Tumblr for @austenian on AO3, where we run events for fans of Jane Austen. Our prompt fest in celebration of Austen's 250th birthday is currently underway.
Austen Exchange is a fanfiction exchange dedicated to all things Jane Austenâfrom Austenâs original works to any and all adaptations of themâhosted annually on AO3. If you sign up, youâll be assigned to write a fic of at least 1000 words for another participant, and youâll receive the same in return.
If that sounds up your street, you can read more about Austen Exchange here. Our 2026 schedule is below:
Nominations: 14 July to 21 July, 22:00 UTC â countdown
Sign-Ups: 24 July to 2 August, 22:00 UTC â countdown
Assignments Out: on or before 5 August
Posting Deadline: 18 September, 22:00 UTC â countdown
Collection Opens: 26 September, 00:00 UTC â countdown
Author Reveals: 3 October, 00:00 UTC â countdown
Thanks for reading, and stay tuned for updatesâwe hope youâll join us!
Austen Exchange is an AO3-based fanfiction exchange for all things Jane Austen. Its fifth round will run from 14 July to 3 October 2026. For questions about the exchange, please contact [email protected].
2026 Schedule
Nominations and sign-ups may open early; this will not affect their end dates. The collection will not open before the listed time, even if all assignments are in. In the case of outstanding pinch hits, the collection will be delayed until all participants due gifts have received them.
Nominations: 14 July to 21 July, 22:00 UTC â countdown
Sign-Ups: 24 July to 2 August, 22:00 UTC â countdown
Assignments Out: on or before 5 August
Posting Deadline: 18 September, 22:00 UTC â countdown
Collection Opens: 26 September, 00:00 UTC â countdown
Author Reveals: 3 October, 00:00 UTC â countdown
Links
AO3 Collection + Tagset + Requests App
Nominations
Each participant may nominate up to 10 fandoms, with 15 characters or relationships in each fandom. Nominate romantic and/or sexual relationships as âCharacter A/Character B (Fandom)â and platonic relationships as âCharacter A & Character B (Fandom)â. Relationship tags may involve larger groups following the same format. Individual characters may be nominated as â1: Character A (Fandom)â.
You can submit nominations to the 2026 tagset here from 14 July until 22:00 UTC on 21 July (countdown).
What are nominations? Do I need to nominate anything in order to participate?
Nominations determine what fandoms, characters, and relationships can be requested and offered during the sign-up period. The nominations process helps us make sure that participants are asking for and offering exactly what they want to read and write.
You donât have to submit any nominations in order to participate in Austen Exchange, but nominations can be important if there are specific characters or relationships you want to sign up with. Although popular tags tend to pop up year after year, the only way to guarantee that what you want is in the tagset is by nominating it yourself.
What is a disambiguation?
A disambiguation is a parenthetical addition at the end of a tag that identifies the appropriate fandom. For example, if you wanted to nominate Harriet Smith/Emma Woodhouse as portrayed in the Autumn de Wilde movie, the complete, disambiguated tag would look like this: âHarriet Smith/Emma Woodhouse (Emma. 2020)â. This parenthetical keeps the tag distinct from the original novel and other adaptations.
What canons are allowed?
All of Jane Austenâs works, including completed novels, juvenilia, and unfinished works, are eligible, as well as adaptations and retellings of any of those works. Media about Austen fandom, like Austenland (2013), is also welcome. In edge cases, the mods will generally assume nominations to be made in good faith. Nominations for All Media Types or Related Fandoms will not be accepted.
Are crossovers allowed?
Yes, but all fandoms involved must be eligible in their own right (i.e., Austen-related). For example, âJane Fairfax (Emma - Austen) & Fanny Price (MP - Austen)â would be accepted, but âJane Eyre (Jane Eyre - BrontĂ«) & Fanny Price (MP - Austen)â would not. Crossovers should be nominated under the âCrossover Fandomâ umbrella tag.
Are original characters allowed?
Yes, but they may only be requested within relationships. All nominations must include at least one canon character. If you have a preference for the OCâs gender, you may indicate so within the tag [e.g., âMargaret Dashwood/Original Female Character (S&S - Austen)â].
Are genderbent characters allowed?
Yes, you may nominate, offer, and request characters as a different gender than they appear in canon using the relationship tags. When nominating, indicate the change like so: âAnne Elliot/F!Frederick Wentworthâ or â1: M!Lydia Bennet,â with the corresponding disambiguations. Tags that make no gender designation are assumed to refer to canon gender.
Can I request relationships involving both platonic and romantic dynamics?
Yesâjust keep an eye out for the distinction between & (platonic) and / (romantic or sexual). For instance, if you want to explore the canon relationship between the elder Dashwood sisters and their husbands at the end of Sense and Sensibility, you might nominate âColonel Brandon/Marianne Dashwood & Elinor Dashwood/Edward Ferrars (S&S - Austen)â.
Sign-Ups
Your sign-up consists of two parts: requests and offers. Requests indicate the kind of gift you would like to receive, while offers indicate the kind of gift you are able to create for someone else. In order to sign up, you must make a minimum of two distinct requests and two distinct offers, but you are allowed to make up to ten of each.Â
What is a distinct request/offer?
A distinct request/offer is one made in a different fandom than your other requests/offers. Requests and offers for the same relationship are still considered distinct if they are within different fandoms (e.g., the original novel and a film adaptation). As a requester, your expectations should be aligned with the specific version(s) you are asking for; what someone writes for Persuasion (2022) may be very different from what the same person would write for Persuasion (1995), or Persuasion â Jane Austen, even if all requests are for Anne Elliot/Frederick Wentworth. Likewise, as a writer, you should be prepared to write for the specific version(s) of the canon(s) you have offered.
How does matching work?
Matching is OR matching using the relationships field on AO3. This means that in order to be matched, a recipient and an author must share at least one fandom between their respective requests and offers, and they must also share at least one tag (i.e., a relationship or character) within that same fandom.
What should I include in my request details?
You are free to include as much or as little information as you wish. The idea of this section is simply to give your writer an idea of the kind of story you might enjoy. For example, you might provide prompts, list tropes you like to read, or talk about why you like a certain relationship. If there is any content that would prevent you from enjoying your gift, you should list it as a Do Not Want (DNW) in your request details.
DNWs can be anythingâfor example, you might want to DNW noncanon background pairings, space AUs, or death. You are welcome to clarify the boundaries of your DNWs (e.g., âno carrots, but other root vegetables are fineâ), but thereâs no need to explain why you donât want themâno matter how serious or trivial the reason, your DNWs are binding. While all other request details are optional, writers must avoid requestersâ DNWs.
I really want to write [a modern AU, an epistolary narrative, etc.]. Can you match me with someone who wants that?
Maybe! If you leave a note in the âOffer Detailsâ box, we will do our best to consider your matching preferences. However, it is not possible to guarantee a match according to any preference other than fandom and relationship tag.
What if no one offers anything I request?
Your request will be sent out as a pinch hit. Pinch hits may be claimed by anyone willing to write for one of their requests. Participants on the pinch hit list are welcome to email the mods to add requests if desired, but there is no obligation or expectation that they do so.
What if no one requests anything I offer?
To participate in Austen Exchange, you must be able to write something being requested by another participant. Unmatchable participants must either add offers until they are matchable or withdraw their sign-ups. Any unmatchable participants who do not respond within 24 hours of being contacted to add offers will have their sign-ups deleted.
Assignments & Posting
After sign-ups are complete, you can expect to receive your assignment on or before 5 August. You will then have a period of approximately six weeks to write a gift for your recipient. Assignments may be posted to the collection at any point before the 2026 deadline of 22:00 UTC on 18 September (countdown), but they wonât be visible to anyone but the author and the mods until the reveals date of 26 September. There is no deadline for treats.
Do I have to write the request I matched on?
No, but you must write one of your recipientâs requests. As long as your fic fits the completion requirements and exactly matches a fandom and a character or relationship requested by your recipient within that fandom, your assignment has been fulfilled.
Can I write something I wasnât assigned?
Yes, treats to participants and to the collection are both welcome. Treats to participants must be in a requested fandom and include a requested character or relationship. Treats to the collection must be within an eligible (i.e., Austen-related) fandom. There is no minimum word count for treats. Writing a treat does not count as fulfilling your assignment.
Are there any restrictions on the content of fic written for this exchange?
All works must be allowed under AO3âs Terms of Service and must not include any of the recipientâs DNWs. Works may not be written, in part or in whole, by generative AI (e.g., ChatGPT, Claude). If the mods find proof that a LLM has written or cowritten a participantâs assignment, the user will be subject to a ban.
How do I post my assignment?
The easiest way is to navigate to the âMy Assignmentsâ page from your AO3 profile, then click the button that says âFulfillâ. The names of the challenge and your recipient should be automatically filled in. From there, you can fill in the rest of the form and post as usual.
If youâve written a treat, the process is a little different. Since you wonât have an assignment to fulfil, you should select âPost To Collectionâ on the current challenge page on AO3. From there, you must manually enter the recipientâs name in the âGift this work toâ field before posting as usual.
What happens if I default?
You are no longer expected to write your assignment, and it will be posted to the community as a pinch hit. If your writer defaults after you have defaulted, your request will not be sent out as a pinch hit.
How do I claim a pinch hit?
Leave a comment on the screened post with the number of the pinch hit and your AO3 username. The mod will let you know if you have been assigned the pinch hit.
Am I guaranteed a gift?
Gifts are guaranteed for all participants who complete their assignments by the deadline. The collection will not open until all participants guaranteed gifts have received them.
The event has now begun, with 4 works in the AO3 collection. Be sure to check the collection, not only this blog, to see all of the fics posted this month. Some authors don't use Tumblr, so there's nothing to reblog here, but I would hate for you to miss out on their work.
Remember, all the info you need for the event is linked from the pinned post.
Happy 250th birthday to Jane Austen! Works in our prompt fest have just been revealed here. Come to admire, kudos, and comment as far as the eye can see. Though prompting is now closed, new fills are always welcome. You can browse prompts here. Thank you for celebrating with us!
The Jane Austen 250th Birthday Prompt Fest will be revealing all posted works and prompting will close tomorrow at 08:00 UTC. While youâll still be able to fill prompts after reveals, now is a great time to add any last prompts or to post any works youâve created for the event. If youâre still thinking of making something, you can also browse existing prompts here.
Weâre now halfway through the festâs prompting and creation period, but thereâs still plenty of time to come up with more!
At the time of writing, there are 56 prompts upâfeaturing all six of Austenâs major novels, two earlier works, and plenty of âAny Austen Fandomâ wildcards. Take a look and see if anything catches your eye!
Still have some ideas youâd like to share with the world? Whether itâs your first or your forty-first, youâre more than welcome to submit more prompts here.
Jane Austen 250th Birthday Prompt Fest: Rules & FAQ
This prompt fest is a celebration of Jane Austenâs 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.
For questions about the fest, please contact [email protected]. For general questions about claiming and fulfilling prompts, please refer to AO3âs Prompt Meme FAQ.
More fest-specific details await under the cut!
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 Austenâs 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 OCâs 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., âMargaret Dashwoodâ) 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 youâre open to having your prompt filled by a work for any fandom eligible for the fest, list the fandom as âAny Austen Workâ when prompted. You may nominate character and relationship tags to this fandom using âAnyâ and a descriptor of the character type (e.g., âAny Clergyman/Any Heroineâ). If your desired tag includes a specific character but invites crossovers with any eligible fandom (e.g., âMary Crawford/Any Heroâ), you may nominate it under either âAny Austen Workâ or the work to which the named character belongs. âAnyâ tags may also be used within specific fandoms (e.g., âWilliam Collins/Any Bennet Sisterâ). 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 Creatorâs Choice of Medium. Use the âMedium Specified in Promptâ 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 âCreatorâs Choice of Mediumâ 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 authorâs name. For stories, list both the first and last name (e.g., âLesley Castle - Jane Austenâ). For plays, list only the surname (e.g., âThe First Act of a Comedy - Austenâ). If a canonical tag exists, select it from the dropdown list when it appears.
To nominate a character, provide the characterâs first and last name as they are known for most of the story (e.g., âAnne Elliotâ, not âAnne Wentworthâ). If the characterâs name is not sufficiently identifying, place the fandom name in parentheses after their name [e.g., âEmma Watson (The Watsons)â].
To nominate a relationship, please order the characters alphabetically according to surname (e.g., âFitzwilliam Darcy/Emma Woodhouseâ). 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 AO3âs 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 âFulfillâ 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 donât 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, creatorsâ 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.
