The SWG maintains a weekly email newsletter for sharing community news, recent fanworks, and fandom announcements. We also feature original content aimed at a deeper exploration of and diverse perspectives on the Ardaverse. We welcome contributions to our newsletter! Below are the columns for which we are currently soliciting contributions, as well as more information on how to propose new columns and feature articles. Click on a column to read the full call for articles.
Call for Contributors
Feature Articles
Feature articles explore a Tolkien-related or Tolkien-adjacent topic (i.e., a topic relevant to Tolkien studies, such as history, linguistics, fan studies, et cetera). Keep in mind that this is a Silmarillion-centric site, so articles should have a significant connection to The Silmarillion. Our FAQ on Silmarillion-based fanworks provides clarity on what we consider a significant basis in The Silmarillion; please contact us if you're uncertain and keep in mind that we tend toward a liberal definition of "Silmarillion-based." In other words, we prefer authors to ask before assuming the answer is "no."
Feature articles can be any length or can occur in a series across multiple newsletter editions. We welcome creative approaches, including approaches that incorporate multimedia. However, traditional articles more like what one would read in a magazine or journal are welcome too.
If you have an idea for a feature article, contact us with a brief description of the article's focus.
Columns
The following columns are currently active and are seeking contributors.
Character of the Month. Character of the Month features biographies of a character relevant to The Silmarillion. This column is mostly complete and currently seeking limited contributions.
Cultus Dispatches. Cultus Dispatches is a monthly column that delves into the history and culture of the Tolkien fandom.
Lay of the Land. Lay of the Land includes "biographies" of important locations within Arda, including the role of the location in-universe and its geographic, linguistic, and literary features.
Master Class. Master Class is about making fanworks and is aimed at creators just getting started as well as more experienced creators looking to refine specific techniques.
Read & Review. Read & Review reviews books and collections related to Tolkien.
A Sense of History. A Sense of History is a monthly column that seeks to explore the historical roots of elements of the legendarium.
Themed Collections. Themed collections offer an introduction to fanworks around a particular theme by collecting five to ten links.
Our newsletter is constantly growing and changing, with new columns added. If you have a subject or approach on which you'd like to write regularly (which does not mean monthly!) and for which you'd like to propose a column, contact us.
Expectations for Contributors
The SWG is committed to welcoming beginning writers, writers for whom English is not their first language, and writers with disabilities that may impact language. We believe that diverse experiences and perspective enrich our site. You do not need to be a professional writer or published scholar to contribute to the newsletter. In order to ensure access by diverse fans and voices, we are prepared to offer support in finding references, research, and writing a feature article or column. All fans are welcome, and our editors will work with you to help you get your article prepared for publication.
Publication Process
When you contact us to say you're interested in writing for us, we will help you hone your idea. We will communicate any expectations for the column for which you're writing. We will agree on a publication date and a reasonable deadline. We generally send a reminder six and two weeks before the deadline. If other or more frequent reminders would help you stay on track to complete your project, let us know.
We acknowledge that access to the vast collection of Tolkien's published books and academic publications can form a barrier to fans conducting Tolkien studies research, especially fans outside of the Western world. As such, we are willing to aid potential contributors in obtaining the texts and sources they need in order to complete their project. If you need assistance with sources at any time, let us know.
We also aim to feature artwork with each article in our newsletter. Our art editor will reach out to you to collaborate on what you'd like to see included alongside your article. If you have a specific piece or art or artist you'd like to see included, you can let us know. We will handle obtaining the necessary permissions to include any art featured with your article.
Once your article is completed, you can send it to us or post it as a Reference Library submission. One of our editors will copyedit your article and return it to you for final approval, at which point we will post it on our website, and it will be included in our next newsletter. Newsletters are published on Saturday.
The SWG does have a usage and style guide for authors that follows a modified version of Chicago style. However, we also acknowledge that academic conventions often exclude fans who have not had the specialized training needed to use them. Therefore, we do not expect our writers to follow our style guide. We will make the necessary changes during the copyedit phase to ensure that all articles adhere to the style guide. In short, it will be the editors' job to adhere to the style guide, not yours! We strongly believe that fans—not just academics and trained researchers—have perspectives and ideas that are of value to the broader Tolkien studies community.
Once your work is published, you will be able to receive comments from and hold conversations with your readers in the comments section of your article. We will promote your article in our newsletter, on the front page carousel on our site, in the News section and sidebar on our site, and on our social media.
Rights Obtained
The SWG obtains first worldwide publication rights for any articles submitted to our newsletter. This means that you grant us the right to publish your article on our website before it appears anywhere else. You will retain all rights and copyrights, including the right to publish or post your article in other places as soon as it has been published on our site.
You will be able to edit your article once it is published. We ask that contributors make only minor changes, such as typo fixes, once an article has been published. If there is a reason you need to make a major change to your piece, contact us so that we can continue to ensure that any revisions continue to meet the standards of our site.
You also retain the right to remove your work from our site at any time; however, because we invest time and effort into preparing articles for publication, we may choose not to work in the future with contributors who do so.
If you would like to modify the terms under which we use your work, we encourage you to contact us before assuming the answer will be "no."
Contact Information and Support for Newsletter Writers
All inquiries can always begin by contacting our moderator team. We will ensure that the appropriate person receives your message! Additionally, the Reference Library and newsletter editors can be reached at loremaster@silmarillionwritersguild.org and our art editor can be reached at art-editor@silmarillionwritersguild.org.
If you are a member of our Discord server, we have a #newsletter channel for newsletter writers to brainstorm, share, and help each other. You don't have to be a newsletter writer to join! Just let one of the Discord server mods know you'd like access. (If you'd like to join our Discord server, logged-in members can join using the invite in the site's footer; others should contact the moderator team for an invite.
