#aeldws2026

Mark your calendars for AELDWS 2026!

Signups will open on Friday, June 19 at 7AM ET (click the hyperlink for your timezone!). There will be 10 slots available!

Signups will close as soon as all slots are filled, or by Thursday, June 25 at 7PM ET at the latest.

AELDWS will run for six weeks from June 26 to July 31. The weekly schedule is below:

Friday @ 1AM ET - prompt revealed Tuesday @ 1PM ET - drabbles due Tuesday night - drabbles posted, voting opens Thursday @ 7PM ET - voting closes Thursday night - results posted, drabbles revealed Friday @ 1AM ET - new prompt revealed

AELDWS is a weekly, elimination drabble contest. Each Friday, a prompt will be posted which consists of a prompt, genre, and word limit. Author drabbles are compiled, with author names removed, and the fandom is invited to vote for their favorite and least favorite drabbles. The author who comes in last place each week is eliminated until there are only three authors remaining in the final week.

Note: If all ten slots are filled, the first two weeks of AELDWS will be double elimination weeks.

Here are the drabbles for Week 1!

The prompt was:

Prompt: Riddle Genre: Only one (word of your choice) Word limit: Up to and including 375 words

To vote, head over to this Google Form and vote for your favorite and least favorite drabble.

Authors, you are welcome to vote, but you cannot vote for your own drabble.

Betas, you are welcome to vote as well. You may vote for the drabble you betaed if you truly believe it is the best!

AELDWS 2026 SIGNUPS ARE NOW OPEN

Signups will close as soon as all 10 slots are filled, or by Thursday, June 25 at 7PM ET at the latest.

AELDWS will run for six weeks from June 26 to July 31. The weekly schedule is below:

Friday @ 1AM ET - prompt revealed Tuesday @ 1PM ET - drabbles due Tuesday night - drabbles posted, voting opens Thursday @ 7PM ET - voting closes Thursday night - results posted, drabbles revealed Friday @ 1AM ET - new prompt revealed

AELDWS is a weekly, elimination drabble contest. Each Friday, a prompt will be posted which consists of a prompt, genre, and word limit. Author drabbles are compiled, with author names removed, and the fandom is invited to vote for their favorite and least favorite drabbles. The author who comes in last place each week is eliminated until there are only three authors remaining in the final week.

Note: If all ten slots are filled, the first two weeks of AELDWS will be double elimination weeks.

Here are the drabbles for Week 3!

The prompt was:

Prompt: Hustle Genre: Canon Word limit: Exactly 300 words

To vote, head over to this Google Form and vote for your favorite and least favorite drabble.

Authors, you are welcome to vote, but you cannot vote for your own drabble.

Betas, you are welcome to vote as well. You may vote for the drabble you betaed if you truly believe it is the best!

Here are the drabbles for Week 2!

The prompt was:

Prompt: Troubled Genre: Hurt/Comfort Word limit: Between 300 and 350 words, inclusive

To vote, head over to this Google Form and vote for your favorite and least favorite drabble.

Authors, you are welcome to vote, but you cannot vote for your own drabble.

Betas, you are welcome to vote as well. You may vote for the drabble you betaed if you truly believe it is the best!

Week 3 results are in!

Thank you to everyone who read, voted, and commented!

We had a three-way tie for first place this week! So congratulations to:

@dingdangit, who wrote 'non-zero-sum'

@enchi-elm, who wrote 'cards on the table'

@thestalwartheart, who wrote 'the dance'

Sadly, we must say goodbye to @cantfixhim who wrote 'Tempus Fugit'. Thank you so much for joining us!

Author names have been added to the original drabble post and comments are being emailed to authors. Authors, if you would like to know your ranking for this week, let us know in a reply to that email!

Authors are encouraged to add their drabbles to the AELDWS AO3 collection if they post on AO3!

The official AELDWS 2026 roster is:

@cantfixhim

@darling-wendy

@dingdangit

@enchi-elm

@extravagav

@insert-cleverurl

@loyus-inception

@missingfawkes

@thestalwartheart

@vex-verlain

The first prompt will be posted Friday, June 26 at 1AM EDT (click here for your time zone)!

As a reminder, since we had 10 participants sign up, Weeks 1 and 2 will be double elimination weeks.

Week 1 results are in!

Thank you to everyone who read, voted, and commented!

The first place goes to @dingdangit , who wrote ‘two-factor authentication’!

Sadly, this week was a double elimination week, so we must say goodbye to @missingfawkes , who wrote 'severed ties’ and @insert-cleverurl , who wrote '12-0643 TXC; blazing yellow'. Thank you both so much for joining us!

Author names have been added to the original drabble post and comments are being emailed to authors. Authors, if you would like to know your ranking for this week, let us know in a reply to that email!

Authors are encouraged to add their drabbles to the AELDWS AO3 collection if they post on AO3!