Announcing 2nd Annual Silmarillion Awards!

I have some very exciting news for you all today! 😀

I’m pleased to announce that this July, beginning next week, myself and 9 other awesome bloggers are going to present . . .

The Second Annual Silmarillion Awards

Some may remember last year’s awards, but for anyone new (or needing a refreshed memory) they are a fan-voted just-for-fun award for recognizing the greatest fantasy characters in several categories… And since characters from The Lord of the Rings (and The Hobbit) are fairly universally recognized as the top of the line in these matters, they are the ones presenting the awards, “Silmarils” (from Tolkien’s The Silmarillion), to said fan-voted characters.

These are unofficial, just-for-fun awards, a sort of “Fantasy Oscars” for beloved characters from fantasy novels. 🙂

We’re also having oodles of fun giveaways, a scavenger hunt for a Tolkien-themed grand-prize, and all sorts of fantasy fun, so you are NOT going to want to miss this! 😀 (You can also get a snazzy commemorative t-shirt or mug to cover costs, if you like; details on Jenelle’s blog here about that and other SilmAwards details!)

This year, we’re switching things up and each taking a different award than we had before. There are also a few different categories that that weren’t here last year! As well as a couple of new bloggers joining us! We’re all very excited. 😀

Last year, I hosted the Strangest Character Silmaril (presented by Tom Bombadil) which was awarded to Puddleglum in rhyme-form. (Now THAT was fun…)

This time, I will be presenting an award that is new this year:

The Most Epic Heroine Silmaril (Presented by Eowyn)

I’m very excited. 😀

The other awards, their presenters, and the bloggers hosting them are as follows:

• Wisest Councillor Silmaril – Tracey @ Adventure Awaits
• Least Competent Henchman Silmaril – Kyle @ KyleRobertShultz
• Silver Tongue Silmaril – Madeline @ Short and Snappy
• Most Epic Hero Silmaril – Abbey @ Regarding Reading and Writing
• Strangest Character Silmaril – Savannah @ Scattered Scribblings
• Most Epic Heroine Silmaril – Deborah @ The Road of a Writer (You are here. ;))
• Most Mischievous Imp Silmaril – Elise @ Author E.E. Rawls
• Most Magnificent Dragon Silmaril – DJ @ DJ Edwardson
• Most Loyal Friend Silmaril – Zac @ Zachary Totah
• Most Nefarious Villain Silmaril – Jenelle @ Jenelle Schmidt

Notes:

1. These are LIFETIME awards, which means that a character who won an award in a previous year is not eligible for this year.
2. Characters from Tolkien’s works are also not eligible for voting, since they are already recognized as the top characters in those categories of fantasy excellence, which is why they’re presenting them. 🙂
3. And you can’t nominate a character YOU wrote; though you are definitely welcome to tell your own readers about the awards and encourage them to nominate some of your characters. 🙂

Time Line

The time-line is going to be:

• Round 1: July 3-7: Nominations Begin! Nominate your favorite fantasy characters from beloved books, in the appropriate comment-thread of each participating blog for that category (or “second” someone else’s nomination!).
• Round 2: July 10-14: Voting Begins! The top 5 characters in each category with the most “seconds” will be up for voting during this week. Be sure to vote for your favorite in each category!
• Round 3: July 17-28: Award Presentation! The winner of each category will be announced on the hosting blogs on different days throughout this period of time, and the characters from The Lord of the Rings (or The Hobbit) representing each category will present the Silmaril awards to the most-voted-for characters!
• Round 4: July 29: Celebrate! In celebration of the 63rd anniversary of the publication of The Lord of the Rings, you’re invited to join the fun by posting on your own blog or social media about why you love Fantasy, The Lord of the Rings, Tolkien, etc. Basically, let’s party about all things Fantasy and/or Tolkien!

What do you do now?

I know, it’s SUCH suspense, having to wait a whole week!

But if you need something to do while you wait, may I suggest you:

• Follow the hosts’ blogs if you don’t already (they’re all awesome!)
• Get excited!
• Spread the word around social media (use #SilmAwards2017)
• If you’re a blogger, you can start thinking up some sort of fantasy-or-Tolkien-appreciation post for the end of July, because you have a whole month to do it! 😉
• Most importantly, start thinking of your favorite fantasy characters in each of those categories so you’ll be all ready to start nominating on July 3rd!

Stay tuned, as there will be more info (and the awards themselves), as well as giveaways and general fantasy fun, coming next week and all through July. 🙂

(You can also share this infographic I made, below. Or the gorgeous, official SilmAwards logos, above, that DJ Edwardson made.)

Nominations start in one week! So get ready!! 😀

What do you think?

Are you excited? I’M EXCITED. Which award are you most looking forward to? And does it sound like it’s going to be epic or WHAT? 😀 Thanks for reading! ^_^