Disclaimer

By signing up for the fest, you affirm that you have read and agree to the rules and FAQ. Please note that should there be any disputes regarding the interpretation of the rules, or situations not described in the rules, the decision of the mods will be final.

Rules

We’ve made some changes & updates this year, so please give these a thorough read if you are considering signing up for the fest, even if you’ve participated before.

Please check out our FAQ for more information about the fest, found here!

Contact:

If you have any questions after reading this (yes, all of it!), please contact hderised@gmail.com. Please do not contact individual mods with questions about the fest.

We encourage all participants to follow the fest tumblr (@hd-erised) so that you see any important updates, foster a sense of community, and see all the works that post during the fest <3

1. You must be over 18
2. You must have an AO3 account (let us know if you need an AO3 invite!)
3. You must have created and posted at least one Harry/Draco work that:
   1. is either 2.5k words or the equivalent level of investment for art
   2. was not created using AI at any step, including ideation, generation, and/or editing.
   3. is beta read
   4. is complete and posted in its entirety prior to the start of signups
   5. revealed with you as the author by the start of signups, if it was part of an anon fest
4. If you had to drop out from H/D Erised the most recent time you participated for any reason, and are interested in participating this year, please email the mod account to confirm your eligibility.

1. H/D Erised is a gift exchange, so please create your work with your giftee’s likes and dislikes in mind.
2. Your work must be anonymous until it is revealed on January 6th, 2027. This means you cannot post or share it on any platform, even in part (including outlines, snippets, excerpts, outtakes, screencaps of drafts, discussion of ideas/plot points/challenges, etc.), during the creation and posting period.
3. Any commissions for related works must not be posted anywhere until after reveals (therefore, you may not commission a related work as part of your gift to your recipient).
4. Focused on Harry/Draco as an endgame romantic dyad (even if Harry and/or Draco are in triads, polycules, or other relationships along the way).
5. Fics must be 2,500 words or longer (there is no upper WC limit). Art must show the same level of time and commitment.
6. No AI may be used at any point in the H/D Erised creation process. This includes ideation, brainstorming, creating, or editing your work. H/D Erised is a for-humans, by-humans festival.
7. Your work must be a standalone piece (not part of a series or a prequel/sequel/remix of another work, and not posted previously elsewhere).
8. Must be thoroughly betaed, including artwork.
9. You may sign up to create Fic OR Art
10. If you are an artist or writer who would like to include another type of work in your submission (e.g. if you are a writer who would like to create art or an artist who would like to include a ficlet or drabble with your work) please contact the mods before beginning the accompanying work.
11. Collaborations: We will not be allowing collaborations that have not first been discussed with the mods. Generally, we do not allow collaborations unless the two of you have successfully collaborated in the past, and even so, we can’t guarantee it. For the purposes of matching, collaborations will be treated as one person - you will create and receive one work. BOTH of you must respond to each check-in email from the mods, including follow-up inquiries. If one of you fails to respond, both of you may be dropped from the fest.
12. Please contact the mods if you are interested in creating a non- or unconventionally-representative work, including:
    1. Abstract works
    2. Works in which Harry and/or Draco are not represented in human or creature form at all
    3. Works focusing on inanimate objects

How the Fest Works

1. Signups are hosted on dreamwidth. Fill out the sign-up form (templates are in the FAQ and on dreamwidth) and paste it as a comment on the sign-up post. You do not need an account to post a sign-up, but be aware that comments by non-users cannot be edited.
2. Sign-ups are first come, first serve, and open at 9 am EST on July 3rd.
3. We will cap the number of writers at 35. There is no cap for artists.
4. If you don’t have time to post your form right away, you or a friend may comment a placeholder that reads “placeholder for [name]”. You must then reply to this comment with your completed sign up form within 24 hours, or you’ll lose your place.
5. Please be thoughtful and careful when filling out your sign-up form - this is what we will use to match you with the most compatible creator and recipient.
1. Please note that we will not be honoring dislikes for POC or trans characters or headcanons, and ask that you do not put this on your form. For more info, see the inclusivity FAQ.
2. Please do not request works from specific creators, or mention specific creators whose works you like or dislike in your sign-up form. All creators are unique, and your gifter should feel free to create a work in their own style without worrying about comparisons to others <3
3. Additionally, please do not reference outside canon material (books, films, TV shows, etc) without explaining what aspects of those materials you would like to see in your gift. Your gifter should be able to know what you like just from reading your form.
6. If you didn’t sign up in time, or aren’t sure about committing to the fest but might like to participate, we encourage you to sign up as a pinch-hitter. If a creator is no longer able to complete their assignment, we may reach out to you and ask if you will be able to do it. Be aware that the timeline for pinch-hitting is often much tighter than the 3-month creation period.
7. For the sign-up form template, detailed instructions/guidelines and more information on signing up, check out our signups FAQ page.

1. Once sign-ups close, we will begin the process of matching creators to recipients. Matching is based entirely on the information you give us in your sign-up form.
2. If there is content you cannot receive that you feel uncomfortable putting on your form, or a person you feel you absolutely could not create for or receive a gift from, please email the mods by July 10th at 11:59 EST. This is to ensure everyone’s well-being during the fest. We do not accept requests to be matched with a certain participant.
3. Once you receive your assignment on July 20th, you must email the mods and let us know you’ve accepted your assignment. If you won’t be available to respond to the assignment email within a week, let us know before sign ups close. If you don’t respond within one week of receiving your assignment, you may be dropped from the fest.

For detailed information on how to approach your creations, including advice/suggestions from the mods, check out our creation period FAQ page.

1. There will be two mandatory check-ins during the creation period. You must respond within one week of receiving our check-in email. If you know you won’t be available to respond during these dates, please let us know ahead of time so we can work something out.
1. Check-in #1 on September 7th: You will answer a few questions about your work, but we won’t ask you to submit anything yet.
2. Check-in #2 on October 5th: You’ll send us your current WIP, so we have a sense of what you’re planning to submit and where you are at in the process, including your current and estimated word count.
2. If you need help finding a beta-reader, check out our beta/sensitivity reader sign-ups (not yet updated for 2026).
3. Works are DUE on November 2nd.
1. Email your finished work to hderised@gmail.com. Fic must be in .doc, .docx, or .rtf format. Art must be in .jpg, .jpeg, .png, or .gif format. Your email must include a header for your work (template here)
2. Any images or videos you use cannot be under copyright or contain copyrighted material that does not belong to you. If you decide to include public domain images to accompany your work, you must provide links so we can quickly and efficiently check the copyright status.
3. We will not be accepting any ‘extras’ (fic covers, fan videos, playlists, etc) beyond your fic and/or art. If you have made something additional, you are welcome to gift it to your recipient after reveals.
4. For more information on how to correctly submit your works, see the submission guidelines.

1. Please try to submit your work on time - the timing of submissions affects the posting schedule, because we can’t post a gift for someone who hasn’t submitted their work yet. If you are very late to submit, you will also delay when your gifter’s work can be posted - even if they submitted on time.
2. If you think you might need an extension, please let us know ASAP. We will begin granting official extension requests two weeks before the deadline. Please email us again at this time should you need an extension. In your extension request, you must include:
1. Your current and estimated final word count
2. An estimate of how much time you need to finish
3. Your work in progress, including everything you have so far, attached to the email
3. Due to the moving pieces in the fest, we may not be able to give you as much time as you ask for. We may also ask you to check in with us during your extension period.
4. Decisions will be made on the basis of your WIP. If by the November 2nd deadline you’ve made clear progress, and just need a bit more time, it won’t be a problem. Second extensions are given on the same basis: we will need to see that you made progress during the first extension.
5. When asking for an extension, please be honest. We are much more likely to be able to accommodate you if we understand exactly where you are in the process. We’ve all been through this – we get that life happens. Mostly, we appreciate clear, prompt communication.
6. If you are not making sufficient progress after multiple extensions, or are not clearly + candidly communicating with us, or are not responding to our emails, we may have to drop you from the fest. We really, really don’t want to do this - this is a last resort for us, dictated by how much time our pinch-hitters will need to create a work for your giftee. Our priority is making sure everyone receives a gift.

For more detailed information on our proofing process and philosophy, see our proofing & tagging FAQ page.

The basics: because Erised is a gift exchange, we proof each submission for several things:

1. Recipient dislikes: If your gift includes things that your recipient has said they do not want, we’ll have to either ask you to revise the piece or, if revisions aren’t possible, we’ll have to find a different creator for your recipient. We really, really do not want to do that, especially after you’ve spent time + energy crafting a gift for them, so please pay close attention to their likes and dislikes when creating. If you have questions or concerns about something on your recipient’s sign up form, do not hesitate to reach out to the contact person on their form, or to the mods. We’d be more than happy to double check with them for you.
2. Tagging: Because Erised posts during a sensitive time of year, and we want to create a safe environment for readers and participants in the fest, we encourage all creators to tag thoroughly. With this in mind, the mods reserve the right to add content tags and/or warnings to your work for the duration of the fest. We are more than happy to work with you to find the best tag for the situation. If you feel a tag spoils part of your work, please let us know. Of course, you are welcome to remove any mod-added tags after reveals, once the fest is over.
3. SPaG/HTML: All works should be beta-read before submissions, but sometimes things slip through the cracks. The mods reserve the right to correct obvious spelling, punctuation, and grammatical errors and faulty HTML in your submissions without first asking permission. If you have not included HTML, we will add it. If your work has a large number of spag errors, we may send it back to you for a second beta-read. If you need help finding a beta, see here (not yet updated for 2026).
4. We are human. If you see something in a posted work that you believe needs a tag or warning, please email the mods, rather than commenting on the work. We will then work with the creator to come up with a suitable tag. If we make a mistake when proofing your work, please let us know.

1. Once your fic is proofed, the mods will upload it to the H/D Erised 2026 collection on AO3. You will be immediately added as a co-author.
2. Please reserve any changes after submitting for MINOR spelling + grammar edits only. If you need to revise your fic beyond spelling + grammar, please email the mods with all your changes, including line edits, in the body of the email (with both the original and changed versions), so that we can quickly and easily approve the changes. In the past, the only times we know of when a fic has ever contained a recipient’s dislike has been when creators added something - even a very small change - after submission without the mods’ knowledge. This can cause a lot of heartache for gifters and recipients alike, something we all want to avoid <3
3. When your work is posted, it will be anonymous until the big reveal on January 6th. To maintain anonymity, please do not respond to comments on your work until after reveals. If you receive a negative/upsetting comment, you may delete it, or reach out to us and we will help work out a course of action you feel comfortable with.
4. When your gift posts, please comment on it within 24 hours - even if it’s just to say that you’re excited and will follow up later with a more thorough comment. If you won’t be available to receive your gift over a certain period during December, let the mods know, and we will try to post your gift when you have time to appreciate it.
5. We strongly encourage you to comment on as many of the other works as you can, as well! This is a huge part of keeping our community vibrant and joyful. At the end of the fest, we publicly acknowledge and celebrate folks who comment on more than half of the Erised creations.

For more info on our commenting philosophy and why commenting is so great for the Erised community (and fandom in general), as well as suggestions for how to craft a stellar comment, see here.

Reveals:

1. On January 6th, we will reveal you as a creator of your work and remove the hd-erised account as a co-creator. Your work will be officially yours to do what you like - respond to comments, change the tags, post a header on tumblr, or whatever else your heart desires <3