You may be wondering what exactly is going on in this forum. Well, never fear, because all will be explained momentarily.
A long time ago, in the distant land of the Off-Topic forum, a few fellow Kindred Spirits were complaining about the arbitrariness of certain televised and overly-hyped awards shows that will not be named here. Suddenly, inspiration struck; one of them thought, "Why don't we give our own awards?"
Hence, the creation of this forum. You, the H/Hr, D/G, L/J, and R/LL fanfiction reader, get to vote for your favorite fics and authors who are hosted on this site. No press junkets, no secret under-the-table deals, no crazy fashion statements, and, best of all, no commercials!
So, now that you know our purpose, you're probably want to know how you can get involved. Here's the deal:
Twice a year, this forum will be open to nominations for fics in the following categories:
* Best Novel-length Fic (JKR's universe)
* Best Novel-length Fic (AU)
* New! Best Short Fic (Fluff)
* Best Short Fic (Angst)
* Best Short Fic (Smut)
* Best New Author
* New! Best Short Fic (Humour)
This season Fluff and Humour will not be in the same category and have been split into two categories.
Nominated stories must be hosted here at Portkey and have been completed within the 6-month interval before the close of nominations. Authors nominated in the "Best New Author" category must have posted their first fic at Portkey in that same interval. In other words, if nominations close on December 31st, 2004, all nominated fics must have been posted (completed in the case of novel-length) after June 30th, 2004.
After the nominations are in, you will vote for your favorites from a maximum of ten in each category via polls that will be open for one month. If necessary, a small panel of unbiased judges will narrow the choices in each category down to that ten. At the end of that month, the winners will be announced and receive their award.
Nominations will take place from December 1st to December 31st, 2004. Final nominees will be announced on January 5th, 2005, voting will take place from January 5th, 2005, and the winners will be announced on February 5th/6th, 2005.
Specific instructions for how to nominate a fic will be posted in the nomination threads (H/Hr and Non-H/Hr). Unfortunately Joyce and Darkstar will not be able to look over the Awards this season so on behalf of Portkey we would like to thank Joyce and Darkstar and let them know that we are extremely grateful for all the work they've done in the past, and we hope to continue their good work.
So if you have any suggestions or concerns, you can post in the Questions Thread or you can either PM Anazecria (Nielle) or Szaranea (Ri).
Have fun!
~Joyce~ (Er, actually, Nielle editing Joyce's post)