Welcome to the second year of Septembleford — now with break days, badges, and more alt prompts! I’m even earlier with the prompt list this year to give y’all as long as possible to prepare :)
If you've got any questions, please check out the FAQ. And feel free to reach out to me if that doesn't help or you need further clarification on anything!
Have fun, and happy creating ✨✨
Text version of prompts, how to join, and rules under the cut
PROMPTS
New
Shock
Typewriter
Ground
Altar
[ Break day ]
Uniform
Buzz
Pride
Shadow
Train
Act
[ Break day ]
Keep
Paint
War
Light
Mine
School
[ Break day ]
Smoke
Return
Sin
Confession
Prize
Case
[ Break day ]
Different
Moon
Linger
ALT PROMPTS
Charm
Promise
Name
Collect
Letter
Quiet
Stage
Crack
Over
Blade
Ring
Search
Second
Catch
Quote
HOW TO JOIN
Create a fanwork for any prompts that catch your attention. Alt prompts can be used if you don’t like / don’t have inspo for one of the main prompts
Post each work on the relevant day in September (1st for ‘new’, 2nd for ‘shock’, etc)
On Tumblr, tag your works with #septembleford and #septembleford2026 (without a space)
On AO3, add your work to the collection by typing septembleford2026 into the ‘post to collections’ bar on the work creation page
Sundays are break days, which don't have specific prompts. You could use them to catch up with other people's Septembleford works, reply to comments on your own works, share one of your older works, or create something for an alt prompt
RULES
All works need to be related to Father Brown. This is primarily a BBC Father Brown event, but other versions are welcome too!
Any type of fanwork is allowed — fic, art, gifs, or anything else
AI generated content is NOT allowed
You can do as many or as few prompts as you want — no pressure to complete every single day
The day & prompt must be somewhere visible on your work. On Tumblr, anywhere on the post is fine. On AO3, it can be in the title / chapter name, the summary, or the notes at the start
Just a quick question on one of the badges. For the completionist badge which says to create something for all 26 prompt days, does that mean just creating something for 26 days including Alt prompts? Or does it have to be the original 26 prompts to count?
alt prompts definitely count towards it! the description just means “if you’re posting works on the actual days, you’ve posted these on the 26 prompt days and not the break days”. which might be unnecessarily confusing given that works don’t need to be posted on the actual prompt days to count towards the badge gjdjghd
basically, if you’ve made 26 separate works using 26 separate prompts, you can grab the completionist badge :)
Badges are fun little bonuses you can get from doing certain things during Septembleford. You can mix and match the ones you aim for (if any) based on how you want to participate. Just please don’t feel pressured to collect them all; this is not Pokemon!
The actual badges will be PNG images of this year’s background photo with “Septembleford 2026” and the badge name. You can do what you like with these — add them to your pinned post, make a “badge collection” post, hoard them in your photos, or anything else.
Badges work on an honour system. You are in charge of deciding which badges you’ve achieved, and I won’t be checking any of it. Although if you’re not sure if you’ve earnt one or not and want a second opinion, I’m happy to help!
I’ll probably post the actual PNG badges at the start of October, but you can keep earning them afterwards. Anything you post for Septembleford, no matter how long after September you post it, counts towards them.
If you have any questions, please check out the FAQ. And feel free to reach out to me if that doesn't help or you need further clarification on anything!
Text version of badges under the cut
Participant — create something for Septembleford 2026, or comment on other people’s Septembleford works
Creator — create something for Septembleford 2026
Completionist — create something for all 26 prompt days
Extra Completionist — create something for all 30 days
Prompt Enthusiast — create something for all 41 prompts
Jack-of-All-Trades — use 3+ mediums
Open-Minded — use a medium you haven’t used before
Against the Grain — use an unusual medium
Collaborator — create a work with someone else
Berry Nice — include strawberries in one of your works
Blorbo From My Episode — create a work focused on a guest (non-recurring) character
Blorbo From My Brain — create a work focused on an original character
Wake Me Up When September Ends — post a Septembleford work after September
Community Spirit — comment on 5 different people’s Septembleford 2026 works
A Creative’s Best Friend — comment on 30 different Septembleford 2026 works
Patron of the Arts — comment on 75% of the Septembleford 2026 works
Please read through this FAQ if you've got any questions about the event! I'll likely update it if multiple people ask about something that isn't already on here / need clarification on something that is
Full FAQ under the cut!
Q: When do I complete the prompts?
A: You can complete prompts (e.g. writing fics, making art, etc) at any time. The prompt list has been posted early so you have time to get everything finished before September if you so choose. Just make sure you wait till the relevant days to post them!
Q: Can I use prompts for different chapters of a single fic?
A: Yes!
Q: Can I combine multiple prompts for one fanwork? (e.g. one chapter of a fic / a oneshot, one art piece)
A: I wouldn’t recommend it, but I’m not going to outright ban it. Just try to make sure each prompt gets a decent amount of use within the work if you do want to combine them
Q: Can I make multiple fanworks for one prompt?
A: Go for it!
Q: Can I post my works after the prompt day?
A: Yes — no matter if it’s a day late or if September is fully over. Or if it’s 2027. I do not mind
Q: Are crossovers allowed?
A: Yep!
Q: What can I do if I want to post on break days but have run out of alt prompts?
A: You could reuse an alt, use a prompt from the main list that you previously skipped over, or even use a prompt from last year’s list! Or, if none of this appeals, you could just post something random / not prompt-related instead
Q: Do I need to make 41 separate works for the Prompt Enthusiast badge?
A: Ideally, yes, but combining prompts also counts as long as each prompt has a good amount of use within the work
Q: What counts as an “unusual medium” for the Against the Grain badge?
A: I’ve purposely left this up to your own interpretation. However, things that definitely don’t count are fics, art, video edits, and photo edits
Q: How do I know if I’ve commented on 75% of the works for the Patron of the Arts badge?
A: I’ll give an exact number of works for the 75% goal at the end of September. It’s up to you how (or if) you want to track how many / which works you’ve commented on. If you can’t be bothered, an estimate is fine
Q: When will the AO3 collection open?
A: 1 August, or possibly a day or so before / after that if I’ve got smth going on irl
Q: Help! I can’t think of any ideas for this prompt!
A: Drop me an ask either here or on @allthemurders, or jump into the Septembleford thread in the cosy crime Discord server! I tend to come up with far too many ideas for most of the prompts and I am very happy to share :)
Q: I have a question that hasn’t been answered / I need clarification on something
A: Feel free to ask! You’re most likely to get a swift reply if you:
Send an ask
Message me on Discord
Ping me in the cosy crime Discord server (there’s a Septembleford thread under the ‘Father Brown fanworks’ channel)
Here’s the forms for submitting prompt suggestions and badge suggestions!
Please send your suggestions one at a time — add one, press “submit”, then press “submit another response” to be returned to the form. This will make it a lot easier for me to see ideas that multiple people have suggested
Prompt suggestions
I’m currently planning to post the prompt list a day or two after s13 ep10 airs on BBC One (mid-March), so you have until then to get your suggestions in!
Drop any prompt suggestions here! Unfortunately due to the way I’ve set this up, you’ll need to send them one at a time — add one suggestion
Badge suggestions
PNG badges are new for this year! These will be a fun added bonus that you can get from completing certain goals (e.g. writing a certain number of words, including a specified thing in one of your works, or using 3+ mediums)
I don’t want them all to be rewards for Creating Lots Of Things, as I feel like that would add an element of unnecessary pressure, so ideas for interaction-based badges (e.g. commenting on others’ works) and smaller / silly goals would be much appreciated too :)
Drop any badge suggestions here! Unfortunately due to the way I’ve set this up, you’ll need to send them one at a time — add one suggestion,
Here’s the forms for submitting prompt suggestions and badge suggestions!
Please send your suggestions one at a time — add one, press “submit”, then press “submit another response” to be returned to the form. This will make it a lot easier for me to see ideas that multiple people have suggested
Prompt suggestions
I’m currently planning to post the prompt list a day or two after s13 ep10 airs on BBC One (mid-March), so you have until then to get your suggestions in!
Drop any prompt suggestions here! Unfortunately due to the way I’ve set this up, you’ll need to send them one at a time — add one suggestion
Badge suggestions
PNG badges are new for this year! These will be a fun added bonus that you can get from completing certain goals (e.g. writing a certain number of words, including a specified thing in one of your works, or using 3+ mediums)
I don’t want them all to be rewards for Creating Lots Of Things, as I feel like that would add an element of unnecessary pressure, so ideas for interaction-based badges (e.g. commenting on others’ works) and smaller / silly goals would be much appreciated too :)
Drop any badge suggestions here! Unfortunately due to the way I’ve set this up, you’ll need to send them one at a time — add one suggestion,
A rather belated happy new year to you all! It has come to my attention that we’re almost halfway through January already, which is not great for me cause I meant to figure everything out for Septembleford 2026 before the new year 😭😭
I’ve been looking through the feedback from Septembleford 2025 — many thanks to everyone who responded to that questionnaire! Most of it is straightforward, but there’s a couple things I’d like y’all’s input on.
First, a poll about the little PNG badges you’ll be able to get this year. As a reminder, these will be a fun added bonus that you can get from completing certain goals (e.g. writing a certain number of words, including a specified thing in one of your works, or using 3+ mediums). With that in mind…
Should posting works after September still count towards badges?
Yes
No
Voting ended onJan 19
And second, the matter of break days, which almost everyone wanted! These will be days without specific prompts, where you will instead be encouraged to catch up with other people's Septembleford works, reply to comments on your own works, share one of your older works, or create something for an alt prompt.
There’s two questions with this:
How many break days should there be?
When should the break days be?
Please answer these questions in the comments (not reblogs!) of this post! I’d like this to be a discussion if possible, so bouncing off other people’s suggestions is very much welcomed and encouraged too :)
I've made a feedback questionnaire so I can see what might need to be changed for Septembleford 2026! Please take the time to fill it out if you're able; I'd really appreciate it :)
Responses are very much welcome from those who didn't participate too!
Please leave your feedback on how this year's Septembleford went so I know what might need to be changed for 2026! NO PROMPT SUGGESTIONS, PL
(Also I did Not have the energy to proofread this so pls let me know if you spot any errors or if something doesn't make sense)
And with that, Septembleford is officially over! Well done and thank you to everyone who participated :)
If you’ve still got things you want to make for the prompts, or you get new ideas for them, remember you can still post new works! I’ll be keeping the masterlists updated as best I can, though you may need to let me know if you post something from now on.
I also plan on making a feedback questionnaire in the coming days to see what worked well and what might need to be tweaked for 2026, so keep an eye out for that 👀