Around the World and Web includes announcements and items of interest from beyond the SWG.
April Challenge at tolkienshortfanworks
The tolkienshortfanworks challenge for April has been posted to the Dreamwidth community.
The thematic challenge for this month is: Wood.
This could be in the sense of "forest" or in the sense of the material.
It could also be "wood" as an element in compounds or names.
The formal challenge this time is: linnod.
This is the traditional verse form used by Gilraen in the Tale of Aragorn and Arwen (LOTR Appendix A).
We only have that one canonical example with translation:
Ónen i-Estel Edain, ú-chebin estel anim.
"I gave Hope to the Dúnedain, I have kept no hope for myself."
The name of the form probably means "chant-seven".
Our Sindarin example seems to show two times seven syllables, although there may be other ways to interpret the form.
Imitate the Sindarin original or its English translation in any way you like.
Alternatively, your piece could include someone using a short response in verse in the way Gilraen does, without your imitating the form of the linnod itself.
These prompts can be filled separately and freely combined with other challenges and prompts that allow this. New participants welcome.
More detals on the challenges at the linked post and at the Dreamwidth community.
Celedriel Week 2025
Celedriel Week is a Tumblr events for fanworks about Galadriel and Celeborn. It will run April 6-12, 2025, with the following prompts:
April 6 - First Meetings, Impressions, The Heart Stirs. (A Gaze Caught. The Fire Ignites. "Eru save me, I've found my doom.")
April 7 - Dedication, Courtship, The Heart Blooms. (Flowers and Letters. Words of Love. "My heart, my love, my eternity. My soul soars for thee.")
April 8 - Marriage, Vows, The Heart Bound In Love. (An exchange of rings. Families bound. "In joy and suffering, in life persevering, in death enduring, I take thee and thee alone.")
April 9 - Kingdoms, Refuge, The Heart Endures. (Crowns of silver. Realms rise and fall. "Blessed are they who stand before the darkness and do not falter.")
April 10 - Separation, Conflict, The Heart Grieves. (War and loss leave wounds. Paths diverge and change. "I must follow this thread alone, but not forever.")
April 11 - Lothlorien, Children, The Heart Heals. (Wounds become scars. A silver realm. "Let our children bring joy amidst darkness.")
April 12 - The West, Undying Love, The Heart is Eternal. (A test endured and passed. A goodbye, but not a farewell. "In life and eternity, endless bliss under golden trees.")
Neurodivergent Arda Week 2025
Neurodivergent Arda Week will run from March 30 to April 5, 2025 on Tumblr. This is an event to celebrate Neurodiversity in Tolkien's works. Although there are no characters who are explicitly Neurodivergent, many Neurodivergent folk have found themselves in Tolkien's world. All creations are welcome, such as art, writing, podfic, gifs, and more.
Neurodiversity is the realisation, celebration, and acceptance that there are many different ways for a brain to function. Diversity is a natural part of existence. All brains are valid and real, whether or not they may fit into categories. And the world needs every brain in order to function. There is no such thing as a “better” or a “worse” brain, they’re just different. And different is good. Diversity is a vital and natural part of our world.
Here are some prompts:
Day 1 - March 30 - Worldbuilding
Day 2 - March 31 - Characters
Day 3 - April 1 - Stimming
Day 4 - April 2 - Special Interests
Day 5 - April 3 - Assistive Technology
Day 6 - April 4 - Intersectionality
Day 7 - April 5 - Free Prompt
Submissions do not have to follow the prompts.
When submitting, please tag your post #neurodivergentardaweek and mention @neurodivergent-arda-week
Please include image descriptions on submissions.
Content or creators that endorse these prejudices are not allowed -
- Homophobia
- Transphobia
- Racism
- Ableism
- Fatphobia and body shaming
- Biphobia and panphobia
- Polyphobia and sentiments against polyamorous folk
- Radical feminism
- Fascism and alt-right politics
- Aphobia
Tolkien Ekphrasis Week 2025
Material culture and art add vibrancy to our lives, and it seems that there are so many options in Middle Earth ripe for interpretation! A poem on Nerdanel's statues, a tapestry capturing Nessa's dance, a prose fic describing the impact of seeing Númenor's frescoes, a painting exploring the beautiful quotidian architecture of a Hobbit hole…
This is a Tolkien-fandom-wide event dedicated to the art of ekphrasis in Tolkien's worlds. Its goal is to illuminate the artistic surroundings of the places, people, and stories we love, in as many media as possible. As such, fanworks are welcome to take almost any form: see the FAQ for the full list!
The prompts are multi-part. The first part of the prompt is mandatory, describing the kind of art to be interpreted. The subsequent parts are optional thematic, formal, or visual add-ons that people may choose to incorporate or not.
In short, the timeline is:
- Read prompts starting March 17.
- Create!
- Post tagged work to AO3 before June 9 deadline.
- Enjoy daily reveals between June 10 and June 16.
- Amnesty day June 17 for late posters.
Inclusion
Tolkien Ekphrasis Week is open to all characters, genres, and ratings, and all Tolkien canons. This includes books, movies both live-action and animated, fan-made films like Born of Hope, TV shows, and game canons such as Lord of the Rings Online. It also includes Tolkien's non-Arda fictional works, such as Roverandom. Crossovers between two or more Tolkien canons are welcome.
Tolkien Ekphrasis Week wants to be as inclusive as possible. As such:
- All canons and versions of canon are equally welcome and encouraged to participate.
- Fan creators of all levels of experience should feel more than welcome to join in the fun.
- All languages are welcomed, and works in languages other than English are actively encouraged.
- All styles of art and all types of fic are permitted. Apart from following the Art Form content prompt for each day, there are no restrictions on genre, style, rating, or ship. There are two exceptions: first, no character bashing; second, no AI-generated writing or art.
Above all, this event is supposed to get us thinking and feeling about art, which is for everyone. With this in mind, TEW asks participants to be respectful and inclusive at all times. In particular, TEW values its queer and trans participants and participants of color and will moderate as necessary to ensure that this event remains a welcoming space.
Please see the FAQ for all rules and full instructions on how to post and tag.
Calendar
June 9, 2025: Submit all works to the AO3 Collection by this date
June 10-16, 2025: Reveals
- June 10 - AO3 collection reveals begin with Day 1 Prompt (Dance)
- June 11 - Day 2 Prompt (Leathercraft)
- June 12 - Day 3 Prompt (Painting)
- June 13 - Day 4 Prompt (Tattooing, Piercing & Body Art)
- June 14 - Day 5 Prompt (Culinary Arts)
- June 15 - Day 6 Prompt (Textiles & Fashion)
- June 16 - Day 7 Prompt (Lapidary & Hardstone Carving)
- June 17 - Amnesty Day and Free-for-all posting
March 17, 2026: 2025 AO3 Collection and DW community close to posting.
Housekeeping
The DW site is the primary home of Tolkien Ekphrasis Week: that is where to check first for dates, news, FAQs, links, and prompts!
Prompts will also be posted here on Tumblr. The Tumblr blog will be used for event promotion ahead of the event, answering questions via the ask function, and reblogging your creations, if they are posted and tagged on Tumblr.
This event does not and will not exist on any other form of social media other than Tumblr and DW, though I encourage you to spread the word in your other online communities.
If you have any questions, you can get in touch with the mod, @chestnut_pod, via Tumblr ask or comments on the Dreamwidth community's equivalent post.
Links
Teitho March/April Challenge: Mothers
Exploring the idea of mothers in Tolkien lets us go behind the scenes. We have quite a few mothers directly in the narrative, primarily in the Silmarillion—where we see Miriel, Nerdanel, Morwen, Idril, Aredhel, Luthien, Elwing, and even have mentions of Anaire and Earwen.
In The Lord of the Rings we read of Galadriel being Celebrian’s mother and Arwen’s grandmother. Aragorn’s mother Gilraen, Faramir and Boromir’s mother Finduilas, and Rosie Cotton—Sam’s wife—are all mentioned in the narrative. The Hobbit gives us a memory of Belladonna Took, Bilbo’s mother, and mentions of Thorin’s sister Dis—the mother of Fili and Kili. The stories of any of these characters would make for fascinating fic! Or art!
There are many who remain unmentioned and unnamed—Legolas’s mother, Gimli’s, the mothers of generations of Dunedain, of Gondorians, of the Rohirrim, of the Shire. And consider Ungoliant, mother of Shelob! And mothers among the ranks of orcs.
We are excited to see where this prompt takes you and which character gives you inspiration! Please submit your fic or art by April 30 to teitho.contest@gmail.com
Around the World and Web Archive
Events listed here are no longer active but are listed on the site for historical purposes.
Tolkienshortfanworks Challenge for March 2024
The tolkienshortfanworks challenge has been posted to the Dreamwidth community.
The thematic challenge is: glass.
This could be the beaker or the mirror or the substance.
Maybe even the Phial of Galadriel or the surface of Mirrormere...
The formal challenge is: triolet.
Here are some links for help with this form:
Definition and two modern examples linked at the Poetry Foundation.
Definition and discussion of an example by Hardy at the Academy of American Poets.
Wikipedia entry, containing another five examples from different periods in English and a French one.
These two challenge parts can be filled together or separately and be freely combined with other challenges like B2MeM or the SWG monthly challenges.
New participants welcome!
More details on the challenges at the linked entry.
Teitho March/April Contest: Alternate Universe
Our challenge for March/April is Alternate Universe.
Where will you take us? Historical setting? Literary crossovers? Or perhaps space?
Or will you choose to follow a canon story to an alternative end or situation? What if Boromir lived? What if Theoden didn’t arrive in time? What if Celebrimbor turned Annatar away? Or Fëanor regained the Silmarils?
What if Gondolin survived? Or Fingon lived? Gil-Galad lived through the Last Battle? So many possibilities!!
Tell us your story—how would you write an alternate universe/ending/plot line?
Your submissions are due to teitho.contest@gmail.com by April 30th!
March of the Noldor 2024
March of the Noldor is a Tumblr-based month-long event to commiserate the grueling walk the Noldor took, across the Helcaraxe, from Aman to Beleriand, through creating fanworks. March of the Noldor runs from March 1 - March 31, 2024.
How do I participate?
Post something regarding the march and mention @march-of-the-noldor on Tumblr. Everything made will be reblogged here.
Go forth and create something New!
But this is also a great time to reblog older works relating to the march too!
What is allowed?
EVERYTHING!
Art, fic, meta, moodboards, poems! It's all welcome!
Want to do a character study? Awesome!
Make a collage of the kind of wild life the Noldor might encounter? Amazing!
Talk about the different types of ice the Noldor walked across? Fantastic!
Record a list of new traditions that developed during the walk? Bring it on!
Back to Middle-earth Month 2024: Minhiriath Midway
Welcome to the Minhiriath Midway! Enjoy the fun and games, and collect prompts as you traverse the midway of this year's celebration!
Balloon Pop
Throw a dagger, throw a dart, shoot an arrow, toss an axe (but not a Dwarf). There are so many ways to pop the balloons in this game. Take aim and hit your target, and see what prompt you reveal when you pop a balloon.
Crablor Grab
Try your luck at the Crablor Grab! This fun game of skill and luck and a little help from Crablor lets you try to pull a prompt from the machine. What prompt will you get? Visit Crablor and find out!
Haunted House
Not for the faint of heart! Visit the Hall of Horrors and collect prompts...if you dare.
Spin the Wheel
So many prompts, so little time! But why make yourself decide? Use these fun wheels to find your next prompt.
Tunnel of Love
A sweet place to pick up endearing prompts. Some snuggles, some spice, and lots of things that are nice. Climb aboard and take a ride with us.
Additionally, B2MEM is an open event where ANYTHING you create during March counts! Feel free to add works you start, add to, or finish in March to the gallery! You can also host your own events -- let us know what you're up to, and we'll add your event to the list of festivities!
There is no need to register in advance to play at the midway. You can begin posting to the AO3 collection on March 1, 2024. If posting on Tumblr, use the tag B2MEM24 to make your posts easy to find by our team for reblogs! You can join the Discord at any time!
Posting & Viewing Works
Beginning March 1st, 2024, works can be posted to the AO3 collection. This collection never closes, so while the event will wrap by the end of April, you can always add works later as you are inspired and finish them.
Socially Speaking...
Want to chat with others about Spring Into Arda events? There are parties for B2MEM throughout the event and the server is open year round. Hang with other B2MEM participants, past and present, on the perpetual Discord!
Tolkien Fanfic Reading Month 2024
I'm making this my personal thing for all of March, to celebrate "Tolkien Reading Day". Please feel free to make it yours too.
Nothing formal or fancy. No invitation or registration required. No requirements or deadlines.
Simply gorge yourself on some Tolkien fanfic all throughout March. And COMMENT. For the love of Tolkien, please show our hardworking fandom writers some love and appreciation.
Tolkien Pinup Calendar: Thankful for Rare Pairs Bingo
This month’s event we are doing Thankful for Rare Pairs! This is a bingo style event. In total there will be three cards: one with the rare pairs, one with smut prompts, and one with non-smut prompts. We will be reblogging and sharing content from this event for all of March and April (this event runs from March 1st 2024 to April 30th 2024). Do not feel any pressure to complete all the prompts within one month (and don’t feel any pressure to finish all the prompts!).
How to play:
Option 1: If you have one rare pair you really like or one rare pair that really speaks to you, take that pair and use the prompts to create something for them.
Option 2: You can use all the bingo cards with different pairings and different prompts for your creations!
Any fic, art, moodboard, playlist etc. will be included and we are happy to reblog!
Additional rules:
You can use multiple prompts for one creation. These can come from different cards (pairing + smut prompt + non-smut prompt) or come from the same card (pairing + smut prompt 1 + smut prompt 2, etc.). How you use the prompt cards is up to you!
If you want to play option 1 (only one pairing but using the prompt cards) but your pairing is not on the list: No problem! Just use the free space. If your pairing is a rare pair but not included, we would love to hear about it!
How do I know if my pairing is a rare pair? If you feel it is a rare pair it’s a rare pair.
To get a bingo you need to have a line (horizontal, vertical, or diagonal) filled and this can include the free space. To get a super bingo (we did not know what else to call it) you need to fill up a card, only one card. If you fill up more than one you get more than one super bingo!
As always, if you want us to reblog please:
- tag us @tolkienpinupcalendar
- use the tag #tpcrarepairbingo
- Submit to our smut-missions form
- Add the work to our AO3 collection
Winners who get a super bingo win a homemade playlist about whatever you want!
The most important rule is to have fun! We look forward to seeing what you create!
Tolkien Reading Day 2024
Monday 25th March is Tolkien Reading Day 2024 and the theme is Service and Sacrifice. The Tolkien Society is excited to be partnering with The Prancing Pony Podcast and A Long-Expected Soundscape to run this Reading Day. What will you be reading?
What is Tolkien Reading Day?
Tolkien Reading Day is held on the 25th of March each year. The date of the 25th of March was chosen as the date on which the Ring was destroyed, completing Frodo’s quest and vanquishing Sauron.
It has been organised by the Tolkien Society since 2003 to encourage fans to celebrate and promote the life and works of J.R.R. Tolkien by reading favourite passages. We particularly encourage schools, museums and libraries to host their own Tolkien Reading Day events.
Reading Day Events
For this year’s Tolkien Reading Day the Tolkien Society is extremely excited to be teaming up with The Prancing Pony Podcast and A Long-Expected Soundscape to host and celebrate the event.
On Saturday 23rd March we will come together and you will be able to attend one of the three Zoom Reading Sessions that will be taking place throughout the day for readers around the world to share their favourite passages and react to the passages shared by the Podcast’s Guest Readers. Did we also mention that these events are free?
How you can take part?
There are a range of ways that you can join in throughout March:
Join the Tolkien Society on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, the Prancing Pony Podcast on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, and A Long-Expected Soundscape on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Watch out for our posts across late February and 25th March!
Share your stories (Facebook and Instagram), fleets (Twitter), comments, and photos on any social media platform and use the hashtag #TolkienReadingDay2024. Most of all, we’d love to see videos of you sharing what Tolkien means to you and how he inspires Hope and Courage!
If you want to attend one of the free Zoom sessions on Saturday 23rd March then you’re in luck as we are running sessions in the morning (9-10am GMT), midday (2-3pm GMT), and evening (8-9pm GMT) with the hope that you can find a session that is comfortable for you. Please use the links below to register for your preferred session (timings are in GMT).
We welcome readings from any of Tolkien’s works but are excited to be able to offer readers who wish to read from The Lord of the Rings the chance to read an extract of up to 5 minutes with excerpts from A Long-Expected Soundscape. If you know what you would like to read from The Lord of the Rings then please let us know by Friday 1st March by filling in the relevant parts of the registration form. Someone will then send you your sample to rehearse with.
Register for Reading Session 1 (9-10am GMT)
Maedhros and Maglor Week 2024
Maedhros and Maglor Week will run again on February 18th-24th, 2024. This is a fandom event dedicated to exploring the relationship between Maedhros and Maglor! Fanworks of all kinds are welcome (see the Event Guidelines page for details!)
Prompts:
February 18th—Day 1: Treelight
February 19th—Day 2: Trust/Distrust
February 20th—Day 3: Himring and the Gap
February 21st—Day 4: Heroism/Villainy
February 22nd—Day 5: New Horizons
February 23rd—Day 6: Respite
February 24th—Day 7: Storytelling
You can also find a handy prompt schedule here and on the blog with some suggestions for inspiration related to each prompt!
Fanworks for the event can respond to one or more prompts (interpreted however you wish), or they can be totally unrelated to any prompt, as long as there’s a focus on Maedhros and Maglor. This event is inclusive of all iterations of their relationship: please respect everyone’s interpretations and creations!
Happy creating!
Tolkien Society Seminar 2023: Tolkien and Religion Now Available Online
Thirteen presentations from the most recent Tolkien Society Seminar are now available on the Society's YouTube channel!
Although J.R.R. Tolkien deliberately excluded explicit religious references from his legendarium and rejected narrow allegorical readings of The Lord of the Rings, he made no secret of his devout Roman Catholicism and its importance to his sub-creative endeavor. From the creation myth of the “Ainulindalë” to the eucatastrophic destruction of the One Ring, Túrin Turambar’s doomed warrior courage to Frodo Baggins’s self-sacrificial humility, scholars have long examined the influence of Tolkien’s Christian faith and his abiding admiration for pre-Christian legends on the nature and history of Arda. Explorations of the legendarium from other religious perspectives or explicitly nonreligious perspectives have received less attention, however, as have studies of the reception of Tolkien’s work among (non)religious readers and communities.
Fifty years on from Tolkien’s death, as Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings films celebrate their twentieth anniversary and Amazon Prime’s The Rings of Power draws in new fans, Tolkien’s audience has never been wider nor more diverse. This presents Tolkien scholarship with an opportunity to bring varied and underrepresented perspectives on Tolkien and religion into conversation with longstanding currents in the field, thereby enriching our understanding of religious plurality in Tolkien’s secondary world and in our primary world as well.
This seminar welcomes fresh and innovative treatments of the generative interactivity between Tolkien’s fiction, Tolkien’s faith, and the faith (or lack thereof) of the readers who draw deep wells of meaning from his tales of Middle-earth.
Alliterative Verse by Speculative Fiction Authors
Forgotten Ground Regained is designed to make it easy to find, read, and appreciate modern alliterative verse -- the kind of poetry we see in such medieval classics as Beowulf or Sir Gawain and the Green Knight. On this site I have collected alliterative verse by a wide range of modern poets -- provided a field guide for poets who want to write their own alliterative poems -- and provided all kinds of information and resources for people who want to study the form.
One of the main ways alliterative verse has spead is throgh the science fiction and fantasy community. Authors have often built worlds in which alliterative verse plays a central role, and in response, fans have taken what their favorite authors have created and run with it. The links on this page provide a panoramic view of the creativity thus unleashed.
Check out the listing of alliterative verse works by speculative fiction and fan authors and the full Forgotten Ground Regained site.
