About the SWG

Our Mission

Community. To provide an online home for anyone interested in J.R.R. Tolkien's The Silmarillion, including writers, artists, researchers, and readers. We strive to create a place that is comfortable and useful for both newcomers to The Silmarillion and to those who are well immersed in it.

Creativity. To establish a fanworks archive where creators of Silmarillion-based transformative works can collect their fanworks, enjoy the fanworks of others, engage in discussion, obtain feedback, and connect with other Tolkien fans. This includes offering events and challenges that promote creativity in all art forms.

Encouragement. To foster an environment that is supportive of all SWG members in their endeavors, no matter their experience, knowledge, or abilities. We strive to maintain a group where kindness and diplomacy are the norm, where drama and negativity are discouraged, and where fanworks creators can be comfortable in honing their skills in their particular crafts.

Understanding. To strive toward a better understanding of the works of J.R.R. Tolkien and our relationships to those works. Through our writings and discussions, we aim to encourage thoughtful assessments of canon, as well as the fandom culture in which our study and creativity occurs, and the intersection of the two.

Knowledge. To create a reliable set of references to aid others who want to learn more about Tolkien's works, the craft of creating fanworks, and fandom culture. Through these references, we seek also to encourage readers new to The Silmarillion to understand the beauty and wonder of this book that has captivated us.

Connectivity. To recognize that we are only a single small group in a vast online Tolkien fan community and to work toward connecting and sharing with the Tolkien fandom at large, as well as aiding members in finding groups and resources that meet their needs where the SWG cannot.

Service. To recognize that the SWG's most basic and essential purpose is to serve its membership base. The SWG is nothing without its members, who choose to share their time, energy, and passion with us and deserve a group that first hears their voices and then meets their needs whenever possible.

Our History

The Silmarillion Writers' Guild was founded in March of 2005 by Dawn Felagund. An utter newbie to both Middle-earth and the slightly scarier realm of fandom, Dawn was probably the last person who should have announced her entrance into both by starting a group as ambitious as the SWG. However, in a fit of bravery--or foolishness--that is just what she aspired to do.

Having found her creative passion increasingly ignited by The Silmarillion--not the more-popular Lord of the Rings--Dawn was perplexed by the fact that there was no single archive devoted to Silmarillion-based writing and art. The few groups devoted to The Silmarillion had grown by and large inactive. The most prolific and thoughtful Silmarillion writers were no longer saying much, and the remaining Silmarillion fans found themselves scattered between numerous Tolkien groups and archives with no home to call their own, often unaware of the existence of each other. So Dawn founded the SWG to fill this noticeable void in the Tolkien fandom.

In its first four months of existence, the SWG did little except huddle, awaiting discovery, in the dark corners of the Internet while Dawn completed work on her novel. It was eventually found, however, and by July 2005 had two members in addition to its founder. Flattered that her group had been discovered, Dawn asked these members for their thoughts on the direction they would like the group to take and found an enthusiastic and outspoken correspondent in Uli, or ford_of_bruinen. Realizing that Uli had years of experience in fandom to her … well, none, Dawn asked Uli if she would like to be a co-moderator of the group, and Uli (thankfully) accepted.

Somewhere around the end of July, Uli prodded Dawn--who was just now beginning to realize the enormity of what she'd done and was starting to get scared--to maybe let some other people know that the group existed. So both co-mods rallied all the Silmarillion writers they each knew--and since they came from opposite corners of the fandom, there was little to no overlap--and the SWG went from three members to almost twenty in about a week. Since the two halves of new members barely knew each other except by reputation, the first few months were not without hiccups. However, soon it seemed that people came to understand that the SWG wasn't about whether they came from HASA or OSA or wrote slash or genfic: It was about wanting to communicate and share with other fans who appreciated The Silmarillion as much as they did.

Because Dawn was an Internet neophyte--though quickly learning at this point--her plans for the SWG were never more ambitious than maintaining a Yahoo! discussion list and a LiveJournal community for posting stories. The suggestion to start a website and archive where the group's creative endeavors could be collected was made by the members, so Dawn set about learning HTML and CSS and, with the patient guidance of some of the members of the SWG, began researching archive software.

A little more than a year later, the webpage debuted and, a few months after that, in June 2007, the archive opened to the public. The group that made its home on Yahoo! and LiveJournal and started with three members (including its newbie founder) has come a long way in the last decade. In the years since, the SWG has collected thousands of Silmarillion-inspired fanworks and has hosted numerous projects in honor of Tolkien, The Silmarillion, and the fans that keep his world alive.

So what is the next chapter in our history? That remains to be seen. So join a discussion, share a fanwork, or leave a comment on a fanwork--we need you to help us in writing it!

Read more about the SWG's history or contribute your memories on Fanlore.