Instadrabbling Sessions for April, May, and June
The first Saturday of each month, we will be hosting instadrabbling on our Discord server.
SWG News
Fanwork sign-ups are open!
Register for Mereth Aderthad!
Mereth Aderthad Interview: Interview with polutropos by Dawn
"And love grew after between them"—those words have fascinated a fandom intent on revealing the how and why of the "kidnap fam" plot point in "The Silmarillion." In this interview, polutropos discusses her upcoming Mereth Aderthad paper on the topic, “'Kidnap Fam' and the Living Legendarium."
Mereth Aderthad Interview: Interview with Maglor by Shadow
Who is Gil-galad? That might seem a silly question, but we know very little of his character beyond his kingship. In this interview, Shadow talks with Maglor about his upcoming Mereth Aderthad presentation "Gil-galad was an Elven King: Kingship and Personhood in the Last High King of the Noldor" that explores who Gil-galad might have been, beyond the last king of the Noldor.
Mereth Aderthad Registration Is Open!
Registration for attending Mereth Aderthad is open for both in-person and virtual attendees and will remain open through the day of the event.
New & Updated Fanworks
[Writing] High in the Clean Blue Air by StarSpray
They passed out of Lhûn and the wider coastline of Middle-earth opened up before his eyes. He had wandered those shores for centuries, and even now he felt the pull of that same wanderlust, and knew he would miss them for the rest of his life. Their wildness, the untamed waves, the rocky…
[Writing] That strength which in old days moved earth and heaven by Himring
Long after the Fall of Eregion, a survivor returns to face her memories.
[Reference] Interview with cloudyhymns by Shadow by cloudyhymns, daughterofshadows
Shadow spoke with cloudyhymns about his upcoming presentation for Mereth Aderthad 2025, "The Design of Dragons and the Doom of the Dwarves," where he shares his theory about how Dwarves and dragons are connected in the legendarium, a topic full of implications for fanworks.
[Audio] Twinkle, Twinkle, Silmaril - Podfic by daughterofshadows
A reworking of Twinkle, twinkle, little star, featuring Eärendil. Originally written by Anérea.
[Writing] The Longed For That Cometh Beyond Hope by Grundy
Eärendil has to find his way in this unfamiliar land. Luckily (or unluckily, depending on your point of view) for him, it's a time of festival in Valimar...
[Reference] Interview with polutropos by Dawn by polutropos, Dawn Felagund
Dawn spoke with polutropos about her upcoming presentation for Mereth Aderthad, “'Kidnap Fam' and the Living Legendarium," including the appeal of kidnap fam, the appeal of Maglor's character, and how The Silmarillion as an incomplete, complex word makes it ripe for both fanworks and…
Current Challenge
Birthday Bash
Daily word, image, and poetry prompts are loosely structured around events and milestones leading up to our 20th birthday. Read more ...
Random Challenge
Gift of a Story
Create a fanwork as a gift to show thanks and appreciation for someone in the fandom. Read more ...
New in References
Interview with cloudyhymns by Shadow by cloudyhymns, daughterofshadows
Shadow spoke with cloudyhymns about his upcoming presentation for Mereth Aderthad 2025, "The Design of Dragons and the Doom of the Dwarves," where he shares his theory about how Dwarves and dragons are connected in the legendarium, a topic full of implications for fanworks.
Interview with polutropos by Dawn by polutropos, Dawn Felagund
Dawn spoke with polutropos about her upcoming presentation for Mereth Aderthad, “'Kidnap Fam' and the Living Legendarium," including the appeal of kidnap fam, the appeal of Maglor's character, and how The Silmarillion as an incomplete, complex word makes it ripe for both fanworks and scholarship.
Maglor by polutropos
As one of the most beloved Silmarillion characters, Maglor is a bundle of contradictions undergirded by a complex textual history. Warrior, musician, wanderer, and survivor, Maglor brings to the fore key themes in Tolkien's early legendarium, such as the role of music, oaths, and exile.
Featured Themed Collection
Part of our Themed Collection series for our newsletter, this collection features fiction, artwork, and essays that transcend the idea of Orcs as the enemy, instead considering their humanity.
Alliterative Verse for Arda by Rhunedhel
Part of our Themed Collection series for our newsletter, this collection features alliterative poems about Middle-earth.
Beyond the Silmarillion
[Writing] Paradox of the Fourth Age by Alassante
One wrong decision can make a world of difference. When one of the Fellowship makes the mistake, the consequences are so severe that only the Valar can repair it. But will they?
Glorfindel daughter's life is in Elrohir's hands and only she remembers th eir love for each other. The fate of…
[Writing] By Mirrormere by bunn
A new Age dawns, and Moria is retaken at last.
[Writing] Beneath the Bitter Rain by bunn
The Gardens of the Entwives are fallen, but two Entwives remain.
Around the World and Web
April Challenge at tolkienshortfanworks
The tolkienshortfanworks challenge for April has been posted to the Dreamwidth community. The thematic prompt is: wood. The formal challenge is: linnod (Gilraen's canonical verse form). These can be filled separately and freely combined with other challenges and prompts that allow this.
Celedriel Week 2025
Celedriel Week is a Tumblr events for fanworks about Galadriel and Celeborn.
Neurodivergent Arda Week 2025
Neurodivergent Arda Week is a Tumblr event to celebrate neurodiversity in Tolkien's works.
Tolkien Ekphrasis Week 2025
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.
Teitho March/April Challenge: Mothers
The Teitho Contest theme for the months of March and April is mothers.
Challenges by Name
Challenges have been a part of the SWG since our group was formed in 2005. Before the archive, there were challenges. Before References or any special projects or B2MeM or any of the myriad things we've done over the last decade-plus, there were challenges. Challenges end and a new challenges is posted on the 15th of the month. (Yes, that means there is one thrilling day each month when there are two active challenges!) Participants—both authors and reviewers—will receive a stamp in their challenge stamp collection for their participation. Deadlines apply only if you want your fanwork to receive a stamp.
Every challenge that has ever been offered by the SWG is available for use by creators of fanworks who are looking for inspiration. Even if the deadline for stamps is passed, you are welcome to use the challenges listed on our site. And comments on past challenge fanworks are always welcome and always receive a reward for that month. Want to join us? Click to read the guidelines below!
- Challenge Guidelines
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- New challenges will be released monthly on the 15th. You can find the current challenge in the Challenge section of our website or listed in the sidebar under Current Challenges. The current challenge can also be found on our satellite groups on Dreamwidth, Tumblr (using the #swg challenges tag), and Discord.
- Challenge entries must be created for the challenge. In other words, a previous fanwork cannot be "retrofitted" into a challenge even if it fits. However, you are welcome to add to an existing fanwork with new content that fits a challenge.
- Challenges will need to be posted to the SWG archive no later than the 15th of the month in order to receive a stamp for that month's challenge, unless otherwise specified. If you are using the challenge prompt as part of another fandom event where the event rules do not allow you to post the fanwork on our archive before the challenge deadline or if you have serious extenuating circumstances that cause you to miss a deadline, you can contact the mods to arrange a deadline extension. Make sure that you add your story to the challenge using the Challenges field on the fanwork submission form. The SWG accepts all types of fanworks (art, audio, link collections, playlists, series, videos, writing, and multimedia fanworks), all types of fanwork are suitable as responses to challenges, and all must be posted to the archive.
- You are welcome to cross-post your work wherever you want, but at a minimum, it must be archived on our website.
- Works must be Silmfic, but any genre, rating, pairing, characters, or format are allowed. Works-in-progress are welcome.
- Challenge participants will receive a stamp for each challenge that they complete. In addition, if you comment on a challenge fanwork, you will receive a stamp for participating as a commenter. Unleash your inner philatelist because we will start a stamp collection for all participants that will be updated from month to month! Some months have special stamps (or even secret stamps ...).
- Comment challenges have no due date. However, if you are commenting on a story posted more than two months ago, we appreciate if you contact us and let us know that you need a stamp. Please note that comment stamps are not available for specific challenges before January 2017.
B2MeM 2012
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B2MeM 2013
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B2MeM 2014
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B2MeM 2015
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B2MeM 2016
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B2MeM 2017
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B2MeM 2018
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B2MeM 2019
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B2MeM 2020
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Back to Nature
Create a fanwork that considers conflicts with nature--both overt and symbolic--and characters' relationships with that which is natural in their world. Challenge opened in . Read more ...
Back To The Future
This month's challenge asks you to put a character, culture, or place in Arda in the Seventh Age. When the Seventh Age actually is--is it right now? in the future? or was Tolkien totally wrong and it's actually passed?--is completely up to you. Challenge opened in . Read more ...
Behind the Scenes
Choose a major event from The Silmarillion and create a fanwork that shows what a character who was not involved was doing at the time it was taking place. Challenge opened in . Read more ...
Bestiary of Arda
Choose a prompt from our "bestiary" of music and images of animals found in Arda. Challenge opened in . Read more ...
Beyond the Circles of Middle-earth
Create a fanwork that places a Silmarillion character into a fictional setting from our real-world literature Challenge opened in . Read more ...
Birthday Bash
Daily word, image, and poetry prompts are loosely structured around events and milestones leading up to our 20th birthday. Challenge opened in . Read more ...
Block Party
During the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, we offered a menu of daily prompts designed to help people connect, show kindness to others, and refocus on their own creativity during this uncertain moment in history. Challenge opened in . Read more ...
Bollywood
Prompts this month are films, songs, and tropes from India's dazzling film industry, Bollywood. Challenge opened in . Read more ...
Book by Its Cover
Go ahead and judge a book by its cover! We'll send you a book cover as a prompt to inspire your fanwork. Challenge opened in . Read more ...
Breaking Boundaries
Create a fanwork that shows a meeting between characters of two or more cultures. Challenge opened in . Read more ...
But I Won't Do That
Consider what "that" is for your character: the one thing that she or he refuses to do, no matter what. And what happens when she or he ends up having to do it anyway? Challenge opened in . Read more ...
