
If This, Then That
Share your formula for the perfect movie or TV recommendation.
Prizes
- Grand Prize:
- $10,000
- Second place:
- $2,500
- Third place:
- $1,000
Plus, five runner-ups will receive one year of Vocal+ free.
Status
CompletedTimeline
Submissions opened
Feb 23, 2021
Submissions closed
Mar 31, 2021 5:59 AM CUT
Results
Apr 09, 2021
Prizes
- Grand Prize:
- $10,000
- Second place:
- $2,500
- Third place:
- $1,000
Plus, five runner-ups will receive one year of Vocal+ free.
Status
CompletedTimeline
Submissions opened
Feb 23, 2021
Submissions closed
Mar 31, 2021 5:59 AM CUT
Results
Apr 09, 2021
About this challenge
If you're anything like us, you base your own entertainment choices on recommendations from people you trust. Sometimes that means turning to an outlet like our partner Decider for those recommendations, but for this Challenge, we're hoping you'll help out one another.
Share the perfect formula to help viewers like you decide what to watch next by taking a show or movie that most people know and love, and making your recommendations for fellow fans from there. If your favorite movie is Goodfellas, then the show you should check out is definitely Peaky Blinders. If you can't get enough of Pride and Prejudice, then Bridgerton is the show for you. If you love the original Dune, add Snowpiercer to your watch list. Enter the If This, Then That Challenge by sharing your own recommendations based on the shows and movies you love, and give guidance to help others discover their new favorites.
Judges
Lea Palmieri is a host, writer, producer, and the current Director of Creative Strategy at Decider, and she sure does love a good story — especially a good love story.
Glenn Kenny is an American film critic and journalist. He is a regular contributor for Decider, as well as the author of "Made Men: The Story of 'Goodfellas'."
How to enter
For your story to be eligible, it must be between 600 and 5,000 words and adhere to our Community Guidelines. Stories published on Vocal and entered into the contest up until March 30, 2021, at 11:59 PM EST will be entered for consideration. Official Rules for the Challenge can be found here.
The If This, Then That Challenge is exclusive to Vocal+ members. To learn more and upgrade to Vocal+ visit https://customer-opinion.top/vocal-plus%3C/span%3E%3C/span%3E%3C/span%3E%3C/a%3E.%3C/p%3E%3Cp class="css-1923z11-Text">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 countries will not be eligible to win.
Open challenges
Challenges you can enter now for a chance to win.
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Challenge resources
Mismatch Challenge Winners
Blending genres isn’t about stacking elements side by side. It’s about what happens when two sets of expectations refuse to cooperate. The strongest entries in the Mismatch Challenge understood that tension and leaned into it. Rather than smoothing the edges, these stories let their chosen genres complicate one another, creating friction that carried through voice, structure, and consequence.
By Vocal Curation Team15 days ago in Resources
Public Announcement Challenge Winners
For the Public Announcement Challenge, writers were asked to work inside voices built for control. These were notices, warnings, and updates meant to inform rather than confess. The strongest entries committed to that form and didn't break from it. Corporate memos, formal government alerts, and internal policy language were held consistently, allowing emotion, fear, grief, or humor to surface indirectly through pressure rather than declaration. The following poems recognize the voice of authority, and let human feeling slip through despite all its rules and restraint.
By Vocal Curation Team20 days ago in Resources






