Writer

Vanessa Leonardo

Vanessa Leonardo is a horror writer from Staten Island, New York with an M.F.A. in Creative Writing from the New School. She currently lives with her wife in New Jersey. The writers that have most influenced her were those she read as a young teen such as R.L. Stine, Stephen King, V.C. Andrews and more. When she’s not writing, she loves playing music, spending time with her dog, rock climbing with her wife, or watching anything spooky, scary, or paranormal.

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Winner, The Dark Mile 2026Lights OutWhen the lights go out in the kitchen, you think you’ve lost power.

Vanessa Leonardo, these are yours: images to post on Instagram, Facebook or anywhere else, and a badge for your website. Instagram posts can't hold a link, so the images say where to read the story. The badges link straight to it.

Lights Out, Winner, instagram post size — **Instagram post**4:5, the size the feed shows largest

Lights Out, Winner, story size — **Story**9:16, for Instagram and Facebook Stories

Put a badge on your website. Pick whichever fits; both link back to the story.

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Winner, The Dark Mile 2026, Second Mile Press

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<a href="https://www.secondmilepress.com/contest/dark-mile-2026/stories/lights-out"><img src="https://www.secondmilepress.com/contest/dark-mile-2026/badge/winner" alt="Winner, The Dark Mile 2026, Second Mile Press" width="180" height="180"></a>

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HTML for your website

<a href="https://www.secondmilepress.com/contest/dark-mile-2026/stories/lights-out"><img src="https://www.secondmilepress.com/contest/dark-mile-2026/badge/winner?look=card" alt="Winner, The Dark Mile 2026, Second Mile Press" width="420" height="140"></a>

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