And the Finalists Are... 2022 Silmaril Awards
It’s time to vote!
It’s been such a lovely first week of September, the season of Silmaril Awards, the time of Tolkien, and the hour of hobbits!
I love alliteration.
In case you couldn’t tell.
Nominations week is over, and so very many incredible Heroes and Heroines were nominated and discussed and brought back to mind in the past week. Thank you so much for your enthusiasm and excitement about the nominations and all your favorite characters. It was so lovely be be reminded of characters I hadn’t thought of in ages, and to re-greet them as old, beloved friends. I also am so grateful for all the new characters I was introduced to, I always come away from the Silmaril Awards with a whole stack of new books to add to my TBR and this year seems to be no exception to that rule.
With a mind-blowingly enormous turnout this year, y’all nominated a grand total of one hundred sixty-six epic heroines and one hundred thirty-seven epic heroes!
(And for those of you who listed your seconds according to the order they appeared in the comments, may the Lord bless you richly for your small kindness to this slightly frazzled blogger who had to tally up all the nominees for both categories!)
But I suppose if one has to have one’s house overrun by two sets of characters… having the heroes and the heroines hanging out around here is actually a pretty good deal.
Alas, we must now send a good percentage of them home. But nobody hangs their heads in shame. Being nominated by their readers for the prestigious honor of being a part of the Silmaril Awards is a great distinction, and one for which any character (and their author) should feel proud.
I, myself, am greatly honored and humbled to see so many of my own characters nominated and seconded in so many categories this year! My dear little Echo was only 3 seconds away from tying for 5th place (which would have put me in a bit of a pickle, let me tell you!) but that just… wow. So cool. Thank you.
But now, without any further ado… I’m sure you’d like to know a bit about the characters that have made it to the final voting round…
Top Five Epic Heroines
Startling nobody, and being seconded a grand total of SEVENTEEN TIMES, our first finalist for this award is the dear, plucky, persevering Jill Pole from The Silver Chair! This sweet heroine has always been a favorite of mine, and I’m happy to see her getting this recognition. Despite her failings, she has always been an inspiration to me in the way she continues on, learning from her missteps and resolving to do better in the future. I also love her sweet relationship with Aslan that is so very unique from any of the other characters, and how much we get to see her grow between The Silver Chair and The Last Battle where she really comes into her own!
With 15 nominations, our second finalist is a truly no-nonsense heroine who refuses to put up with any foolishness: Sophie Hatter from Howl’s Moving Castle. Of course, she has to be strong and brave to put up with all the ridiculousness everyone’s favorite temper-tantrum-throwing wizard can summon, and so we all think that few heroines deserve to be in this year’s top 5 as much as Sophie!
With 13 nominations, our third finalist is as fierce and as brave as they come. Princess Eilonwy of The Prydain Chronicles is another no-nonsense character who proves herself worthy of her place on this list over and over again throughout her story.
Also with 13 nominations, I am pleased to be able to feature Nia Igiby from The Wingfeather Saga as our fourth finalist this year. Not the sword-wielding type, Nia nevertheless is as heroic as they come as she fiercely protects her children and keeps her family together with undying love and a stoic willingness to sacrifice anything asked of her for her kids.
And finally, with 12 nominations, a character I love dearly for her sweetness, her innocence, her childlike perspective on the world, with an uncommon ability to see things nobody else can see… Luna Lovegood from the Harry Potter series is our final finalist in this category. Luna may not show up until later in the series, but she has always been my favorite character in the Harry Potter series. She’s just so adorable and loyal and sweet and I love her to pieces.
Top Five Epic Heroes
With seventeen seconds… our first finalist for the epic heroes is a character almost as dear to my heart as Bilbo Baggins himself. Taran of Caer Dalben from The Prydain Chronicles! (And can I just say how thrilled I am that so many Prydain characters were nominated this year?) If you haven’t read this series, you definitely ought to pick it up. Taran’s story is a fantastic adventure and a brilliant coming-of-age tale. Taran has never made the finalists list before, but I can think of no character better suited to bear the title of epic hero than him. Fiercely loyal, brave, and intelligent, Taran might start out just a simple Pig Keeper, but he soon becomes so much more.
With 16 nominations, our second finalist in this category is a young man whose trials are many, whose courage is tested, who must overcome both horrific foes and his own internal struggles… Janner Igiby of the Wingfeather Saga. As the oldest of three children, Janner is often expected to look out for his two younger siblings, a trial that would test any soul. But when extraordinary circumstances sends the family fleeing from their home in a quest to survive, that trial changes from one of annoyance to life-or-death necessity. Janner must grow up quickly, and along the way he learns something of the true nature of self-sacrificial love and loyalty, and what it means to be a good big brother.
With 15 nominations, our third finalist is everyone’s favorite Ranger’s Apprentice, Will Treaty! Small and nimble and quick with both his feet and his mind, Will Treaty might not be the biggest or the strongest, but that doesn’t mean he can’t still guard the kingdom with the skills he has. But it isn’t his skills alone that make him worthy of the title of Epic Hero, it is his loyalty, his friendship, and his willingness to sacrifice life and limb for the ones he cares about.
With 14 nominations, our fourth finalist might be a bit surprising to anyone who hasn’t made it all the way through Voyage of the Dawn Treader yet… but although Eustace Clarence Scrubb might “almost deserve” his name at the beginning of the book, he most definitely outgrows it by the end.
And finally, with 12 nominations, our final finalist for the epic hero category is none other than Curdie from The Princess and the Goblin/The Princess and Curdie. Curdie is a miner with a heart of gold. His cheerful disposition and his protective nature make him an ideal candidate for this award, as well as his quick wits and his ability to think on his feet, even when surrounded by goblins!
And there they are!
This year’s finalists in both the Epic Heroine and Epic Hero categories!
It’s about as tough a choice as we could possibly make it this year… but you have only yourselves to blame, I’m afraid!
Now it’s time to swing by the other blogs and read about the top five finalists in each of the other 8 categories!
Top Five Most Magnificent Dragons
Top Five Most Faithful Friends
Top Five Most Nefarious Villains
Top Five Most Mischievous Imps
Or, if this is your last stop, then it’s time to vote!
And don’t forget to enter the giveaway, which is running through the end of the awards and closes on September 30th!
We are giving away a prize pack that includes: one gently used set of Collector’s Edition extended version Lord of the Rings DVDs, one The Hobbit card game, one cool dragon bookmark, and an assortment of dragon stickers! Entering the giveaway is super easy!
Which of these Heroines and Heroes are you familiar with, Dear Reader? Which ones are you most rooting for to win? Let’s chat in the comments!