Most Epic Heroine 2026 Silmaril Award Ceremony

28 Sep 2026 3 Comments

by C.O. Bonham in Silmaril Awards Tags: , ,

The votes are in and the finalists are assembled. It was a strong line up and the votes were close. But one Finalist reigns supreme.

After last years amazing masquerade ball for the Most Devoted Couple. Queen Susan of Narnia had the idea to do something similar for the heroines.

Introducing the Most Epic Heroine archery tournament!

The five finalists are on the field. Each one holds a bow with a single arrow in hand. The five women look confused at the set up. They had been expecting an awards ceremony, not a tourney.

Queen Susan of Narnia arrayed in crimson velvet and leather bracers, stands behind the finalists ready to signal for them to fire their arrows.

Queen Arwen of Gondor calls for them to halt and walks onto the Archery field and whispers in Queen Susan’s ear.

Susan pulls away. “But being a Heroine is about being good in battle, Not about popularity. It should be a test of skill.”

Arewn placed a hand on Susan’s shoulder. “But the readers have already voted. We can’t disregard the readers opinions just because one of the finalists happens to be better at Archery.”

Susan hangs her head. “Of Course, you’re correct.”

Eowyn runs onto the field next. “No need to waste the set up. See how the targets are already marked with the names of the finalists? Queen Susan, our best archer, can you hit the targets in the order of the votes, from least to most?”

Susan nods. “Yes, I can do that.” She steps in front of the finalists and nocks an arrow.

The first Arrow flies from her bow and hits the target square in the bullseye. The target was labeled: Risa. One of the many heroines from The Turrim Archives.

Risa steps forward. “Truly it was an honored just to be nominated.” She bows and exits the field.

The second arrow flies and strikes the target with Cimorene from The Enchanted Forest Chronicles.

Cimorene steps forward, curtsies to the attending audience and exits the field.

Susan nocks a third arrow and it hits true on the target belonging to Eilonwy from the Prydain Chronicles.

Eilonwy comes forward and shrugs. “Maybe someday.” Then she to leaves the field.

There are only two targets left. Which ever target Queen Susan hits will represent the winner of the Silmaril. The crowd looks between Ella of Frell and Sophie Foster. Who will the winner be?

Queen Susan lifts the arrow. She pulls the bow string back with the arrow. For only a moment she wavers as if unsure which target to aim at.

Suddenly she releases the string and the arrow flies.

The arrow hits the bullseye of the target with the name: Sophie Foster from Keeper of the Lost Cities.

Ella of Frell graciously backs off the field allowing Sophie to take the spotlight she fairly earned.

A young blonde-haired elf steps forward and bends her head before Arwen who places the Silmaril around her neck. “Well met young Sophie, You have had many adventures and I’m sure you shall have many more. Let this Silmaril remind you that no matter how hard your journey becomes that you are counted among the MOST Epic of Heroines.”

Congratulations Sophie Foster!

What do you think dear reader, Are you one of the many who voted for Sophie?

Check out all the other amazing ceremonies:

Silmaril awards voting link AND a cover reveal!

13 Sep 2026 2 Comments

by C.O. Bonham in Silmaril Awards Tags: , , , , , , ,

Stick around to the end for a special surprise!

The nominations have been tallied and the finalists are selected.

I take the scroll to Eowyn and stand back as she looks it over.

“Some of these names do sound familiar to me. I believe Eilonwy has been nominated before.”

I nod. “Indeed she has—multiple times—and if the numbers of seconds she received is any indication of popularity she has a good chance of winning this year.”

“Well, good for her. I do hope she doesn’t get too discouraged if she doesn’t get the Silmaril.”

“She’s a strong and kind girl I’m sure she finds it an honor just to be nominated.”

“Quite right. Our heroines are not a petty lot. This name though, Ella of Enchanted, hasn’t she already won a Silmaril?”

“Oh, you mean Ella from the book Ella Enchanted. She won last year along with her husband Prince Char. They were named the most devoted couple of 2025. But no, she hasn’t won a Silmairl for most epic heroine.”

“Very good, wouldn’t that be nice for her to be honored two years in a row.” Eowyn had a thoughtful look on her face.

“My lady, It isn’t possible for every finalist to win.”

“Oh, but it is!” Eowyn waved her hads in an arch above her head. “These are lifetime awards. Once someone has won a category they can not win again, that means that every year, the previous nominees are no longer competing against someone more popular than they are. I imagine that if these awards go on long enough—every character shall have a silmaril.”

Is she right? With an infinite amount of silmarils and enough time it could eventually happen.

But then I think about all the new books written every year—most will feature heroines just as worthy as those who already compete every year. I do not wish to spoil my Lady’s dream with the reality that the human ability to create stories is just as infinite as her supply of silmarils.

Quickly I hand her the compiled scrolls about each finalist and turn to leave.

Eilonwy (Prydain Chronicles)

https://prydain.fandom.com/wiki/Princess_Eilonwy

Cimorene (The Enchanted Forest Chronicles)

https://the-enchanted-forest-chronicles.fandom.com/wiki/Cimorene

Sophie (Keeper Of The Lost Cities)

https://lost-cities-keeper.fandom.com/wiki/Sophie_Elizabeth_Foster

Ella (Ella Enchanted)

https://ellaenchanted.fandom.com/wiki/Ella_Enchanted_(Book)

Raisa (The Turrim Archive)

“Cathrine, halt! You have forgotten a scroll. I do not see a compiled dossier for Raisa of Turrim.”

“I couldn’t get much information on her my lady. Raisa is a bit of a roguish character. Runs with a pirate crew. Only instead of sailing the sea they fly on an airship. Raisa is incredibly loyal to her captain. She’s resourceful and when she sets her mind to a task you can be assured it will be done. She also likes to keep busy, dislikes being idle and is always willing to help another even at the cost of her own freedom.”

“Well then it sounds like she’d be a worthy addition to our ranks.”

“I quite agree my Lady.” I give an awkward curtsy and leave to prepare for the finalists arrival.

https://www.silmarilawards.com/vote/

Help decide the winner of the 2026 Most Epic Heroine Award now!

Don’t forget to visit the rest of the award blogs to Learn about the finalists for every category before you vote. Each post will have a link to the voting form so no need to come back here first:

Here’s your reward for reading all the way to the end:

It’s Cover Reveal day for H.L. Burke’s newest superhero novel!

Check out this epic cover reveal for the third and final (?) book in H.L. Burke’s YA Superhero series: GAME, SET, MATCH!

Lose yourself in a heartfelt but twisty tale of young love with a dollop of suspense.

Art by K.M. Carroll and layout by Jennifer Hudzinski.

Links:

Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0HHTWD95M

Goodreads:

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/258382067-game-set-match

BookBub:

https://www.bookbub.com/books/game-set-match-by-h-l-burke

Silmaril Awards: Most Epic Heroine (Nominations CLOSED)

07 Sep 2026 51 Comments

by C.O. Bonham in Silmaril Awards Tags: , , , ,

I have resurrected my blog and my motivation to once again bring you the most prestigious award a fictional character can win.

The Silmaril Awards!

The Silmaril Awards are all about celebrating fantasy fiction. But whereas most awards go to authors or books, these awards go to the characters themselves!

Started in 2016, these awards are a four week online celebration of all that’s best in fantasy literature. There are several awards in various categories given every year. The characters who receive them have to be from books generally considered to be in the fantasy genre. And a given character cannot receive an award more than once. These are lifetime awards.

Also, as Tolkien is, for us, the gold standard of fantasy, his characters are not eligible to be nominated. That’s because they’ll be the ones presenting the awards in this cross-dimensional online ceremony. 

Nominations are submitted on the websites of each of the presenters for that year. Anyone can submit a nomination and you can second (and third and fourth, etc.) any number of nominations besides your own.

After the nomination period (lasting one week), the five characters receiving the most nominations will make it onto the ballot and you’ll have one week to vote. After the votes are tallied, the winners will be announced, one per day, over the final two weeks of the awards.

This years Dates:

Nominations will run from Sept 7 – 11.

You’ll vote on the top 5 nominees from each award from Sept 14 – 18.

The winners will be announced, one on each weekday over the two weeks running from Sept 21 – Oct. 2nd.

This year I am thrilled to be hosting the Most Epic Heroine award.

The awards are lifetime awards so no character can win twice.

Heroine is one of the longer running awards so there have been quite a few winners. Please consult this list before nominating:

Most Epic Heroine

  • 2025 Heather Longtreader from The Green Ember Series
  • 2024 Nia from Wingfeather Saga
  • 2023 Leeli from Wingfeather Saga
  • 2022 Sophie from Howl’s Moving Castle
  • 2021 Pet from The City Between Series
  • 2020 Hermione from The Harry Potter Series
  • 2019 Cinder from The Lunar Chronicles
  • 2018 Aravis from The Chronicles of Narnia
  • 2017 Lucy Pevensie from The Chronicles of Narnia

Quick Reminders:

  • No Tolkien or Narnia Characters
  • Book characters only (Movies don’t count unless the book came first.)
  • Only fantasy characters are allows (No sci-fi, adventure, mystery ect…)
  • Leave your nomination as a comment State the character’s name and what book they’re from.
  • Second other’s nominations by replying “I second” to their comment.
  • These are lifetime awards please check the past winners above before nominating.

Nominate in the comments: Who is the Most Epic Heroine?

Image of an Archer drawing back a bow with an arrow knocked. Text overlay reads: Ready...Aim...Nominate!

Don’t forget to visit the rest of the award blogs to nominate characters for every category:

Most Devoted Couple Silmaril Awards Ceremony

16 Sep 2025 8 Comments

by C.O. Bonham in Silmaril Awards Tags: ,

The votes are in the couples are assembled and the band is playing. Time for the Most Devoted Couple Masquerade Ball.

I know it’s usually an awards ceremony but those are very boring for everyone who doesn’t win so this way at least there is dancing and everyone can have fun.

The five finalist couples are standing in the center of the dance floor. All are wearing masks to hide their identities from those in attendance. As the dance progresses the hosts will pull couples out of the dance one by one until only the most devoted couple remains.

The ballroom is strung with fairy lights and the there are purple banners hung from the ceiling with the names of the most devoted couples from past years: Westley and Buttercup and Nia and Esben. One banner is notably blank, awaiting the names of the newest winners.

The Finalists make a turn around the dancefloor. Then Faramir and Eowyn cut in on a couple. Faramir takes the hand of a tall woman with black hair and a half mask bejeweled with rubies. Eowyn takes aside the man, shorter than his partner, with short curls. Most notably the man has one hand that does not move. It is obviously a false hand. His mask is a simple silk scarf with holes cut into it. Much like a thief would wear.

Once the couple is led off the dance floor they unmask revealing Eugenides and Irene from The Queen’s Thief Series.

The remaining four couples take another turn around the floor. the music swells and Cor and Aravis appear to lead off the next set of finalists.

The woman is another tall black haired woman. This one wearing her hair in a long braid that goes nearly to the floor. Her mask is a made from black feathers.

The Man is equally as tall as his partner and also has black hair. His mask is covered in dragon scales.

The couple is led off and placed next to Eugenides and Irene. They bow and remove their masks revealing Cimorene and Mendanar from The Enchanted Forest Chronicles Series.

The three remaining couples take two turns around the floor this time.

When King Frank and Queen Helen join the dance the third couple seems ready for them. They break apart and take their new partners for a turn around the floor before taking their place beside the others.

They pull at their masks his a royal gold and hers white and non-descript, as if she is skilled at blending into a crowd. They are Halt and Pauline from The Rangers Apprentice Series.

Two couples remain. They turn and spin around the dancefloor waiting for the final set of hosts to appear and declare the winners of the vote.

Nia and Esben Wingfeather, the winners from last year, waltz onto the floor and grab the hands of the couple clad in green, the girl with long hair the color of honey.

Tress and Charlie, from Tress of the Emerald Sea, remove their emerald masks and run off the dancefloor.

The winning couple gets closer to each others and takes a slow turn around the floor. Then, for anyone who wasn’t keeping track, they pull off their iridescent masks.

The Most Devoted Couple is:

Char and Ella from Ella Enchanted!

It’s been a fun night and as the winners are awarded the Silmaril medal by Beren and Luthien, Everyone crowds the dancefloor and celebrates the newest Devoted Couple to join those from previous years. The blank banner ripples and the names Ella and Char appear upon it.

Char pulls Ella close to him and says, “Kiss me.”

She giggles and replies, “is that an order?”

He gasps. “I would never.”

“I know. That’s why I love you.” Ella leans in for their kiss.

Thank you for coming to the 2025 Silmaril Awards. Be sure to check out the other awards ceremonies from my blogging friends.

Did your favorite win? Let me know in the comments.

Silmaril Awards 2025 Voting Link and Most Devoted Couple Finalists

08 Sep 2025 2 Comments

by C.O. Bonham in Silmaril Awards Tags: , ,

The nominations and seconds have been tallied and the top five couples have been notified.

You can click on each Wiki Link to learn more about the Characters. But be Warned: Wikis will contain spoilers for the books and series the characters are in. Please only use it to refresh your memory of books you’ve already read, or to learn about books you don’t plan to read.

The Most Devoted Couples are:

Char and Ella (Ella Enchanted)

https://www.shmoop.com/study-guides/ella-enchanted/char.html

https://ellaenchanted.fandom.com/wiki/Ella_of_Frell

Halt and Pauline (Rangers Apprentice Series)

https://flanagan.fandom.com/wiki/Pauline_DuLacy

https://arulen.fandom.com/wiki/Halt

Eugenides and Irene (The Queen’s Thief Series) 

https://eugenides.fandom.com/wiki/Irene

https://eugenides.fandom.com/wiki/Eugenides

Tress and Charlie (Tress of the Emerald Sea)

https://coppermind.net/wiki/Tress

https://coppermind.net/wiki/Charlie

Cimorene and Mendanar (Enchanted Forest Chronicles Series)

https://the-enchanted-forest-chronicles.fandom.com/wiki/Cimorene

https://the-enchanted-forest-chronicles.fandom.com/wiki/Mendanbar

This button will take you to the voting form where you will be asked to vote in ALL Silmaril categories.

Vote Now!

Don’t forget about our epic 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.

Here are the amazing prizes you’ll have a chance to win in the two contests:

Voting ends September 12th.

Then Visit each blog on it’s ceremony day to see who the winner is. You can also visit each blog now to learn more about the finalists in each category before you vote:

Vote Here

Silmaril Awards Most Devoted Couple Nominations (CLOSED)

01 Sep 2025 80 Comments

by C.O. Bonham in Silmaril Awards Tags: , ,

It’s that time of year again!

Silmaril Awards season!

The Silmaril Awards are all about celebrating fantasy fiction. But whereas most awards go to authors or books, these awards go to the characters themselves!

And this year is the tenth anniversary!

Started in 2016, these awards are a four week online celebration of all that’s best in fantasy literature. There are several awards in various categories given every year. The characters who receive them have to be from books generally considered to be in the fantasy genre. And a given character cannot receive an award more than once. These are lifetime awards.

Also, as Tolkien is, for us, the gold standard of fantasy, his characters are not eligible to be nominated. That’s because they’ll be the ones presenting the awards in this cross-dimensional online ceremony. 

Nominations are submitted on the websites of each of the presenters for that year. Anyone can submit a nomination and you can second (and third and fourth, etc.) any number of nominations besides your own.

After the nomination period (lasting one week), the five characters receiving the most nominations will make it onto the ballot and you’ll have one week to vote. After the votes are tallied, the winners will be announced, one per day, over the final two weeks of the awards.

This years Dates:

Nominations will run from Sept 1-5.

You’ll vote on the top 5 nominees from each award from Sept 8-12.

The winners will be announced, one on each weekday over the two weeks running from Sept 15-25.

Finally, we will close out this year’s awards with a special online event on Sept 26. More on that below!

This year I’m hosting The Most Devoted Couple Award. It’s one of the newer awards only being awarded twice before.

Who are the couple that can’t live without each other? The ones that will always find the other and save them? Which couples are so fully bound together that you can’t think of them as individuals anymore?

Nominate your favorite fantasy couples in the comments, but remember:

  • Tolkien and Narnia characters are exempt from nominations
  • Past winners can not be nominated again. These are lifetime awards.

Previous Most Devoted Couple

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.

Puzzle Contest

Anyone is eligible to enter this contest by visiting the contest page at silmarilawards.com submitting the form.

https://www.silmarilawards.com/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:

We come, we come with roll of drum: ta-runda runda runda rom!

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.

Here are the amazing prizes you’ll have a chance to win in the two contests:

  • Stained glass dragon sun catcher
  • Painted gold “One Ring” bowl
  • A Mines of Moria journal
  • A 12×18 inch poster of the Fellowship of the Ring
  • Four paperbacks by authors H.L. Burke, DJ Edwardson, J.L. Mbewe, and Jenelle Leanne Schmidt
  • Four ebooks by those same authors
  • A Lord of the Rings scarf with a map of Middle-earth imprinted on it
  • A sign stating “No admittance except on party business”
  • A Leaf of Lorien pin
  • A 3D printed Tree of Gondor bookmark
  • A Gandalf quote sticker
  • Door of Moria sticker

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!

Quick Reminders:

  • No Tolkien or Narnia Characters
  • Book characters only (Movies don’t count unless the book came first.)
  • Only fantasy characters are allows (No sci-fi, adventure, mystery ect…)
  • Leave your nomination as a comment State the character’s name and what book they’re from.
  • Second other’s nominations by replying “I second” to their comment.
  • These are lifetime awards please check the past winners above before nominating.

Nominate in the comments: Who is the most devoted couple?

Then nominate more at the blogs below: