Top Stories

New stories you’ll love, handpicked for you by our team and updated daily.

My Top Five Movies of 2025
As the Oscars approach, and some favourites become clear (I haven’t seen 'Sinners' I’ll be honest), I’d like to share my personal choices for the best films of last year – I don’t think the academy quite agree!
By Matty Long9 days ago in Geeks
Instructions for a Feeling Challenge Winners
This round asked writers to give instructions for a feeling. What arrived were poems that treated emotion as something you can rehearse, delay, invite, sidestep, or practice in small, deliberate ways.
By Vocal Curation Team5 days ago in Resources
𝔸 𝔾𝕠𝕕𝕤𝕖𝕟𝕕
You know everything about me but how..... I don't know how you know but you know but I'm pretty sure you know what I ate for breakfast
By Colleen Walters6 days ago in Poets
Green and Pleasant
In 1857, Lieutenant Commander Joseph Dayman was dispatched by the Admiralty at the helm of HMS Cyclops to take deep sea soundings in preparation for the first transatlantic telegraph cable. The laying of this cable, which ran between Ireland and Newfoundland, was as monumental an undertaking as any of its time and, inevitably, its completion was accompanied by lavish celebrations and rambling tributes to engineering excellence.
By Ian Vince9 days ago in Earth
The Big Book Review: "Thinking, Fast and Slow" by Daniel Kahneman (Pt.1)
This book is split into parts but honestly, the parts themselves have so many ideas that I have no idea how I could fit everything I wanted to say into ONE review. I know I haven't done this since 'Reliable Essays' by Clive James, but I'd like to try that structure again. Sorry if it's not something you enjoy but I really wanted to share this...
By Annie Kapur29 days ago in Geeks
The Looking Glass Self
I. One year, a procession of cardboard boxes, the hereditary lances I discover on my tongue. Barbed reaching for not my milk in not my refrigerator,
By Morgana7 days ago in Poets
Faustian Bargain
"My name is [REDACTED] and I'm here with Ms. [REDACTED]. "She is not bound by any legal obligation or coercion. The information she will share is done of her own free will.
By Kristen Keenon Fisher6 days ago in Fiction
Gráinne
Introduction This is my fifth piece inspired by Justine G. Cappelli's gorgeous artwork. This is a Catena Rondo
By Mike Singleton 💜 Mikeydred 7 days ago in Poets
"Wuthering Heights" (2026)
There are so many opinions about Emerald Fennell’s “Wuthering Heights”, it has become dizzying. Last night, my partner and I went out for pizza and then onto the cinema.
By Rachel Robbins7 days ago in Geeks
Salt
My shins left indents in the sand from s t a y i n g as the sun fades from the mild waves I pat the mound of smooth sand-
By Michele Nampalli8 days ago in Poets
📢 Raise Your Voice Thread: 02/19/2026
Our “Raise Your Voice Threads” are hosted most alternating Thursdays at 12PM ET to offer creators more avenues to uncover exceptional stories on Vocal. As we are continuously searching for fresh creators and inspiring stories, this thread provides an opportunity to exchange and discuss the stories that have moved and motivated us on Vocal.
By Raise Your Voice by Vocal6 days ago in Resources
Every Anniversary...
Every Anniversary, I take the day off. A day to rest, and remember. A day to be kind and gentle to myself, and remind my heart and mind that it is ok to not be ok.
By Natasja Rose12 days ago in Humans
anxiety
A cockroach fell on its back from somewhere above from sometime before trapped; until it dries, mummifies stay hydrated, ads say
By Andrei Z.11 days ago in Poets
At My Wits’ End
Life is about taking out the trash and calling it trash because you have every reason to. It wasn't meant to be linear, they say. But the times you tried to make it straight led to problems, and you didn’t have the tools to put any of it to use. You don't put your right shoes on the right feet; you put the left shoes on the left feet. The grey hardened slab will trip you up anyway.
By Caitlin Charlton6 days ago in Humans
When Amazon Says You’re a Disappointment
Yesterday, for the first Wednesday in months, I didn’t publish a piece on Vocal. Believe me, I wanted to. I had it all written up and ready to go. I was going to share the news that I had officially become a published author.
By Sandy Gillman7 days ago in Writers
Cambiar
Caught unaware Nose buried in Engaging information Comfortably ensconced On a plush sofa A man hovers above me Shadow casting
By Aspen Marie 9 days ago in Poets
Alone
Here I am again, alone at home, Music playing, feeding my soul. Valentine’s Day returns once more. The stores are crowded with men
By Ina Zeneli11 days ago in Poets
Craft Over Catharsis Challenge Winners
Craft Over Catharsis? What the hell does that even mean? The phrase came out of a curation meeting as a genuine question. We had been noticing that many challenge entries, across prompts, naturally gravitate toward trauma, grief, and personal reckoning. That makes sense. Writing is often cathartic. It's one of the ways we process what we've lived through.
By Vocal Curation Team7 days ago in Resources
Silent Goodbye
Today I started packing To walk away from my life The suitcases were filled Clown nose to the side My empty whisky bottle collection stared back
By Renessa Norton12 days ago in Poets
How a Spelling Mistake Changed History
Paris, stout lad, Cornet Merrell, Formerly the property of Col. Oree, Charleston… On the 13th of September, 1783, the above was entered into a ledger, the Carelton Papers (commonly known as the Book of Negroes”). Among the former slaves waiting to board HMS Soverign for St. John, Nova Scotia, British North America (now Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada), was a 19-year-old named Paris.
By Misty Rae8 days ago in History