I would like to announce that all entries in the 2011 Windhammer Prize for Short Gamebook Fiction are now available for download and consideration. Voting has commenced and will continue until the 30th of October with the winners being announced on the 7th of November.

This year has seen eight entries accepted and they have proven to be an exciting selection of genres and writing styles. If you like fantasy, science fiction or perhaps a more contemporary story, seasoned with humour, danger and perhaps a small measure of dystopia then it can be found within these gamebooks. Well done to all who have participated.

All entries can be found at the Windhammer Prize webpage at http://www.arborell.com/windhammer_prize_2011.html as well as voting guidelines and prize information.

May Glory and Renown follow all who have entered.

Regards
Wayne Densley
Chronicles of Arborell
http://www.arborell.com/

asgardian
Sat Oct 15 00:10:55 2011

Anyone reading the Windhammer entries this year? A Strange Week for King Melchion the Despicable is quite funny. I think Gem Runner is the best - very much in keeping with Deathtrap Dungeon.

Wayne Densley
Mon Oct 17 10:12:00 2011

2011 Windhammer Prize Voting Update

Hi all,

This is a short reminder to everyone interested in participating in the voting phase of the 2011 Windhammer Prize that voting concludes on the 30th of October. If you are interested in placing votes for this year's competition there are now only two weeks remaining. Votes can be posted at the Windhammer Prize webpage at

http://www.arborell.com/windhammer_prize_2011.html

If you are interested in providing feedback to the authors of this year's competition entries all comments can be forwarded through

feedback@arborell.com

As per the competition timetable all winners will be announced on the 7th of November. May Glory and Renown follow all who have entered.

Regards
Wayne Densley
Chronicles of Arborell
http://www.arborell.com/

Wayne Densley
Tue Nov 8 10:51:38 2011

Hi all,

Arborell.com is pleased to announce that the winner of the 2011 Windhammer Prize for Short Gamebook Fiction is Andrew Wright for his excellent sea-faring adventure, Sea of Madness. Arborell.com can also announce that Ashton Saylor and Zachary Carango have placed second and third in the popular vote and are therefore worthy Merit Award winners with their entries, Peledgathol - The Last Fortress and Above the Waves respectively.

This year has seen an amazing selection of entries, covering a wide range of fantasy and sci-fi settings and all have done very well. Considering the limitations provided by the competition guidelines the authors who have offered entries this year have shown once again, that great gamebook ideas can be made to fit into very small spaces.

I would like to thank everybody who participated, the authors and those dedicated readers who took the time to evaluate all the entries, and also a further thanks to those readers who provided feedback and comment to the authors.
All information regarding the Windhammer Prize can be found at http://www.arborell.com/ May Glory and Renown follow all who have participated.

Regards
Wayne Densley
Chronicles of Arborell
2011 Windhammer Prize for Short Gamebook Fiction
http://www.arborell.com/

Wayne Densley
Fri Mar 2 03:55:00 2012

For everyone interested in the 2012 Windhammer Prize here is this year's competition press release. Please note that the prize pool has now been expanded to include commercial publication of the winning entries.

***********

Release of Guidelines for the 2012 Windhammer Prize

Arborell.com is pleased to announce the release of the schedule and guidelines for the 2012 Windhammer Prize for Short Gamebook Fiction. All prospective entrants should note that this year's prize pool has been expanded to include publication of all winning entries as an idevice gamebook application. This offer of commercial publication is provided by Tin Man Games, creators of the exceptional Gamebook Adventures series, and will encompass development and publication of the First Prize and Merit Award winners' entries into a 2012 compilation app for the iphone and ipad. Further information regarding this offer of publication can be found at the Windhammer Prize webpage.

Now in its fifth year this contest is proudly sponsored by arborell.com and continues as a means to promote the gamebook genre, and to provide exposure within a competitive environment for aspiring gamebook authors. In particular this prize values creative and original works of gamebook fiction. The challenge given to those who wish to participate is to develop a full gamebook experience whilst meeting stringent requirements regarding length and original content. This competition is open to all gamebook writers and requires no entry fee or other costs.

It should be noted that all other prizes including cash prizes, certification and hosting have been maintained for the 2012 competition year.

Concurrent with this important addition to the competition prize pool comes a number of important changes to the eligibility guidelines and all entrants should be aware of these changes prior to entry submission.

All details regarding the Windhammer Prize can be found at http://www.arborell.com/windhammer_prize.html

Further information regarding Arborell.com, the sponsor of the Windhammer Prize and home of the Chronicles of Arborell gamebook series can be found at http://www.arborell.com/

Regards
Wayne Densley
Chronicles of Arborell
2012 Windhammer Prize for Short Gamebook Fiction
http://www.arborell.com/

SCC
Wed May 23 03:55:29 2012

Offering up Warwheel for this year's Windhammer competition. Somewhat more traditional than last year's Gem Runner (now revised and available here as a PDF) but it will present a challenge not seen in a long time...

Stuart Lloyd
Sun May 27 20:37:03 2012

'...but it will present a challenge not seen in a long time...'

I can't wait to see what this will be.

I'm looking forward to Windhammer this year even more so than in previous years. It seems that many people are talking about it on the twitterverse and also the Tin Man is involved. Good times.

Wayne Densley
Sun Jul 1 11:06:53 2012

Windhammer Prize Update

Hi all,

There is now one month until the commencement of the submission period for the 2012 Windhammer Prize for Short Gamebook Fiction. If you are a prospective entrant in this year's competition I would urge you to revisit the entry criteria for this year's prize and confirm that the entry you will be submitting does meet the 2012 guidelines. Of particular importance is the content criteria and the length of entries forwarded regarding maximum word count.

All information regarding the Windhammer Prize can be found at: http://www.arborell.com/windhammer_prize.html and any questions regarding the competition can be forwarded through the email address given at the webpage.

May Glory and Renown follow all who enter.

Regards
Wayne Densley
Chronicles of Arborell
2012 Windhammer Prize for Short Gamebook Fiction
http://www.arborell.com/

Wayne Densley
Wed Aug 1 04:30:20 2012

Entries now being accepted for the 2012 Windhammer Prize.

Arborell.com is pleased to announce the commencement of the 2012 Windhammer Prize for Short Gamebook Fiction. The initial submission phase runs from the 1st of August to the 7th of September and entries are now being accepted. All prospective entrants should note that there have been significant changes to the entry guidelines. These changes include the entry length which has been adjusted to a 23,000 word count rather than the previous 40 page maximum. Also fan-fiction can no longer be accepted. This has been necessitated by the offer in this year's competition of commercial publication of all winning entries as a part of the competition prize pool.

Now in its fifth year this contest is proudly sponsored by arborell.com and continues as a means to promote the gamebook genre, and to provide exposure within a competitive environment for aspiring gamebook authors. In particular this prize values creative and original works of gamebook fiction. The challenge given to those who wish to participate is to develop a full gamebook experience whilst meeting stringent requirements regarding length and original content. This competition is open to all gamebook writers and requires no entry fee or other costs.

All information regarding this year's comp including full entry guidelines, competition schedule and prize details can be found at the Windhammer Prize webpage at http://www.arborell.com/windhammer_prize.html

For more information on the Chronicles of Arborell gamebook series, sponsors of this competition, go to http://www.arborell.com/

May Glory and Renown follow all who enter.

Regards
Wayne Densley
2012 Windhammer Prize for Short Gamebook Fiction
http://www.arborell.com/windhammer_prize.html
Chronicles of Arborell
http://www.arborell.com/

Ulysses
Thu Aug 2 11:24:23 2012

With an utterly self-serving motive I would like to mention that I have entered the Windhammer competition this year. Once the voting phase begins, please check out my gamebook: The Ravages of Fate.

Robert Douglas
Thu Aug 2 22:19:59 2012

@ Ulysses,

Great to hear about another fellow entrant, Ulysses! 'The Ravages of Fate' sounds very intriguing, and I'll look forward to reading it myself.

I wouldn't worry about the 'self-serving motive'. Pete Waterman's mother once said: 'if you don't blow your own trumpet, nobody else will' - I can understand where she's coming from! In other words: believe in yourself, and show people what you can do. We have to assume that we're here only once and must make the most of it. That's the reason why I've entered this competition - and looking forward to all sorts of comments and constructive criticism from fans who read these adventures.

So, our gamebooks are posted when voting phase begins? In the meantime, it would be great hearing from other entrants (probably did the same as Ulysses and I by sending in gamebooks soon as 1st August dawned!)

Wayne Densley
Sun Sep 9 06:20:42 2012

Entries have now closed in the 2012 Windhammer Prize

The 7th has come and gone and with its passing the submission phase for the 2012 Windhammer Prize has now ended. As of the 8th of September twenty-two entries have been accepted for consideration and all will be made available as per the competition guidelines on the 14th of September. The following entrants have been accepted for this year's competition.

Bert Van Dam
Ivailo Daskalov
Robert Douglas
Jake Care
Ulysses Ai
Stuart Lloyd
Kieran Coghlan
Ashton Saylor
Nicholas Stillman
Paul Struth
Zachary Carango
Andrew Drage
Simon Chapman
Marty Runyon
Leidren Sweever
Andrew Wright
Mikael Bergqvist
Paul Gresty
Richard Penwarden
David Walters
S.J. Bell
Karalynn Lee

All entries will be made available for download from the 14th of September. Information regarding the voting guidelines can be found at the competition homepage.

May Glory and Renown follow all who have entered.

Regards
Wayne Densley
Chronicles of Arborell
2012 Windhammer Prize for Short Gamebook Fiction
http://www.arborell.com/

Robert Douglas
Tue Sep 11 23:09:21 2012

I can't believe there's TWENTY TWO entries for this year's Windhammer - BHFIRE! I thought it would only be about ten... But I'm not complaining, more the merrier as the say. It's going to take a lot of time reading through all of them.

Robert Douglas
Fri Sep 14 19:44:56 2012

'Nye's Song' is now listed amongst the entries for the Windhammer Competition. I've been keeping both the title and story under wraps until now.

Stuart Lloyd
Sat Sep 15 23:08:17 2012

Hi all! Just a quick message - the Windhammer entries are out now - http://www.arborell.com/windhammer_prize.html

Wayne Densley
Sun Sep 16 06:51:13 2012

Hi all,

Just a note to let everyone on the guestbook know that all 22 entries in this year's Windhammer Prize are now available for download. If you would like to participate as a voter all these gamebooks can be found at http://www.arborell.com/windhammer_prize.html

Regards
Wayne Densley
Chronicles of Arborell
http://www.arborell.com/

Stuart Lloyd
Tue Oct 30 07:30:39 2012

Last day to vote for your favourite two Windhammer entries! http://www.arborell.com/windhammer_prize.html

Wayne Densley
Wed Oct 31 12:02:09 2012

Voting in the 2012 Windhammer Prize has now closed.

Voting has closed for the 2012 Windhammer Prize and now the serious stuff begins. From now until the 7th of November I will be collating the votes and comments forwarded by readers and determining First Prize winner and Merit Award winners for 2012. This year has been a great year for the Windhammer Prize both in the number of entrants, and the huge interest that has been shown in their entries. I believe the number of votes and general comments received is a testament to the quality of the entries submitted.

As the voting period has now concluded please feel free to discuss the entries in any forum you wish.

All entrants will be notified by email of this year's winners on the 7th, with a general declaration through the usual channels shortly thereafter.

May Glory and Renown follow all who are successful.

Regards
Wayne Densley

Wayne Densley
Wed Nov 7 11:15:32 2012

Notification of results for the 2012 Windhammer Prize

Arborell.com is proud to announce that the winner of the 2012 Windhammer Prize for Short Gamebook Fiction is Zachary Carango for his futuristic sci-fi adventure, Final Payment. Merit awards have also been awarded to Marty Runyon for his magical fantasy adventure, Academy of Magic - The First Term, and to Ashton Saylor for his exciting sci-fi adventure, Legacy of the Zendari. Well done to all participants and congratulations to this year's winners.

This year's competition has been particularly hard-fought. With 22 quality entries, more than 4000 visitors to the competition webpage over the voting period, and greater than 8500 downloads considered, it proved the most competitive of competitions in the history of the prize.

It is no small thing to ask entrants to write original gamebooks for the Windhammer Prize. This year the quality of the entries submitted has been exceptional. I would like to thank all readers who voted this year for their commitment in evaluating such an extensive entry list. Special thanks must also go to those who provided feedback for authors. The amount of comment forwarded has also been the largest given in any competition year and all is greatly appreciated.

All entries have now been placed into the Windhammer Prize gamebook archive and can be accessed from that page along with all other gamebooks submitted since 2008.

All Information regarding the Windhammer Prize can be found at : http://www.arborell.com/windhammer_prize.html
All entries can be found in the gamebook archive at: http://www.arborell.com/gamebook_archive.html
Information regarding the sponsor of this competition can be found at http://www.arborell.com/

May Glory and Renown follow all who have found success in this year's Windhammer Prize.

Regards
Wayne Densley
2012 Windhammer Prize for Short Gamebook Fiction
Chronicles of Arborell
http://www.arborell.com/

pi4t
Thu Nov 8 11:20:01 2012

Without wishing to appear complaining, I would have preferred a bit more time to play through the entries to the Windhammer prize. I don't know about other people, but I don't have that much time to devote to playing gamebooks, and didn't manage to get through anywhere near them all before voting closed.

If I'm in the minority, then obviously I'll just live with it. As there are more entries every year, however, and the same time given to play them all, it seems likely that less people will be able to vote each year. It also means people may play just the ones higher up the list (as an easy way of keeping track of what is and isn't played), and then vote for their preference from these when they run out of time. Obviously that gives an unfair advantage to those higher up. Admittedly the results don't seem to suggest this, though.

As I say, if most other people did manage to play them, then never mind. But if there are a lot of people in my position, I'd appreciate it if you'd consider extending the voting period.

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