The 2019 AAR of the Year is...

[coz1]

It's been a fun ride with some excellent works and writAARs honored. And here we are to our final awAARd in which 16 of the 18 voters selected an amazing 45 different AARs in nomination. The top honors were a close vote coming down to one or two ranking the works in different order (which speaks again to - vote, vote, vote - every voice counts!) After two plus months, I now give you the 2019 AAR of the Year...

The Song of Wessex by @coz1​

I am more than humbled by this selection for a number of reasons, but mostly because it is truly an honor to compete with the rest of the works you are about to see (and hopefully read!) The silver cup was a very close second and won our Narrative awAARd...

Before Plantagenet – A House d’Anjou AAR by @JabberJock14​

A winner in this category two years ago and still going strong. And our third and forth place finishers were equally as close...

Der Adler, der Wolf, und die Sonne: Die Geschichte des Stahlpakts by @Wraith11B​

Followed close behind with...

Talking Turkey: Alternate History from 1936 by @Bullfilter ​

All four of these AARs came within 1.5 vote count from one another and any of them could equally be claimed to be the best of this past year as could the following outstanding AARs (presented in order of the vote):

A Kingdom In the Clouds: A Ü-Tsang AAR by @RossN

'Odin' and Stalin's Secret Committee by @roverS3

Road of Queens - CKII India AAR by @Eurasia

Civis Romanus Sum (An EU-Rome Vae Victis AAR) by @Bullfilter

Inevitable Defeat - Slovakia '44 by @El Pip

Whiteshirts of England: A History of the Hvitserk Dynasty of Jorvik AAR by @tpmcinty

The Age of Brass: A Spanish AAR by @RossN

Crossfires, a French AAR for HoI2 Doomsday by @AtlanticFriend

Echoes of A New Tomorrow: Life after Revolution in the Commonwealth of Britain by @DensleyBlair

The Most Sublime Porte - An Ottoman AAR by @Riotkiller

The Little Dux by @TheButterflyComposer

Italian Ambitions: A Florence AAR by @JerseyGiants88

The People of the Forest by @Dunaden

The Charnel Child (fanfiction) by @JackGoose

The Yellow Rose - A Texas AAR by @PresidentStorm

Superior Arguments: A Stellaris AAR by @eoncommander

Blut und Schlacht (Blood and Battle): A Learner’s Saga by @Bullfilter

The Ballad of the Prikkiki-Ti by @Vilhelm

An Empire in the West: A Syracuse AAR by @RossN

Netraxi Leaflet, obtained by a Human agent by @LWE

A brief history of the Serene Xing Empire by @LWE

The Last Goth by @AlexanderPrimus

Towards Blue Skies - a "realistic" UNE story (with 170+ mods) by @Charger24

Faith in Chaos - A Stellaris Story by @Macavity116

Discoveries of the Hydari Imperium by @Nikolai

Baltic Lightning: a Grand Campaign AAR [HOI4 Branch] by @Centurial

The King Once and Future - A Tale of Arthur AAR by @LudoOttavio

All Rhodes Lead To Rome by @Nikolai

Caravans of Rockets by @vyshan

Lancaster: The King in the North by @TheButterflyComposer

Rise of the Folkungs, A Nordic AAR by @streaker77

The Human Stellar Union by @Smokez83

Suenik Reloaded by @iain_a_wilson

Jerusalem Calling - A Khazarian AAR by @terr0rizm

Love, War and Stardust by @RusVal

Stellaris: Tale of the Sol Dominion by @scpour92

Blessed Sithrandir Confederacy - Arise! (Or Not) by @Nikolai

The Red Star by @Dodge

Of Coast and Coin (Venice AAR) by @codie

Dragon Kin (a Targaryen AAR) by @Zamarak500

Through Iron & Ash: A Cardassian AAR by @Jape​

I must say again how humbled I am to find a victory here as these are all such incredible works. From young to old, newer members and old hats...some have several going at once (many of which are listed here) and some of you keep at the steady pace with one strong AAR. Each and every one should find pride at being mentioned in this prestigious category. It is an honor to be included with the lot of you (especially as I've said - I do not run these to win.) It is my pleasure to see so many excellent works produced at this forum and to find so many others that enjoy what it is we do here within AARland.

More than anything, I wish to say how thankful I am to enjoy this place alongside all of you and to see so many others finding the fun and joy that it has brought me over these past 18 plus years. Long live AARland and long may there be many that give us works like the above to enjoy!

That now concludes this year's YAYA's...so I hope everyone got yer yaya's out. I certainly thank every single one that took time to vote and include these incredible nominations and I hope you are already starting to think about next year's contest. 2020 has already begun and the works are already there to be found.

Please offer your congrats and thanks below and please feel free to offer any thoughts and suggestions about this process in the voting thread. Finally, and one more time, thank you for the vote...from all of us!

 

[stnylan]

Many congratulations all

 

[Eurasia]

Congratulations to the winners!

 

[DensleyBlair]

Many congratulations all round! I’m incredibly satisfied with 13th, and thank you to everyone who was generous enough to send a vote the way of EOANT. It can be quiet in the Vicky forums, so nice to see two AARs represented in the top 16.

As much as I don’t feel any one voter should be singled out, I can’t pass up the opportunity to thank @coz1 himself for very generously selecting Echoes as his AAR of the year. Having admired your work and your contributions on these boards since year dot, it really does mean a great deal. For my money, it’s like I’ve missed out on the Oscar but come away with the thumbs up from Roger Ebert. And I’ll take that any day of the week.

 

[RossN]

Congratulations to the winners and a particular double congratulations to @coz1 both for a well deserved first place and for putting in the hard work of organising this!

 

[Bullfilter]

@coz1 warmest congratulations on topping this prestigious category- richly deserved indeed. @JabberJock14 it was also heartwarming for me to see your astoundingly great work coming so close. @Wraith11B , the sheer quality and dedication to detail, graphical excellence and ‘alternate authenticity’ (not to mention play dozens of countries at once ) of your work also shines through.

It is a great honour to have Talking Turkey bracketed with these wonderful works. It is my first and remains my ‘pet’ AAR as it is now into its 4th year of writing. Nb: for anyone wanting to look in without going all the way back to the start of a long story, it has two summary parts, while the last chapter was a short review up to the end of 1942. Thanks to all who voted for it and my other two pieces - really appreciated.

Congratulations too to all on the list - what Coz said about any recognition in this category being high praise. And a final thanks to Coz1 for running all this again. You are a legend.

 

[roverS3]

Congrats to @coz1 for winning this AAR, and many thanks for running the OscAARs. This friendly contest is a real asset to the entire forum, motivating writAARs and showing everyone on here what is out there, and just how much of it is great. Congrats, as well, to all the nominees for AAR of the year, and thank you for all of those who voted for my work. I'm honoured my work has been nominated three years in a row, and even more so to have gotten 6th place this time around.

 

[Nikolai]

Wow, did I just get three AARs in that list? How many did I do last year again...?

Anyhow... Congratulations to all winnAARs! Especially @coz1 for taking the top spot.

 

[El Pip]

Congratulations to some excellent winners and in particular a wonderful top 3 all richly deserving their praise, awards and readership.

 

[diskoerekto]

congratulations all, but especially @coz1 for winning the thing, and also putting in all the effort to organize it in the first place

 

[Wraith11B]

A million thanks again to @coz1 for running these awards!

Another millions of thanks to all who voted.

And finally, a sincerely heartfelt thank you and virtual handshake to all who voted for me (let's keep that virtual, because I'm super sick right now).

 

[coz1]

I've already said it above and within my own AAR, but I just want to make sure and say thank you once again for rewarding this work that truly is the culmination of the last four years of my writing. The first book in this no longer trilogy was started late in 2016 after I took quite a long time away from writing. I was not sure what I would find. The forum had changed, I was no longer a moderator and who knew that anyone would flock to my work? While I had a lot of posts under my belt and some few works already completed, that means little in this day and age when the newest thing is the most fresh. And yet Rightful King was read and well, Bold Prince was followed (maybe not as much) and then Heavy Crown did very well. Some diminishing returns but what matters are the readers and they never really left. Maybe not as often (as we hold real lives and I tend to update more than frequently) but they remain and sustain my effort.

I write for two reasons. One is, of course, because I want to. It is my artistic outlet that I've had since I was a child. I was an actor, director, set designer, sound designer and more in college. I've written poetry since I was a very young man. I've dabbled in paint and drawing (though never very good.) I'm a singer (and a damn good one, thank you! ) As I am now nearing 47 and my acting days are pretty far behind me, this outlet is my favorite. While I can be collaborative, I prefer the solo work of creating the characters myself. However, I find that what is so wonderful about this forum is that it remains a little collaborative as one reads the work, considers the characters and discusses them. Every time, that made me think. From my first Henry Strachen to the now Arthur, the input helps me know if I got it right. And it's always nice to know that someone is reading your work.

The other reason that I write is to hopefully get better. Maybe some day I might make some money out of it. A man can dream. Having studied as an actor and no longer doing it, you might imagine I'm not making much coin from that avenue anymore (if I ever would have in the first place.) I was good. But the drive there was wanting. What I am most proud of from these past four works is that I wrote nearly every day. The drive was there. I put myself on a regimen and never let up. Sometimes it meant I posted too much or even lost some few readers that could not keep up. Yet I persisted and and wrote these four AARs within four years and this one is the last of that. I very nearly didn't write it, but the story was too good to let go.

I don't claim to have the best work from this past year as so many of these others writAARs have done some amazing things. Yet I hope that this story and the sheer numbers of what is listed above gives another newer member (or even old hat) the push that one needs to try it themselves. That's how I got to this point (and thank you to @Lord Durham and @MrT for that!) While much like the rest of you, I care about views and the number of comments, I purposefully split these works into separate stories. It's really all one, but what I wanted to tell was one man's story each time. I am more than pleased that so many have followed from one to the other and while it is a lot of words, I have not lacked for a readership. That's what I really desired.

That's a lot of words to say again...thank you. I am starting to think about the end of this run and this particular nod was truly special to me. It's the culmination of four year's work and to be honored for it makes it that much better. I wrote it. I'm proud of it. That you voted it number 1? I don't write to win awards (and again - do not run these to do so) but it is nice. Thank you!

 

[Nikolai]

*applause*

 

[DensleyBlair]

One day quite soon I hope to have the time to devote to giving the tetralogy a proper sit down reading. You deserve all that comes your way, @coz1. Congratulations on your achievements, both in terms of the artistic effort required to sustain four years of writing, and of course for the rewards that so deservedly spring out of that. Bravo!

 

[El Pip]

Sometimes it meant I posted too much or even lost some few readers that could not keep up.

As one of those lost who couldn't, and still can't, manage to keep up with your furious pace I am pleased that you did just crack on without us. Your regimen clearly worked for you and the excellent results it produced are clear for all of us to read in the quartet. (At some point. Hopefully. Pipettes allowing.)

 

[JabberJock14]

Congrats to @coz1 for a much deserved title! Your prolific output is matched only by the quality of the writing itself - which is not an easy thing to manage. Your works remain an inspiration to me and no doubt others! And as others have said, a thank you for putting the year awAARds together. The recognition you, me and countless others have received with their nominations would not have happened without your efforts.

Congrats to all those who received votes, in this and other categories, and once more thank you to those who voted for my work and others!

 

[terr0rizm]

More than deserved. Congratulations to the quadriga at the top!

 

[Smokez83]

Congratulations @coz1 on a well deserved win!

And congratulations to all those nominated! I look at the great titles and authors that make up this years nominations and was deeply humbled to be included amongst such prestigious company! I have, unfortunately, found myself very busy as of late and have fallen off of my reading. I aim to change that and hope to be more participating so that I may include my votes for future awards.