Come one, come all to a quest of great excitement and renown! Prepare thyself for much jubilation, anticipation, merriment, and celebration (and fangirling/boying). Yes, indeedy, another year has rolled around and now that we have entered this most prestigious ninth month it means the time has at last come for…

THE SILMARIL AWARDS!

IT’S HERE, GUYS. The sixth annual Silmaril Awards opens TODAY. And ohohoho are we gonna have a fantabulous time giving all our beloved literary fantasy characters the recognition they so rightly deserve.

Now. If you’ve clicked on my blog and are thinking, “What’s happening? Where am I? What is this weird girl babbling about?”* NO FEARS, FRIENDS. I am here to provide answers hopefully clear enough to get you right into the delightful thick of things.

*My sympathies. These are my thoughts everyday.

What Are The Silmaril Awards?

Once, in a sad time in which there wasn’t a place for voracious fantasy-loving readers to give a shout-out to their beloved and dear characters, the illustrious Jenelle Schmidt and DJ Edwardson were like, “Um. We gotta DO something about this most tragic and dire emptiness in the world.”

They gathered ideas. And friends. (And probably caffeine let’s be real). And from these great minds a most splendiferous thing came into creation…

*cue angel choir singing*

The Silmaril Awards!

So. Like. BASICALLY it’s the Oscars for literary fantasy characters. Yes, yes, you read that right. YOU get to nominate and vote for your favorite fantasy characters across many different categories and in general fangirl/boy about the great fantasy genre we have been blessed with. Just…get ready for your TBR to swell.

Note: We Silmaril Awards hosts are not liable for any maiming, crushing, and/or all endangerment due to toppling TBRs that occur during or after the event.

How Does It Work?

There are different categories (Most Epic Hero, Most Faithful Friend, Wisest Counselor, etc.) hosted across the presenters’ blogs. In the comments, you get to nominate and second (or third, fourth, fifth, etc.) the character(s) YOU believe deserves to win said category. Once the week is up, us hosts will tally the nominations and the top 5 characters with the most seconds move on to the voting round! After voting, we will then share award ceremonies in which we reveal who got the most votes and wins the most coveted Silmaril in our chosen category!

• WEEK 1: Nominations – Sept. 6 – 10

This week is where most of the action on your part takes place (and it is a delightfully wild ride, let me tell ya!) In the comments of each host’s blog, you can go in and nominate whatever literary fantasy characters you’d like for that particular category, with no limit to how many! You can also second any of the ones others have nominated.

It is also a fabulous time to make new friends (and, as mentioned, add new books to your TBR #sorrynotsorry), so do not refrain on exploding our comments sections with any and all geeking out. (We love it!)

Nominations close at midnight Friday night/Saturday morning CST.

• WEEK 2: Voting – Sept. 13 – 17

We will be closing nominations at midnight Friday the 10th so we can then tally up all nominations and seconds over the weekend. The top 5 characters in each category who receive the most seconds will move on to the voting round! At this time we’ll provide an easy peasy voting form for you all to fill in.

Again, we are not liable for any existential crises that occur while trying to choose only ONE character from each category.

• WEEK 3: Awards Ceremony – Sept. 20 – Oct. 2

Grab a chair (and maybe some flame retardant armor), sit back, and enjoy the show!

Once the votes are in, over the course of two weeks we hosts will be providing ceremonies for our chosen category revealing the winners! And this of course isn’t just your standard, stuffy reward show. This involves fantasy characters after all. So expect much magic and mayhem! And the best part? Each category ceremony is presented by a Tolkien character!

I told you to prepare yourself for much jubilation.

I promise you, it’s all really quite simple. We do have to set some rules in place, but in general all you’re doing is tossing names down in the comments of your favorite literary characters and seconding others!

The Rules

1.) Tolkien’s characters are NOT eligible to be nominated. All for the very simple reason that: They’ve ALREADY won as the Best Fantasy Characters of Ever duh. AHEM. Basically, we hosts see Tolkien’s characters as the gold standard of fantasy, and it only seems fair that we allow other characters to get their time to shine. Plus, the Tolkien characters get the prestige of presenting the awards! It’d be kinda awkward to…reward yourself.

2.) Characters from LITERARY FANTASY ONLY can be nominated. Which means no TV series, movies, or video game characters. Keep it to the book realm, if you don’t mind. AND keep it in the fantasy genre. So no sci-fi, dystopian, etc. BUT if you have a strong case as to why a book could be considered fantasy, absolutely tell us and we will discuss if to count it. (For example: We have decided The Lunar Chronicles is eligible, because though it is closer to sci-fi, it has some fantastical elements.)

3.) We ask you to MENTION THE BOOK the character you’re nominating is from. As much as we hosts would like to claim to be immortal and have scoured the entire literary fantasy world…alas, ’tis not true. (Well, I firmly believe some of my fellow hosts have fairy blood running through their veins, but I digress.) Sadly, we have not read everything out there so it is vital we’re clear on what book the character you’re nominating resides in. (Mentioning the author is great too.)

4.) There are NO LIMITS TO NOMINATIONS OR SECONDS. Be wild and freeeee! Remember, the TOP FIVE characters in each category with the most seconds makes it on to the voting round. So don’t hold back! Nominate and second with abandon, my fine elflings. (Plus it’s way too much fun seeing how many comments we can accumulate during the nominations round. *grins*)

5.) With that said, AUTHOR’S CANNOT NOMINATE THEIR OWN CHARACTERS. But of course should you like to nudge, poke, and/or prod your readers to nominate your characters FOR YOU, that’s a different story entirely. *wriggles eyebrows* Just be aware that a book does have to be published to qualify.

6.) PREVIOUS WINNERS CANNOT BE NOMINATED AGAIN. These oh-so shiny Simarils are Lifetime Awards. So if a character has received one in the past, they cannot be nominated again. Gotta spread the love, ya know. Though you CAN nominate them for ANOTHER category they’ve not won in. You can find the full list of PAST WINNERS on the website.

7.) ENJOY THYSELF, QUESTER! And that’s an order. This is all about having a good time, sharing the love of literary fantasy, squealing over beloved characters, and causing general chaos in the blogging world. So let’s go forth and have a party even the hobbits would be proud of!

Find more information on the official website:

SilmarilAwards.com

Now to more exciting matters… *rubs hands together*

My Category

This shall be my third year with the honor of being a host! My first year I took on the Least Competent Henchmen which ended in—AHEM—a lot of fire and explosives. Last year I embarked on hosting the Most Mischievous Imps which…also made for plenty of fire and explosives. (And glittery pink slime… >.>)

And I loved every second of it.

But THIS YEAR. Oho, this year. My time has at last come!

For this sixth annual Silmaril Awards I shall be hosting the category for…

MOST MAGNIFICENT DRAGON

*SHRIEKS AND RUNS AROUND IN CIRCLES IN COMPLETE EUPHORIA*

Ahem.

If you’ve known me for all of 0.7 seconds, you know dragons are everything I live and breathe for. Gimme ALL the scaly beasts, big or small, evil or good or just woefully misunderstood (I mean, is it too much to ask to want to hoard all the shiny things in the world, really??). I love them all!

This category is for those great creatures that instill terror in the hearts of men (and apparently love in the hearts of Christines). Whether they be cute and cuddly or monstrous and (almost) undefeatable, whether they breathe fire or ice or can shapeshift, whether they collect jewels and gems or just the kingdom’s finest shoes, we make no prejudices here. Bring forth ALL the dragon characters. Please. All of them. *grabby hands*

Oh, because, you see. We hosts don’t just put together the award ceremonies. Oh no. We ALSO are forced against our will get the pleasure of housing ALL the nominees of our chosen category. As in, every dragon you nominate has to stay in my house until my awards ceremony is through.

Yes. That’s right.

Over the course of the next three weeks my house will be overwelled with dragons. I mean, quite a few of the curtains got burned down when I had to house the Least Competent Henchmen…and yet more curtains lost their splendor when the Most Mischievous Imps stopped by. So…erm…

Well, who needs curtains anyway when there are DRAGONS???

Just excuse me for a moment while I go buy 72 fire extinguishers.

THERE. Now you may go and nominate allllll the dragons. I shall be waiting in anticipation for them to arrive. Because, ya know, DRAGONS.

Previous Winners for this Category:

• 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

That means these four dragons CANNOT be nominated as they have already won their lifetime Silmarils. (Though that doesn’t mean I won’t invite them over for my grand 3-week dragon party because how could I not?)

Barbeque party at my place, y’all!

Something Extra Special

BUT WAIT. THERE’S MORE.

First of all, we have some fresh blood three new wondrous people joining our ranks this year! Grace Taber, Jem Jones, and Josiah Dyck have accepted the call (and hopefully flame-proofed their homes) to be hosts! And we are ecstatic to have them!

If you missed it, you should 100% check out Jenelle’s post HERE in which she introduces us hosts via some truly spectacular questions (marrying a gnome, fighting a dragon-sized platypus, and world domination are all involved).

Annnd for those keen observers… Instead of the usual 10, you may have noticed this year we have ELEVEN HOSTS. Which means…

A brand new shiny category!

YES YES. A whole entirely new Silmaril shall be presented this year. And we. are. EXCITED. What is this new category, you may be asking?

*drumroll*

MOST MAJESTIC RULER

Because how can we not give those classy and/or aesthetically majestic royals some love? REALLY NOW? From farm boys with lost pasts to queens of great destinies, the fantasy realm is positively stuffed with glorious royals of all shapes and sizes. And this year it is their time to billow out their fashionable capes, raise their scepters, and polish their crowns (if my dragons don’t steal them that is…) to reveal their true majesty!

New hosts and a whole new shiny category? The Silmaril Awards 2021 is going to be one to remember!

The Other Categories

Speaking of other categories, here are links to each one!

• Most Magnificent Dragon – Christine Smith (You are here!)
• Least Competent Henchman – Josiah Dyck
• Most Mischievous Imp – Tracey Dyck
• Strangest Character – DJ Edwardson
• Most Nefarious Villain – Jem Jones
• Wisest Counselor – Kenzie Keene
• Most Majestic Ruler – Sarah Pennington
• Most Epic Heroine – E.E. Rawls
• Most Epic Hero – Madeline J. Rose
• Most Silver Tongue – Jenelle Schmidt
• Most Faithful Friend – Grace Taber

Be sure to make your nominations and seconds for each category at its designated blog. Nominations and seconds for Most Magnificent Dragons here only!

Alrighty! I do believe I am finished blabbering which means we can get this party STARTED.

Onward and upward with ALL the nominated (and seconding) goodness! Pop all your favorite dragons down below and then head to the links I shared above to join in on all the other categories!

ALSO. The more people who join in means the more characters and fantasy books we get to experience AND the more fantasy lovers we all get to meet. So we’d be thrilled if you wanted to spread the word via your own blogs and social media.

Let the sixth annual Silmaril Awards COMMENCE!

Are you excited? Because, uh, I’m just a teeny tiny bit excited. DRAGONS, GUYS.

Nominate your favorite Most Magnificent Dragons below!