Deadline for entries has passed. the judges are deliberating and will be announcing their decisions soon. Thanks for entering!
What is your geekiest secret? Your freakiest fandom moment? Your most embarrassing gaming gaffe? In a brief essay, photo or video, we want you to spill the beans.
The folks at Fantasy Freaks and Gaming Geeks Headquarters want to know about that time you stalked your favorite Star Trek celebrity to a coffee shop, made a pilgrimage to a fantasy movie location, watched an entire season of Battlestar Galactica in one sitting, cooked a hobbit feast for your friends, or waited in line at midnight to buy a new video game. Or perhaps you have a photo of yourself posing with your fave SF/fantasy celebrity. Or perhaps you'll shoot a video tribute to your geek lover, or give us a video tour of your collection of Star Wars Pez dispensers. Whatever the geeky, gamer, or freakish tick or obsession, we want to see, read, and watch it.
PRIZES:
Prizes will include (to be arranged into prize packages from these items; final prizes and packages subject to change):
>Brand-spanking new D&D product (courtesy of Wizards of the Coast), including:
---Dungeon Masters Guide II (publishing Sept 2009)
---Dragon Magazine Annual, Volume 1: A 4th Edition D&D Compilation (Aug 2009)
---Divine Power: A 4th Edition D&D Supplement (July 2009)
>Four-day passes to Gen Con Indy 2010 (courtesy of Gen Con)
>From Turbine, Inc: Lord of the Rings Online T-shirts (celebrating the release of the Mines of Moria expansion) and copies of the Lord of the Rings Online Collector’s Edition of the game, including: installation discs (for Windows only) and 30 free days of playtime; Mines of Moria cloth map; replica of the One Ring; LOTRO art and music; and more; all in a cool box.
>A copy of Cinefex magazine from New Zealand's Weta Workshop/ Weta Cave, (with articles on Lord of the Rings: Return of the King and Master and Q&A with Peter Jackson), autographed by Weta Workshop's Richard Taylor
>also from Weta Workshop/ Weta Cave, a copy of Dr Grordbort’s Contrapulatronic Dingus Directory by Greg Broadmore, also signed by Weta's Richard Taylor.
>A free membership in the British Tolkien Society (courtesy of the Tolkien Society)
>Rare original paperbacks from TSR's Endless Quest series of “Choose Your Own Adventure” books from 1982-1983
>DVDs of the award-winning gamer documentary Second Skin, now playing in theaters and available on DVD (courtesy of Liberation Entertainment)
>Second Skin T-shirts and posters (courtesy of Liberation Entertainment)
>Rare copies (now out of print) of Gary Gygax's Living Fantasy and Castle Zagyg
>Castles and Crusades game product, including: Of Gods and Mosnster, Players Handbook, and Monsters and Treasure (courtesy of Troll Lord Games)
>The H.G. Wells war-gaming classics Little Wars (with an introduction by Gary Gygax and autographed by Michael J. Varhola) and Floor Games (with an introduction and autographed by Michael J. Varhola) and H.G. Wells' Little Orc Wars, also signed, inspired by Little Wars and Floor Games (courtesy of Skirmisher Game Development)
>autographed game product from Skirmisher Game Development including: Quatica: Battles for the Soul of Middle Aesopia; d20 sourcebooks Warriors, Experts 3.5, and Tests of Skill; an OGL Bundle DVD of various rule books (courtesy of Skirmisher Game Development)
>Pound-O-Dice --- yes, a pound of polyhedral dice for all your gaming needs (courtesy of Chessex)
>A signed copy of fantasy author Paul Genesse's The Dragon Hunters
>Gold Account membership at RPGbomb.com gaming site
>Harry and the Potters wizard rock CD sets and T shirts (and other merchandise, courtesy of Harry and the Potters)
>rare T-shirts from The Syndicate, the largest, oldest guild in the history of online gaming (courtesy of The Syndicate) 
>Fantasy Freaks and Gaming Geeks T-shirts
>Signed copies of Fantasy Freaks and Gaming Geeks + another copy personalized and sent to anyone of your choice
>A framed, original and signed manuscript page from Fantasy Freaks and Gaming Geeks
>And more...
RULES and HOW TO ENTER:
Entries will be judged on originality, boldness, silliness, skill (with a pen or camera lens) and if they make us laugh or our jaws drop.
First and Runner-Up prizes will be awarded in three categories:
1) ESSAY (500 words or less)
2) PHOTO (one good shot, with caption)
3) VIDEO (under 3 minutes)
>submit your entries (ESSAY, PHOTO or VIDEO) between September 1 and November 30, 2009
------- If your entry is in the ESSAY category, please send it as an email (pasted into the body of the email; no attachments please) to "ethan 'at' ethangilsdorf.com," and put the words "GREAT GEEK GIVEAWAY -- ESSAY" in the subject line of your email.
------- If your entry is in the PHOTO category, please write a short caption for the photo (2-3 lines explaining the significance of the "geek moment") and paste it into the email itself, attach your image to an email addressed to "ethan 'at' ethangilsdorf.com," and put the words "GREAT GEEK GIVEAWAY -- PHOTO" in the subject line of your email. Please keep your images to 1 megabyte or less, and save the images as a PDF or JPEG.
------- If your entry is in the VIDEO category, please upload it to YouTube, then send an email to "ethan 'at' ethangilsdorf.com," with the exact URL to your uploaded video on YouTube pasted into the body of the email (DO NOT attach the video to the email please) and put the words "GREAT GEEK GIVEAWAY -- VIDEO" in the subject line of your email.
Thanks and good luck. Winners will be announced in December.
Thanks to the sponsors; please support them! Wizards of the Coast; Skirmisher Game Development; Gen Con Indy 2010; Second Skin/Liberation Entertainment; RPGbomb.com; Paul Genesse; The Syndicate; Harry and the Potters; Weta Cave; Troll Lord Games; Globe Pequot Press/The Lyons Press; Turbine Inc.; Tolkien Society