Instadrabbling Sessions for April, May, and June
The first Saturday of each month, we will be hosting instadrabbling on our Discord server.
SWG News
Fanwork sign-ups are open!
Register for Mereth Aderthad!
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.
New & Updated Fanworks
[Writing] High in the Clean Blue Air by StarSpray
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…
[Writing] That strength which in old days moved earth and heaven by Himring
Long after the Fall of Eregion, a survivor returns to face her memories.
[Reference] Interview with cloudyhymns by Shadow by cloudyhymns, daughterofshadows
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.
[Audio] Twinkle, Twinkle, Silmaril - Podfic by daughterofshadows
A reworking of Twinkle, twinkle, little star, featuring Eärendil. Originally written by Anérea.
[Writing] The Longed For That Cometh Beyond Hope by Grundy
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...
[Reference] Interview with polutropos by Dawn by polutropos, Dawn Felagund
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
Back to Nature
Create a fanwork that considers conflicts with nature--both overt and symbolic--and characters' relationships with that which is natural in their world. Read more ...
New in References
Interview with cloudyhymns by Shadow by cloudyhymns, daughterofshadows
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.
Interview with polutropos by Dawn by polutropos, Dawn Felagund
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.
Maglor by polutropos
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.
Featured Themed Collection
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.
Alliterative Verse for Arda by Rhunedhel
Part of our Themed Collection series for our newsletter, this collection features alliterative poems about Middle-earth.
Beyond the Silmarillion
[Writing] Paradox of the Fourth Age by Alassante
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…
[Writing] By Mirrormere by bunn
A new Age dawns, and Moria is retaken at last.
[Writing] Beneath the Bitter Rain by bunn
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.
Teitho March/April Challenge: Mothers
The Teitho Contest theme for the months of March and April is mothers.
Newest References
Interview with cloudyhymns by Shadow by cloudyhymns, daughterofshadows
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.
Published on 2 April 2025.
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Interview with polutropos by Dawn by polutropos, Dawn Felagund
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.
Published on 29 March 2025.
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Maglor by polutropos
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.
Published on 19 February 2023.
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Interview with Maglor by Shadow by maglor-my-beloved, daughterofshadows
Maglor spoke with Shadow about his upcoming presentation for Mereth Aderthad, "Gil-galad was an Elven King: Kingship and Personhood in the Last High King of the Noldor," and what makes Gil-galad such an intriguing—and mysterious—character.
Published on 18 March 2025.
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Interview with Shadow by Himring by daughterofshadows, Himring
Aromanticism is a topic not often covered in Tolkien scholarship, but many Tolkien characters can be read as aromantic. In this interview, Himring talks with Shadow about their upcoming Mereth Aderthad presentation "The Aromantic in Tolkien."
Published on 8 March 2025.
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Interview with Stella Getreuer-Kostrouch by Quente by Stella Getreuer-Kostrouch, Quente
Stella Getreuer-Kostrouch has always felt deeply connected to the character of Elu Thingol. In this interview, Quente asks about this connection and how Stella sees Thingol as unjustly treated by many in the fandom.
Published on 17 February 2025.
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Interview with Acha Rezak (Quente) by Shadow by Acha Rezak (Quente), daughterofshadows
Shadow spoke to Acha Rezak about her upcoming presentation for Mereth Aderthad, which reads Tolkien less as a Catholic Christian work and more as a world inclusive of many religions, especially in its focus on nature and landscapes
Published on 17 February 2025.
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Vidumavi of the Northmen by Secondborn
A seemingly minor character, Vidumavi's story illustrates the themes of fellowship, the fading of faerie, and the dangers of racial hierarchy.
Published on 11 January 2025.
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Tolkien, His Gnarly Canon, and His Authority by Dawn Walls-Thumma
Tolkien Fanfiction Survey data from 2015 and 2020 shows that Tolkien fans have diverse views on Tolkien's authority but suggests that adherence to his authority is decreasing over time.
Published on 11 August 2023.
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So You Want to Present at a Tolkien Conference? Writing the Proposal by SWG Newsletter Staff
Video and materials from our session on how to write a proposal for a Tolkien conference. The session covers how conferences work, the different types of sessions, and how to structure and write a proposal.
Published on 1 January 2025.
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Libraries at the Edge of Middle-earth: Fanworks, Archives, and Communities as Heritage by Dawn Walls-Thumma
Tolkien fanfiction archives both preserve the "libraries of Middle-earth" in the form of keeping Tolkien's original words alive and promote conversations around heritage as community and fan identity that keeps those central texts relevant to diverse fans in a rapidly changing world.
Published on 8 December 2024.
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Mapping Arda, Part III: The Second Age by Anérea, Varda delle Stelle
A series of articles featuring fan-made maps of all the lands of Arda. Part III explores the island of Númenor and mainland Middle-earth during the Second Age.
Published on 20 November 2024.
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Mapping Arda, Part II: Travels through Beleriand by Anérea, Dawn Felagund
A series of articles featuring fan-made maps of all the lands of Arda. Part II explores various aspects of Beleriand.
Published on 1 December 2023.
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Mapping Arda, Part I: Terraforming by Anérea
A series of articles featuring fan-made maps of all the lands of Arda. Part I looks at diagrams of the shape of Arda as well as maps of the earliest years and the lands of Aman.
Published on 20 June 2023.
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Doom and Ascent: The Argument of ‘Beowulf: the Monsters and the Critics’ by Simon J. Cook
Simon reads 'Beowulf: the Monsters and the Critics' to conclude his account of the Anglo-Saxon tower of its allegory.
Published on 12 October 2024.
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The Curious Case of Peregrin Boffin by simon
This story was penned some years back as a way of marking the Peregrin Boffin of the 1939 drafts of The Lord of the Rings. Boffin was a Hobbit who walked to Moria but vanished from the story in summer 1940, when his character, Trotter, the Ranger met in Bree, became Aragorn, heir of Elendil.
Published on 8 December 2023.
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Why People Don't Comment: Data and History From the Tolkienfic Fandom by Dawn Walls-Thumma
A reworking of the 2018 article for Long Live Feedback that includes data from the 2020 Tolkien Fanfiction Survey, pointing to a lack of comments as related to skill, confidence, and community connection.
Published on 21 September 2024.
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Death, Grief, and the Other in the "Quenta Silmarillion" by Dawn Walls-Thumma
The narrator of the Quenta Silmarillion uses death, grief, and mourning rituals to generate sympathy for or dehumanize groups of characters considered the Other.
Published on 14 September 2024.
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Spiral Staircase by Simon J. Cook
The Anglo-Saxon poet looks on the sea from the highest point of the tower and then, without saying all that was seen, begins a descent. The way of the poem traces a spiral staircase. Ultimately, the plan of this staircase follows an Elvish design. The staircase is a picture of the descent of mortal generations in history, drawn from the perspective of those who do not die.
Published on 5 September 2024.
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Straight Road by Simon J. Cook
The Fall of Númenor offers the evidence used to arrive at Tolkien's reading of the exordium to Beowulf.
Published on 10 August 2024.
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Fandom Voices: Comments and Feedback by Dawn Walls-Thumma
Over thirty people contributed their thoughts on the experience of leaving and receiving feedback on fanworks. Emotions run high on all sides, but community and connections emerge as factors that promote feedback while easing its difficulties for readers and viewers.
Published on 3 August 2024.
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Fandom Voices: Using Fanon in Fanworks by Dawn Walls-Thumma
Sixteen Tolkien fans contributed their definitions of and experiences with fanon or fan-generated theories about the legendarium.
Published on 17 November 2023.
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Fandom Chocolate … or Authors Love Comments by Dawn Walls-Thumma
Tolkien Fanfiction Survey data shows that authors view comments as driving their motivation to create fanfiction. However, perception of comments by authors is part of a larger shift in fandom around how and how often fans interact with each other.
Published on 6 July 2024.
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Passing Ships by Simon J. Cook
The arrival and departure of ships across the Great Sea carries mythic significance for the peoples of Middle-earth. The image of ships crossing out of and back into a mysterious West appears as well in Beowulf and is alluded to in Tolkien's tower analogy in his lecture "Beowulf: The Monsters and the Critics," where the tower allows those who climb it to observe the passage of the ships.
Published on 20 June 2024.
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