THE DRABBLE HARVEST CONTEST
[1 October 2026 through 31 January 2027]
NOTE: WE ARE OPEN TO SUBMISSIONS FOR THIS CONTEST NOW!
Guidelines
A "drabble" is defined as a short story containing exactly precisely no more and no fewer than 100 words. It has a title, which can be from 1 to 15 words-- but no more than 15. That's a drabble.
You have to count each word. Hyphenated words, such as tete-a-tete, count as one word. Don't use your word count tool to count the words, because that tool will count an ellipsis ( . . . ) as three words, which really should not be counted at all. It will also count dashes ( - ) as words, which is wrong. So count each word by sight, not by tool.
Our drabble contests have themes. For each contest, we will simply throw the theme out there. Whatever the theme inspires you to write, that's what you write.
The theme of this contest is:
First Contact
The encounter may begin across impossible distances, as in a message received from another world; with explorers uncovering evidence of alien life, present or long extinct; or with visitors arriving on Earth—or humans arriving on theirs. Perhaps the discovery is closer still: an alien presence that has lived among us unnoticed. The possibilities are vast. We especially welcome original, imaginative stories that find a fresh way to make that first encounter matter.
This contest is open from 1 October 2026 through 31 January 2027. You have three months to write 100 words. That's 33 1/3 words a month. Easy peasy!
Ah, but once you have written them, where do you send them? You send them to the contest editor, Richard E. Schell, at drabbleharvest at yahoo dot com. You'll have to combine that address--sorry, but we don't want him to be spammed. Send your submission in the body of the e-mail, please. If you want anything italicized, please indicate by * before and after the word[s] to be italicized.
Pay for drabbles is 1 cent a word, which means one dollar per drabble. Pay for First Place is $5.00 and pay for Second Place is $2.00. Both First and Second Place winners will also receive a Hiraeth Publishing Publication
A couple of other notes.
One, please include your contact information in your e-mail. If you have a Paypal addy as well, include that in your contact information and label it as Paypal!! Submissions that do not include contact information--name and mailing address--may be deleted arbitrarily.
Two, winners will be announced in the February 2027 Hiraeth Publishing Newsletter on our site, as well as on Facebook and on Twitter.
Three, we will publish the 20-25 best submissions in February 2027, and a copy of the publication can be purchased from our bookstore. Each contributor will receive payment and a contributor's copy, with the option to buy additional copies at a discount.
And finally, if you have any questions, please ask Rick. This is all his fault!