10th Birthday Celebration

SWG 10th birthday card showing the Feanorians celebrating with a cake, by Lyra

Happy 10th Birthday, SWG!

It is our 10th birthday, and we are pleased to announce a few gifts we've put together in true Tolkienian style for the fandom!

Send a Birthday Card!

Much of fandom is collective and collaborative. Whether working with a beta or coauthor, commenting on the work of a favorite author or artist, or collaborating to run fandom websites or events, few of us act alone in the fannish sphere. Our birthday card project is a way, during the month of our 10th birthday, to show your appreciation for the people who make your fannish experience enjoyable. Choose from over 100 beautiful digital cards to send to the SWG member of your choice with a customized message. We are compiling albums of cards that we will send to recipients on August 1.

Silmfic Prompt Generator

Have you ever been in the mood to write, but you're not sure what to work on? Are you an author or artist who delights in challenges or swaps to push your boundaries? Do you want to try something new but aren't quite sure what?

The moderators of the SWG have collaborated to create a random Silmfic prompt generator. Containing ten different categories--one for each year of the group's existence--the generator allows you to roll one or roll them all. (Trust us: rolling them all gets pretty wild pretty fast!) You can reroll as many times as you would like, so if you get one of our scarily obscure options (and they are in there!) or an impossible combination, you can keep rolling until you produce a combination that screams, "WRITE ME!!"

Writing Contest and Prize Drawing

Now we can hardly unveil this new gizmo without encouraging people to use it. During the month of July, we encourage our members to play with the prompt generator and create fanworks based on it. On August 16, we will be holding a drawing for anyone who participates to win some Silmarillion-themed prizes.

10th Birthday Prize Drawing Rules
  1. All stories written using the Silmfic prompt generator between July 1 and August 15, 2015, are eligible for the drawing.
  2. In order to be eligible, stories created for the contest must
    • be posted to the SWG archive at silmarillionwritersguild.org. Stories posted to our LiveJournal, Dreamwidth, Yahoo! or Tumblr groups are not eligible.
    • select 10th Birthday Celebration Contest from the Challenges list. Please note that there is also a 10th Birthday Celebration NO CONTEST option for those who wish to write using the generator in honor of our birthday but don't want to be entered in the drawing; make sure you select the correct challenge.
    • list the prompts you used to create the story in the Story Notes or Chapter Notes.
  3. You can roll for just one category or all ten. You can reroll in a category if you want to, so if you end up with an impossible prompt or something you're just not comfortable writing, feel free to try again. And again and again. (Seriously, we have no idea if and how many times you reroll! Have fun with it!)
  4. Each story posted will result in one entry into the drawing. (So if you post five stories, you will have five entries into the drawing.)
  5. Each participant is eligible to win only once.
  6. If you win, you must be willing to provide a mailing address for us to send your prize to you.
  7. If you post an entry as part of an existing collection, please make sure to select 10th Birthday Celebration Contest from the challenges list and identify the prompts you used in the chapter notes for the piece or pieces that you are entering. This is how our mods will know from the table of contents of your collection which pieces in the collection are being entered, so it is important to place the prompts in the correct location.
  8. You can add a chapter to an existing work-in-progress using the prompt generator. Again, make sure to select the correct challenge and include your prompts in the chapter notes for the chapter(s) you are entering.
  9. The contest begins July 1 and ends on August 15 at midnight Eastern Daylight Time (EDT). We will draw winners on August 16. Winners will be notified at the email address they have listed on the SWG archive, so please make sure this is correct if you are participating. If we do not hear back within a week, we will re-draw a new winner. If you expect to be offline during the week after the drawing, please let us know ahead of time so that we do not give away your prize if you win and cannot respond within a week.
Prizes

There are three prizes as follows:

  • A book set, including a 1st edition copy of The Silmarillion, Perilous and Fair: Women in the Works and Life of J. R. R. Tolkien (essay collection, edited by Janet Brennan Croft), and The Road to Middle-earth by Tom Shippey.
  • Your choice of a print by Tolkien fan artist and professional illustrator Jenny Dolfen, signed by the artist.
  • A vintage, hard-to-find jigsaw puzzle (500 pieces) featuring an illustration from Tolkien's Father Christmas Letters.

 

Artwork and banner by Lyra and used with permission.

 

This challenge opened in .

Fanworks Tagged with 10th Birthday Celebration

This is a Writing fanwork

A Brief Early History of Avant-Garde Textile Art by zopyrus

Vairë the Weaver had several tapestry projects going at once, and Míriel Serindë disappeared from them all at the same time.

Fanwork Information and Table of Contents

This is a Writing fanwork

Thralldom and Pearls by LadyBrooke

She is just a servant, and her lover can't be a thrall - for why would Morgoth want such an unimportant person as one?

 

 

Fanwork Information and Table of Contents

This is a Writing fanwork

A Curse of Death by LadyBrooke

This was supposed to be a birth, and Denethor’s wife is dying.

And from this, he wonders if he cursed his family for the remaining ages of the world.

Fanwork Information and Table of Contents

This is a Writing fanwork

Walls of Night by LadyBrooke

Celegorm knows the Sinda has no real power to do anything to them.

If it wasn't for his brothers trembling next to him, and the Sinda smirking, he would be utterly convince this was a dream. Afterall, that made more sense than a Sinda somehow dragging their souls along with his to this cursed place.

 

Mild violence warning for mention (and description) of future Silm events.

Fanwork Information and Table of Contents

This is a Writing fanwork

The Night the Wolves Were Silent by Lingwiloke

Elrond, and a quiet night at the conclusion of the War of Wrath.

Fanwork Information and Table of Contents

This is a Writing fanwork

Into the Darkness They Go by Elwin Fortuna

Aranwë paints a significant scene in the history of the Noldor.

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This is a Writing fanwork

My Dear Finduilas by Luxa

I write you this letter in hopes that I have not forgotten the words to do so.

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This is a Writing fanwork

Cousinly Bonding by Klose

While on a family holiday in Balar, Idril has a beachside chat with Gil-galad about their family. 

Fanwork Information and Table of Contents

This is a Writing fanwork

Pretty Carvings by Luxa

“I am my people, Caranthir.” Haleth doesn't trust most Elves, but she trusts this one enough to show him their culture.

Fanwork Information and Table of Contents

This is a Writing fanwork

Three Letters by Talullah

Three letters Almarian receives from the men in her life.

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This is a Writing fanwork

What Is Love? by just_jenni

Earwen has an idea to help Nerdanel recover from her grief over Feanor's demise.

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This is a Writing fanwork

Skin by Scribe of Mirrormere

During a visit in Doriath, Aredhel and Eöl get caught up in a trivial argument.

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This is a Writing fanwork

The Coming Flood by Luxa

Two women stand as the funeral procession of everyone they've ever known rolls by and they hold hands. The Valar have much to pay for. Amarië/Elenwë, modern AU dystopia.

Fanwork Information and Table of Contents

This is a Writing fanwork

Arátellë by Scribe of Mirrormere

Aredhel’s experience in Alqualondë.

“I shall be known by no other name than Arátellë,” she told Turukáno.

Fanwork Information and Table of Contents

This is a Writing fanwork

Fight to the End by just_jenni

For the SWG Tenth Birthday Challenge.

Prompt Generator:

Form/Genre: Guyslash

Theme: Chaos vs Order

Quotes: "If they will not depart we shall afflict them in all ways that we can".

Event: Beren and Luthien fight against Celegorm and Curufin

Rating: R

Warnings: Non-explicit non-con.

 

A twist to the Beren, Luthien, Celegorm and Curufin story.

Fanwork Information and Table of Contents

This is a Writing fanwork

Motherhood by lindahoyland

Galadriel becomes a mother.

A drabble.

Fanwork Information and Table of Contents

This is a Writing fanwork

The Curse by Robinka

A True Blood/The Silmarillion crossover fic written for the 10th Birthday Celebration Contest. It is not entirely serious, you get the idea.

Fanwork Information and Table of Contents

This is a Writing fanwork

Whispers by Luxa

Betrayal, the Dark One had told him. He cannot work through it, not when the wind blows through soft drapes while his mind screams.

Fanwork Information and Table of Contents

This is a Writing fanwork

Shadows by Luxa

Who are you, Celebrimbor?

Fanwork Information and Table of Contents

This is a Writing fanwork

Rise Like the Break of Dawn by Elwin Fortuna

Lalwen witnesses the Nirnaeth Arnoediad and leads as many as she can to safety in its aftermath.

Fanwork Information and Table of Contents

This is a Writing fanwork

Save The World by Elwin Fortuna

Nimloth is on her way to visit Luthien. She's caught in a summer mist and hears a beautiful voice singing. Who will she meet?

Fanwork Information and Table of Contents

This is a Writing fanwork

the wise & the lovely by Agelast

Galadriel takes care of an unwanted suitor in her own inimitable way. 

 

Fanwork Information and Table of Contents

This is a Writing fanwork

In His Absence by Elleth

After the Nirnaeth Arnoediad and its losses, two desperately lonely people find comfort with each other.

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This is a Writing fanwork

Guess Who's Coming to Dinner by oshun

It’s a Years of the Trees’ story of Finrod and Amarië as young lovers, long before the rebellion of the Noldor separates them.

Fanwork Information and Table of Contents

This is a Writing fanwork

Half Past Ten in the Rose Garden by grey_gazania

Caranthir discovers that this romance thing is a lot harder than it looks.

Fanwork Information and Table of Contents