Founded in 2005, the Silmarillion Writers' Guild exists for discussions of and creative fanworks based on J.R.R. Tolkien's The Silmarillion and related texts. We are a positive-focused and open-minded space that welcomes fans from all over the world and with all levels of experience with Tolkien's works. Whether you are picking up Tolkien's books for the first time or have been a fan for decades, we welcome you to join us!
Mereth Aderthad Interview: Interview with polutropos by Dawn "And love grew after between them"—those words have fascinated a fandom intent on revealing the how and why of the "kidnap fam" plot point in "The Silmarillion." In this interview, polutropos discusses her upcoming Mereth Aderthad paper on the topic, “'Kidnap Fam' and the Living Legendarium."
Mereth Aderthad Interview: Interview with Maglor by Shadow Who is Gil-galad? That might seem a silly question, but we know very little of his character beyond his kingship. In this interview, Shadow talks with Maglor about his upcoming Mereth Aderthad presentation "Gil-galad was an Elven King: Kingship and Personhood in the Last High King of the Noldor" that explores who Gil-galad might have been, beyond the last king of the Noldor.
Mereth Aderthad Registration Is Open! Registration for attending Mereth Aderthad is open for both in-person and virtual attendees and will remain open through the day of the event.
Shadow spoke with cloudyhymns about his upcoming presentation for Mereth Aderthad 2025, "The Design of Dragons and the Doom of the Dwarves," where he shares his theory about how Dwarves and dragons are connected in the legendarium, a topic full of implications for fanworks.
They passed out of Lhûn and the wider coastline of Middle-earth opened up before his eyes. He had wandered those shores for centuries, and even now he felt the pull of that same wanderlust, and knew he would miss them for the rest of his life. Their wildness, the untamed waves, the rocky…
Eärendil has to find his way in this unfamiliar land. Luckily (or unluckily, depending on your point of view) for him, it's a time of festival in Valimar...
Dawn spoke with polutropos about her upcoming presentation for Mereth Aderthad, “'Kidnap Fam' and the Living Legendarium," including the appeal of kidnap fam, the appeal of Maglor's character, and how The Silmarillion as an incomplete, complex word makes it ripe for both fanworks and…
Current Challenge
Birthday Bash
Daily word, image, and poetry prompts are loosely structured around events and milestones leading up to our 20th birthday. Read more ...
Random Challenge
Halls of Mystery
Explore the place and ideas behind one of the most mysterious locations on Arda, the halls of Mandos, or the ideas of Elven "death" and rebirth. Read more ...
Shadow spoke with cloudyhymns about his upcoming presentation for Mereth Aderthad 2025, "The Design of Dragons and the Doom of the Dwarves," where he shares his theory about how Dwarves and dragons are connected in the legendarium, a topic full of implications for fanworks.
Dawn spoke with polutropos about her upcoming presentation for Mereth Aderthad, “'Kidnap Fam' and the Living Legendarium," including the appeal of kidnap fam, the appeal of Maglor's character, and how The Silmarillion as an incomplete, complex word makes it ripe for both fanworks and scholarship.
As one of the most beloved Silmarillion characters, Maglor is a bundle of contradictions undergirded by a complex textual history. Warrior, musician, wanderer, and survivor, Maglor brings to the fore key themes in Tolkien's early legendarium, such as the role of music, oaths, and exile.
Part of our Themed Collection series for our newsletter, this collection features fiction, artwork, and essays that transcend the idea of Orcs as the enemy, instead considering their humanity.
One wrong decision can make a world of difference. When one of the Fellowship makes the mistake, the consequences are so severe that only the Valar can repair it. But will they?
Glorfindel daughter's life is in Elrohir's hands and only she remembers th eir love for each other. The fate of…
The Gardens of the Entwives are fallen, but two Entwives remain.
Around the World and Web
April Challenge at tolkienshortfanworks
The tolkienshortfanworks challenge for April has been posted to the Dreamwidth community. The thematic prompt is: wood. The formal challenge is: linnod (Gilraen's canonical verse form). These can be filled separately and freely combined with other challenges and prompts that allow this.
Celedriel Week 2025
Celedriel Week is a Tumblr events for fanworks about Galadriel and Celeborn.
Neurodivergent Arda Week 2025
Neurodivergent Arda Week is a Tumblr event to celebrate neurodiversity in Tolkien's works.
Tolkien Ekphrasis Week 2025
This is a Tolkien-fandom-wide event dedicated to the art of ekphrasis in Tolkien's worlds. Its goal is to illuminate the artistic surroundings of the places, people, and stories we love, in as many media as possible.
The Silmarillion Writers' Guild is more than just an archive--we are a community! If you enjoy a fanwork or enjoy a creator's work, please consider letting them know in a comment.
I couldn't fold it into the fic, but I think it would be very funny if Maglor joined Starfleet at one point. Not even necessarily to steal the silmaril, just because he's old and bored, and really there is only so long you can be a sad beach hermit XD
I was thinking about Maglor just pretending to be some sort of alien species, though I didn't think of Vulcans! Optically probably the best choice, but yes those emotions are going to be very troublesome 😂
I like this very much as it is. But I saw your comment below, so my brain immediately went to Maglor seeing that blip on the radar and being the one to recognize it for what it is...
Well, that would certainly be an interesting turn of events! I'm not sure what would happen next, but maybe I'll think of something at some point.
Maglor in a spacesuit so he can board Vingilot is certainly a funny image... (though I imagine Vingilot's crew will find it significantly less humorous 😂)
This made me grin so broadly. I am a HUGE Star Trek fan. Although I do wonder how the Rihanssu would react if they discovered Elves... they are alike in many ways.
I'm glad this put a smile on your face and also thank you for suggesting Romulans as an option for Maglor to hide amongst! I know very little about them, and even though I'm currently not planning to dive much deeper into this silly little scenario, it's been fun chatting with everyone about their ideas!
Love the take on these two teaming up to keep the Silmaril hidden in the future. It's always so fun to think about space age humans accidentally finding various Ainur and other mythical figures out there ^^
There's so many opportunities, too! Maybe everyone misunderstood how Valinor works and it's actually a different planet. Maybe Varda is hiding out there in some nebula. Maybe blackholes are actually ainur!
Or - here's a thought - we know time goes wobbly in black holes. We know Iluvatar's domain is called the Timeless Halls. What if black holes are portals between our universe and Iluvatar's dwelling place?
And the Straight Road to Valinor is really a wormhole to a hidden world that only the Elves can access.
edit: now I want to write a fic about this. Elves - In - Spaaaaace!
Sooner or later, someone in Starfleet is bound to notice. And those Starfleet science officers very much love tracking down the odd and anomalous in space....
But hopefully, Eärendil and Ilmare will manage to stay out of sight for a little while longer. I'm honestly not sure that a confrontation would end well...
Comments on A blip on the radar
The Silmarillion Writers' Guild is more than just an archive--we are a community! If you enjoy a fanwork or enjoy a creator's work, please consider letting them know in a comment.