Hey questers, welcome to the first ever Silmarillion Awards! This has been in the works for a while, so I'm quite excited to finally get to share it with you.
The Silmarillion Awards have been created by DJ Edwardson and Jenelle Schmidt as a way to honor J.R.R. Tolkien as the Father of Modern Fantasy, open up a discussion about some of our other favorite fantasy works, and to have a ton of fun this summer.
When we started thinking about creating a sort of “Fantasy Oscars,” we found it difficult to fathom any award that wouldn’t be won by a character or item from The Lord of the Rings . . . so to make things a bit more interesting, we decided to call them “The Silmarillion Awards” and have characters from LOTR and The Hobbit present the awards as examples of the ultimate standard for each award. Hopefully that will even the playing field a bit.
Joining the team are myself and seven other bloggers and authors who will each be hosting one of these awards, called Silmarils, on our blogs towards the end of July.
But before we get there, we need YOUR help! Starting today, June 20th, and proceeding through July 1st, the nomination period for each award will be open. Please visit the participating bloggers (found in the list below), read the descriptions of the awards, and make your nominations!
So the way this works is you'll be nominating characters and whatnot in the comments of each blog post. If someone has already nominated the character you would've nominated, you may second (or third, fourth, fifth, etc.) that nomination. We will be picking the 5 characters with the most "seconds" for the final voting period that will take place between July 4th - 13th.
It's not as complicated as it might sound at first. Basically, an individual can make as many nominations and "seconds" as they desire, but you can't second your own nomination. That would be like you nominating the same character twice, which is *gasp* cheating.
Fine print
- Please do not nominate anything from one of your OWN books!
- You may nominate a character AND second, third, fourth a character . . . but please only vote once. (i.e. You cannot nominate a character and then also second that same character. Basically I'm just repeating everything.)
- Please share about the Silmarillion Awards on social media to spread the excitement far and wide across Middle Earth. Use the hashtag: #silmawards2016 wherever possible!
- Don’t nominate a Tolkien character for the awards, as the characters presenting the awards are already the standard for each award.
- Don’t stress if a character you nominate doesn’t win this year. We are hoping to make this an annual tradition, and these awards are LIFETIME AWARDS, meaning that they cannot be won by the same character more than once!
Official Schedule
Phase 1 - June 20-July 1: Award nominations open
Phase 2 - July 4: the final nominees will be announced and voting will open and last through July 14th
Phase 3 - July 16-28: Presentation of the awards, one per day, each award will be hosted on a different blog each day
Phase 4 - Celebration! July 29th was the official publication date of the Lord of the Rings back in 1954. We invite you all to celebrate with us the 62nd birthday of this masterpiece of Fantasy Fiction. Congratulate the winners, take and post a photo of yourselves with LOTR paraphernalia, write a blog post about your favorite LOTR moment, scene, character, quote, or memory . . . get creative and have fun!
List of Participating Blogs
Tracey Dyck Hosting the Riddling and Poetry Silmaril
As you can see, I will be hosting the Riddling and Poetry Silmaril here on Adventure Awaits. Below are the criteria for the sort of character or riddle/poem that ought to be nominated for such an award. Keep in mind that LOTR characters, as the ultimate standard of fantasy fiction, will be presenting these awards (so don't nominate any Middle Earthians, please!).
The Riddling and Poetry Silmaril should go to either:
- A piece of poetry so beautiful and fantastic that it stirs the soul to action, awakens the imagination, or whispers to the heart . . .
- A riddle so riddlesome, so clever and epic, that it turns your brain inside out . . .
- A character who wields words with utmost skill, be they a bard, singer, or riddle-maker. This character should stick in your memory as someone whose riddles/poems bring depth, creativity, humor, or a sense of foreboding to the book.
That's the sort of riddle/poem/character I want you to nominate, questers!
Near the end of July, this award will be presented to the winner YOU vote for by the one who comes from under the hill . . . the one known as Ring-winner and Luck-wearer and Barrel-rider; he who walks unseen; who came from the end of a bag, but no bag went over him. I shan't name him now, but I'm sure you can easily guess who it is.
I know I just threw a lot of details at you, so feel free to ask questions! (There are no stupid ones, remember.)
Now go forth into the comments section and nominate away! The world is waiting to applaud the very best riddling and poetry fantasy has to offer!
Bard Eanrin from The Tales Of Goldstone Wood series.
ReplyDeleteI second Eanrin!
DeleteI second this nomination
ReplyDeleteI third it! ;)
DeleteI fourth it!
DeleteI know the person who'll be presenting the award! ;) But I can't think of any nominees... I might have to come back to this one later.
ReplyDeleteHeheh, the clues aren't too hard to guess, are they? XD Definitely come back and make a nomination!
DeleteI third this nomination! He's my favorite character in the entire series, and I was going to nominate him myself if you hadn't. I hope he wins! (And I know who's presenting this award!)
ReplyDeleteBTW I third (or fourth by now) the Eanrin nomination, if it wasn't clear earlier
DeleteI fifth Eanrin!
DeleteI sixth Eanrin! (Boy, he'd better not come waltzing around these parts, or else his head will get even bigger than it is... He's a popular person. XD)
DeleteI seventh Eanrin! Best Bard I've ever read!
DeleteI very much eighth Eanrin!
DeleteWhen I saw this category I couldn't for the life of me think of anyone, then I was like, "Oh. EANRIN. Duh!" Then I came over here to see I was not alone in my thoughts. XD It would indeed be dangerous if he saw this. Goodness knows he doesn't need a bigger head!
I second Eanrin. My favorite bard ever. His favorite too.
DeleteI second Eanrin. My favorite bard ever. His favorite too.
DeleteI have a feeling that if Eanrin found out about this he would second himself XD.
DeleteI think he would second, third, fourth, and fifth himself if he could. And then proceed to complain about all the other second-rate poets getting lumped in with him. XD
DeleteI... am having the hardest time with this one. I apparently don't pay as much attention as I should to riddles and poetry! o.o
ReplyDeleteBut I guess I will nominate:
Kiernan Kane from The Minstrel's Song series by Jenelle Schmidt
(I need to read her books so bad!)
Delete(Yes you do! :))
DeleteI nominate Frigg's Prophecy in Savannah Jezowski's "When Ravens Fall"
ReplyDelete(Another author I need to read!)
Delete(yes! I love her writing!)
DeleteOh! And I have to also nominate Gummy from The Gammage Cup by Carol Kendall. :) "Gummy's Scribbles, Collected Works"!
ReplyDeleteOoh! Seconded!
DeleteGUMMY. I loudly third!
Delete-The Princess of Dol Amroth
Gummy, yes! :D Fourth.
DeleteI give another second to Gummy and his Scribbles! :)
DeleteI nominate Merlin from Bryan Davis's Dragons in Our Midst/Oracles of Fire/Children of the Bard series!
ReplyDeleteBy the way, the links are now up. And I'm wishing I knew all the cool-sounding characters/poems/riddles y'all are nominating!
I have to second Merlin. ^_^
DeleteI third Merlin! (Also yesh, I actually remembered to vote in time! *pats self on back*)
Delete*pats you too* Good job, Mary. ;D
DeleteSo I want to nominate the Song about Moonblood from Goldstone Wood, but Eanrin sings it, but all the characters sing it and I don't remember who wrote it so... Does this mean I'm seconding Eanrin or nominating that song? Because I'd rather nominate that particular song... XD (Don't get me wrong I love Eanrin, but that's my favorite Goldstone Wood song.)
ReplyDeleteAlso can we just say EVERY SONG/POEM/RIDDLE by Brian Jacques??! ...But that's cheating, so... Never mind. :P
-The Princess of Dol Amroth
I just paged through my copy of Moonblood. I think you mean the one about Hymlume, the one with with the line:
Delete"I blessed your name in beauty.
In fear I still must sing.
I blessed your glorious name in truth,
I bless it now in doubt."
Anyway, it definitely counts as a poetry nomination, and a worthy one at that. I second it!
Yes! That's the one! :)
Delete-The Princes of Dol Amroth
Ooh, I second this one!
DeleteBard Eanrin comes to mind, but more specifically the Ballad of Shadowhand.
ReplyDeleteI'd also like to nominate a character from the same story world, if that's alright: 'Leonard the Lightning Tongue'.
I can't help but second both: the Ballad of Shadowhand, and Leonard the Lightning Tongue.
DeleteAND at the risk of dominating the nominations with Goldstone Wood, I'd also like to nominate the many versions of "Song of the Spheres."
Oh, Leonard! Yes, I second, just don't tell Eanrin I did so. He's not too fond of Leonard poetry, after all. *cough* hehe
Delete...this passion that I feel for you is something rather like the flu...
Ha, I third Leonard! :D
DeleteI second the Song of the Spheres!
Delete@Dara Esther: Haha, I'd forgotten about that line. XD
DeleteI love the scene where Leo gives Queen Varvare that song to have performed at her coronation feast "preferably in Eanrin's earshot". I was snickering for a week afterward.
DeleteOkay, okay, I'll have to second Leonard too (please don't tell Eanrin! I'd rather stay on his good side, if it's all the same to you.).
DeleteHe won't hear it from us! ;)
DeleteI second Leonard the Lightning Tongue :-)
DeleteI'll sixth Leonard the Lightning Tongue!
Delete- Robyn
(Robyn! You're here! I smiled when I saw your name.)
DeleteI'm nominating Baird from the Threshold Series.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteThe Auctor's Riddle from Landon Snow and the Auctor's Riddle
ReplyDeleteMy Love Has Gone Across the Sea from The Monster in the Hollows
I haven't read either, but Landon Snow sounds familiar... Was that by Christopher Hopper, or am I totally wrong?
DeleteI nominate The Faerie Queene by Edmund Spenser.
ReplyDeleteAh, a classic work--and one that I have yet to read. In fact, this is the first I've heard of it. (Don't be too surprised. I've barely begun to be interested in classics. *winces*)
DeleteI nominate Leeli from the Wingfeather Saga. And Artham too, at that. And also Baird from the Threshold Series!
ReplyDeleteI definitely second Baird!
DeleteI really want to read the Wingfeather Saga. :D
DeleteSecond to Artham for sure!
DeleteYusss, definitely Baird. He is awesome!!
Delete-Ariel
I second Baird!
DeleteI second Leeli.
DeleteThere are a lot of memorable poets in the Wingfeather Saga. We have far too few surviving examples of the works of Adeline the Poetess. And i love Shank Po; i've memorized* nearly all of his relatively-slim volume Verse and Verbose.
ReplyDeletei should probably nominate Alma Rainwater, as she's the most beloved of Annieran poets. Or maybe Armulyn the Bard. But honestly, my very, very favorite, and the one that gets my official nomination, is the revolutionary ridgerunner poet Tizrak Rzt, who wrote, "Love, Love, Love Hath No Endingness."
*Sadly fictional
So many fun names (of people I apparently really need to read about)!
DeleteAnother fantastic poet, the Shakespeare of Weem-Ti: Bornholdt the Wider from the Budge-Nuzzard. i love him. LOVE him. My very favorite of his lines is "Love crosses all boundaries, and is often shot for trespassing." (Readers unfamiliar with his work can click my name on this comment to read a few—far too few—excerpts.)
ReplyDeleteYeah. Totally nominating him. (This category might be my favorite Silmaril.)
I'm just going to second all the poets from the Wingfeather Saga mentioned above in the posts by Laure Hittle. Not gonna even try to copy all their names...
Delete@Esther: I'm in the process of tallying up the nominations in preparation for the next stage. Were you seconding just Tizrak Rzt, or everyone else as well (Adeline the Poetess, Shank Po, and Alma Rainwater)? Laure technically nominated only Tizrak Rzt, so I just wanted to make sure! :)
DeleteHow many people can i nominate? Can i also add Curdie Peterson from George MacDonald's The Princess and the Goblin, and Captain Gidding from The Rise and Fall of Mount Majestic?
ReplyDeleteYou can nominate--and second--as many as you jolly well feel like! You just can't give a nomination/second to the same person. (For instance, you nominated Curdie, so you can't also second him.)
DeleteAnd I'm glad you're enjoying this category so much. I am too! :D I'm trying to think of more nominations to add...
I second Curdie! I love that book!
DeleteAw, I second Curdie!
DeleteI second Curdie as well!
DeleteI second Curdie! :)
DeleteI have another nomination! Vinculus's prophecy found in chapter 13 of "Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell" by Susanna Clarke. The poem is too long to share here, but I'll give a snippet for those unfamiliar with it.
ReplyDelete"The rain made a door for me and I went through it;
The stones made a throne for me and I sat upon it;
Three kingdoms were given to me to be mind forever;
England was given to me to be mine forever;
The nameless slave wore a silver crown;
The nameless slave was a king in a strange country..."
The whole thing has an ominous ring to it, and now that I come back to it after reading the first two-thirds of the book, I have some ideas as to its meaning... ;)
(*three kingdoms were given to me to be MINE forever--not mind)
DeleteOoh! Assuming it counts this part, I totally second it! --
Delete"Two magicians shall appear in England
The first shall fear me; the second shall long to behold me
The first shall be governed by thieves and murderers; the second shall conspire at his own destruction;
The first shall bury his heart in a dark wood beneath the snow, yet still feel its ache;
The second shall see his dearest possession in his enemy's hand..."
CUZ UGH I LOVE THIS ONE SO MUCH. :D I even think I memorized part of it at one point. XD (And I agree, it has SO much meaning when you know what's going on!! :D
Yep, that's the one! Isn't it fabulous? The part you quoted may actually be my favorite portion of it. And ahhh, all the connections I'm slowly making as I get into the final stretch of the book!
DeleteYESSSSSS. :D MINE TOO! Heehee, it's exciting, isn't it. :D *flails around and can't wait to hear more about what you think of it*
DeleteI second this! I hope it counts that even though I didn't read the book, I did watch the TV series.
DeleteSure, why not! ^_^ Was the TV series good?
DeleteThe TV series was pretty good, yes. :D I enjoyed it. ^_^ I'm not sure how close it was to the book but in a WAY it was... and I just so enjoyed seeing it on screen regardless. :)
DeleteIf I ever get a chance to watch it, I'll have to give it a go, then. I can't imagine how they crammed the book into 7 episodes, though! o.o
DeleteI second the Sorting Hat :D.
ReplyDeleteOh yes! Third the Sorting Hat! Awesome and hilarious riddles/poetry! :)
ReplyDeleteI nominate the poem that's printed at the end of the Wingfeather Saga by Andrew Peterson. I don't think it has a name, but it's BEAUTIFUL. For those Wingfeather fans who are still unsure of which one it is, it's the one that begins...
ReplyDeleteThe world is whispering
Listen child!
The world is telling a tale
*needs very badly to read the Wingfeather Saga*
Delete*freaks out because I SO WANT TO SEND YOU A COPY*
DeleteThat would be awesome! XD Sadly, my library doesn't have the series, so I'll have to request it. Or just go buy it.
DeleteI second this even though I have never read it. The beginning just sounds so beautiful and I KNOW it has to be good because I have heard a lot of Andrew Peterson's songs.
DeleteDoes his "Haven Grey" kill anyone else?
I've never heard Haven Grey, but now I'll have to go look it up. :) (I think the only Andrew Peterson I know is "Be Kind to Yourself," which I love.)
DeleteNominate this poem from The Blood of Kings trilogy by Jill Williamson:
ReplyDeleteErrets was lost in the darkness of sin,
The light of the world is Caan.
Like sunlight at noonday his glory shone in:
The light of the world is Caan.
No darkness have they who in Arman abide;
The light of the world is Caan.
We walk in the light as we follow our guide;
The light of the world is Caan.
No need of sunlight in Shamayim, we're told;
The light of the world is Caan.
For Caan is the light in that city of gold;
The light of the world is Caan.
Ooh, that one has a neat rhythm going on. Since I haven't read the book and don't have the context, I'm not sure if this Caan is something/someone who deserves such adoration, so I feel this could either be a really beautiful poem, or a chilling, ominous one. Either way, I need to read that trilogy! :)
Delete@Tracey: In the trilogy, Caan is name of the Jesus allegorical figure in their history, Arman is the Lord, and Shamayim is like Heaven. :)
DeleteAlso, I second! :)
Ahh, I see. With fantasy you can never be too sure (when just names are given, I mean). XD Upon a second look, it's actually pretty clear, though. Thanks! :)
DeleteTrue! And you're welcome! :) (You can actually hear a line of it in the awesome book trailer for the third book. :D https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gaKhK28NQF8)
DeleteYou can also download the free audiobooks from jillwilliamson.com and hear Jill sing it. :)
DeleteOoh, cool trailer! Thanks to both of you for the info. ^_^
DeleteI love that song! :) I second it! :)
Delete-The Princess of Do Amroth
Also nominate the poem from The Blood of Kings trilogy by Jill Williamson:
ReplyDeletethat begIns with this line:
Pity on my heart from the day I first saw you...
I nominate the poem from Mariel of Redwall by Brian Jacques that starts:
ReplyDelete"The wind's icy breath o'er the land of death
Tells a tale of the yet to come.
'Cross the heaving waves which mark ships' graves
Lies an island known to some.
Where seas pound loud and rocks stand proud
And blood flows free as water,
To the far northwest, which knows no rest,
Came a father and his daughter.
..."
-Tim
I like the rise and fall of that poem. :) So far I've only read one Redwall book, but everyone seems to love the series so much, I'll have to pick up another sometime!
DeleteI second! Loved that one! *chills*
DeleteI second! I have that poem memorized because I listened to the audio so many times.
Delete-The Princess of Do Amroth
WHAT FUN EH
ReplyDeleteI'd like to second THE FAERIE QUEENE as the ultimate fantasy poem. <3
I'd like to second (or third, or whatever) Curdie from THE PRINCESS AND THE GOBLIN.
But my nomination goes to the lovely poem from PLENILUNE, that begins
Fear no more the heat o' the sun,
Nor the furious winter's rages;
Thou thy worldly task hast done,
Home art gone, and ta'en thy wages.
Golden lads and girls all must,
As chimney-sweepers, come to dust.
Gorgeous Shakespeare-style writing. Love it!
(Anyone want to nominate the Reaper's Song from Red Rising? You should totally do that. Can I pre-emptively second that nomination?)
YES, WE'RE ALL HAVING SUCH FUN.
DeleteThanks for the seconds and nominations! I was going to tell you that yes, you can nominate as many things as you want, but I see you already figured that out for yourself. :) Both poems you referenced are gorgeous. *needs to read Plenilune* *needs to look into Red Rising*
I believe that line actually IS from Shakespeare, since I've heard it as a song put to music by Loreena McKennitt. :) From Cyymbeline I believe. :D
DeleteI love Plenilune...
(Are you seconding this one, Deb?)
DeleteUmm... I guess? XD I wasn't sure if it counts because it wasn't an ORIGINAL fantasy poem... but sure. :D
DeleteHmm. Good point. I'll mark it down anyway, because it won't really change the final results of the top five.
Deletelol, I'll fourth the Sorting Hat!
ReplyDeleteOh, I CAN nominate two things? OK, I'm nominating the Reaper's Song from RED RISING. Gave me chills.
ReplyDeleteMy love, my love
Remember the cries
When winter died for spring skies
They roared and roared
But we grabbed our seed
And sowed a song
Against their greed
And
Down in the vale
Hear the reaper swing, the reaper swing
the reaper swing
Down in the vale
Hear the reaper sing
A tale of winter done
My son, my son
Remember the chains
When gold ruled with iron reins
We roared and roared
And twisted and screamed
For ours, a vale
of better dreams.
Beautiful.
DeleteI nominate the poem "My Love has Gone Across the Sea" from the Wingfeather Saga by Andrew Peterson.
ReplyDeleteI second! That is such a gorgeous song!
DeleteI keep wanting to nominate the villain from Thr3e because of his riddles, and then I keep remembering that the book isn't fantasy. XD
ReplyDeleteWell, I second Eanrin (it's not really seconding at this point :P); I second Leonard the Lightning Tongue; I second the Song of Spheres.
I nominate Graybeard Halt from The Sorcerer of the North; The Drunken King of Angledart (not sure what the "official" title of the song is) from the same book... not sure what else to nominate. This'll do for now. Oh yeah, I'll also nominate Will when he's a jongleur in the abovementioned book.
-Josiah
Haha, I've had to catch myself wanting to nominate things from different genres too! XD
DeleteWonderful choices for seconds.
I second Halt--or were you nominating the Drunken King of Angledart? (I second whichever it is. So funny. XD) I also second Will as a jongleur.
And yet this shouldn't be too hard, since we both read mostly fantasy. XD
DeleteNo, Graybeard Halt was a spoof on a different song in the book, and I was nominating both songs. :P
-Josiah
I know! It's like half of what I read! It shouldn't be difficult at all. XD
DeleteOhhh, that's right. Thank you for clarifying. I will then amend my seconding and say that I second both the Graybeard Halt song AND the Drunken King of Angledart song. :)
I nominate "Cassabrie's Song" from Masters and Slayers (book 1 of the Tales of Starlight Series by Bryan Davis)!
ReplyDeleteOoh, second!
DeleteYES. Second!
DeleteI nominate the Florid Sword/ Gammon from the Wingfeather Saga!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the nomination! I've seen so many Wingfeather nominations that the series has been bumped up much higher on my TBR list. :)
DeleteOH! I just thought of one, but I don't know if anyone else is familiar with him. :/ I nominate the master of riddles and rhymes, Bezeal from Dreamtreaders by Wayne Thomas Batson!
ReplyDeleteI also nominate Abaddon from The Bones of Makaidos by Bryan Davis! Gotta love his alliteration. :D
I sadly have yet to read Dreamtreaders, though I'm sure Bezeal is a worthy nomination. :)
DeleteThat's right, I was planning to nominate Abaddon, but I forgot to. Thank you for reminding me! I adore his alliteration. I was often so caught up in the sound of the words that I forgot to pay attention to their meaning. XD I second!
I fifth the Sorting Hat! Fun is good.
ReplyDeleteI nominate Apollo from Percy Jackson! His haikus were awesome... XD
ReplyDelete(I think this is my first comment as Lostfairy, sis!)
I second Apollo!!!! Yay! Go, Apollo! :P
Delete-Chloe
Heehee, hi there, Lost! And Chloe too! <3
DeleteApollo was my favorite! XD Second!
Delete