NOMINATIONS ARE NOW CLOSED – STAY TUNED FOR FINALIST VOTING!
Lords and ladies, ghosts and ghouls, peasants and heroes, the 2024 Silmaril Awards are officially HERE!
I have been spending the last couple weeks making sure everything was just right for my fantastical friends here in Ohio, and I must say I have outdone myself. There is tea on the kettle, muffins baking in the oven, and flowers drying in my windows.
Ah. I cannot wait to see what delightful characters I have the honor of hosting this year! I bet after the past *cough* stressful *cough* years I’ve helped host this award, I’m sure to get some mild mannered heroes!
…
Say, what’s this? A letter? Addressed to me? Oh boy oh boy oh boy! I bet it’s my Silmaril Awards category! Don’t mind me if I just–
*slice*
Hm…
…
Uh-huh…
…
Oh dear…
…
Well, then.
I have here in my hands my official category for the 2024 Silmaril Awards. And while I was hoping (for my home’s sake) for something a little less… shall we say… disruptive, it is my absolute pleasure to introduce you to the nominations post for–!
MOST WAYWARD SOUL
Wayward – adjective
difficult to control or predict because of unusual or perverse behavior.
What is it about the Wayward Soul which infatuates us so intensely? Why do we stare a little deeper, wonder a little more darkly to the mechanisms which created these obscure beings?
These characters are the unpredictable. The odd. The creatures through which life is made interesting. Though you may never know what is coming next with these oddities, Wayward Souls are the vessel of endless possibility. Perhaps they are what our hero could have been in another life. Perhaps they left the road of “good” for a more interesting footpath. Perhaps they are the gray-scaled advisor who no one saw coming.
Whatever your Wayward Soul, know this: choose caution from the hands by which you pluck wisdom.
Before you get to nominating, make sure to freshen up on some rules, regulations, and FAQ’s!
SILMARIL AWARDS
FAQ’S
Q1 – What is the Silmaril Awards?
The Silmaril Awards–dubbed, of course, after the beautiful Silmarils of Tolkien’s imagining–was created 9 years ago by our wonderful Awards Minstrels, Jenelle Schmidt and DJ Edwardson! These two incredible folks decided that it wasn’t enough to love and celebrate our favorite fantasy characters in the safe confines of our own hearts and minds… We needed to hype it all up a bit.
We needed an actual awards ceremony.
And thus the Silmaril Awards burst forth into existence! Part screaming fandoms, part Golden Globes for fictional characters, it is an exhilarating time to come together as a reading community and celebrate the characters who are the backbone and heartbeat of today’s fantasy!
Q2 – How do I participate?
You can participate in two ways! Firstly, you can nominate characters! This begins September 2nd! I’ll have a post here–with my designated character category, of course!–where you can nominate your favorite fantasy characters, second any characters who have already been nominated, and connect with your fellow Silmaril participants! Please note: only nominated characters who have been seconded are entered into the final round! This is important–so make sure you’re seconding, folks!
Q3 – How many characters can I nominate/second?
All of them.
No, really. There’s no cap on how many characters you can support in the nomination round! So get out there and fling those characters around like there’s no tomorrow!
A SMALL NOTE ON NOMINATION: remember that this aware is for fantasy characters in literature. That means that if the book your character is from is, say, a science fiction adventure, that character will not qualify for the Silmaril Award. However, if the book is a Sci-Fi Fantasy, the evil overlords… er… showrunners may decide that your book still counts! So when in doubt, ASK!
Also! This is the perfect chance to get those “lesser known” titles out into the great wide cyberwebs! Just because your fandom is small doesn’t mean it isn’t well-loved. Go ahead and nominate those nobodies and underdogs. We love to have them!
Q4 – Can I nominate my own characters?
Are you a writer with your own little cast of fantastical creations? Your characters are able to be nominated for the Silmarils! However, you may not, as the author, nominate your own characters. You can absolutely encourage readers to nominate and vote for your characters, though! So get out there and advocate for yourself, you little writer, you!
Q5 – What happens after nomination?
After nomination–in which every single character who gets nominated comes to stay for a small-town getaway at the home of the hosts–we have our official voting round. The form will be available on each of the host’s blogs, so you can access it with ease! This voting round is the hardest. You get one vote per category. While devastating when you have multiple characters you love, this narrows it down to our final victors! After nominations and the voting round close, we have our Awards Ceremony! These are–in my opinion–the best part of the Silmarils. And, subsequently, my absolute favorite part about being a host. You can check out my previous Awards Ceremonies here, here, and here!
Q6 – How many times can a character receive a Silmaril Award?
Silmaril Awards are known as lifetime awards. This means that once they get a Silmaril, they have the Silmaril for life! So pay close attention to which characters have already won Silms, and let some other characters share the spotlight… it’s only fair!
A NOTE ON LORD OF THE RINGS CHARACTERS
Lord Of The Rings characters may NOT be nominated for the Silmaril Awards – we can all agree that Tolkien’s characters are in a league of their own… Leave some room for our other adventurer’s and nominate someone else!
PAST WAYWARD SOULS VICTORS
- Draco Malfoy – 2023
Make sure you go check out last year’s ceremony–if you so dare…
LET THE NOMINATIONS COMMENCE!
And now for the moment we’ve all been waiting for! Go forth and nominate, my friends!
Please remember to comment your seconds as replies to the nominated character you are seconding! This helps me out a ton as I keep track of all our nominations! If you have any questions, please don’t hesitated to ask!
Allons y, my friends! Let’s make this 2024 Silmaril Awards the best year yet!
FINISHED VOTING FOR WAYWARD SOULS? CHECK OUT THE OTHER CATEGORIES!
- Most Magnificent Dragon
- Most Nefarious Villain
- Most Devoted Couple
- Most Wayward Soul – you are here!
- Most Silver Tongue
- Most Epic Heroine
- Most Faithful Friend
- Most Mischievous Imp
- Most Epic Hero
- Wisest Counselor
Mackenzie K. Writes 
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