This is a rare newsletter where I have neither a new article nor a new challenge to announce, so it seems a good opportunity to do my semi-regular State of the SWG, which really amounts to an update on areas where we currently need volunteer help.

Open Volunteer Roles. I've posted two new volunteer roles this morning, in addition to the "evergreen" roles that always accept new people. We are looking for both a social media manager and an Around the World and Web editor.

The social media manager will work with the moderator team to ensure that announcements posted to the site make it onto our social media accounts on Discord, Tumblr, and Dreamwidth.

The Around the World and Web editor ensures that that section of the site is updated at least weekly. Both roles require about 30 minutes to an hour of time commitment per week. SWG moderators and volunteers always work together to ensure that we cover time off for each other when needed.

We also have "evergreen" volunteer roles that are always open to join: Around the World and Web scouts, inclusivity committee members, and newsletter contributors and committee members. The volunteer page has more information on all of these roles, including more detailed job descriptions for the two new postings. If you are interested or have questions, just hit REPLY on this email and let me know!

Character of the Month. Oshun responded to a call much like this in 2007, asking for someone who would be willing to write up a paragraph or two each month about our featured Character of the Month. Over the fifteen years that she was our lead biographer, she evolved from "one or two paragraphs" to ... quite a bit more. Our character biographies are one of the favorite parts of our site, and it was Oshun who consistently raised the bar to create this wonderful resource for all of us to use.

In those fifteen years, we have covered almost all of the major Silmarillion characters and quite a few minor characters as well. We are beginning to sunset the project, which means that we want to first ensure that all major characters have biographies on the site, at which point the column will drop from monthly to periodical, when there is interest in writing about minor characters.

Major characters we are looking to have written are Elendil, Gothmog, Yavanna, Eönwë, Manwë, Hador, Nienor, Melkor, Curufin, Marach, and Olwë. You do not need to have experience with research writing; we are glad to support newcomers, so if you want to give it a try, hit REPLY and let me know the character you want.

Fandom Voices. We have a new Fandom Voices question up, asking about your experiences with fanon. Fandom Voices is a sub-project of our monthly Cultus Dispatches column on Tolkien fan studies, and it seeks fan input on topics related to the Tolkien fandom. This month, if you read, view, or create fanworks, we want to know all about your thoughts, perspectives, and experiences with fanon! You can learn more or send your thoughts on fanon here. 

Thank you. Finally, this is a good opportunity to recognize that many people already help keep the SWG not only running behind the scenes but a vibrant Tolkien fan community. Thank you to all of our volunteers, past and current, who have given their time to making our community what it is today!

SWG News

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.

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?

New Challenge: Funky '70s
We've compiled lists of '70s-themed prompts to inspire your fanwork in the June-July challenge.

Fandom Voices: Commenting and Feedback
We are collecting fan experiences related to giving and receiving feedback on Tolkien-based fanworks.

New Fanworks

No Time Have I by by Flora-lass [Writing]

A Silmarillion acrostic.

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Lament for the Singer by by daughterofshadows [Writing]

A short thing about Maglor, death and grieving.

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All of you by by chrissystriped [Writing]

Elrond and Celebrían celebrate their anniversary with their family.

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Eä's Redemption by by AaronAzrael [Writing]

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 thought on the matter who the Ainur are, who Eru is, how he matches our own religious pantheon, and this has been conducted after serious research of many esoteric teachings of our own planet's heritage.

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Map of Valinor by by Aprilertuile [Artwork]

My newly drawn map of Aman, as complete as I could make it. 

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Fair as the First Snowdrop in Spring by by StarSpray [Writing]

The first time Elrond saw Celebrían he forgot how to breathe.

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Temper, temper... by by Aprilertuile [Writing]

Maglor hit some musical difficulties and snaps.

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Updated Fanworks

I called it Fate that I should fail by by AdmirableMonster [Writing]

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 he had originally thought. 

 

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Cosmological Poems of Arda by by AaronAzrael [Writing]

I would like to share my revelations of Tolkien's Universe in the form of narrative and emotional poems.

Read more ...

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.

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.

Scribbles & Drabbles 2024
A chill Tolkien event, where artists make art, and authors write little stories in response. Begins in June and ends in November.

Mythcon 53: Fantasies of the Middle Lands
Mythcon 53 will be held 2-5 August 2024 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, with the theme "Fantasies of the Middle Lands."

Elrond Week 2024
Elrond Week is a fandom event dedicated to Elrond Peredhel that will run from July 10th to July 16th on Tumblr.

Forgotten Ground Regained: Call for Submissions
Forgotten Ground Regained is looking for alliterative poetry on the themes of love, devotion, and desire for their upcoming fall issue.

Tolkien Reverse Summer Bang (TRSB) 2024
Tolkien Reverse Summer Bang is an annual event where authors create a story of at least 5,000 words in response to an artwork created for the event.

Acorns and Oak Leaves: A Year of Bagginshield
Throughout 2024, the Bagginshield community Acorns and Oak Leaves offers monthly prompts to encourage new creations of all kinds.