Name the New Section of Our Site!

When the SWG archive opened in 2007, there were dozens of Tolkien-specific fanworks archives on the Internet. Most specialized in some way, so as a site that accepted only Silmarillion-based fanworks, we were just one of many with a specialization.

Fifteen years later, the fandom landscape looks very different. Very few independent Tolkien-only archives remain. (Longtime SWG member Independence1776 maintains a list of Tolkien archives if you're curious which still remain open.) Outside of the Archive of Our Own, there are few places where all Tolkien fanworks can be preserved.

Our members sometimes tell us that they wish they could archive all of their Tolkien-based fanworks with us. This past December, when we asked our members to let us know what they wanted to see us add to the newly rebuilt site, a section for non-Silmarillion Tolkien fanworks was a popular choice. We've heard your request! In the next few months, we will be opening a new section of our site, available to SWG members who archive Silmarillion fanworks with us, that will accept all fanworks based on Tolkien's books and adaptations of those books. Keep reading to learn more about this forthcoming new section, but first ...

We Need Your Help!

This new section of our site needs a name, and we'd like the community that behind the SWG to name it! If you'd like to suggest a name (or two, or ...), you can fill out the form here. We will stop accepting suggestions when the clock chimes midnight in UTC time at the end of the day on July 13, 2022. Please note that nominations for the new name are now closed! You can vote here.

Suggested names will be put before the SWG's membership for a vote. (Register here if you want to be a member of our site but aren't already. You do not need to be a member to suggest a name, just to vote on the final name.) Please note that the SWG moderators reserve the right not to include suggestions that do not fit the culture and mission of our site. You can suggest more than one name.

What Will Be Posted in This New Section?

All fanworks based on all of Tolkien's books and the various adaptations of those books—such as films, games, and shows—will be eligible. Since we will very soon be able to accept all kinds of fanworks, we truly mean all fanworks: fiction, artwork, nonfiction/meta, audio/podfic, playlists, poetry, link collections, videos, and multimedia fanworks that use more than one of the listed types.

Who Will Be Eligible to Post in the New Section?

The new section will be open to SWG members who have actively posted Silmarillion-based fanworks to our archive, which we are defining as either five Silmarillion-based fanworks or 10,000 words of Silmarillion-based writing. New creators will be able to earn posting privileges in the new section when they reach one of these thresholds.

No Offense, But I'm Really Just Here for Silmarillion Fanworks ...

We get that, and we are committed to remaining a Silmarillion group. This will truly be a separate section of the site. How we present the Silmarillion-based fanworks on our All Fanworks page, front page, search results, and sidebars will not change. You will be able to access the new site section—or if you truly want a listing of every fanwork posted to the site—on the Fanworks menu, under its own link. If you're not interested in the new section, you need never know it's there.

It's good to circle back and remember that the purpose of this section of the site is to offer members who are already participating as creators on our site the opportunity to archive their non-Silmarillion Tolkien fanworks somewhere other than a large multifandom archive. As places to archive Tolkien fanworks dwindle, that's increasingly difficult to do, and while we have nothing against AO3 and Fanfiction.net, we also know that many of you feel your work is safer if archived in multiple places.

Have More Questions?

The comment section is open below, or you can always email us if you'd prefer to communicate privately.

Posted on 6 July 2022 (updated 13 July 2022) by Dawn Felagund