Seasons of Drabbles

Seasons of Drabbles is an exchange for the creation of drabbles and drabble variants which runs 4 times a year.* The current round is for winter 2026.

*Each round takes place sometime within a three-month period (March-May, June-August, September-November, December-February). Each round will take about a month from nominations through author reveals.

Schedule:
Nominations open: Sunday, January 4 (will remain open through signups)
Signups open: Sunday, January 11
Signups close: Sunday, January 18 @ 11:59pm Eastern Standard time (Countdown)
Assignments out by: Wednesday, January 21
Assignments due: Saturday, January 31 @ 11:59pm Eastern Standard time (Countdown)
Collection opens: Saturday, February 7 @ 1:00pm Eastern Standard time (Countdown)
Authors revealed: Tuesday, February 10 @ 1:00pm Eastern Standard time (Countdown)

This round's AO3 Collection | Tagset | Nomination guidelines (TBA once nominations open) | Requests App | Mod email: seasonsofdrabbles@gmail.com

Need to contact us or have a question? See the Mod Contact post!

The full Guidelines are below and we strongly encourage you to read them! Here are some quick notes, though:

• First time doing a fic exchange? Welcome! Fanlore has some helpful explanations about how AO3 exchanges work and general exchange etiquette. Don't be afraid to ask a question if something's confusing.
• Here, "drabble" does not just mean a short fic, but a specific wordcount. In addition to single drabbles (fics of exactly 100 words), we accept double drabbles (200 words) and triple drabbles (300 words). We also accept drabble series/sequences.
• When you sign up, you cannot exclude single drabbles from your offers or requests. You are still welcome to request or offer the other drabble types, you just can't leave 100-word drabbles out entirely from your signup. See below for more details about this recent rule change.
• Participants must be 18+.
• Don't use generative AI for your gifts.

( Guidelines )

Seasons of Drabbles is an exchange for the creation of drabbles and drabble variants which runs 4 times a year.* The current round is for Fall 2025.

*Each round takes place sometime within a three-month period (March-May, June-August, September-November, December-February). Each round will take about a month from nominations through author reveals.

Schedule:
Nominations open: Sunday, October 5 (will remain open through signups)
Signups open: Sunday, October 12
Signups close: Sunday, October 19 @ 11:59pm Eastern Daylight time (Countdown)
Assignments out by: Wednesday, October 22
Assignments due: Saturday, November 1 @ 11:59pm Eastern Daylight time (Countdown)
Collection opens: [DELAYED] Saturday, November 15 @ 1:00pm Eastern Standard time (Countdown)
Authors revealed: [DELAYED] Tuesday, November 18 @ 1:00pm Eastern Standard time (Countdown)

This round's AO3 Collection | Tagset | Nomination guidelines | Requests App | Mod email: seasonsofdrabbles@gmail.com

Need to contact us or have a question? See the Mod Contact post!

The full, newly reformatted Guidelines are below and we strongly encourage you to read them! Here are some quick notes, though:

• First time doing a fic exchange? Welcome! Fanlore has some helpful explanations about how AO3 exchanges work and general exchange etiquette. Don't be afraid to ask a question if something's confusing.
• Here, "drabble" does not just mean a short fic, but a specific wordcount. In addition to single drabbles (fics of exactly 100 words), we accept double drabbles (200 words) and triple drabbles (300 words). We also accept drabble series/sequences.
• When you sign up, you cannot exclude single drabbles from your offers or requests. You are still welcome to request or offer the other drabble types, you just can't leave 100-word drabbles out entirely from your signup. See below for more details about this recent rule change.
• Participants must be 18+.
• Don't use generative AI for your gifts.

( Guidelines )

Seasons of Drabbles is an exchange for the creation of drabbles and drabble variants. It will run once per season*. The current round is for summer 2025.

*4x per year, with each round taking place sometime within a three-month period (March-May, June-August, September-November, December-February). Each round will take about a month from nominations through author reveals.

Schedule:
Nominations open: Monday, July 28 (will remain open through signups)
Signups open: Monday, August 4
Signups close: Monday, August 11 @ 11:59pm Eastern Daylight time (Countdown)
Assignments out by: Wednesday, August 13
Assignments due: Saturday, August 23 @ 11:59pm Eastern Daylight time (Countdown)
Collection opens: Saturday, August 30 @ 1:00pm Eastern Daylight time (Countdown)
Authors revealed: Monday, September 1 @ 1:00pm Eastern Daylight time

This round's AO3 Collection | Tagset | Nomination guidelines | Requests App | Mod email: seasonsofdrabbles@gmail.com

Need to contact us or have a question? See the Mod Contact post!

New rule as of July 2025: We have a new rule this round that participants cannot opt out of single drabbles. In other words, you are still welcome to request/offer other drabble types, but you cannot exclude single drabbles from your offers or requests. We will let you know via the email associated with your AO3 account if we notice you've left out single drabbles in your signup. Matching and signups will otherwise work the same as before.

Have questions? Expand the "Key Info on the Rule Change" section below for more info. If your question is still not answered, please get in touch via email or the Mod Contact Post.

Key Info on the Rule Change

Q: Why make this rule change?
A: Since this is an event celebrating drabbles, we thought it made sense for a 100-word single drabble to be the minimum that participants can expect to write or receive. We received the suggestion from a participant and put it up to a community poll, where a strong majority were in favor of the rule change.

Q: How does this rule change affect how I sign up?
A: It affects the signup process itself very little. You can still select the fandoms, characters, and drabble types you are interested in writing or receiving. You are still free to request or offer longer drabble types. You can still check "Any". However, you can no longer exclude the "Drabble" tag from your signup.

Q: What happens if I don't include single drabbles in my signup?
A: We will reach out to you via the email associated with your AO3 account and offer two options: we can either edit the signup to add single drabbles, or remove your signup. Participants who don’t get back to us by the end of the grace period (12 hours after signups close) will have their signup removed.

Q: How will matching work?
A: Since everyone is requesting or offering single drabbles, you are effectively matchable with anyone requesting/offering the same fandom AND character. However, drabble types are still a matching criterion. In other words, people who want to write/request other drabble types would still be more likely to match with each other. For example, all things being equal, someone requesting Single Drabble and Triple Drabble is more likely (not guaranteed) to match with someone offering Single Drabble and Triple Drabble, than with someone only offering Single Drabble, or someone offering Single Drabble and Single Drabble Series/Sequence.

Q: Do I have to write single drabbles to participate?
A: If you have matched to someone who has only requested the "Drabble" freeform tag, then yes, you have to write a 100-word drabble for your assignment. If they have requested other drabble types, though, you are welcome to write any of them for your recipient.

Q: What if I don't like this rule change or it ends up sucking?
A: We tried implementing the rule change in a way that caused the least disruption on the participant side of things, but we will be soliciting feedback at the end of the round. If you have opinions or ideas you'd like to share at that time, we would love to hear them. This is admittedly a test run.

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( Guidelines )

Seasons of Drabbles is an exchange for the creation of drabbles and drabble variants. It will run once per season*. The current round is for spring 2025.

We've included some clarifying information on drabble types in the Guidelines, so check them out if you're unsure of their definitions!

*4x per year, with each round taking place sometime within a three-month period (March-May, June-August, September-November, December-February). Each round will take about a month from nominations through author reveals.

Schedule:
Nominations open: Monday, April 14 (will remain open through signups)
Signups open: Monday, April 21
Signups close: Monday, April 28 @ 11:59pm Eastern Daylight time (Countdown)
Assignments out by: Wednesday, April 30
Assignments due: Saturday, May 10 @ 11:59pm Eastern Daylight time (Countdown)
Collection opens: Saturday, May 17 @ 1:00pm Eastern Daylight time (Countdown)
Authors revealed: Monday, May 19 @ 1:00pm Eastern Daylight time

This round's AO3 Collection | Tagset | Nomination guidelines | Requests App | Mod email: seasonsofdrabbles@gmail.com

Need to contact us or have a question? See the Mod Contact post!

( Guidelines )

Seasons of Drabbles is an exchange for the creation of drabbles and drabble variants. It will run once per season*. The current round is for fall 2024.

We've included some clarifying information on drabble types in the Guidelines, so check them out if you're unsure of their definitions!

*4x per year, with each round taking place sometime within a three-month period (March-May, June-August, September-November, December-February). Each round will take about a month from nominations through author reveals.

New rule as of 6/26: Canons and gifts that are wholly or significantly created through generative* AI are prohibited from this event. Such canons cannot be nominated, requested, or offered, and giving such gifts may result in a ban. We recognize this is an evolving issue, so please feel free to offer feedback or ask questions.

*By generative AI, we mean tools that create new content. Things like spell-check or translation are not included in our definition of generative AI.

Schedule:
Nominations open: Monday, October 14 (will remain open through signups)
Signups open: Monday, October 21
Signups close: Monday, October 28 @ 11:59pm Eastern Daylight time (Countdown)
Assignments out by: Wednesday, October 30
Assignments due: Saturday, November 9 @ 11:59pm Eastern Standard time (Countdown)
Collection opens: Saturday, November 16 @ 1:00pm Eastern Standard time Sunday, November 17 @ 1:00pm Eastern Standard time (Countdown)
Authors revealed: Tuesday, November 19 @ 1:00pm Eastern Standard time

This round's AO3 Collection | Tagset | Nomination guidelines | Requests App | Mod email: seasonsofdrabbles@gmail.com

Need to contact us or have a question? See the Mod Contact post!

( Guidelines )

Hope you are looking forward to the upcoming round, which will be starting up soon!

Schedule:
Nominations open: Sunday, June 16 (will remain open through signups)
Signups open: Sunday, June 23
Signups close: Sunday, June 30 @ 11:59pm Eastern Daylight time (Countdown)
Assignments out by: Wednesday, July 3
Assignments due: Saturday, July 13 @ 11:59pm Eastern Daylight time (Countdown)
Collection opens: Saturday, July 20 @ 1:00pm Eastern Daylight time (Countdown)
Authors revealed: Monday, July 22 @ 1:00pm Eastern Daylight time

Below is the schedule for the next round. Looking forward to your participation!

Schedule:
Nominations open: Sunday, March 24 (will remain open through signups)
Signups open: Sunday, March 31
Signups close: Sunday, April 7 @ 11:59pm Eastern Daylight time (Countdown)
Assignments out by: Wednesday, April 10
Assignments due: Saturday, April 20 @ 11:59pm Eastern Daylight time (Countdown)
Collection opens: Saturday, April 27 @ 1:00pm Eastern Daylight time (Countdown)
Authors revealed: Monday, April 29 @ 1:00pm Eastern Daylight time

Winter Round Schedule:
Nominations open: Sunday, December 31 (will remain open through signups)
Signups open: Sunday, January 7
Signups close: Sunday, January 14 @ 11:59pm Eastern time (Countdown)
Assignments out by: Wednesday, January 17
Assignments due: Saturday, January 27 @ 11:59pm Eastern time (Countdown)
Collection opens: Saturday, February 3 @ 1:00pm Eastern time (Countdown)
Authors revealed: Monday, February 5 @ 1:00pm Eastern time

Hello everyone! First, below is next round's schedule! We hope you'll be able to join us.

Schedule:
Nominations open: October 1 (will remain open through signups)
Signups open: October 8
Signups close: October 15 @ 11:59pm Eastern time (Countdown)
Assignments out by: October 18
Assignments due: October 28 @ 11:59pm Eastern time (Countdown)
Collection opens: November 4 @ 1:00pm Eastern time (Countdown)
Authors revealed: November 6 @ 1:00pm Eastern time

Second, after assessing responses on our feedback post as well as feedback provided to us privately, we've decided to add a blanket 18+ age requirement to the rules. Thank you to everyone who gave input!

Seasons of Drabbles is an exchange for the creation of drabbles and drabble variants. It will run once per season*. The current round is for spring 2023.

*4x per year, with each round taking place sometime sometime within a three-month period (March-May, June-August, September-November, December-February). Each round will take about a month from nominations through author reveals.

UPDATED Schedule:
Nominations open: July 2 (will remain open through signups)
Signups open: July 9
Signups close: [NEW] July 17 @ 11:59pm Eastern time (Countdown)
Assignments out by: [NEW] July 20
Assignments due: [NEW] July 30 @ 11:59pm Eastern time (Countdown)
Collection opens: August 5 @ 1:00pm Eastern time (Countdown)
Authors revealed: August 7 @ 1:00pm Eastern time

This round's AO3 Collection | Tagset | Nomination guidelines | Requests App | Mod email: seasonsofdrabbles@gmail.com

Need to contact us or have a question? See the Mod Contact post!

Note as of July 9th: For this round, we are operating on the rule that one should only request/write NSFW drabbles if they are 18+. We won't be actively checking participants' ages, but if someone brings a violation to our attention, we'll enforce the rule. At the end of the round, we will solicit feedback on how exactly people would like an age requirement to work going forward, as this is a stopgap measure for now.

( Guidelines )