New Challenge: Bollywood
This month's challenge offers songs, films, and tropes from Bollywood, the world's largest film industry based out of India, as prompts for fanworks.
SWG News
Cultus Dispatches: Fandom Chocolate … or Authors Love Comments
Tolkien Fanfiction Survey data provides insight into how comments benefit authors and which authors are most impacted by a lack of comments, with a digression on authors' perspectives one-click feedback like kudos.
A Sense of History: Passing Ships
As Tolkien's characters in various texts gaze out to the sea, what do they see? What is brought by the ships coming out of the West?
Beta-Reader List Now Available
The beta-reader list and profiles have been moved into our new system and are available again.
New & Updated Fanworks
[Writing] No Time Have I by Flora-lass
A Silmarillion acrostic.
[Writing] I called it Fate that I should fail by AdmirableMonster
Nimruzimir, a natural philosopher recently out of his apprenticeship, hardly considers himself very important to anyone, least of all his colleagues. When his strange, prophetic fits bring him to the attention of the High Priest, however, he may find that his existence is less superfluous than…
[Writing] All of you by chrissystriped
Elrond and Celebrían celebrate their anniversary with their family.
[Writing] Lament for the Singer by daughterofshadows
A short thing about Maglor, death and grieving.
[Writing] Cosmological Poems of Arda by AaronAzrael
I would like to share my revelations of Tolkien's Universe in the form of narrative and emotional poems.
[Writing] Eä's Redemption by AaronAzrael
This is my new poetical attempt to add my own interpretation to Tolkien's Cosmology as to Eru's Creation and the Valar's minds and behind-the-scene providence reasons and mechanisms.. I often review Eä as part of our own world, just in another dimension, this is why I have always seriously…
[Artwork] Map of Valinor by Aprilertuile
My newly drawn map of Aman, as complete as I could make it.
Current Challenge
Bollywood
Prompts this month are films, songs, and tropes from India's dazzling film industry, Bollywood. Read more ...
Random Challenge
Turgon's Rock Opera
On the anniversary of the publication of "The Silmarillion," we’re reflecting on the importance of music in Arda with prompts that come from rock songs. Read more ...
New in References
Fandom Chocolate … or Authors Love Comments by Dawn Walls-Thumma
[]Tolkien Fanfiction Survey data shows that authors view comments as driving their motivation to create fanfiction. However, perception of comments by authors is part of a larger shift in fandom around how and how often fans interact with each other.
Passing Ships by Simon J. Cook
[]The arrival and departure of ships across the Great Sea carries mythic significance for the peoples of Middle-earth. The image of ships crossing out of and back into a mysterious West appears as well in Beowulf and is alluded to in Tolkien's tower analogy in his lecture "Beowulf: The Monsters and the Critics," where the tower allows those who climb it to observe the passage of the ships.
Fanfiction and the Serious Business of Writer's Craft by Dawn Walls-Thumma
[]Tolkien Fanfiction Survey data shows that while most authors self-identify as taking their craft seriously, a growing subset of authors may be pushing that norm.
Beyond the Silmarillion
[Writing] Staging a Battle by StarSpray
[]He and Diamond were visiting, though Pippin had been disappearing every afternoon, and taking Frodo and Elanor and most other lads and lasses in the neighborhood with him—though why they couldn’t use Pippin’s own pony, Sam couldn’t imagine.
[Writing] From whose bourn no traveller returns by losselen
[]So gathered they were to Bree, what lieutenants who could be spared, from their scattered watches west and east, for their chieftain had returned from his long sojourn in lands godless and mountains strange.
Aragorn returns from the South to tells his tales. Halbarad listens.
[Writing] Sand Sorcery by StarSpray
[]It is well known that Psamathos does not leave his cove. He does not like to get his feet wet, and prefers to spend his days dozing under the sun.
Around the World and Web
Fellowship of the Fics: Summer Stories 2024
Fellowship of the Fics offers four weeks of summer-themed prompts during the month of July.
Elrond Week 2024
Elrond Week is a fandom event dedicated to Elrond Peredhel that will run from July 10th to July 16th on Tumblr.
July challenge at tolkienshortfanworks posted
The tolkienshortfanworks challenge for July has been posted to the Dreamwidth community. The thematic challenge is: original character or unnamed canon character; the formal challenge: fixed length of multiple of 50 words. New participants welcome.
July 2024 Call for Papers and Proposals
Conferences and publications that have open calls for papers and proposals in July 2024.
Teitho June/July Challenge: Mentor
The June/July prompt for the Teitho challenge is "mentor" and invites fanworks about this relationship in Tolkien's works.
Harvest Dance by oshun
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Chapter 1
Pulsing torches lined the forest glade. The harvest festival, held near a farming village just outside of Tirion, throbbed with music, laughter and quick, ancient dances brought from across the Sea. Lanterns strung overhead swayed in the light wind making the shadows move. Last days of summer idleness, back to lessons and the forge . . . Pityafinwë thought, wistful for only a moment. Won't do to let my thoughts go in that sort of maudlin direction. I should see him here tonight with any luck. He released a snort of a laugh at himself and his nascent sentimentality.
A warm hand closed around his upper arm. "Ah, Pityo, you are one of the few people I know who can stand all alone at the edge of a crowd and laugh at your own jokes."
"And you, Arakáno, are one of the few who sneak up behind me at festive gatherings for the sole purpose of entertaining yourself at my expense."
"But you are always amusing, sweet cousin. Where is your brother?" Arakáno's warm breath upon his neck sent a frisson of goosebumps across Pityafinwë's shoulders and down his back.
"Telvo? Oh, he found a hapless local girl--I meant a fortunate local girl--who is eager to keep him company. Want a drink?" Pityafinwë turned to lock onto those motivating pale blue eyes and extend a small container toward Arakáno.
"Don't mind if I do. Although, I have been warned. Curious to know if this pig slop is as harsh as I have heard." Arakáno brought the flask up under his nose and sniffed cautiously. "You and Telvo actually make this stuff?" Never short on raw nerve, he tilted his head back and took a long, deep swallow.
Pityafinwë watched him, delighted and appalled, utterly unable to control his grin. He really ought to learn to listen to warnings.
"Eru! Varda's frigid nipples, Pityo! What is this poison?"
"Just a little something to loosen you up." As though either of us ever needed that.
"Hmmm," Arakáno replied, opening his mouth to accept a hot but tender kiss, as his long black hair fell over his cousin's half-bared chest.
"These rustics do know how to celebrate, but I still think we should find a quieter spot," Pityafinwë whispered.
