Hello readers!
I am so excited to be participating in this year’s Silmaril Awards! Especially since this year is the 10th anniversary! So, of course we have to have some contests which will include a poetry scavenger hunt, and an evening of Lord the Rings trivia at the end of the month. More about that later.
The Silmaril Awards
These awards are all about celebrating the best in fantasy fiction. But instead of the author or the book getting the recognition, the awards go to the characters.
There will be 9 Awards this year. Where you, dear reader, will get to nominate characters for categories like Most Epic Hero, Most Faithful Friend, and Most Devoted Couple. I have included a complete list of all nine awards below each linked to their respective hosts. Make sure you to visit them and nominate the characters you think should win.
Important Dates
Nominations Open September 1-5
Voting Week September 8-12
Award Ceremonies September 15-26
Lord of the Rings Trivia Party Friday, September 26th
Rules
1. Just a quick reminder The creators of these awards saw that Tolkien’s characters are the gold standard by which we measure these categories, thus they are not eligible to win these awards, and why they will be presenting them.
2. These awards are for FANTASY characters only! So no science fiction. Sorry! Maybe somebody will create a Star Wars/Star Trek themed award. Hmmmmm. . . . BUT, if you can convince us a certain science-fiction story has fantastical elements, please do so! (For example: The Lunar Chronicles contain elements of magic and are fairy tale retellings, thus making them eligible for being nominated.)
3. When you nominate a character, please mention which book they are from.
4. You may nominate as many characters as you wish and “second” as many characters as you want. **But please, do not second your own nominations.** The top five MOST seconded characters will go on to the final voting round. When you second a characters, please mention character’s name to avoid any confusion when it comes to tallying up votes.
5. If you are an author, you are welcome to participate, but please refrain from nominating your OWN characters. You may, of course, direct your fans to this event, though.
6. Characters who have won in a particular category in a previous year are ineligible to be nominated for the same award again. The Silmarils are Lifetime Awards. For a list of the previous winners in each category, please check out our Hall of Fame.
7. Please remember that these are Fantasy Book Awards. Therefore, a movie character is only eligible for nomination if they were a book first!
8. AND of course, most importantly, have fun! We are celebrating our favorite characters and we look forward to seeing who YOU think should win. Don’t forget to go visit the other participating blogs to nominate your favorite characters for the other Silmaril Awards!
9. Many characters from Narnia have received quite a few rewards and dominated the top five of the awards over the years, thus have entered into a new level of renown. They are ineligible to be nominated, but never fear, you might see them popping in here and there, helping with the award ceremonies to come.
The Most Magnificent Dragon
This is my fourth year participating, and I am so excited to be hosting THE MOST MAGNIFICENT DRAGON award!
Y’all. This is the year of the DRAGON for me!!
- My new job’s mascot: DRAGON
- Releasing the first book in my Thirteenth DRAGON quartet.
- And getting a chance to host THE MOST MAGNIFICENT DRAGON!!!
- 2024 Norbert from The Harry Potter Series
- 2023 Yurgen from Wingfeather Saga
- 2022 Hulwen from Wingfeather Saga
- 2021 Malcolm Blackfire from The Afterverse
- 2020 Clefspeare from Dragons in Our Midst
- 2019 Saphira from Eragon
- 2018 Eustace from The Chronicles of Narnia
- 2017 Toothless from How to Train Your Dragon
Don’t forget to visit these other blogs to nominate your choice for each award!
Nominations close September 5 at 11:59 Central Time.
The Contests and Prizes!
To celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Silmaril Awards, we are running not one, but TWO contests. Five winners will be chosen for each contest. You’ll have the chance to win one of many fantasy-themed prizes.
Here are the details!
Puzzle Contest
Anyone is eligible to enter this contest by visiting the contest page at silmarilawards.com submitting the form.
Puzzle Contest 2025
Each host of the Silmaril Awards will post a line from one of Tolkien’s poems on their nomination page. Gather all of them together and enter it when you submit your entry to receive NINE extra entries for a chance to win.
The line for this site is:
For bole and bough are burning now, the furnace roars – we go to war!
NOTE: By entering you will be added to the Silmaril Awards mailing list and may receive news about the awards or the authors participating as hosts in the future. You may unsubscribe at any time.
The contest will run from September 1-5. Winners will be contacted via email after September 8th.
Voting Contest
While anyone can vote for their favorite fantasy characters, every one who also signs up to our email newsletter while voting will be entered into the contest. Voting will run from September 8-12. Once it opens, you may cast your vote at: https://www.silmarilawards.com/vote/
2nd runners-up will be contacted via email after September 15th. However, two people will be selected to be entered into the grand prize contest. Then on September 26th, the hosts will meet online for a Lord of the Rings trivia contest, with half of the hosts competing for one entrant and half for the other. Whoever’s team wins will walk away with the grand prize and the other entrant will receive the runner-up prize.
We hope you’ll join us for these awards and the contest and that it will be a celebration worthy of Bilbo’s hundred and eleventieth birthday party. May the best hobbit win!
So great to have you back for the awards!
I would like to nominate is Falkor, the luck dragon from Neverending story. He’s got to be one of the most famous dragons to never win this award.