merthur_glompfest | Frequently Asked Questions

Merthur Glompfest FAQs

What is a Glompfest? What does ‘Glomp’ mean?

A glompfest is a fandom fest held to celebrate the people who support the creators of fandom content. It is a gifting fest designed as a way for the fandom creators to give back to those who wouldn’t usually receive gift fic or art in a traditional exchange fest. Because you guys are the people who help keep the fandom running and we can’t begin to express how much we value your support — but we can give you a gift in the form of a fic or art in the form of a prompt or an idea you have always wanted to see! To glomp someone is to give them a fandom gift they desire without any expectation of one in response.

Who can be glomped (‘Glompee’)?

If you contribute to the fandom through commenting, beta reading, cheerleading, lurking, modding, reviewing, podficcing, reccing, or just being there for the people who do create for the Merthur fandom, then great news! You qualify to be glomped!

Who can glomp (‘Glomper’)?

The people who can glomp are our Merthur fandom content creators. If you are a writer or artist/creator who has:

- participated in a Merlin exchange fest in the past 2 years or
- written 5k or more of Merthur fanfic in the past year or
- drawn an equivalent amount of Merthur fanart in the past year (roughly 5 sketches/3 completed works) and
- wants to glomp!

Then congratulations: you qualify to be a glomper!

Sounds good! How can I get involved?

For both Glompees and Glompers, we need you to get out there and promote the fest on all your fandom outreaches! We have promo posts at the following places:

- Tumblr
- LiveJournal
- Dreamwidth
- Pillowfort

We will be making the majority of our announcements on Tumblr, so please do follow us there for updates and reminders!

If you are a Glompee, then we need your help posting prompts over in our Merthur Glompfest AO3 Collection. You can get started right away (don’t forget to also promote the fest so that more Glompees can get a gift; we’d love to give back to as many Merthur fans as we can!). Then sit back, relax, and continue being your fabulous self. Your gifts will start posting on 1 April.

If you are a Glomper, you can promote the fest and get ready to claim a prompt when claiming opens. In the first instance, we will be asking people to claim 1 prompt; once claims have been opened for a week, we will have a second claiming for any prompts leftover. But please to make sure you can manage to fill all of the prompts that you claim! Once you’ve claimed your prompt, it’s time for you to get to work creating a fantastic gift for your Glompee. We will have a quick check-in prior to posting to see how you are getting on. Posting will start on April 1 (and no, that’s not an April Fools).

What if I have posted enough fic/art to be a glomper but it isn't Merthur/isn't part of a fest?

Due to a high number of requests, we have decided to open up the Glompers category to people who have written 5k of BBC Merlin fic (or equivalent of BBC Merlin fanart or other BBC Merlin media) in 2019. However, please be aware that as this is a Merthur fest, so if you choose to be a Glomper, you will be filling a Merthur specific prompt for your Glompee. Also, if you choose to be a Glomper, you will no longer qualify as a Glompee.

What if I haven't written enough fic/created enough art to be a Glomper, but want to Glomp?

Those who don't meet the requirements to Glomp are welcome to be Glompees instead, but if there are enough unclaimed prompts after the first round of claiming we will consider opening them up to other interested parties.

Where will the prompts be hosted?

We are taking an adventure outside the usual Merlin fandom realm of Livejournal and Tumblr for the hosting of the prompts, and will instead be using AO3’s Collections/Challenge function. We will start accepting prompts from our fab Merthur Glompee’s on January 10th using the AO3 sign up form here.

How do I claim a prompt?

Once the prompting session has closed, we will open up the prompts to be claimed by the Glompers on a first come, first served basis. You may use a proxy if you are unable to get online at the time of claiming. A second round of claiming will be run if there are still unclaimed prompts.

What is the schedule?

We’re glad you asked! Our fest schedule is as follows:

Jan 10 - Jan 18 – Prompting
Jan 19 - Feb 19 – Claiming
Feb 19 - Mar 31 – Creation time
Apr 1 - Apr 29 – Posting period

What are the requirements for the prompts?

The prompts must be Merthur prompts in some form. They can be any genre, rating, au. The choice is yours. Please don’t ask for a mature/explicit gift if you are under the age of consent in the US (18).

You must have an AO3 account in order to submit a prompt. However, you can choose, when filling out your Prompt form, to remain anonymous. But please bear in mind that if you ask for a gift anonymously, then your Glomper won’t be able to tailor the gift to your tastes. If you don't have and don't want an AO3 account, you are free to email the mods at merthurglompfest@gmail.com confidentially and we will submit your prompt anonymously.

What are the requirements for the gifts?

The minimum word count for fic is 500 words. The maximum is however many you want, so long as you’re finished by the deadline. Artists and other creators should use a similar level of effort for their gift.

Why is it only Merthur?

Mostly because the mods both love and ship Merthur, really.

Can I write/art/create Merlin/Arthur with others as pairings?

For this fest we would like the focus to be on the Merlin/Arthur pairing. Other pre-Merthur pairings in the story are fine, so long as your prompt/fill is end-game Merthur.

Who can I contact if I have any further questions?

Please leave a comment on this post, email the mods here, or send a message to

ext_4137531 or

schweet_heart with your question(s).