Mereth Aderthad 2025: Call for Presenters for Meta, Research, and Scholarship Open

Silmarillion Writers' Guild - Mereth Aderthad 2025 - July 19, 2025 - Burlington, VT, and online - a celebration of creativity and scholarship inspired by the works of J.R.R. Tolkien

The SWG is foremost an organization for fanworks but has also, throughout our twenty-year history, recognized that within the broader Tolkien fanworks fandom, it is almost impossible to separate creative and scholarly works for many creators. Our community has offered space for discussing and better understanding the legendarium, and our archive hosts hundreds of research and scholarly works created by fans.

A component of Mereth Aderthad will therefore be the sharing of meta, research, and scholarly works about Tolkien's legendarium.

  • Presentations will be delivered live, either in-person or virtually.
  • Presentations should be 15 minutes in length.
  • While any topic related to Tolkien's works is acceptable, priority will be given to presentations with a significant Silmarillion component.
  • Proposals are due by January 15, 2025.

We explicitly welcome fans, not just academics and scholars, to submit a proposal to present meta, research, or scholarship about the legendarium. We believe that fans offer meaningful contributions to the scholarly and academic conversations around Tolkien's work and furthermore offer perspectives that career academics often miss. In order to encourage fan participation in this component of the event, we will offer support and resources to fans who are interested in presenting but aren't sure where to begin. To learn more about these opportunities, subscribe to the SWG's weekly newsletter, join our Discord server, follow us on Tumblr, or follow us on Dreamwidth.

Presentations of meta, research, and scholarship will be accompanied by fanworks that are crafted around the same topic. In submitting a proposal to present at Mereth Aderthad 2025, you acknowledge and accept that fanworks will be made to accompany your presentation. While presenters and fanworks creators can collaborate if both parties wish to do so, presenters and fanworks creators should understand that they will not be given the opportunity to approve or require changes to the pieces that accompany their presentation.

Proposals should be about 300 words in length and are due no later than January 15, 2025. Click here to submit a proposal. Questions are welcome at moderator@silmarillionwritersguild.org.

Posted on 12 October 2024 (updated 12 October 2024) by SWG Newsletter Staff