Akallabêth in August 2009
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Project Description
Every August, we focus on the Second Age, turning the spotlight on the many talented Second-Age authors in our group and encouraging others to reread the Akallabêth and possibly try writing a story about it. This year, we want to do a bit more for Akallabêth in August, and we need your help. We will be putting together a month-long "retelling" of the Akallabêth in the form of stories, poems, ficlets, and artwork focused on the history and events of the Second Age, and we need writers and artists who would be willing to create a work to contribute to this project.
But what if I don't know much about the Second Age? I haven't read the Akallabêth in ... Wow, I can't even remember how long!
What a better way to learn than to revisit this important book in The Silmarillion and write from the perspective of a new character! You do not need to be a Second-Age expert to contribute to this project.
What if I've already written a story about the Akallabêth? Can I contribute my story to the project?
Usually, for projects such as this, we accept works that have been posted or published online already. This time, however, we would like only works that have never been publicly posted online before. Participants are welcome to create a new story, poem, ficlet, or artwork for the topic they have chosen or, if they have a work that has not been put online before, to contribute that piece to the project.
For this reason as well, we ask that participants refrain from publicly sharing their work until it has been published as part of the event. After that, of course, you are free to put it wherever you'd like on the Internet!
Authors who work with beta-readers or writing groups are welcome to do so as long as the work is not publicly posted before the date that it is "revealed" as part of the Akallabêth in August project.
As always, we will also spotlight the existing Second-Age work in our archive to highlight the talents and achievements our authors have shared here so far.
I love the Second Age, but I'm afraid I'm just not cut out for rehashing the texts. I have my own verse and my own OCs and my own quirky way of looking at things.
This project is not intended as a substitution for or a "rehashing" of the published Akallabêth. We all own The Silmarillion and can read what Tolkien had to say about the Second Age if we want to. This project is meant to go beyond the published text to show the events of the Second Age from a variety of perspectives, illuminating characters, events, concepts, and cultures that are only sketched in the text. This is not a round-robin or collaborative writing exercise, although authors who wish to work together are welcome to do so. We will quite likely end up with conflicting views and characterizations, and that is fine: The opportunity to look at the Second Age from a variety of perspectives is one of our goals for the project.
Available Topics
In order that the final Akallabêth in August project covers the entire Akallabêth (versus focusing heavily on just a handful of popular events), to begin, we are asking for only one contribution per topic. If we get all or most of the topics claimed, we may accept multiple contributions for a topic.
Topics are assigned on a first-come-first-served basis. Therefore, if you want to contribute something for a topic, please contact us as soon as possible to claim your topic. We recommend that you choose three preferred topics and list them in order of preference; we're going to do our best to keep this list updated, but we are a volunteer-run group and can't guarantee up-to-the-minute accuracy of the list.
If you want to write about something that is not on the list, that is fine; just let us know a basic description of your subject so that we can place it roughly within the chronology. Likewise, if you wish to write only about a very specific event within a broader topic, please let us know so that we may keep divide the topic accordingly.
Following is an incomplete list of events from the Akallabêth. They are listed in chronological order based on the story as described in The Silmarillion. This list is intended only to help us arrange the stories in a chronological fashion when it comes time to post the final project. Choosing an event off the list for your topic does not mean that you are required to write about that event (although that is acceptable as well!); it only means that your story should fall around the time when that event occurred and, therefore, show something of what life was like at that period in history. For example, "granting of Númenor to the Edain by the Valar" might show the actual granting of Númenor to Elros. Or it might show that time from the point of view of an ordinary citizen of the Edain who will be journeying to Númenor or from the point of view of one of the Men who was left behind. It might show the debate of the Valar concerning this or the actual raising of the isle of Númenor or any other number of possibilities. If the item has a line through it, it has been claimed.
Please note that while any unclaimed events are still available, those in boldface are those for which we have the most dire need. We greatly appreciate anyone who is willing to claim one of these topics!
granting of Númenor to the Edain by the Valarjourney to and arrival at Númenorearly "golden" years of Númenor: friendship with Valar and Elves, increasing knowledge in craft and lore, et ceteraBan of the Valar- Númenoreans return to Middle-earth to teach the Men there
Sauron fortifies MordorNúmenoreans express first discontent with death, the "doom of Men"; Manwe sends messengers to Númenor- Tar-Ciryatan and Tar-Atanamir begin to extract tribute from Men of Middle-earth
- division of Númenorean people into King's Men and Elendili/Elf-friends
growing Númenorean obsession with death, longevity, and preservation- Númenoreans build settlements in southern Middle-earth and act as lords there
- Elf-friends continue to sail to the north and aid Gil-galad against Sauron
Sauron begins to afflict Númenorean settlements to the southAr-Gimilzor forbids the speaking of Elvish in Númenor and punishes friendship with the ElvesElves come in secret to Númenor; Ar-Gimilzor moves the Faithful to the east of NúmenorAr-Gimilzor marries Inzilbeth against her wishes and they have two sonsTar-Palantir ascends to the throne and attempts to correct the failings of his ancestors- The conquests of Pharazon
The death of Tar-PalantirPharazon marries Miriel against her will and the law and takes her thronecivil warAr-Pharazon "conquers" SauronSauron is taken to Númenor and becomes close to the KingAr-Pharazon begins to worship MelkorIsildur steals a single fruit from the White Tree- construction of Sauron's temple and the destruction of Nimloth
worship of and sacrifice to Melkor at ArmenelosNúmenoreans return to Middle-earth as conquerersSauron convinces Ar-Pharazon to break the Ban of the ValarAmandil sails west in secret and is never heard of again- the Faithful prepare to flee Númenor
warnings and fear come from the west: clouds, lightning, shipwrecks, et ceteraAr-Pharazon breaks the Ban of the Valarthe world is reshapedthe drowning of Númenor- Elendil and his sons are spared and driven into the east
Sauron returns to Mordorexplorers seek the Meneltarma and find the world to be roundthe Straight Road
Some final notes: The SWG's policy has been and always will be that all stories are welcome and equal. A strict and literal interpretation of the books is just as acceptable as a "heretical" one; het, slash, and general stories and all ratings are always welcome. We will not be including ratings and warnings on this project in the traditional sense; however, if a story contains enough violence, sex, or other content to earn it an Adult rating by the SWG's rating guidelines or contains any discussion of torture, rape, suicide, or incest, I will be marking it with a † so that readers who wish to avoid graphic or disturbing content may do so. As always, we ask our authors to judge the rating of their own work.
If you find that you will not be able to write for this project, please let me know as soon as possible so that I might try to find a substitute writer for your event.
The SWG obtains one-time publication rights for work submitted to projects like Akallabêth in August. What this means in plain English is that you are granting us permission to put your work up on our site for this single event. You will maintain all rights and copyrights to your work, including the right to have it edited or removed from the site at any time by contacting the SWG moderators. We ask that contributors to Akallabêth in August avoid publicly posting their work before it is revealed as part of the project; after that, of course, you are welcome and encouraged to post it wherever else you'd like. We also ask that authors consider their participation in the project before committing to it; if you do not expect that you will be happy having your story on the site in a year or ten year's time, please consider submitting to the regular challenge in August and not this project. Our volunteers put a lot of time into putting together projects like these, so we prefer work not be withdrawn after publication. Authors who make a habit of withdrawing work after publication as part of an event (i.e., not on the archive) may be asked not to participate in future events.
To claim your event, please contact us at moderator@silmarillionwritersguild.org. As always, questions about the project or any aspect of the SWG are welcomed here as well.
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