons. The first being that I got a story published in a publication, something I am always striving for. This is my 10th story to get into a publication, the 6th different publication I’ve gotten into. 10 stories feels like an amazing milestone. Sure, largely 10 is an arbitrary number. But it’s double digits. That feels incredible.
By Stephen Kramer Avitabileabout a year ago in Writers
The Twilight Zone: 10 of the creepiest episodes. Top Story - August 2025.
The Twilight Zone ran on CBS from October 2, 1959, until June 19, 1964. Fans have their personal choices for their favorite episodes for various reasons. Here is a list of 10 of the creepiest "Twilight Zone" episodes that offer psychological horror, supernatural suspense, and dystopian fear — all hallmarks of Rod Serling's legendary anthology.
By Cheryl E Prestonabout a year ago in Geeks
Ingmar Bergman's "Jaws". Top Story - August 2025.
In 1975, a film was released that changed the game forever. The young director behind the camera would become a legend and one of the most successful filmmakers of all time. And the world noticed. Other directors noticed. One of them was a Swedish filmmaker who was already a legend in the world of cinema.
By Kendall Defoe about a year ago in Humor
Grieving The Life You Never Had. Top Story - August 2025.
Grief is normally associated with the loss of a loved one, or any other form of experienced loss, whether tangible or intangible. It is a given that life hands us all lemons from time to time. It can boil down to the quality and the size of the lemon sometimes. If the lemon is too bitter, watch out. And how we deal with that lemon is a combination of karma, life experiences and decisions made or not made. We all have regrets, and life is too short to have them. No one should judge that though, as we all have different life experiences, and some people's path to prosperity, success and ambition is not always linear. There are detours along the way. Why is that so?
By Justine Crowleyabout a year ago in Psyche
I Want You To Keep Us!. Top Story - August 2025.
Hiya, Vocal. I’ve been thinking. And though it hasn’t been a long think-session, I believe I’ve stumbled upon a suggestion that might serve a certain kind of Creator who may have given up on the platform as their launch pad.
By Mackenzie Davisabout a year ago in Writers
"Orange". Top Story - August 2025.
Orange areas on my skin... reality— the areas are brown, areas, tan. Am I an animal? Am I sand? Will I be extinct just as I stand? Am I wanted more now than then? So precious— orange, a has-been. Waiting, waiting here, another orange area restin'. Nothing, nothing, nothing again. Thank you for reading! Which part of the poem resonates with you? Share your thoughts. Please leave a comment. Copyright 2025 K.A. Smith
By K.A. Smithabout a year ago in Poets
Leave the Light On. Runner-Up in Leave the Light On Challenge. Top Story - August 2025. Content Warning.
“You have a visitor.” The facilitator stood in front of two heavy velvet curtains that gathered in bunches on the floor. He was almost as tall as the curtains were high, and he stood with such stillness that it appeared to the mystic that this man could have simply evaporated into the deep red abyss that hung behind him. His suit was Italian and tailored to his body with precision; something to be expected by the governing forces of this establishment. While the room these two briefly shared was intimately-sized—not uncommon in this profession—the mystic could never clearly make out the face of her facilitator. Either the lights were too low, or he was too corrupted. Probably the latter, she figured. She was never able to read the facilitators. Good enough for them.
By Kaitlin Osterabout a year ago in Fiction
The Pontianak: Midnight Delivery. Top Story - August 2025.
Hot days. Humid nights. Banana leaves swaying in the breeze. Juxtaposed against a brilliant, metropolis skyscape. The Pontianak is a renowned female ghost from Malay folklore--a spirit that haunts banana trees.
By Michelle Liew Tsui-Linabout a year ago in Fiction
Fearful, sensory AI Foibles.. Top Story - August 2025.
Somewhere Between the acceptance of AI and Myself...there hums a melody caught in neon lights, of question marks, interspersed with introspection and ambiguity. It suggests a liminal space, a blurred boundary between identity and artificiality, thought and algorithm. A conceptual direction we desperately need to explore.
By Antoni De'Leonabout a year ago in Fiction
Speak Softly and Leave the Stick. Top Story - August 2025.
As all of us are aware, AI-generated content is a massive thorn in the heels of genuine authors and web platforms alike. It's posted on social media sites, blogs, and even printed media. One of our Vocal members, Judey Kalchik, has done a ton of legwork on this issue (and many others) and has already given plenty of tips on how to detect it. You can find her articles on it here. For now, I'd like to focus on what we should do when we think we've spotted AI being used.
By Kenny Pennabout a year ago in Writers
#1 Why I Studied Modern Journalism: From “Shy Kid” to Explorer. Top Story - August 2025.
Growing up, I was the quiet one. I was the kid more likely to listen than to speak up. I was told I was not ‘journalist material.’ Journalists were bold, and they chased stories, asked hard questions, and were generally pushy. I was labeled shy and became so. At 18 years old, that seemed to rule out my secret dream. I blocked it out, forgot about it, and decided to cross off the fields I wasn’t made for when it came time to choose a university.
By Gabriela Trofin-Tatárabout a year ago in Chapters
Miss Gloria Goes Grocery Shopping. Top Story - August 2025.
Before I get this story going I just want to announce that I will be putting Rate-O-Rama on hold for a while as I am unable to write the new gloria adventures and continue Blackbird Fly and Voices while also doing Rate-O-Rama. R-O-R is my lowest rated of these four so for now it will be on vacation. Thank you, RHC
By Rick Henry Christopher about a year ago in Humor
