Publishers' Information

How to Enter

The 2008 ENnies submissions period is now open, and will close on June 1, 2008. To enter, please do the following:

1. Download the 2008 ENnies Entry Form. (If you are submitting a podcast, download the Podcast Entry Form)
2. Read through the rest of this page.
3. Fill out the form as completely as possible.
4. Ready and ship six copies of each product. Pre-made address labels can be found here.

  • We need six copies of each title: one for each judge, and one for the "6th Copy" which is used as reference material for the Board of Directors during the judging period, for display purposes at GenCon Indy, and possibly for fund raising purposes. Publishers who have already sent a review copy to an ENnies judge for review on EN World do not need to send an additional copy.**
  • Remember, products releases between May 1, 2007 and April 30, 2008 ONLY will be considered.
  • Publishers wishing to support the ENnies by offering additional product for fund raising purposes may send it to one of the designated 6th copy receivers at the same time.

5. Email us the entry form to entries at ennieawards.com, or print out a copy and fax it to Denise (613-678-5955). Include shipping/tracking numbers if applicable.

 
Important Dates
 
June 1, 2008


July 1-7, 2008 

July 8, 2008

July 9-15, 2008

July 16-29, 2008

August 1-8, 2008
 
August 15th, 2008

September 1, 2008
 
Product Submission Period Closes: All products must be received by this date to ensure that judges have the time to properly evaluate each product.

Nomination Period for Best Publisher Award

All 2008 Product Nominations Announced

Nomination Period for 2009 Judges

Voting Period for 2008 ENnie Awards

Voting Period for 2009 Judges

2008 ENnie Awards Ceremony. Time and Location TBD

Submissions period for 2009 ENnies opens
   
Rules of Engagement
 
  1. These awards are limited to RPG products, RPG games and RPG accessories.
  2. Products submitted for consideration must be samples of those primarily available to the general public. If a product sells out, a PDF substitute is not acceptable.**
  3. Only products that have been submitted for judging by the publisher will be considered for nominations. Authors, artists and other contributors to products as well as fans are allowed to enter products that meet all the submission requirements, provided they supply the required number of copies, and include proof the publisher does not object to the entry of the product.
  4. The Judges reserve the right to dispose of all products entered (upon completion of the judging) as they deem appropriate. The sixth copy of each entry shall be used as a library copy for reference by the Board of Directors during judging, and may be disposed of under the same provisions as the judges’ copies.

Podcast Guidelines

Products being submitted for the Best Podcast category must fill out the Podcast Submission Form. This year, those submitting podcasts will choose five episodes broadcast within the submission dates for submission. Judges may screen non-submitted episodes for background, but primary judging will focus on the submitted episodes.

Categories

Products may be entered in as many categories for which they are eligible; being entered in one category does not disqualify a product from being entered in another category. If a product contains sufficient quality and quantity of material to be worthy of consideration in multiple categories (as determined by the judges on a case by case basis), it may be considered for multiple categories.

Products that contain material from products considered in previous years will not be considered unless they contain a significant portion of new material. For this purpose, the determination of which material is being considered is according to the category, i.e., percentage of game text for content related categories, art for art related categories. If submitting a revised product, please indicate on the entry form the location and scope of changes.

The Judges have the right to place entries into categories which they deem the product eligible. If you do not wish to be considered for specific categories, please indicate this upon submission. The placement of entries in the final categories is at the discretion of the judges and Board. Their combined decision is final.

Because the number of entrants in a particular category fluctuates considerably from one year to the next, the ENnies Board, in consultation with the judging panel, reserves the right to divide, merge or otherwise alter the categories in which awards are given. These alterations are made for the primary purpose of ensuring that every product entered has the opportunity to receive recognition for its specific achievements in a field of no less than six competitors.

The following is the list of finalized categories for 2007:

  1. Best Fan Site - Awarded for an RPG web site or web comic run by fans, for fans, i.e. not by a publisher and not for profit.
  2. Best Cartography - Awarded for the individual product containing the best art or technique of making maps or charts.
  3. Best Interior Art - Awarded for the book containing the best artwork between the covers.
  4. Best Cover Art - Awarded for the book with the best cover.
  5. Best Production Values - Awarded for the book exemplifying the best production values, from graphic design and layout, editing, paper, binding; all the factors that combine to create the look and feel of the product.
  6. Best Writing - Awarded for the book containing the best prose and descriptive text (i.e. "cream" or “fluff”).
  7. Best Rules - Awarded for the book containing the best game design and mechanics (i.e. "crunch").
  8. Best Supplement - Awarded for a product which adds supplementary rules or details to the game. Products nominated for Best Supplement or any of its child categories (Setting, Adventure, or Monster) may not be nominated as Best Game. Products nominated in the Supplement child categories may not be nominated for Best Supplement or other Supplement child categories unless they contain sufficient additional quality and quantity of material as determined by the judges. If insufficient entries are received in the child categories, submissions may be merged with Best Supplement.
  9. Best Adventure - Awarded for a product that is primarily an adventure, adventure ideas, or seeds.
  10. Best Adversary/Monster Product - Awarded for a product whose primary focus is monsters or adversaries.
  11. Best Setting - Awarded for a product detailing a setting.
  12. Best Aid or Accessory - Awarded for the best product used to complement role playing game play. RPG books are not eligible for this category. If insufficient entries are received in the child categories (Miniature, Regalia, Software), submissions may be merged with Best Aid/Accessory.
  13. Best Miniature Product - Awarded for the best miniature, miniature line, or miniature accessory. Unlike in previous years, miniatures need only be appropriate for RPG play, but not exclusive thereto.
  14. Best Regalia - Awarded for the best product which, while it does not complement role playing game play, does enhance the lives of RP gamers. RPG Fiction, RPG Video Games, Videos, RPG Board Games, miniature painting accessories, etc. are all possibilities for entries in this category.
  15. Best Software - Awarded to the best RPG software or utility.
  16. Best Podcast – Awarded to the best Podcast.
  17. Best Free Product or Web Enhancement - Awarded for the best free product or web enhancement. A company's entire site could be nominated so long as there were considerable updates and content added during the eligibility period.
  18. Best Electronic Book - Awarded for the best book released electronically. Products submitted for Best Electronic Book must have been released exclusively in electronic format to be eligible, although small-run (fewer than 50 copies) Print on Demand will not invalidate an entry in this category. Please note that this is for electronic books only; software has its own category, and other electronic products (such as digital counter collections) still belong in Aid/Accessory or Miniatures Product.
  19. Best Game - Awarded for the best role-playing game. The Best Game winner brings together art, writing, rules, feeling, playability; everything that makes up a role playing game. Entries in this category must be complete enough to play as-is, from character creation to rules of play, and thus d20 books are not eligible. Best Game and Best Supplement are mutually-exclusive categories.
  20. Best d20/OGL Product - Awarded for the best product using the d20 mechanic. This is open to d20-derived OGL, d20 Licensed games, and products with special D&D licenses.
  21. Product of the Year - Awarded to the best product. All products submitted will be automatically considered for this category. Ten products will be nominated.
  22. Best Publisher - Awarded to a publisher whose body of work during the eligibility period was deemed best overall, with other, often less tangible factors taken into consideration. Customer support, quality and frequency of updates of their web site, their accessibility and contributions to the EN World and gaming-in-general communities will be all part of the qualities of Best Publisher. This is a Fans' Choice Award. This is the only category in which a publisher who did not submit any product for consideration to the ENnies can qualify (if they receive the nomination).
 
Supporting the ENnies
 
There are a variety of ways in which a publisher can help support the ENnies. Donations of extra product can be auctioned off, as can a seat (or seats) at a nominee's table. If you would like more information on how to get more involved (and earn some goodwill equity!) contact the Business Manager.
 
Contact Information
 
Business Manager
Denise Robinson
1666 Ridge Rd
Vankleek Hill ON
Canada K0B1R0
613-678-3880
fax: 613-678-5955
 
*ELECTRONIC BOOKS & PRODUCTS: Electronic and PDF entries shall be provided on CDs (not downloads) which are clearly labeled with company name and titles. Please include a text file containing an index of all files on the CD.

**THE FINE PRINT: Please note that all six of the copies of the product submitted be the ENnies must be the same as the versions largely available to the public. For example, if EN World reviewers Piratecat (Kevin Kulp) and Crothian (Chris Gath) each received a pre-release review copy of a book at Gen Con 07, that publisher need only send out four more copies- one for the "6th Pile", and three to the other judges. If the only difference between the pre-release edition of the book and the full release is something that could be easily rectified;- for example, the pre-release was missing a map; then provided the publisher make up the difference by supplying said map, they needn't send out an entirely new copy of the whole book. If however the publisher put out a Deluxe Edition of the book, if they wish that edition to be considered, they must supply six copies of the Deluxe Edition of the book.

Sending a copy of a product to an EN World Reviewer who is also a Judge does not guarantee a timely review on EN World of your product.  Now that the categories have been confirmed, publishers who submitted product to Denise directly at Gen Con Indy 2006 will be contacted to complete the entry information. Thank you for your continued support!
 
Updated December 12, 2007
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