Conditions of submission
Rules for participation
Submission requirements
Authors can submit original (read: no AI or borrowed content) haikus. The maximum length is 100 characters (including spaces). Works submitted can only be of the following genre: haikus.
Authors can find more information about haiku and how to write one here:
https://ala-2026.short-edition.com/pc/write-your-haiku-1
Contest main information
The 2026 ALA Annual Conference & Exhibition and Short Edition Writing Contest opens April 13, 2026 and will end on May 24, 2026.
Two haikus will be crowned ALA 2026 Annual Conference & Exhibition winners—one selected by our jury and one by the public, as all submissions will be open to online voting following the submission period.
Anyone with a Short Édition account will be able to vote for their favorite haikus, whether they participated themselves or not.
Author information
Authors shall submit their work using a Short Édition account that they will need to create. The author should clearly indicate how they would like to be credited for their work. This name will appear next to the title of their work.
Guidelines
- Open to all attendees of the ALA Annual Conference & Exhibition.
- Entries should be submitted in English.
- Entries should be haikus.
- Maximum length is 100 characters (including spaces).
- One entry per person, and entries must be submitted online through the "Submit" button of this website.
- Participants are invited to write either about ALA (a memorable moment, a fun moment, an encounter....) or the city of Chicago. As only one entry is allowed per participant, authors will have to choose one theme or the other.
- The author grants a non-exclusive right to the project organizer to reproduce, correct, and publish their stories via the Short Story Dispensers on site at the ALA 2026 Annual Conference & Exhibition and on this website.
- The information contained in these official rules is for reference only and is subject to change. The ALA 2026 Annual Conference & Exhibition project and Short Édition reserve the right to revise, amend, or repeal these basic contest rules at any time.
Rights, Guarantees, and Responsibilities
Guarantees and responsibilities
The author declares that they are the sole author of any work they submit. The author declares that they are the sole author of any work they submit. Entries must not be plagiarized, written by someone else, or generated by artificial intelligence. The author declares that they control the copyright of the submitted work, meaning that they have never transferred these rights to a third person/entity. All characters must be original. Copyrighted names are not allowed.
Any entry that, in the ALA 2026 Annual Conference & Exhibition and Short Édition's sole and absolute discretion (i) is obscene, profane, lewd or defamatory; (ii) includes antisocial content; (iii) does not meet the requirements outlined in the Official Rules; or (iv) is otherwise objectionable; may not be considered and may be disqualified.
The author agrees to defend, indemnify, and hold harmless ALA Annual Conference & Exhibition ★ Chicago from and against all claims by third parties resulting from the author’s breach or alleged breach of any representations and warranties contained herein.
If submitting work on behalf of a minor, the submitter agrees with the following statement:
I represent and warrant that I am the parent/legal guardian of the minor named above. I grant a non-exclusive right to ALA Annual Conference & Exhibition ★ Chicago to reproduce, correct and publish this submission along with the minor’s first name and age via Short Édition dispensers owned by ALA Annual Conference & Exhibition ★ Chicago, as well as via websites owned by ALA Annual Conference & Exhibition ★ Chicago, and/or in print publications produced by ALA Annual Conference & Exhibition ★ Chicago. The copyright of the work shall remain with the minor. I represent and warrant that the minor owns the right to license this work in connection with the submission. I agree and acknowledge that in this specific case, publication and distribution of the minor’s work shall not result in the payment of royalties from neither Short Édition nor ALA Annual Conference & Exhibition ★ Chicago. I agree to defend, indemnify, and hold harmless ALA Annual Conference & Exhibition ★ Chicago from and against all claims by third parties resulting from my or the minor’s breach or alleged breach of any representations and warranties contained herein.
Copying and distribution
The author grants a non-exclusive right to the project organizer to reproduce, correct, and publish their stories via the Short Story Dispensers on site at the ALA 2026 Annual Conference & Exhibition and on this website.
The copyright of the work shall remain with the author. The author agrees and acknowledges that in the specific case of submissions sent via this submission portal, publication and distribution of their work shall not result in the payment of royalties from either Short Édition or ALA Annual Conference & Exhibition ★ Chicago.
Selection and publication
The coordinators of the ALA 2026 Annual Conference & Exhibition project and Short Édition have sole discretion in selecting works for distribution via the Short Story Dispensers and on this website. They may also reject or remove works from the dispenser and website without giving any prior notice or justification to the author.
The author can also ask for their work to be removed by notifying the project coordinators in writing.
Contact
If you have any requests, please contact us at contact@short-edition.com