[CLOSED] Nominations are Open for the Most Epic Heroine Award!

6:30 AM

 


"Are you sure we're not lost?" A blond-haired rider pulled on the reins of his horse.

"Lord Eomer did say that this cave was hard to find...", a second rider retrieved a map from his saddlebag. "It should be off to the right." 

"You mean, where that dust cloud is coming from?" The rider's chain mail rattled as he pointed his finger. 

"Could be. Let's go look." 

Both riders spurred their horses forward and found the source of the dust cloud - an opening in the rock, choked with vines and other debris. 

The riders dismounted and cautiously walked up to the opening. They could hear sounds of hustle and bustle from within, but no distinct words. 

"Hello?" They called out. 

"Who goes there? If you're here on church business, take it up with my assistants. And if you're here about that blasted conference in October, know that I am going to hang..."

A short woman with a filthy skirt emerged from the dark, shaking out an equally filthy rag. Blinking, she looked between the two riders. "Who are you?" 

"We're riders of Rohan, madam. We've been sent by the Lady of the Shield-Arm to deliver a message to Miss Catherine Hawthorn. Do you know her?" 

****

I hurriedly tossed aside my rag and attempted to brush myself off. "You've found her. My deepest apologies, Riders of the Mark. This dear old blog has not been touched for months and I have been attempting to give it an old-fashioned fall cleaning for the Tolkien celebrations. In the midst of....other things." I could not help but sigh as I straightened myself up. 

The riders smiled. "Well, we shall not keep you long." One handed off a thick envelope to me and they remounted. 

"Gōdne ǣfen, shieldmaiden", they said in their native Rohirric tongue and nodded towards the shield emblem near the door frame. 

(For those who are wondering, Rohirric is Old English in origin, so I simply used the evening greeting from this webpage.) 

After waving the riders off, I sat down on a stone bench and tore open the thick packet. On top was a letter, which I read first. 

My dear Catherine, 

Greetings from the land of Rohan! As you may have heard, the 8th Annual Silmaril Awards are upon us. It is my great pleasure to announce that I will be hosting the Most Epic Heroine Award at your blog, The Rebelling Muse, on September 21, 2023. 

I will be accompanied by Queen Lucy Pevensie and the lady Aravis from the land of Narnia. As you may know, Lord Aragon has declared that all of our dear Narnian companions are forever exempted from the Silmaril Awards and have been elevated to being co-hosts of the Silmarils as of this year. 

Be sure to gather all of the Epic Heroines from all the fantastical lands so that they may be recognized by our fellows. They should be the highest ideal of femininity. They are not to be recognized only for deeds of valor or conquests, but for their stalwart hearts and soothing hands. Maidens, wives, mothers, and crones are welcome. 

I have included a copy of the Rules, a list of the past winners, and the addresses of the other Silmaril presenters for your convenience. I look forward to seeing you on the 21st! 

~ Eowyn, Lady of the Shield-Arm 

******

Smiling at ending this letter, I picked the officious looking Rules Sheet. 

~ Rules of the Silmaril Awards ~

  • You may nominate as many characters as you wish, as long as there is no nepotism involved (i.e. author's nominating their own characters). 
  • You may also second as many characters nominated by others as you choose. The more “seconds” (and thirds, fourths, etc) a character receives, the more likely that character will move on to the Top 5 Candidate List from which the viewers will vote from. Should there be any dead heats, the host reserves the right to cast the tiebreaker vote. 
  • Nominations are allowed for fantasy book characters only! Movie characters don't count unless they have a book twin. Any disputes will be forwarded to the Council of Elrond. 
  • The Silmaril Awards are “lifetime” awards. To paraphrase Aslan, "once an Epic Heroine, always an Epic Heroine". Characters who have already won a Silmaril in previous years are not eligible to win the same award again (though they may win other categories.)

*****

Those sounded simple enough. But what was not so simple was finding out what kind of heroines to look for. Then I remembered Eowyn included a list of the past winners! 

~ Past Year’s Winners ~

These characters have already won this particular Silmaril, so they’re ineligible to receive it again. They can still be nominated for other categories, however! 

  • 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

*****

And now I am off to the town to square to announce. . .the the nominations have begun! Leave a note in the comment box to tell me: who’s your pick for the Most Epic Heroine? 

And....what's this? 

I reached down to pick up another sheet of paper.

Oh dear, I almost forgot! Be sure to visit my fellow presenters and nominate your favorite characters for the following categories!  

~ Other Silmaril Blogs ~ 

Most Magnificent Dragon - Jenelle @ Jenelle Schmidt

Most Nefarious Villain - C. O. Bonham @ C. O. Bonham

Most Devoted Couple - Samanthawise @ Bookshire

Most Wayward Soul - E.E Rawls @ Author E.E. Rawls  

Most Silver Tongue - The Grim Writer @ The Grim Writer

Most Epic Heroine - Catherine Hawthorn @ The Rebelling Muse (you are here!)  

Most Majestic Ruler - DJ Edwardson @ DJ Edwardson

Most Faithful Friend -  Jeanette @ J. L. Mbewe

Most Mischievous Imp - Grace T @ Bard on Pilgrimage

Most Epic Hero - Merie Shen @ Imperial Scribis

Wisest Counselor - Sarah Taleweaver @ Lights and Shadows

******

Nominations will close on September 8th, so don't delay! We shall gather again on the 11th to begin the voting! 

God bless, 

Catherine

You Might Also Like

91 comments

  1. I nominate:
    Egwene (Wheel of Time)
    Vin (Mistborn)
    Tiria (High Rhulain [Redwall])
    Echo (Echo North)
    Tress (Tress of the Emerald Sea)
    Liz Sharp (Miss Sharp's Monsters)
    Kate Sutton (The Perilous Gard)
    Victoriana Greenmantle (Of Deeds Most Valiant)
    Rae (Theft of Sunlight/A Darkness at the Door)

    ReplyDelete
  2. I nominate:
    Camicazi from the How to Train Your Dragon series
    Ella from Ella Enchanted
    Luna from the Harry Potter series.
    Thanks Catherine! Tallyho!

    ReplyDelete
  3. I nominate Starflower from Goldstone Wood

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Second Starflower! (She also goes by Imraldera, in case she accidentally gets nominated twice)

      Delete
  4. I love this post!

    I nominate Cordelia Beaumont from the Beaumont and Beasley series by Kyle Robert Shultz.

    And I second Echo from Echo North!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Here comes the dump of nominations:
    Gryfelle from Weavers Trilogy
    Menolly from Dragonsong
    Miri from the Princess Academy
    Kamarie and Dylanna from Minstrel's Song
    Resa from Inkheart
    Bonnie, Acacia, Saphira, Shiloh, Listener, Thigocia, and Karen from Dragons in our Midst
    Imogen from the Ascendance Series
    Tellie from Moonscript
    Andaryn from the Flight of Swans
    Perry from the Lost Kingdom of Bamare
    Scarlet from Lunar Chronicles
    Rose Red from Tales of Goldstone Wood
    Kyrin from the Ilyon Chronicles

    And I second Starflower, Ani, Luna, and Ella.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I second Rose Red, Scarlet, Imogen, Kyrin, and Tellie!

      Delete
    2. Second Rose Red, Bonnie, Acacia, Sapphira, and Listener

      Delete
    3. Also seconding Miri!

      Delete
    4. I second Kamarie and Dylanna from Minstrel's Song, by Jenelle Leanne Schmidt

      Delete
    5. I second Rose Red from Tales of Goldstone Wood

      Delete
  6. Epic intro, Catherine! Here are my nominations:
    - Kit from The Second Age of Retha
    - YeoWoo from The Worlds Behind
    - Britt Arthurs from King Arthur and Her Knights
    - Shiori from Six Crimson Cranes
    - Sable from The Keeper Origins

    Seconding Tellie, Miri, Scarlet, Rose Red, Cordelia, and Liz Sharp!

    ReplyDelete
  7. I nominate Amy Crockett from Crockett and Crane!
    Seconding:
    Cordelia Beaumont
    Luna Lovegood
    Resa

    ReplyDelete
  8. Oh, I love this intro so much!!

    Nominating:

    -Sylvia Kirke (the Afterverse)
    -Tanwen En-Yestin (The Weaver Trilogy)
    -Birdie (The Songkeeper Chronicles)
    -Molly Weasley (Harry Potter)
    -Nymphadora Tonks (Harry Potter)
    -Minerva McGonagall (Harry Potter)
    -Hyacinth Smith (The Door Before)
    -Essie (Elven Alliance series)
    -Tiger Lily (Heirs of Neverland series)
    -Amy Crockett (the Afterverse)
    -Holly Short (Artemis Fowl)
    -Easton (Dark Is the Night by Mirriam Neal)
    -Glory Spalding (Outlaws of Time)
    -Antigone Smith (The Ashtown Burials)
    -Ceridwen (Of Fire and Ash)
    -Camellia (The Worlds Behind series)

    ReplyDelete
  9. Seconding:
    - Sylvia Kirke
    - Birdie
    - Molly Weasley
    - Nymphadora Tonks
    - Minerva McGonagall
    - Hyacinth Smith
    - Essie
    - Tiger Lily
    - Amy Crockett
    - Holly Short
    - Glory Spalding
    - Antigone Smith
    - Ceridwen

    ReplyDelete
  10. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  11. Catherine! Sorry I haven’t seen you in AGES. (I mean, I’ve never seen you, but talked. XD) Hope you’re doing well! <3

    Ah, this is one of my favorite categories! I don’t even need to think about this.

    I nominate:
    Inej Ghafa from the Grishaverse <3 Dictionary definition of epic.
    Adima Radi Kashinda from the Pirate Hunter Chronicles
    Miryem from Spinning Silver
    Dorothy Gale from The Wizard of Oz
    Cress from The Lunar Chronicles

    I second.:
    Ella
    Luna
    Scarlet
    Molly, Tonks, and McGonagall

    ReplyDelete
  12. I second:
    -Starflower and Rose Red from Goldstone Wood
    -Tellie from Moonscript
    -Kyrin from Ilyon Chronicles
    -Essie from Elven Alliance

    ReplyDelete
  13. WAIT WAIT WAIT, I thought of someone else.

    I nominate:
    Beatriz from All the Crooked Saints

    ReplyDelete
  14. I second

    Tiria
    Resa
    Hyacinth Smith
    Holly Short
    Glory Spalding
    Antigone Smith
    Tiger Lily
    Dorothy Gale
    Cress
    Scarlet

    I Nominate
    Evanlyn from Rangers Apprentice

    ReplyDelete
  15. I second:
    Vin
    Tiria
    Echo
    Liz Sharp
    Starflower
    Shiloh
    Tellie
    Rose Red
    YeoWoo (so glad someone nominated her!)
    Ceridwen
    Cress

    And I nominate:
    Ailsa from The Dark King's Curse
    Isabella from the Two Monarchies series
    Poly from the Two Monarchies series
    Ashley Stalworth from Dragons in Our Midst
    Isobel from An Enchantment of Ravens
    Elizabeth from A Sorcery of Thorns
    Jane from Cinderella Must Die
    Calla from The Austen Fairy Tale
    Elinrose from The Austen Fairy Tale

    ReplyDelete
  16. I Second
    Evanlyn/Cassandra

    I Nominate
    Alyss

    sorry, I don't know any others...

    ReplyDelete
  17. Oh! I forgot! I nominate Mina from Dracula!

    ReplyDelete
  18. I nominate:

    Jenna (Septimus Heap)
    Sophia (The Glass Sentence)
    Marina (Silverwing)
    Yvaine (Stardust)
    Cimorene (Enchanted Forest Chronicles)
    Addie (Two Princesses of Bamarre)
    Meryl (Two Princesses of Bamarre)
    Asa (Fairest)
    Kitty (The Golem's Eye)
    Kate (Airborn)
    Buttercup (The Princess Bride)
    Meg (A Wrinkle in Time)

    ReplyDelete
  19. I nominate:
    Sabrina Grimm (The Sisters Grimm)
    Zita (The 13th Princess)
    Cornflower (Redwall)
    Irene (The Princess and the Goblin)
    Alice (Alice in Wonderland)
    Maggie Folchart (Inkheart)
    Maria Merryweather (The Little White Horse)
    Leeli Igiby (Wingfeather Saga)
    Serilda (Gilded)

    I second:
    Luna, Molly, Tonks, and McGonagall
    Cordelia
    Resa
    Scarlet and Cress
    Hyacinth
    Glory
    Antigone
    Dorothy Gale
    Alyss and Evanlyn
    Mina
    Jenna
    Buttercup

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I second Cornflower, Irene, Sabrina, and Leeli.

      Delete
    2. I second Leeli and Irene!

      Delete
    3. Seconding Sabrina, Cornflower, and Alice!

      Delete
    4. I second
      Sabrina Grimm
      Zita
      Cornflower
      Irene
      Alice
      Maggie Folchart (seriously though you haven’t even read it. I can’t believe you’d do this to me 😭 😂)
      Maria Merryweather
      Leeli Igiby
      Serilda

      Delete
  20. Hey, Catherine, thanks for hosting!

    I second Princess Buttercup.

    And I nominate Eilonwy from The Chronicles of Prydain.

    ReplyDelete
  21. I nominate
    Alyssa from The Princess Companion
    Princess Celeste from The Princess Game
    Evie from The Princess Search
    Princess Azalea from A Kingdom of Slumber
    Princess Wren from A Kingdom of Feathers
    Princess Zinnia from A Kingdom of Dance
    Petra from The Rizkaland Chronicles

    ReplyDelete
  22. I nominate:
    Lebia from Raven Son Saga,
    Eilonwy from The Prydain Chronicles,
    Alys from Through a Shattered Glass,
    Kale from Dragon Keeper Chronicles
    Lizbeth from The Welkening
    Angie from The Welkening

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh, and Sabiana from Raven Son Saga too

      Delete
  23. I second
    Leeli Igiby
    Tellie
    Irene

    I nominate
    Talea from Kingdoms Reign
    Tess from the Kingdom Series
    Lilam from Sir Quinlan and the Swords of Valor
    Keanna from Kingdoms Quest
    Carliss from Lady Carliss and the Waters of Moorue

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I second:
      Leeli
      Tellie
      Talea
      Tess
      Lilam
      Keanna
      AND SECONDING LADY CARLISS SO HARD!

      Delete
  24. I second:
    Vin from Mistborn
    Echo from Echo North
    Rae from Theft of Sunlight
    Tonks from Harry Potter
    Glory from Outlaws of Time
    Miryem from Spinning Silver
    Beatriz from All The Crooked Saints
    Evanlyn from Ranger's Apprentice
    Jenna from Septimus Heap
    Meg from A Wrinkle In Time
    Irene from The Princess and the Goblin
    Leeli Igiby from the Wingfeather Saga
    Eilonwy from The Chronicles of Prydain

    I nominate:
    Clovis from Lady of Dreams
    Carys from Lady of Weeds
    Helen from The Queen's Thief
    heck, Irene from The Queen's Thief also
    Shallan from The Stormlight Archive
    Jasnah from The Stormlight Archive

    ReplyDelete
  25. So many epic heroines!

    Seconding:

    Eilonwy (Prydain)
    Cimorene (Enchanted Forest Chronicles)
    Essie (Elven Alliance)
    Meg (A Wrinkle in Time)

    Nominating:
    Prism (Supervillain Rehabilitation Project by HL Burke)
    Shannon (Dragon and Scholar by HL Burke)
    Megan (Escape to Vindor by Emily Golus)
    Maki (Seventh City by Emily Hayse)
    Rosanna (The Goblin and the Dancer by Allison Tebo)
    Kitrin (The Green Princess by HL Burke)
    Alys (Through a Shattered Glass by Sarah Pennington)
    Tiryn (The Swordspeaker Saga by DJ Edwardson)
    Ayianna (The Hidden Dagger series by JL Mbewe)
    Baili (Blood in the Snow by Sarah Pennington)

    ReplyDelete
  26. Nominating Keladry of Mindelan from the Protector of the Small series by Tamora Pierce. Also Alanna the Lionness and Daine Sarrasri also from the Tortall books by the same author.

    Nominating the following characters from the Circle of Magic series by Tamora Pierce: Sandrilene fa Toren (Sandry), Daja Kisubo, Tris Chandler, Evvy

    Nominating Navani from the Stormlight Archive by Brandon Sanderson

    Nominating Danaerys from ASOIAF

    Nominating Mara Jade from the Star Wars Legends books by Timothy Zahn

    Nominating Mina Harker from Dracula.

    Nominating Essun from NK Jemisin’s Broken Earth trilogy.

    Nominating Orual from CS Lewis’ Til We Have Faces, if that counts as fantasy.

    (Or seconding these if someone else has nominated.)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. If Orual, counts, I second her!

      Delete
    2. I can't accept Mara Jade - the Council has declared that all Star Wars characters are ineligible due to it being sci-fi - but everyone else is good!

      Delete
  27. seconding:
    Vin
    Tiria
    Tress
    Kate Sutton
    Camicazi
    Luna Lovegood
    Miri
    Camellia
    Holly Short
    Addie and Meryl
    Asa
    Meg
    Cornflower
    Helen and Irene
    Shallan and Jasnah

    nominating:
    Rose Brier (Regina Doman's fairy tale novels)
    Serphimera (Pelmen the Powershaper series)
    Rose, Warbeak (Redwall series)
    Honor (Beauty by Robin MkKinley)
    Annabeth Chase, Piper McLean, Hazel Levesque (Heroes of Olympus series)
    Marasi Colms, Steris Harms, MeLaan (Mistborn series)
    Sarene (Elantris)
    Siri (Warbreaker)
    Shai (The Emperor's Soul)
    Lift, Syl (Stormlight Archive series)
    Raksha (The Jungle Books)

    ReplyDelete
  28. I nominate Echo from An Echo of the Fae, by Jenelle Leanne Schmidt 😊

    ReplyDelete
  29. I nominate:
    Mariel - Redwall
    Nia Wingfeather
    Nani B'nli - Milana Legends
    Heather Longtreader - the Green Ember
    Redwyn - Iron

    I second:
    Cornflower, Leeli, Kyrin and Meg

    ReplyDelete
  30. I second:
    Cordelia Beaumont
    Scarlet
    Miryem
    Mina
    Maria Merryweather
    Carys from Lady of Weeds
    Mariel

    ReplyDelete
  31. Seconding:
    Kamarie
    Dylanna
    Amy Crockett
    Birdie
    Essie
    Isabella
    Cimorene
    Irene
    Alys from Through a Shattered Glass
    Tiryn
    Echo from An Echo of the Fae
    Mariel

    ReplyDelete
  32. Seconding

    Kyrin
    Nia
    Leeli
    Petra

    ReplyDelete
  33. So many wonderful heroines!

    I second:

    Echo (Echo North)
    Ella (Ella Enchanted)
    Luna Lovegood (Harry Potter)
    Ani (The Goose Girl)
    Imraldera/Starflower (Goldstone Wood)
    Rose Red (Goldstone Wood)
    Cordelia (Afterverse)
    Amy Crockett (Afterverse)
    Bonnie, Acacia, Sapphira, Shiloh, Listener, Thigocia, Karen, and Ashley (all from Dragons in Our Midst/Oracles of Fire)
    Scarlet (Lunar Chronicles)
    Cress (Lunar Chronicles)
    Kyrin (Ilyon Chronicles)
    Molly Weasley (Harry Potter)
    Nymphadora Tonks (Harry Potter)
    Minerva McGonagall (Harry Potter)
    Essie (Elven Alliance)
    Easton (Dark Is the Night)
    Adi (Pirate Hunter Chronicles)
    Isabella (Two Monarchies series)
    Poly (Two Monarchies series)
    Isobel (An Enchantment of Ravens)
    Elizabeth (A Sorcery of Thorns)
    Cimorene (Enchanted Forest Chronicles)
    Buttercup (The Princess Bride)
    Irene (The Princess and the Goblin)
    Alice (Alice in Wonderland)
    Kale (DragonKeeper Chronicles)
    Rosanna (The Goblin and the Dancer)
    Baili (Blood in the Snow)
    Annabeth (Percy Jackson)

    ReplyDelete
  34. I second
    Leeli
    Evanlyn
    I Nominate
    Isla

    ReplyDelete
  35. I second:
    Kale (Dragonkeeper Chronicles)
    Rose Red/Rosie (Goldstone Wood)
    Leeli (Wingfeather Saga)
    Vin (Mistborn)
    Yeowoo (Worlds Behind)

    And I nominate Pet, from The City Between series.

    My sister can't get her comment to post, so on her behalf, I second:
    Starflower
    Cordelia
    Bonnie
    Acacia
    Sapphira
    Shiloh
    Listener
    Thigocia
    Ashley Stallworth
    Karen
    Imogen
    Andaryn
    Rose Red
    Amy Crockett
    Hyacinth
    Glory Spalding
    Leeli.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Pet actually won in 2021, so she's ineligible. But I got everyone else!

      Delete

Contact Me!

Name

Email *

Message *

Now Where is that Post?

#RebelliousWriting (12) Aesthetic Change (7) Aesthetics (5) All the Children (1) Alpha Squad (7) Ancora Spei (4) Animals (1) Animation (1) Anne of Green Gables (1) Announcements (5) Ask Me Anything (9) Author (1) Avatars (12) Awkward and Awesome (2) Beautiful People (4) beta call (1) Blog Game (1) Blog Link-Up (29) Blog Tour (2) Blogging Buddies (11) blogoversary (5) Book Dragon's Library Stash (13) Books (20) breaking barriers (4) Camp Log 2018 (9) Camp NaNoWriMo (17) Camp Recap (3) catherine's craziness (66) Catholic (4) Celebration (9) character mommy (3) character sketch (4) Characters (17) clean writing (2) Collaboration Post (2) Couples (1) cover reveal (2) Cringy Old Writing (5) Culmore (12) Disney/Pixar (2) editing (4) Editing Catherine (1) Eowyn (8) Fair Winds (16) FallFicFrenzy (1) fandoms (8) Fangirl Moment (8) Fantasy (3) Fantasy Writing (1) femininity (1) From the Cave (12) GIFs!!! (13) Goals (16) Goodreads (3) Help (1) Hidden Seeds (2) Hilarity (2) Historical Writing (4) instagram (1) Jane Austen (3) Lists and More Lists (7) little sister (11) Lord of the Rings (4) Maps (3) Marvel (2) Mock Covers (4) Monthly Wrap Up (35) Movies (8) Music (5) Music Videos (8) Musicals (5) My Muse (18) my photos (2) my spy (11) NaNoWriMo (11) Period Drama (5) Plain and Simple Truth (4) Plot Help (2) Preptober 2019 (5) Project Blueprint (1) publishing (1) quotes (2) Rebel for God (6) Reviews (2) Romance (4) Rooglewood FPA (12) Seeds of an Orchard Invisible (21) Shared WIP Tag (7) Shattered Chandelier (12) Shaxpir (2) Shield-Maiden (4) short story (2) Silmaril Awards (6) Soap Box Rant (4) social media (1) Songs from Playlist (8) Soul Sisters (1) Spotify Playlist (1) Star Wars (2) Story Scene (4) Story Snippet (19) Supposing Erroneously (1) TAG!!!!! (53) Taggy Tuesday (11) The Apple in the Snow (11) The Midnight Cave (6) the wade girl (1) The White Rose (48) Theme (1) Tolkien (5) Top Ten Tuesday (1) TV (4) Update (13) Videos (1) Wattpad (1) west side productions (1) WIP Post (51) world-building (10) Writing (17) Yearly wrap-up (2)