The first book, edited by Rob Meades and David B. Wake and published by Roger Robinson of Beccon Publications, appeared in Easter 1988. Entitled The Drabble Project, it was largely SF based and won the British National Science Fiction Convention award in the category Best Short Text.
Two further collections (Double Century and Drabble Who?) have been published. Double Century is still available.
I'll let the rules explain more...
Drabble Rules: The One Hundred Word Variant by David B. Wake Introduction Drabble is played sitting around a fire, while sipping brandy and partaking of pleasant conversation with friends. The first person to finish a novel wins. A Doubtful History The first game of Drabble, a name coined in a 'Monty Python' sketch, was played at the beginning of the last century. The winner was Mary Shelley with 'Frankenstein' and Polidori, who didn't actually finish during that stormy weekend, came second with 'The Vampyre.' The Rules 'One hundred words' must be EXACTLY one hundred words: not a syllable more, not a letter less. In addition, up to fifteen words (title, sub-titles and the like) are allowed. Hyphenated-words-are-argued-about. The End
It is somewhat depressing to note that it is no longer possible to have the first book signed by all the authors - too many important and respected SF writers have passed away since 1988.
Robert Holdstock | A Letter from Robert Holdstock | |
Brian Aldiss | Happiness and Suffering, the Triumph of La Vie over Death | |
Christopher Wilson | Yesterday's Problem | |
David Wingrove | Avenging Lepanto - the Long View | |
Dave Hardy | Fast Rewind | |
Isaac Asimov | The Turning Point | |
Josephine Saxton | Too Late | |
Robert L. Forward | IIXXT- | |
Marcus L. Rowland | After The Flying Mutant Killer Gerbils Destroyed London and Squashed The Prime Minister | |
Garry Kilworth | A Journey to the Last Wonder of the World | |
Brian Stableford | Going to the Dogs | |
E. C. Tubb | The Very Small Knife | |
Patrick Tilley | TO WHOEVER FINDS THIS NOTE HOLE DUG BEHIND HOUSE PLEASE SHOVEL EARTH BACK IN |
|
Larry Niven | Next Time | |
David B. Wake | Rubbish | |
E. C. Tubb | As It Really Was | |
Mike Abbott | The Bomb had been Dropped | |
W. P. Dodd | An Apple from the Teacher | |
Helen Conner | Faith | |
Mike Ibeji | The Least of my Children | |
Jane Stableford | Why There are No Angels on this Planet | |
Sam Lundwall | A Moderately Dull Day In the Life Of a Bored Demi-God. A Short Moral Tale | |
David Elworthy | The Gateless Gate | |
Graham McKinnon | Said One Man | |
Barrington J. Bayley | When They Asked Him What Happens | |
R. A. Fox | The Cohen-Dolby Intelligent Noise Filter | |
Ray Thompson | The Pruesome Gun | |
Colin Greenland | Off the Case | |
Helen Conner | Away from it all | |
K. C. Mann | A Tale the English Used to Tell | |
Alice Kohler | The Innocent | |
Mike Tebby | Tea for One | |
John Grant | On and on and on and on and... | |
Patrick Curzon | The Striker Struck | |
Nigel Robson | Once Upon a Time, Long, Long Ago... | |
Colin Greenland | The Disemboguement | |
Mike Abbott | Ghost Soldier | |
Ray Girvan | The Mantra | |
Phil Rogers | A French Family of Cats... | |
Amy Jones | The Last Resort | |
Jonathan Wylie | The Young Rosie, Convinced by Bees | |
Allman | Eyes Shining Bright | |
Terry Pratchett | Incubust | |
Helen Conner | Rosé Brût | |
Ian Cresswell | A Short Disservice to the Uncertainty Principle | |
Mike Tebby | Cosmic Solitude | |
Mike Tebby | Burn | |
Graham McKinnon | For Her | |
Ray Girvan | To the Onlie Begetter | |
Mike Roberts | Gottle of Geer | |
John Gribbin | The Moment of Creation | |
Gene Wolfe | Read Me | |
Christopher Wilson | If You Believe in the Future, It Might Come True | |
Leo Stableford | Close Encounter | |
Nigel Dorrington | The Court Martial | |
Jaine Weddell | 10 Metres per Second pre Second | |
Geoffrey Pitchford | Barrier | |
Alex Stewart | Starsong | |
Harry Harrison | The Curse of the Unborn Living Dead | |
Storm Constantine | They Hunt... | |
James Steel | The Herd | |
John Brunner | The Story Of The Steller Saurians | |
Duncan Lunan | "'Tirra Lirra', by the river, Sang Sir Lancelot." | |
Dave Langford | When in Doubt, Plagiarise | |
James Steel | More Dumb Monsters | |
Alison Scott | When I Grow Up... | |
Duncan Lunan | Landscape Modification in the Vicinity of Highgate Cemetery | |
Janet Jeppson Asimov | The Human Condition | |
Brian Ameringen | A Molecular Chip on the Helical Curve | |
E. Miriam Kamp Pedersen | It is Always Too Late | |
Michael Cobley | Concrete Fire | |
Stephen Gallagher | Mousetrap | |
Ray Girvan | The New Klir Power Source | |
David B. Wake | Pyro | |
Mary Gribbin | Home at Last, in a Cottage by the Sea | |
E. Miriam Kamp Pedersen | A Modern Joseph | |
James Steel | The Return of Digby Sponge | |
Nigel Bannerman | Prometheus III | |
Brian Ameringen | Seed Crystals in a Universal Lattice | |
David Pearce | Shrapnel | |
Graham McKinnon | Fragile Gold | |
Edward Bryant | A Functional Proof of Immortality | |
Paul Di Filippo | Triplets | |
Bob Shaw | Parallel Evolution | |
Gwyneth Jones | One of Sandy's Dreams | |
Helen Conner | Plus ça Change | |
Nigel McFarlane | Network | |
T. I. Maude | Inside | |
Alan Poppitt | In Man's Image | |
Tony Rubin | The Message | |
Ken Bulmer | Brother Can You Spare a Word | |
Charles Platt | Skiffygram: Fifty sciencefictional concepts in 100 words | |
David B. Wake | (Strike the CR key to continue) | |
Mike Ibeji | Full Independent Entitlement Numbering Fifteen, Possessing Absolutely No Textual Associations Whatsoever, was only just accomplished | |
Tony Rubin | The Impossible Dream | |
Nigel Cordon | Human Clone and Android Automation Are They Child or Creation? Work Designed with Monstrous Imagination |
|
T. I. Maude | First Contact | |
Mike Tebby | Aardvark Extremism Is Obviously Undesirable | |
Michael Abbot | How Odd | |
Phil Drabble | Contribution from Himself |
Since the first book, drabble had spread somewhat. David and I judged a drabble competition run
by the Towns Womens' Guild Magazine, which had over
Stephen R. Ealey | Nascent |
Gaynor Coules | Evolution |
Jonathan Waite | From the Foam, Aphrodite |
Mike Coney | An Entry in the Galactic Wildlife Encyclopedia, copyright 2046 |
C. J. Cherryh | A Much Briefer History of Time |
Bruce Sterling | Endangered Species |
Roger Zelazny | The Deadliest Game |
Liz Honeywill | Colours |
Marion Edwards | Tapestry |
David Symes | With Apologies to Fredric Brown |
Peter Negus | Consolidated Holdings in Church Takeover? |
Rachel Pollack | General All-Purpose Fairy Tale |
Steve Jones | Ecology of the Dwarf Elf |
F. Paul Wilson | Rumours |
Ru Emerson | Shapeshifter's Duel |
Suna Akiah | A Warning to Those Who Know |
Joe Haldeman | Untitled |
Steve Davies | Untitled |
Sue Beasley | Out of the Fire Into the Frying Pan |
Mary Gentle | Ambitions |
Kate Soley | The Wyvern's Hoard |
Jane Yolen | The Dragon Woke and Stretched |
Anne Harcourt | Watershed |
Steve Rasnic Tem | The Adoptions |
Neil Gaiman | Nicholas Was... |
Brenda McCallum | On Ordering a Gas Fire |
Jane Stableford | Sex Lives of Housewives |
Margaret Anstis | Desolation for a Day |
Violet C. Gowans | The Reunion |
Jonathan Carroll | Untitled |
Tony Chester | Just the Way You Are |
Chris Bunt | Cordon Blues |
Joan Aiken | Devil's Food |
J. Stewart | Best Before |
D. M. Bloomfield | The Lovable Escort |
Elizabeth Rothwell | The Tryst |
Sarah LeFanu | The Mother's Dream |
Carol Shetler | A Genie's Fondest Wish |
Helen McNabb | If Wishes Were Horses |
Elsie W. K. Donald | Poor Soul |
Thelma Bradford | The Family |
John Sladek | Radio Cats |
Jennifer Gee | Ten |
Betty Dibb | At the Third Stroke |
Steven J. Blyth | The Night Has a Thousand Eyes |
Ken Mann | Aesthetics: An Objective View |
Christopher Fowler | Turnabout is Fare Paid |
Christopher Stasheff | How the Revolution Came to a Shuddering Halt |
Katherine M. Stableford | Paradisio |
Leo M. Stableford | Inferno |
Brian M. Stableford | Purgatorio |
Kathy Westhead | The Pet |
Winifred Wake | Only Family? |
Cherry Wilder | The Beta Syndrome |
Barrington J. Bayley | Galimatias |
Steve Bull | The Wish of the Conqueror |
Peter T. Garratt | Millenium Ends: Natural Generosity Entails Lawbreaker's Escape |
John Lydecker | Goosechaser |
Fay Symes | Action and Reaction |
Micheal Abbott | Foresight |
Ian Watson | The Sadim Touch |
Eve Devereux | Word-Processor |
James Cawthorn | Life Story |
David Langford | A Surprisingly Common Omission |
David Garnett | The Spaceshop |
K. V. Bailey | Ignis Fatuus |
Sydney J. Bounds | Drink to the Good Old Days |
Eric Brown | The Meaning of Life |
Ben Gribbin | Colony |
Kenn Moyer | Slow |
James White | Incident on a Colonising Starshp Where All Living Things are in Suspended Animation... |
The Peace and Love Corporation | Whatever Happened to Mr Spock |
S. V. O'Jay | The First Impossible Mission |
Cecil Nurse | Death by Strangulation |
Jim Steel | Be Prepared |
Arthur C. Clarke | Tales from the White Hart, 1990: The Jet Propelled Time Machine |
Julie Grosvenor | Casting Stones |
Colin P. Davies | Doctor Livingston, I Assume! |
Dave Hardy | Deja Vu |
Pauline E. Dungate | Found Inscribed on the Back of a Rather Dirty Postcard |
Serena M. Evans | The Cage |
Charles de Lint | Wild Girl |
John Clute | The Knight Orpheus |
Abi Pirani | Alex Calder's Mobile Worlds. Interwaterfall Three: Spiral Arm Four |
Frances Bonner | I Think, In Due Course, I Am |
Maxim Jakubowski | Around the Heart World in One Hundred Words |
Jan Palmer | The Trouble with Being a Woman |
Angus McAllister | Complex Persecution |
Nicholas Emmett | Fear |
Bridget Wilkinson | Hide and Seek |
Jennifer McGowan | Hide 'n' Seek |
Brian Ameringen | TANSTAAFL |
Dave Wood | TANSTAAFD (There Ain't No Such Thing as a Free Drabble) |
Andy Sawyer | The SF Write Flicks Through the Advertisements in Search of Inspiration |
Catherine Lilley | A Woman of Too Few Words |
Alison Scott | BECCON Publications Cross-Over |
Peter Heavyside | Hundredfold |
Dai Walters | No, He Can't Sue Me - He's Dead, and So Are His Executors, and Their Executors |
Cardinal Cox | If God Used One Hundred Words Would We Have a Drabble |
Philip Vine | Countdown |
Our contributors gave their services freely and the money raised was donated to the RNIB Talking Book Fund.
It is still from Beccon Publications.
Dan Abnett | Who Counts As One Word? |
David B. Wake | Sound Effects |
Julian Eales | Rassilon And The Serpent Tongue (An Old Gallifreyan Legend) |
Peter Anghelides | Initial Paragraphs From A Draft Letter To My Oldest Companion |
Colin Baker | Extract From An Address To The Time Lord Academy By Its Regulator Scombos |
Simon Christopher Jones | At The Academy |
Mark Morris | The Academy, First Day |
David Inwood | Escape |
Jan Vincent-Rudzki | How It Begins |
Brian Ameringen | Before The Beginning |
Tim Maude | Aardvark To Dandruff |
Michael Ferguson | 22nd November, 1963 |
Geoffrey Arthur | The Myth Makers (As Sung Afterwards By Sundry Bards Other Than Homer) |
Nigel Robinson | Problem Page |
Chris Sparrow | The Chase: Princes In The Tower |
Chaz Mason | A Ghost Of Christmas Past? |
Stan Eling | Empty Welcome |
Kevin Chitty | Unseen Danger |
Kate Orman | Failsafe |
Victor Pemberton | Questions From The Floor |
David Tulley | Behind The Sofa: First Memory |
Peter Ling | Backwards Ran Sentences As Reeled Minds |
J. Jeremy Bentham | A Tale From A TV Comic |
David Burke | Time Will Tell |
Graham McKinnon | Different Worlds (Two Extracts From The Doctor's Diary) |
Jon Pertwee | I Don't Wish To Know That - Kindly Leave The Barracks! |
George Evans | Hair Today - Wig Tomorrow! |
John M. Rimmer | Celebration |
Ness Bishop aged 8, wrote in 1976 | To Sarah Jane, Wot I Like Best Of All |
Elizabeth Halliday | "The Heart-ache, And The Thousand Natural Shocks" |
Tony Roach | Sounds Familiar |
David Martin | A Night Out At The Dog And Bottle |
Andrew Lane | An Easy Mistake To Make |
Simon J. Irving | The Cruelty Of Time |
Louise Jameson | The Press And I |
Peter Anghelides | Mark Four |
Jim Mortimer | Readacross |
David Tulley | Tharils |
Michael E. P. Stevens | Shortly After Armageddon... On Being Replaced By Astra And Cast Thither By Unknown Forces; |
Michael Haslett | The Fall And Rise Of Doctor Who |
David J. Howe | The Ultimate Test |
Becky Maude | The TARDIS Bites Back |
Glenn Langford | Days Like Crazy Paving |
Amanda Murray | The Other Side Of Madness |
David Green | Future-speak |
Paul Harrington | Brown's Study |
Mark Stammers | Doppleganger |
Tim Chapman | The Trail Of A Timelord |
Adrian Middleton and Steve Graeme | Doctor Where? |
Ian M. Fraser | The Fun Factory |
Peter Darvill-Evans | Goodbye/Piccadilly/Hello/Heat Death |
Paul Cornell | The Tragedy Of Errors |
John Peel | Beetling About In Time |
Gary Russell | Clean Up Time |
Stephen Wyatt | A Hundred Words Later |
Keith Topping | In The Midst of Life We Are In Death, Etcetera |
Eric Pringle | Questions |
Sophie Aldred | Ace's Diary Entry 23rd November 2062 |
Steve Morgan | Trust Me, I'm A Doctor (The Cafe Royale. New Orleans. 1965.) |
Andrew W. Donkin and Graham S. Brand | 'Sarah's Hurt' (Train-Flight:Prologue) |
Jim Mortimer | Hell To Pay |
Richard W. Dance | Wheel Of Lights |
Mervyn Haisman | Time Out |
Alison Jacobs | A Suitable Gift (And A Safe One!) |
Steven Jenkins | A Mystery Solved? |
John Freeman | Is That A TARDIS In Your Pocket...? |
Nathan Cooke | Drabble In The TARDIS |
M. R. Morgan | Contract Kill |
Brian Milligan | The Hunt - Sequel To Survival |
Nicholas Royle | In The Mirror |
David Tulley | The Monster Man's Lament |
Nigel Bannerman | A Divertissement |
Robert Howe | An Apocalyptic Digital Mistake |
Martin Pollard | Victory |
Steve Bowkett | Words Of Conquest |
Stephen Gallagher | Sweet Dreamer |
David Tulley | Plastic Soul |
David Tulley | How Do You Kill Death? |
David Banks | Centenarian |
John Wiles | Two Words |
Mark Stammers | The End Of "Evil" |
Fiona Cumming | Isolation |
Stephen Baxter | Paradox |
Justin Richards | "I Am The Doctor" |
Paul Cornell | The Who Interviews |
Ness Bishop | The Collector |
David J. Howe | The Dream |
Robert Sloman | Time-Expired Lord |
John Nathan Turner | Who's Sorry Now |
Ian Stuart Black | The Most Unkindest Cut Of All |
Chris Boucher | Out of the Mouths |
Barry Letts | A Sort Of Elegy |
Alun Harris | Time Out |
Christopher Barry | The End |
To the Onlie Begetter, Mr W. H. by Ray Girvan "Hey, Will, dear heart," said William Shakespeare's friend, "Methinks to pen a Drabble's all the rage. Fourscore and twenty words, from start to end; Far preferable to hacking for the stage." A sonnet Shakespeare thought the simplest way, "Just fourteen lines: a momentary chore. 'Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?'. Hmmm. 113. I'll versify some more. 'When in disgrace with fortune and men's eyes'?; Worse: 114, exceeding far my aim." He flagged... "Enough! To discontinue's wise, The form's absurd. My talent's not to blame." But though the Drabbles overstrained his Muse, His failed attempts make scholars still enthuse.©1988 R. Girvan
The Least of my Children by Mike Ibeji A poor man once came up to me and asked me for some money. "What for?" I asked, the image of a bottle in my head. "I am hungry and I must eat," was his reply. His voice, though cracked and pathetic, held a strange accent of truth in its core. Moved to compassion, but with the bottle firmly in mind, I took him to a café and bought his food myself. "Thank you," he said, having eaten. "At the end I shall not forget you." I felt strangely compelled to ask his name. "My name," he smiled, "is Yaisuah."©1988 M. C. Ibeji
The Innocent by Alice Kohler I saw her sitting in a patch of sunlight, and stepped out from behind the trees. She smiled and beckoned and I moved forward, lay down on the grass and placed my head in her lap. I saw the dagger in her hand and death in her eye, but not until after the blow was struck did I lurch upright, crying out my love and pain. Another girl appeared beside the first and together they watched me as I staggered, then fell before them. "That scream was almost human. Here, you hold its head while I cut out the horn."©1988 A. H. Kohler
A Surprisingly Common Omission by David Langford A transworld shift is undramatic. All I saw was an ordinary road, an ordinary town. Was this a parachronic probability world, or just our own? Warning against hasty conclusions, my boss had said: "Watch out. A variant continuum could distort your thinking and blind you to incongruity... " Rubbish, I thought. I had four hours. Slipping into a handy library, I found a Britannica. Any major disparity in this world must show up in print. With growing frustration I got as far as book III, "Claustrophobia to Dysprosium". Automatic shiftback caught my hand still fumbling for book IV, "Fabulation to Lipogram"...©1990 D. Langford
Incubust by Terry Pratchett The physics of magic is this: no magician, disguise it as he might, can achieve a result beyond his own physical powers¹. And, spurned, he performed the Rite of Tumescence and called up a fiend from the depths of the Pit to teach her a lesson she wouldn't forget, the witch. The phone rang. "Nice try," she said, "It's sitting on the bedhead now." His breath quickened. "And?" "Listen," she said. And he heard the voice of the fiend, distant and wretched: "...frightfully sorry ... normally, no problem ... oh god, this has never happened to me before..." ¹See the Necrotelicomnicon, p.38.©1988 T. Pratchett
More Dumb Monsters by James Steel The monster climbed. Fighter aircraft, dwarfed by its massive bulk, fired missile after missile into the scaly armour of the beast's hide. Roars shattered the windows of the city and reverberated far into the hills beyond. Artillery lined up in the streets below, ready to deliver their crushing firepower against the foe. High pitched screams of terror, barely heard between the roar of collapsing buildings, announced the creature's hostage to be still alive. The creature paused and brought a huge scaly hand towards its mouth. "I've got the specimen," it said. "Beam me out of here and level the place."©1988 J. R. Steel
(Strike the CR key to continue) by David B. Wake @run life ?unrecognised command - Does not match switch or keyword - "life" @run note NOTEPAD is ready Last name: wake 3 Thank you Project: Earth Open Membership 1. Life Please type the number of the activity you have to join. #1 Project: Earth Activity: Life You are never up to date. ACTION: anything *** Please check the option you have indicated. If you wish to see the choices available to you, type a question mark. ACTION: ? *** There are no options. ACTION: please tell me what's going on %No such line(s) (strike the CR key to continue) (strike the CR key to continue)©1988 David B. Wake
As a further alternative, http://www.amazon.co.uk lists Drabble II (Double Century) and will (presumably) contact Beccon Publications for supply - they may charge you a little more for delivery. We make no profit from the sales - we cover printing costs and all the rest goes to charity, usually Books for the Blind.