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.
SWG News
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?
Beta-Reader List Now Available
The beta-reader list and profiles have been moved into our new system and are available again.
New & Updated Fanworks
[Writing] No Time Have I by Flora-lass
A Silmarillion acrostic.
[Writing] I called it Fate that I should fail by AdmirableMonster
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…
[Writing] All of you by chrissystriped
Elrond and Celebrían celebrate their anniversary with their family.
[Writing] Lament for the Singer by daughterofshadows
A short thing about Maglor, death and grieving.
[Writing] Cosmological Poems of Arda by AaronAzrael
I would like to share my revelations of Tolkien's Universe in the form of narrative and emotional poems.
[Writing] Eä's Redemption by AaronAzrael
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…
[Artwork] Map of Valinor by Aprilertuile
My newly drawn map of Aman, as complete as I could make it.
Current Challenge
Bollywood
Prompts this month are films, songs, and tropes from India's dazzling film industry, Bollywood. Read more ...
Random Challenge
Season's Greetings
Create a fanwork in which one (or several) of the holidays of Middle-earth plays a role. Read more ...
New in References
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.
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.
Fanfiction and the Serious Business of Writer's Craft by Dawn Walls-Thumma
[]Tolkien Fanfiction Survey data shows that while most authors self-identify as taking their craft seriously, a growing subset of authors may be pushing that norm.
Beyond the Silmarillion
[Writing] Staging a Battle by StarSpray
[]He and Diamond were visiting, though Pippin had been disappearing every afternoon, and taking Frodo and Elanor and most other lads and lasses in the neighborhood with him—though why they couldn’t use Pippin’s own pony, Sam couldn’t imagine.
[Writing] From whose bourn no traveller returns by losselen
[]So gathered they were to Bree, what lieutenants who could be spared, from their scattered watches west and east, for their chieftain had returned from his long sojourn in lands godless and mountains strange.
Aragorn returns from the South to tells his tales. Halbarad listens.
[Writing] Sand Sorcery by StarSpray
[]It is well known that Psamathos does not leave his cove. He does not like to get his feet wet, and prefers to spend his days dozing under the sun.
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.
Elrond Week 2024
Elrond Week is a fandom event dedicated to Elrond Peredhel that will run from July 10th to July 16th on Tumblr.
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.
Fanworks Tagged with Idril
We'll dance among the stars by daughterofshadows
We spend some time with our friends from Gondolin, learn about Nellas and Galdor's relationship in this universe and do a lot of worldbuilding.
In After Days by StarSpray
Something out near the entrance to the bay caught his eye. It was a small, dark shape on the water, slowly growing larger. As it passed into Eldamar out of Belegaer, Eärendil felt his breath catch. “Elwing,” he said.
“I see it.” She leaned farther out of the window, as though those few inches might grant her a better look. She had one hand raised to shield her eyes from the sun’s glare. “It looks like—”
“Yes, but it can’t be.”
The Time of Moths and Warm Evenings by Maggie Honeybite
Voronwë leads Tuor across Beleriand and into Gondolin, and then faithfully serves and protects him and his family through all that follows. Which is just the natural order of things, isn’t it? All part of Ulmo’s grand plan, nothing much to see here, move along. Right? One day Tuor begins to suspect there might be more to it.
Find Your Way Home by sabcatt
Idril loves Maeglin. He knows this is true, because she tells him it is. He loves her, too.
Carved in Bone by Maggie Honeybite
Elenwë tries to protect her daughter. A story about the connection between mothers and daughters which neither time nor distance (or death) can erase.
The Crow and the Swan by SonOfMandos
Tuor came to the Hidden City with a message from the Lord of the Seas. He urges the King to flee, but to avail. Confined, he despairs. He crosses paths with Maeglin, the prince who wishes to elope from these immaculate walls. A story of the inevitable battle against fate, and of freedom. Maeglin/Tuor
Restoration and Rebuilding Instadrabbling by Lindariel
Instadrabbles from the sessions on the SWG Discord server, 20-21 August 2022
Same Shade of Gold by Maggie Honeybite
Turgon loves Elenwë. Finrod loves Turgon. Elenwë is pushed to the brink by the strain of the Helcaraxë. There are strange things done in the land of no sun by the Elves with hair of gold… A love story with a ghostly twist.
(podfic) Who You Are To Me by Anérea
The White Lady of the Noldor, seen by some of those who loved her best.
(Podfic of a triple drabble by Melesta)
Maeglin's Choice by chrissystriped
After his release from Angband, Maeglin confides in Rog and events take a better turn.
He'll Knock Next Time by Grundy
Turgon interrupted something. Drabble written for the Dear Irmo challenge, inspired by the "Now You've Spoiled the Cheese ..." prompt.
Olympics 2021 Instadrabbling by Lindariel
Instadrabbles from the SWG Discord server sessions on 31 July-1 August 2021, with Olympics-flavored prompts.
[podfic] The foam like flowers on the shore by Chestnut_pod
They have no choice but to build a life together.
Idril Celebrindal by Lindariel
Idril Celebrindal's footprint in the canon is light and hard to discern beyond the bare bones given in The Silmarillion and The Fall of Gondolin, yet she exists at the epicenter of the most ancient and shifting ground of Tolkien's entire legendarium.
[podfic] How far can you carry this? by Chestnut_pod
They make mountains upon the beach from sand and pebbles, because all Eärendil’s memories are of cold and pale walls of stone and walking for ever and ever.
When Elwing thinks of home it is dark forests and damp loam beneath her feet and running and stopping and hiding and running again, like rabbits.
Our little song by Leithriel
Just a collection of stories about my favorite characters/ships in Silmarillion
Tales of the Hidden City by Kenaz
Stories of Gondolin. This series began as a response to the Fanfic100 challenge on Livejournal, but 100 stories remains quite an ambitious number! These are very short stories-- ficlets, if you will-- about Gondolin and its denizens. Content runs the gamut from All Ages-rated genfic to explicit slash. Content warnings will be provided for each story.
Maitimo and Findekáno by oshun
Stories written within the same universe and story arc. The featured characters are Fingon and Maedhros but also includes at various points most of the Finweans and their descendants. (Many, but far from all, of these stories include mature themes. Please see individual stories for ratings.)
My Preciousssss Mary Sues by whitewave
The main theme of the Non-Canon stories here will be Humor/Parody, bordering on the "Heretic". Please do not read if you are easily offended by these contents.
All stories will contain much adult language, innuendo, nudity, suggestive/compromising positions, and many embarassing situations for the characters, especially the Fëanorions and Mary Sue.
The Maeglin Stories by Ithilwen
A set of three tales covering the life of that darkest of Elves, Maeglin
Series: Balar fics by Keiliss
Mainly about Gil-galad :)
Code Red by Scribe of Mirrormere
Aredhel runs into trouble after leaving Gondolin. Luckily, she is prepared. The Walking Dead fusion/zombie AU.
Bloody Silmarils - Series by Dilly
In Gondolin, Turgon is depressed...
Midwinter 2020 Instadrabbling by Lindariel
From the Discord server sessions on 27 December 2020.
