Around the World and Web

Around the World and Web includes announcements and items of interest from beyond the SWG.

Tolkien Reverse Summer Bang (TRSB) Sign-Ups Open!

Calling all creators of Middle-earth magic! Whether you wield a pen, stylus, or keyboard, it’s time to return to Middle-earth for another epic journey.

What is it? The Tolkien Reserve Summer Bang is a collaborative fan event celebrating the works and adaptations of J.R.R. Tolkien. Writers and artists will team up to bring new stories to life—from the Shire to the far reaches of Valinor (and everything in between).

Sign-ups are officially OPEN! Whether you're a seasoned loremaster or a first-time adventurer, we’d love to have you join us. Writers, artists, beta readers, cheerleaders, treat makers, and pinch hitters—all are welcome!

*While artist and author sign-ups have a time limit, sign-ups for the other roles will remain open for the event.

Sign up Here

Read the Rules

Art Suggestion Spreadsheet for inspiration

FAQs:  Answers to all our frequently asked questions

Sign-up deadlines: Artists: May 3rd

                                    Authors: May 17th

                                    Everybody Else: Duration of the Event

Spread the word, gather your fellowship, and let’s make some magic this summer!

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.

Tolkien Ekphrasis Week 2025

Ekphrasis: the description or interpretation of a piece of art, usually visual, in a different artistic medium.

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:

  1. Read prompts starting March 17.
  2. Create!
  3. Post tagged work to AO3 before June 9 deadline.
  4. Enjoy daily reveals between June 10 and June 16.
  5. 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

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

Find more information about Teitho here.

Around the World and Web Archive

Events listed here are no longer active but are listed on the site for historical purposes.

Tolkien Fanart Survey

Maria K. Alberto and Megan Abrahamson are working on a project related to race and Tolkien fanart and need your help taking a short anonymous survey about fan art that centers racially diverse depictions of Tolkien’s characters. The survey is open to Tolkien fans who:

  • are over 18 years of age
  • regularly see and interact with fan art through liking, commenting, and/or reblogging
  • are located anywhere in the world
  • Bonus: create Tolkien-inspired fan art!

Additionally, the researchers' main interest is Fingon the Valiant from The Silmarillion, particularly when portrayed as a Black elf in fan art. They are especially hoping to hear from Tolkien fan artists who depict this Fingon.

This survey has been reviewed and approved by the University of Utah Institutional Board.

Learn more about the survey and take it here or visit the project's tumblr here.

Tolkien Ekphrasis Week 2022

Ekphrasis: the description or interpretation of a piece of art, usually visual, in a different artistic medium.

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!

Prompts are currently being posted! Participants will have slightly more than a month to create whatever sort of art they like inspired by one or more of those prompts. Then, during the week(+) of June 10-June 17, everyone will post their fanwork on tumblr or this DW comm on the appropriate day (see calendar), or be revealed in the AO3 Collection.

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.

For example: "Day N. Art form: Metalwork. Formal prompt (writing): Epistolary format. Formal prompt (visual art): Mixed media. Thematic prompt: Trade and cross-cultural connection."

If you miss the day, or are desperate to create work about some form of art not included in the prompts, don't worry! Posting amnesty/prompt free-for-all day will be June 17, and posting here and in the AO3 Collection will be open for a year from Day 1.

Tolkien Ekphrasis Week is open to all characters, genres, and ratings, and all Tolkien canons. This includes movieverse (i.e. the LOTR and Hobbit trilogies), fan-made films like Born of Hope, and game canons such as Lord of the Rings Online. It also includes Tolkien's non-Arda 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, whether they found out about LOTR last week or are Michelangelo, well-known JRRT fan.
  • 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, although NSFW submissions will be kept 18+ locked on DW. There is one exception: no character bashing.

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 full instructions on how to post and tag.

Calendar:

June 10-16, 2022: Prompts Posted Daily

June 18, 2022: Tumblr Queue begins posting tagged works.

June 9, 2023: AO3 Collection and DW community close to posting.

Links:

Tumblr Blog | Dreamwidth Community | AO3 Collection | FAQ

Aspec Arda Week 2022

Aspec Arda Week is a week-long Tumblr event to celebrate the interaction of the asexual and aromantic-spectrums and Tolkien’s Legendarium of Arda. Though these experiences are not explicit within Tolkien’s work, many fans across the a-spectrum see themselves in Arda, and we are here to appreciate any and all interpretation of characters, relationships, and events through an aspec lens.

Any content about the a-spectrum in Arda is welcome! You can create edits, gifs, fanart, fanfic, fanmixes, and more! This event will run from May 9-15, 2022! Please tag your posts with #aspecardaweek AND @ mention this blog @aspecardaweek so they can be easily found. If your submission turns into a long post, please put what you can beneath a “Keep reading” divider.

Below are some prompts for each day of the week. They are not mandatory, but they are here to inspire you. This page will lead to an explanation for each prompt. The first prompt is the “main” prompt, but this year we are also providing more open-ended secondary prompts.

DAY ONE: Asexuality || Discovery, Confusion, Education
DAY TWO: Aromanticism || Acceptance, Loneliness, Pride
DAY THREE: Across the A-Spectrum || Hope, Complexity, Diversity
DAY FOUR: Worldbuilding || Community, Change, Family
DAY FIVE: Relationships || Companionship, Intimacy, Queerplatonic
DAY SIX: Intersectionality || Connection, Relief, Friendship
DAY SEVEN: Freeform || Love, Vulnerability, Identity

This event is being organized by @arofili. If you have any questions or suggestions, feel free to message this blog or my main.

For further clarification, check out our about, FAQ, code of conduct, and prompts pages! Happy creating!!

Mobile links are accessible here.

Tolkien Society Seminar 2022 – Tolkien and the Gothic: Registration open

Registration for the Tolkien Society Seminar "Tolkien and the Gothic" on Sunday July 3 is now open.

The seminar aims to explore the ways that Tolkien engaged with the various applications of the Gothic and how this in turn has influenced creative engagements with Tolkien.

The venue is the Hilton Hotel in Leeds, UK, timed to precede sessions on Tolkien scheduled for the International Medieval Congress in Leeds the following week.

In-person delegates are limited to 60, however online attendance is not limited. Attendance is free and not limited to society members.

The sign-up form is linked from the page above, which also contains more details on the seminar. 

Tolkienshortfanworks challenge for May posted

The challenge for May at the tolkienshortfanworks community on Dreamwidth has been posted. The prompts are: bonfires and / or songs of defiance.

The bonfire could be the Middle-earth equivalent of Beltane bonfire, if you like, but it can be any bonfire you choose.

The formal challenge is: songs of defiance. That could be a quiet song of defiance, like Sam's in Cirith Ungol, or a song chanted during an attack, by individuals or the whole battle line, like the Rohirrim attacking on the Pelennor Fields, or whatever else might come to you. Maybe Middle-earth revolutionaries have a version of Do you hear the people sing?  Maybe there is someone involved in a song battle like Finrod's? Or maybe the defiance is of yet another and quite different kind?

More details on the challenge rules at the linked post. New participants are always welcome and joining the community is easy.

Survey: Describing "Canon"

This survey asks about 20 questions (which may end up being more or fewer, depending on your specific answers!) about the term “canon.” Questions include topics such as: where have you heard this term before? What do you think it describes? Do you think it is important for enjoying popular culture texts?

The whole survey should take about 10-20 minutes to complete, depending on whether you choose to complete the optional freeform questions.

This survey is being conducted by Maria K. Alberto, a PhD candidate in English at the University of Utah, as part of her dissertation and ongoing research.

You learn more about the survey and take it here.

Character OR Exchange Sign-Ups Open

Character OR Exchange (CORE for short) is a multimedia exchange for fandoms of all sorts (books to RPF to music videos to etc.). The twist: matching will occur on characters, not relationships, with inclusive OR selection.

We'll be running this along typical exchange lines: participants will sign up with requests and offers, will be matched via AO3, and will receive an assignment. By signing up, participants agree to make a fannish creation for their assigned participant. In turn, someone will make a fannish creation for them. You will need an AO3 account to participate.

All times below are given as 24-hour times. IDT is the time zone of Israel. (UTC+3)

Nominations are closed.
Sign-ups start: 30 Apr 16:00 IDT (in your timezone)
Sign-ups end: 7 May 16:00 IDT (in your timezone | countdown)
Works due: 4 Jun 16:00 IDT (in your timezone | countdown)
Works revealed: 11 Jun 16:00 IDT (in your timezone | countdown)
Authors revealed: 18 Jun 16:00 IDT (in your timezone | countdown)

Mythcon: "The Mythic, the Fantastic, and the Alien" Call for Papers

This year's Mythcon will be held in-person in Albuquerque, New Mexico, as well as online, July 29 - August 1, 2022.

Mythcon 52’s theme provides multiple opportunities to explore the Other in fantasy and mythopoeic literature. Tolkien spoke in “On Fairy-stories” of “the desire to visit, free as a fish, the deep sea; or the longing for the noiseless, gracious, economical flight of a bird.” We invite discussion about the types of fantasy that are more likely to put us into contact with the alien, such as time portal fantasy and space travel fantasy. In addition to Inklings, some writers who deal particularly well with the truly alien who might be explored include Lovecraft, Gaiman, Le Guin, Tepper, and others. Other topics that might be fruitfully explored are: depictions of the alien Other in film and television (Contact, Arrival, HBO’s Watchmen, etc.); developing constructed languages that are truly different from those of Earth-based humans; fantastical Others in indigenous myths (such as Coyote and Spider Woman from Native American mythology); and American folklore about the alien (flying saucers, alien abduction, Area 51, Roswell).

The Mythopoeic Society’s annual conference, popularly called “Mythcon,” has historically been held in late July or early August at a college or university campus, although in recent years hotels or conference centers have become more common as sites. Each conference is constructed around a theme related to Inklings studies and/or fantastic and mythic literature. Each conference also features an author and a scholar guest of honor. Papers, panel discussions, readings, entertainment, an art show, a dealers’ room, and other activities fill the four-day event. Another Mythcon highlight is our annual banquet, after which the Mythopoeic Awards are presented. A small (usually 100-200 people) size and intimate setting makes Mythcon an excellent venue for meeting people with common interests. You may see the full history and individual conference pages by visiting our Mythcon History page.

The Mythopoeic Society has always encouraged scholarship in mythopoeic and Inklings studies by providing a venue in which scholars, new and old, may present papers which may in turn be considered for publication in Mythlore, assisting scholars in need of financial aid to attend Mythcon, and recognizing student scholars with the Alexei Kondratiev Award.

For this conference, in-person and virtual options are available. Paper proposals are due May 15, 2022. See the full Mythcon call for papers for more details.

Sunflower Auction to Help Ukraine

What is Sunflower Auction?
Sunflower Auction is an online fanworks auction, designed to raise money for nonprofit organizations that help the people of Ukraine fight back against Russia's invasion.

What charities do you support?
Any listed on Defend Ukraine and/or Stand With Ukraine.

What fandoms are included?
Any of them, including original work! There are no restrictions on fandom or pairing/gen or rating or whatever. Anything goes and everyone is invited.

How do I participate in the auction?
You can signup as a creator using this google form.

You can offer multiple times. If you offer different media (eg: art and writing), you will need to submit the form for each medium. If offering multiple times the same medium, just specify in the notes. Please only offer what you can reasonably expect to fulfill.

How can I look at offers?
Since the offering period is still ongoing, the only way to look at offers is currently this google sheet. Once the offering period ends, individual tagged entries per creator will be created in this community.

AUCTION CALENDAR
April 25 2022 23:59 UTC to May 10 2022 23:59 UTC – creator signups – OPEN!
May 12 2022 23:59 UTC to May 30 2022 23:59 UTC – bidding
June 10 2022 23:59 UTC – proof of donation due from bidders
June 10 2023 23:59 UTC – Works are due

Sláva Ukrayíni!

See the Sunflower Auction Dreamwidth or the Sunflower Auction Tumblr for more information.

Angbang Week 2022

Angbang Week will run May 1-7 on Tumblr.

The list of Angbang Week prompts for the event is here. All format are accepted: fanfiction and other writing, art, playlists, original musical compositions, moodboards, screenshots from games (as long as they’re for the topic of the day, of course!), etc. So long as they’re original, and new, and yours, we want to see them!

Every day has a couple of prompts for you to choose from, for which you could create related work you would associate with the prompt in any way. The final day is a free for all - choose whatever topic you want!

When posting your works, please write the day number and the topic you chose, and tag the post “#Angbangweek2022″ or tag us directly and we will feature as many works as we can!

Here are the themes, feel free to start creating whenever the inspiration hits!

Day 1 -May 1st: Seduction | Adoration
Day 2 - May 2nd: Creation | Corruption
Day 3 - May 3rd: Years of the lamps | Years of the trees
Day 4 - May 4th: Utumno | Angband
Day 5 - May 5th: Dragons | Werewolves
Day 6 - May 6th: War of Wrath | Dagor Dagorath
Day 7 - May 7th: Free space!