austenexchange

Basics

This prompt fest is a celebration of Jane Austen’s 250th birthday, which takes place on 16 December 2025. It welcomes prompts for fanworks of any work by Jane Austen. Fanworks may be of any medium and fills of any length, provided they answer the prompt. Works created by generative AI are not allowed.

This event is hosted on AO3, where you can leave and fill prompts. Works will reveal and prompting will close on Austen's birthday at 08:00 UTC, but prompts may be filled at any time, including after reveals.

Eligibility

What fandoms are allowed?
All fandoms must be works of fiction written by Jane Austen. This includes her juvenilia, unfinished projects, and minor works as well as the six major novels. Adaptations of Austen’s works are outside the scope of this fest.

Are crossovers allowed?
Yes, but all works involved must have been written by Jane Austen. To request a crossover, select all applicable fandoms when creating your prompt.

Are original characters allowed?
Yes, but only within relationships or as supporting characters. All requests must include at least 1 canon character. If you have a preference for the OC’s gender, you may indicate it within the prompt.

How do I request genderbent characters?
Request the relevant character or relationship tags without modifiers (e.g., ‘Margaret Dashwood’) and use the details box to specify the requested gender change(s).

I have a prompt idea, but it could work for any Austen fandom. What should I do?
If you’re open to having your prompt filled by a work for any fandom eligible for the fest, list the fandom as ‘Any Austen Work’ when prompted. You may nominate character and relationship tags to this fandom using ‘Any’ and a descriptor of the character type (e.g., ‘Any Clergyman/Any Heroine’). If your desired tag includes a specific character but invites crossovers with any eligible fandom (e.g., ‘Mary Crawford/Any Hero’), you may nominate it under either ‘Any Austen Work’ or the work to which the named character belongs. ‘Any’ tags may also be used within specific fandoms (e.g., ‘William Collins/Any Bennet Sister’). In that case, they should be nominated under the fandom relevant to the request.

Sign-Ups

How do I leave a prompt?
To leave a prompt, simply complete this form on AO3. If you do not have an AO3 account, you may request an invitation here.

All prompts must specify at least 1 fandom, but they may include up to 10. To request a crossover, select all applicable fandoms. You may also choose up to 10 characters and 5 relationships you would like to be featured in fanworks created for your prompt.

All prompts must include a description. This description may be as simple or as detailed as you wish, but it should include more information than the desired relationships or characters alone. When writing a prompt, it may help to think about what you might find inspiring as a creator.

You must also select at least 1 medium from the following tags: Fanart, Fanfiction, Podfic, Medium Specified in Prompt, and Creator’s Choice of Medium. Use the ‘Medium Specified in Prompt’ tag if you would like to request a medium not included in the tagset, such as a fanmix; as indicated by the tag, be sure to indicate your preferred medium(s) in the prompt description. Use ‘Creator’s Choice of Medium’ if you are open to your prompt being filled in any medium, including mediums not included in the tagset. If you are open to multiple mediums but not any medium, select the tags for mediums you are willing to receive.

How many prompts can I make?
You can make up to 50 prompts per account, which is the maximum allowed by AO3 in a single challenge sign-up. You do not have to leave all of your prompts at one time.

Do I need to commit to creating a work for the fest in order to leave a prompt?
No, anyone may leave a prompt, regardless of whether they plan to create a fanwork.

What are nominations? Do I need to nominate anything in order to participate?
Nominations allow you to request tags (i.e., relationships and characters) that have not yet been used on AO3. Most characters and relationships can be requested without first being nominated. However, if you would like to create a prompt for a relationship or character that does not have a canonical tag on AO3, you will need to nominate the tag in order to use it in the fest. You can nominate tags here.

What format should I use to nominate a tag?
If you need to nominate a fandom, provide the title of the work followed by the author’s name. For stories, list both the first and last name (e.g., ‘Lesley Castle - Jane Austen’). For plays, list only the surname (e.g., ‘The First Act of a Comedy - Austen’). If a canonical tag exists, select it from the dropdown list when it appears.

To nominate a character, provide the character’s first and last name as they are known for most of the story (e.g., ‘Anne Elliot’, not ‘Anne Wentworth’). If the character’s name is not sufficiently identifying, place the fandom name in parentheses after their name [e.g., ‘Emma Watson (The Watsons)’].

To nominate a relationship, please order the characters alphabetically according to surname (e.g., ‘Fitzwilliam Darcy/Emma Woodhouse’). Use a forward slash (/) to indicate romantic and/or sexual relationships and an ampersand (&) to indicate all other kinds of relationship, such as platonic or familial. Characters and relationships should be nominated under the fandom to which they belong. In the case of crossover relationships, you may use any work to which one of the involved characters belongs.

Claims and Posting

Do I need to leave a prompt in order to create a work for the fest?
No, anyone may create a fanwork in response to a prompt, regardless of whether they have left any prompts themself.

How many prompts can I claim?
There is no limit on the number of prompts a participant may claim.

Can more than one person claim a single prompt? Can I fill a prompt that has already been filled by someone else?
Yes, prompts may be claimed and filled by as many people as are interested in them.

Can I fill my own prompt?
Yes, participants are welcome to create works for their own prompts.

What are the minimum requirements for works posted for this fest?
There are no length or completeness requirements for this fest. However, the work you post should be in response to a specific prompt made for the fest and adhere to the key points within that prompt. For instance, if a requester specifies that they would like a Happily Ever After (HEA) for a particular prompt, any works created for it should reflect this.

Are there any restrictions on the content of prompts or fanworks created for the fest?
All works must be allowed under AO3’s Terms of Service and fulfill the prompts they have been created for. The mods also reserve the right to delete prompts and to remove works from the collection if they appear to be made in bad faith (e.g., harassment of other participants) or are products of generative AI.

How do I post a fill for a prompt?
After claiming a prompt, select the “Fulfill” button on the prompt you wish to fill. You may then post your work as usual. If you are posting before work reveals, the work will remain hidden until 08:00 UTC on 16 December.

What is the deadline to post a fill for a prompt?
The soft deadline is 16 December, when all works will be revealed at 08:00 UTC. However, the collection will be open for late fills indefinitely.

What if I don’t finish my fanwork by 16 December?
WIPs may be posted to the collection if they are in a state the creator is willing to share at the time of posting. For instance, if you have a complete first chapter of a longer work, you may post it to be revealed on 16 December, even if the full story is incomplete. Late fills may also be posted indefinitely following work reveals

Is there an anonymous period?
No. When works are revealed on 16 December, creators’ names will be visible with them immediately. You are welcome to talk publicly about the works you are creating for this event, even before works are revealed. However, if you plan to cross-post your work on another platform, we ask that you wait to publish anywhere until 16 December.