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GAMA announced the finalists for this year’s Origins Awards yesterday. I can’t find a mention yet on GAMA’s site, but thankfully ICv2.com has a full list. I’m happy to note that three products in which I had a small part made the cut this year. They are:

Best Publication, Non-Fiction: 40 Years of Gen Con by Robin Laws. Robin interviewed me, along with many others, for this book, and I’m proud to see my words appear alongside those of so many people I admire.

Best Roleplaying Game Supplement: Codex Arcanis by Paradigm Concepts. I wrote a chapter or so in the original, paperback edition, which hit shelves in 2001. A handsome, hardcover edition came out last year. Sadly, I don’t have a copy of the new book yet, and I have no idea if I’m credited in it or if any of my work made it into the latest version. Either way, I’m happy for Henry, Eric, and the rest of the crew at Paradigm.

Best Publication, Non-Fiction: Hobby Games: The 100 Best edited by James Lowder. I wrote the essay on Space Hulk, which means I only chipped in 1% (or probably less) of this excellent, star-studded book. I was honored to be asked to contribute anything at all.

Congratulations to all the finalists, and good luck to everyone in the final round!

I’m told that the deadline for submissions for the Origins Awards has been extended to March 1. See the press release after the cut.
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The ever-reliable GamingReport.com posted the results of the Origins Awards, which were presented at a ceremony in Columbus, OH, last night. Congratulations to all the winners!

I didn’t make it to Origins this year. The summer gets packed with conventions of all kinds, and I can only make it to so many of them and still get my work done and see my family. Other shows had stronger pulls this year, so I’m home instead, missing my friends, but enjoying my time with my wife and kids.

The voting for the Gamers Choice section of the Origins Awards is now open to the public. (That means you!) The deadline to get your votes in is June 12, so be sure to vote soon!

The voting for the annual Origins Awards is now open, but only until June 6. If you’re a gaming industry professional, you can join the AAGAD and vote for free. So please do!

If you’re not an industry professional, you can still take a gander at the nominees for this year’s awards and bask in their reflected glory. I don’t have anything on the ballot this year, so this time around my announcement is stunningly plug-free.

Pete Panzeri, the chairman of the Academy of Adventure Gaming Arts & Design, pointed out that the Origins Awards nominations list I posted a while back was a preliminary version and contained errors. Here is the official (and final) press release (reproduced also after the break). I’ve removed the other list from my older post.
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The Origins Awards nominations were announced at the GAMA Trade Show this past week. See the full list after the break. Congratulations to all the nominees!

(Things I worked on didn’t receive any nominations this year, but that’s not too surprising as I had little in the way of games come out last year. Also, the fiction category (in which I had several releases) apparently got cut due to “insufficient submissions.”)
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Pete Panzeri, the chairman of the Academy of Adventure Gaming Arts and Design, is looking for an administrative secretary to help with the daily tasks of the Academy, the organization that handle the Origins Awards for GAMA. He’d prefer to have an Academy member fill the position, but if you work in the adventure gaming industry or have even a small number of published credits, you qualify for free membership.

See Pete’s notice after the break.
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Submissions for the next set of Origins Awards are due by the end of January. If you’re a game designer or a publisher, snap to it.

Check out the official press release after the break.
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GAMA has just posted the full list of winners, including for the Vanguard Award and the Gamers’ Choice. I haven’t seen any details on any new inductees into the Hall of Fame yet though. It’s possible there weren’t any, but I’m still checking.

The fine folks at GamingReport.com just posted the results for this year’s Origins Awards. (Look for the press release after the break below.) Sadly, the two nominated products I worked on (The Authority RPG and Secret of the Spiritkeeper) didn’t take home the statue. Still, they lost out to other worthy products (Ars Magica 5th Edition and Path of the Bold), so I can’t complain too much.

Congratulations to my friends at Atlas Games and Guardians of Order and to all the other winners!
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Just like the title says. Vote now, as the deadline is May 25!

The instructions are a bit obtuse, but you’re supposed to vote on your top five favorite games for 2005, no matter what category they’re in. Then rank those five from 1 to 5, with 5 being the best.

I worked on one of the games on the list, The Authority Roleplaying Game. If you liked it, consider including it in your votes.

Here’s the official press release, for those who care for such details:
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As I’ve mentioned here before, Secret of the Spiritkeeper and The Authority RPG both earned nominations for Origins Awards this year: for Best Fiction Publication and Best Roleplaying Game, respectively. The Academy of Gaming Arts and Design is now voting on the nominees, and the product with the most votes in each category wins the award.

If you’re a member of the Academy and you liked either of those books, please vote. If you’re not a member of the Academy, well, did you know that membership is free to anyone with three published credits in the gaming industry? You still have time to join the Academy and vote before the May 25 deadline.

So, whether you’re voting for my stuff or not, get to it! Then, on July 2, at the Origins Game Convention, we’ll find out who wins.

I realized I forgot to mention that two books I worked on were nominated for Origins Awards this year. Secret of the Spiritkeeper garnered a nod for Best Fiction, and The Authority RPG got one for Best Roleplaying Game. If you’re a member of the Academy of Gaming Arts and Design (and everyone who does creative work in adventure gaming can now join for free), please consider voting for them. In my ever-biased opinion, I think they’re great stuff.

As some of you know, I led the Origins Awards Task Force last year, which revamped the awards from the ground up. I specifically didn’t volunteer to serve on any of the juries this year, as I wanted to see the system stand on its own. It seems to be doing well so far, as shown by the list of nominees, and I have even higher hopes for next year.