Byler Big Bang

A Fan Event for the Stranger Things ship Mike Wheeler x Will Byers

[bylerbigbang]

Welcome to the Byler Big Bang 2026!

The Byler Big Bang is a fanwork event based on the Stranger Things ship of Mike Wheeler & Will Byers meant to create an explosion of content while providing structure, deadlines, and, of course, community support to writers and artists. This year, to celebrate our fifth year of hosting this event, we’ll be running it in the style of a reverse big bang!

See the full schedule here.

How does a reverse big bang work?

As during a normal big bang, writers and artists are paired up to create a fanfic and at least one piece of accompanying artwork. While during a big bang the writers decide what fanfic they write and artists get to choose from the ideas offered by our writers, a reverse big bang turns things around and lets the artists come up with an idea for what to draw—and then the writers get to pick! 

Once the sign up period is done, artists are asked to provide art ideas which writers then can claim. Over the following three months teams will work on completing a fic of at least 8k length and at least one full piece of visual art. Then, on their designated posting day in November, teams post their new works for the fandom to see!

See the rest of the rules & requirements here. 

See our FAQ here.

How do I get involved?

Artist sign ups will run from now until July 17th. Artists are expected to create at least one full piece of visual media over the course of the event. 

Writer sign ups will run from now until the early morning of July 24th. Writers are expected to write a fanfic of 8k words or more based on their partnered artist’s art idea.

Writers can additionally sign up as pinch-hitters to create a somewhat shorter fic to accompany an artist’s piece in case a writer drops out. You do not need to participate as a regular writer to sign up as a pinch-hitter.

>> You can sign up now! <<

[bylerbigbang]

heyyy sorry I cant access the faq for some reason keeps throwing out error for me, so im so sorry if it's covered there. i'm just curious - in my experience there are usually more writers than artists that sign up. what happens if there are not enough people to make pairs? do the excess get kicked out? or how is this planned out if you dont mind me asking? I've seen in other big bangs that sometimes the excess is dismissed, and sometimes that artists are asked for availability to possibly provide for more than one fic so just curious on your approach! and ofc no need to answer but can you disclose how many writers vs artists signed up? i work all day on claim day and im kiiiinda scared i'll lose the spot lmao

Hi! I can't disclose the exact numbers, but right now we have more writers than artists (which I don't say to discourage any writers who were still on the fence from signing up! If you want to write for the event we'd love to have you!), but you don't have to worry about losing your spot. We assign claims on a first-come-first-serve basis, so the earlier you hand in your claim the better the chance that you get exactly what you want, but everyone will get a prompt! If more writers claim a prompt than there were prompts to claim, we'll simply assign two writers to some prompts. That's how we've always done it during regular big bang years, and this is how it will remain with this event!

[bylerbigbang]

Hi! I want to join the event but I only have Discord at the moment. I'm planning to make socials in the next few days. Is it okay to have these to follow?

Hi! You don't need anything except an email address to sign up, so don't worry about not having a tumblr and/or twitter account!

[bylerbigbang]

hi :) i just was curious as to what time claims open for writers on the 24th? sorry if you've already said, i wasn't able to find the info anywhere else

Claims will open 12pm EST and run until the same time on the 26th!

[bylerbigbang]

Last Call!

Hey there Byler artists! Sign-ups for the Byler Big Bang are closing in a week (July 17th at 12pm EST), so if you’ve been on the fence or have forgotten to sign up until now, this is your reminder to do that! We’re hosting this year’s event as a reverse big bang, meaning artists get to decide what art ideas to work on and pitch to the writers!

You can find more information, including our schedule and rules, here.

It’s going to be a lot of fun, so if you’re interested in creating at least one piece of visual media over the course of the next three months while a writer creates an accompanying fic:

>> You can sign up here! <<

[bylerbigbang]

Two more days to sign up!

[bylerbigbang]

Hello, for artists, would something like a short comic be acceptable? I have an idea that would work best with maybe 2 pages with multiple panels, I just wasn't sure if that kind of thing would be suitable, or if the preference is more for just single images.

Hi! You are absolutely welcome to make a small comic as your art piece!

[bylerbigbang]

hello! i was hoping to sign up as a writer, but i turn 18 a few days after the writer sign-up form deadline. would i still be able to participate?

Hi, so this is a bit difficult to answer since "a few days" is a little vague. Generally speaking you should be 18 by the end of the claims period, which is July 29th this year. You are, however, welcome to reach out to us off-anon to discuss your specific case if you feel that that rule is unfair to you.

[bylerbigbang]

Last Call!

Hey there Byler artists! Sign-ups for the Byler Big Bang are closing in a week (July 17th at 12pm EST), so if you’ve been on the fence or have forgotten to sign up until now, this is your reminder to do that! We’re hosting this year’s event as a reverse big bang, meaning artists get to decide what art ideas to work on and pitch to the writers!

You can find more information, including our schedule and rules, here.

It’s going to be a lot of fun, so if you’re interested in creating at least one piece of visual media over the course of the next three months while a writer creates an accompanying fic:

>> You can sign up here! <<

[bylerbigbang]

hi are artists allowed to submit concept sketches for multiple different ideas/fics or Just One? i’ve done stranger things reverse bang previously and there we could submit up to 4 different projects. the rules seem to say we can do more than one art but it didn’t quite clarify if they should all be for the same concept. thanks x

Hi, that is a very good question, thank you for bringing it up! Since this is our first reverse bang we weren't quite sure on the specifics of that initially, just because we weren't sure what the sign up numbers would look like. Thus the slight ambiguity of the rules. But we have concrete numbers now, and we definitely have enough writers to allow artists to submit multiple prompts.

So: Artists will be allowed to submit up to two prompts. If both of these are claimed, you will be required to make art for both prompts; if only one gets claimed you will be required to make art for that specific prompt and may not switch to the other prompt you submitted. Artists are required to create one piece of art per claimed prompt, but are, of course, allowed to go beyond that if they see fit.

[bylerbigbang]

Hi, I was just wondering, how are us artists submitting our prompts and concept sketches for the writers to see?

Hi! There will be a google form through which you will be able to submit all necessary information, which we'll then compile for the writers to peruse, same as during a regular bang. Expect the email with the form link in about a week from now.

[bylerbigbang]

As a writer, can I use an in-progress fanfiction by me? Or do I need to start new one with a different concept?

So, during regular big bangs you are allowed to use already existing wips provided that you have not shared any details about them on social media anywhere. That is because we need all submissions to remain anonymous to the artists, so there can't be any identifying details on your socials anywhere.

However, we're not hosting a regular big bang this year but a REVERSE big bang. That means artists get to submit ideas from which the writers then pick, which in turn means all writers will have to start from scratch this year.

[bylerbigbang]

Welcome to the Byler Big Bang 2026!

The Byler Big Bang is a fanwork event based on the Stranger Things ship of Mike Wheeler & Will Byers meant to create an explosion of content while providing structure, deadlines, and, of course, community support to writers and artists. This year, to celebrate our fifth year of hosting this event, we’ll be running it in the style of a reverse big bang!

See the full schedule here.

How does a reverse big bang work?

As during a normal big bang, writers and artists are paired up to create a fanfic and at least one piece of accompanying artwork. While during a big bang the writers decide what fanfic they write and artists get to choose from the ideas offered by our writers, a reverse big bang turns things around and lets the artists come up with an idea for what to draw—and then the writers get to pick! 

Once the sign up period is done, artists are asked to provide art ideas which writers then can claim. Over the following three months teams will work on completing a fic of at least 8k length and at least one full piece of visual art. Then, on their designated posting day in November, teams post their new works for the fandom to see!

See the rest of the rules & requirements here. 

See our FAQ here.

How do I get involved?

Artist sign ups will run from now until July 17th. Artists are expected to create at least one full piece of visual media over the course of the event. 

Writer sign ups will run from now until the early morning of July 24th. Writers are expected to write a fanfic of 8k words or more based on their partnered artist’s art idea.

Writers can additionally sign up as pinch-hitters to create a somewhat shorter fic to accompany an artist’s piece in case a writer drops out. You do not need to participate as a regular writer to sign up as a pinch-hitter.

>> You can sign up now! <<

[bylerbigbang]

Two more weeks for artists to sign up!

[bylerbigbang]

I rlly want to take part this year, but do I need to 18? This sounds like such a fun idea but I understand if it’s against rules

Hi, we're glad about your interest in the event, but unfortunately, as per our rules, you do need to be at least 18 years old. We understand that that can be frustrating, but we hope the event will be around for a couple more years so hopefully you might be able to participate some other time!

[bylerbigbang]

I'm sorry if this is a stupid question, but is social media mandatory? I don't really use tumblr or twitter much, obviously can make one if needed, but just curious how the communication between artist and writer goes?

Hi, this isn't a stupid question at all! Social media is not required, although we do require that finished fics be posted on ao3 and all art and fics are publicly available somewhere for some time (please see our rules for details).

As for communication between artists and writers: you will be introduced via email and it's then up to you to decide which method (and frequency) of communication is most comfortable to you. Some people stick with email, others move to discord or social media dms, and all options are equally valid. So, as long as you have an email address you can sign up!

[bylerbigbang]

If I sign-up as a writer and don’t end up claiming any art idea, what happens next?

If you sign up but don't end up claiming an art idea, nothing happens. You'll be considered to have dropped out, so you're not technically participating in the event anymore, but since you did so before claims, you're all good. If you're also signed up as a pinch-hitter you'll still be considered a pinch-hitter, and we're not gonna throw you out of the event's discord server if you joined that.

I will say, though: We're still very early in the sign up period, and nothing much happens during the sign up period, so if you're unsure whether you'll be able to manage writing 8k+ words in 3 months, maybe take that time to think about it. There is no difference between people who signed up on the first day and people who sign up on the last day, but having a number of sign ups that more accurately reflects the number of people who end up participating through the whole event does help us plan. So, there are no negative consequences, but there's also no hurry!

[bylerbigbang]

hey, so maybe this is a dumb question, but im a first time participant and im not very comfortable with having my email shared out to a stranger on the internet as it contains my full name. i don't have any alternate emails. could i still be able to participate if i put a blank as my email and recieve updates through discord/tumblr itself?

Hi, we do cover this question in our faq but just to reiterate: We unfortunately do need an email address from you. We completely understand the privacy concerns, but for logistical reasons we need to be able to communicate with everyone via email. So you will either have to make a new email address to use for fandom events like this, or you will unfortunately not be able to participate. Sorry!

[bylerbigbang]

this is my first time doing a big bang (or participating in any fandom event like this). it looks interesting! it looks fun! im interested in signing up as a writer, though i may only be a pinch-hitter realistically. would it be alright to sign up for both? (and if i am made as a writer, i welcome the challenge :D)

Hi! In that case you can sign up as either a writer and a pinch-hit writer or just a pinch-hit writer. If you do sign up as a proper writer you can still change your mind up until claims. Whether you do end up participating as a proper writer is wholly up to you, so you have about a month to decide if you want to challenge yourself in this way or not.

If you sign up as both but end up not claiming an art idea, you'll still be on our list of pinch-hitters. However, if you claim an idea and then drop out you won't be eligible to participate as a pinch-hitter for someone else, so just keep that in mind!