In case you haven't been following the news on my Facebook fan page or Twitter, I was nominated early this month for the 2010 Rose and Bay Award for Poetry. The award is given out to a crowdfunded poet, meaning it's a pretty exclusive award -- there are only five candidates.

What is Crowdfunding?
Crowdfunded works remove the middle-man. Instead of selling my work to a publisher who sells it to you, I sell my work to you directly by publishing it freely online and letting you decide how much you want to pay me through reader donations. You -- every long-time reader and newcomer to the site -- are the crowd that funds me, the poet and artist.

The Rose and Bay Award was put together to highlight the best of the best of these crowdfunded artists, in five categories: Art, Fiction, Poetry, Other, and Patron (a special category awarded to the best members of the "crowd" -- supporters of crowdfunded literary efforts).

Now's The Time To Vote
As of this writing, there are 10 days (or 9, depending on your timezone) left before voting closes for the 2010 Rose and Bay Awards. Right now I'm holding a slight lead in the Poetry Category. I'd like to maintain that lead all the way to the end.

You've read my poetry. If even a single piece of mine has moved you in some way, I hope you'll cast your vote for me. It just takes a few minutes of your time, it doesn't cost you a thing, and it helps me out: winning the 2010 Rose and Bay Award will bring a slew of new traffic into the site, and every new reader grows the crowd.

What are you waiting for? Go vote for me today.

How To Vote
Unfortunately, the hosts of the Rose and Bay Award didn't make the voting process entirely intuitive. Here's a quick rundown. If you have a livejournal account, all you need to do is to the voting page for poetry, log into your LJ account, and cast your vote using the poll.

Now, if you're like me, you probably don't have a Livejournal account. You can still cast your vote. At the bottom of the voting page is a link where you can leave a comment. Just leave a comment saying "Cast my vote for Gabriel Gadfly!" and your vote will be tallied into the final results.

Thanks for your support. :)