Choose a Name for Our New Column!
Our temporarily titled "location bio" will focus on the landscapes and locations of Middle-earth. We need your help naming it!
SWG News
New Challenge: Tengwar
Each day for thirty-six days, we feature a randomly chosen letter from the Tengwar as a prompt.
A Sense of History: Crossroads
In the ongoing series on towers in Tolkien's work, a thread runs through "The Lord of the Rings," revealing the divine assistance of Varda in the travails of the Fellowship.
Cultus Dispatches: Canon Deviations, Multifandoms, and Original Content
Tolkien Fanfiction Survey data gives some insight into what connections, if any, exist between fanfiction and original fiction.
New & Updated Fanworks
[Writing] Tengwar: To The Letter by cuarthol
For the Tengwar prompt challenge. To be updated as new prompts are completed.
Current up through 'Malta'
[Writing] I Stood Aside by Flora-lass
Maedhros' horror at the burning of the ships. Inspired by a painting (see notes).
[Reference] Thálatta! Thálatta! by Simon J. Cook
While he never climbs the stairs of this Elf-tower, in Lothlórien Frodo Baggins descends a flight of steps to look into Galadriel’s Mirror, wherein he first sees the sea. This post examines the view.
[Writing] Words of Wisdom by AdmirableMonster
One or more drabbles about Pengolodh and his babysitter Salgant.
[Writing] Les Mots de Sagesse by AdmirableMonster
Plusieurs petites histoires qui parle de Pengolodh et Salgant pendant des moments differents.
[Writing] "Tengwar" ficlets by chrissystriped
Fics written for the "Tengwar" challenge.
Current Challenge
Tengwar
A daily prompt of a Tengwar letter per day. Read more ...
Random Challenge
Archetypes
Prompts for this Matryoshka challenge are based on the archetypes that pepper myths, legends, and literature found around the world. Read more ...
New in References
Thálatta! Thálatta! by Simon J. Cook
[]While he never climbs the stairs of this Elf-tower, in Lothlórien Frodo Baggins descends a flight of steps to look into Galadriel’s Mirror, wherein he first sees the sea. This post examines the view.
[]
With Gildor Inglorion we finally climb the stairs of Elostirion and look on the view, and what we see appears to reveal a hidden thread in the story of Frodo Baggins. This post reads two annotated translations of two Elvish songs to step through a crossroads in the narrative to arrive at the tower on the margin of the story, wherein is a stone that is a window onto Valinor.
Grief, Grieving, and Permission to Mourn in the "Quenta Silmarillion" by Dawn Walls-Thumma
[]In a book as full of death as the Quenta Silmarillion, grief and mourning are surprisingly absent. The characters who receive grief and mourning—and those who don't—appear to do so due to narrative bias. Grief and mourning (or a lack of them) serve to draw attention toward and away from objectionable actions committed by characters.
Beyond the Silmarillion
[Writing] Waybread (The Waybredlik) by Himring
[]Lembas speaks out.
[Series] Apr 1st Stories by Uvatha the Horseman
[]Once a year on April 1st, a canon character from LOTR or the Silmarillion gets pranked.
[Writing] Crossing Forest River by Dawn Felagund
[]Bilbo recounts, in verse, the attempt of Gandalf, Beorn, and him to cross the Forest River after the Battle of Five Armies. Written for the Hungarian Tolkien Society's 2024 Mailing Competition.
Around the World and Web
Monstrous May 2024
Monstrous May is a Tumblr event where, for each day of the month of May, there is a prompt involving and invoking the monstrous.
Fellowship of the Fics: Modern AU May
During May, Fellowship of the Fics offers modern AU prompt lists for setting, character occupation, and dialogue on Tumblr.
May challenge at tolkienshortfanworks
The May challenge has been posted to the tolkienshortfanworks community on Dreamwidth. Thematic challenge: name; formal challenge: acrostic. As usual, these can be filled independently and freely combined with other prompts such as the SWG challenges. New participants welcome!
May 2024 Calls for Papers
Conferences and publications that have open calls for papers in May 2024.
Angbang Week 2024
All new, unpublished fanworks about the Angbang (Melron) ship are welcome during this Tumblr event, running 6-12 May 2024.
Fanworks Tagged with Fandom Culture
Beyond Borders: Canon Deviations, Multifandoms, and Original Content by Dawn Felagund
Data from the 2015 and 2020 Tolkien Fanfiction Surveys shows to what extent Tolkien fanfiction writers push beyond the canon and toward or into the realm of originality, as well as whether trends exist in among the various ways authors venture beyond the borders of Middle-earth.
10 Important Moments in Tolkien Fanfiction History by Dawn Felagund
From the appearance of the first Tolkien fanfics in 1960 to the latest appreciation months, Tolkien fanfiction has weathered changes great and small—and has persisted, changed, and grown.
Things Tolkien Fanfiction Readers and Writers Like to Do (Other Than Fanfiction) by Dawn Felagund
Tolkien fanfiction writers and readers are involved in fandom in ways other than fanfiction. What else do they do and what patterns can we find in their preferences, using Tolkien Fanfiction Survey data?
Duel of Surveys: Comparing Tolkien Fanfiction and OTW Survey Data by Dawn Felagund
A (rough!) comparison of the Tolkien Fanfiction and OTW 16th Anniversary Surveys, looking at time active in fandom, attendance at fan conventions, and platform use.
Fandom Voices: Using Fanon in Fanworks by SWG Moderators
Sixteen Tolkien fans contributed their definitions of and experiences with fanon or fan-generated theories about the legendarium.
Theorycrafting: Interview with Scedasticity of the "Silmarillion Headcanon Survey" by Dawn Felagund
The Silmarillion Headcanon Survey is a sprawling project that seeks to document where fans fall on various fan theories. Lead researcher Scedasticity discusses its inspiration, what it shows of the fandom, and what lies ahead for the project.
Talking amongst Ourselves: Tolkien Fanfiction and Fanon by Dawn Felagund
Fan-generated details and theories, also called fanon, are a conversation among fans about Tolkien's world. Although fanon has a fraught history in many corners of the fandom, it is growing in acceptance.
Tolkien, His Gnarly Canon, and His Authority by Dawn Felagund
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.
Affirmational Fandom, Transformational Fandom, and Two Old Tolkien Fanfics by Dawn Felagund
The two oldest known Tolkien-based fanfiction works illustrate the concepts of transformational and affirmational fandom and how both approaches are vital to Tolkien fanworks fandom.
Fandom Voices: Defining Canon and Using Canon in Fanworks by Dawn Felagund
Fan responses show how complex is the understanding of the concept of "canon" within the Tolkien fandom. The first part analyzes responses around how fans navigate the complicated issue of Tolkien's canon. Update: Added responses from three additional fans.
Who Gets to Say? Canon and Authority by Dawn Felagund
Tolkien Fanfiction Survey data shows that, when considering who has the authority to define that ever-elusive concept of canon in the Tolkien fandom, fanfiction authors navigate this question in various ways.
Femslash Is a Political Act (and Other Observations of Tolkien Fandom's Genre Non Grata) by Dawn Felagund
Tolkien Fanfiction Survey data shows that femslash—the Tolkien fandom's youngest genre—has grown in popularity with readers, while authors may use it to share and reflect on experiences of marginalization.
"Promote What You Love": An Interview with Elleth by Elleth, Dawn Felagund
After discovering an interest in female characters and femslash, Elleth used her enthusiasm for these fanworks to run multiple events that helped the Tolkien fandom undergo its transformation from dismissal of women characters to accepting and even celebrating fanworks about them.
Writing Women in Tolkien Fanfiction: An Analysis of the Data by Dawn Felagund
Data from the Tolkien Fanfiction Surveys shows how time, demographics, and platform choice influence how fanfiction authors regard writing about women.
Fandom Voices: Filmverse Fans by Dawn Felagund
Fans who joined the Tolkien fandom because of the films report that the films inspired them to read the books, encouraged them to join fandom communities, and often resulted in forming lifelong friendships.
Fandom Voices: Impact of the Films by Dawn Felagund
The Tolkien fandom existed long before Jackson's film trilogies were even thought about. Fans who were active in fandom before one or both film trilogies recall how the films changed (or didn't change) their fan communities and experiences.
Women Find a Room of Their Own in Tolkien Fanfiction by oshun
As a genre belonging almost exclusively to women, fanfiction creates a "room of their own," apart from mainstream publishing that is often hostile to women, for women authors to critically and creatively explore ideas in popular texts and, in the style of Tolkien, create new mythologies that appeal to them.
The Perfect Girl: An Exploration of the Hidden and Dynamic World of Fan Fiction by Nikara
An analysis of the fan fiction phenomenon of "Mary Sue" and readers' reactions to this controversial fanfic archetype.
