Welcome to the Silmarillion Writers' Guild

New Challenge: Gates of Summer. Choose a summer-related prompt or prompts from a collection of quotes and events from Tolkien's canon and his life.
Mereth Aderthad Interview: Interview with Varda delle Stelle by Shadow. Varda delle Stelle is the featured artist for cloudyhymn's Mereth Aderthad 2025 presentation "The Design of Dragons and the Doom of the Dwarves." Shadow spoke with Varda about her own connections to the earth and concepts in cloudyhymn's presentation, her creative process, and her hopes for her Mereth Aderthad paintings.
Mereth Aderthad Interview: Interview with Kai by Shadow. Kai is the featured artist for Maglor's Mereth Aderthad 2025 presentation, "Gil-galad was an Elven King: Kingship and Personhood in the last High King of the Noldor." Shadow spoke with Kai about his wide range of interests and inspirations in the legendarium and why Maglor's presentation so intrigued him that he finished the art for it the first night.
Mereth Aderthad Interview: Interview with Reese by Dawn. Reese is the featured author for polutropos's presentation "'Kidnap Fam' and the Living Legendarium" at Mereth Aderthad 2025. Dawn spoke with reese about the silences storytellers leave, mythology, and the appeal of alternate universe fanfiction.
Mereth Aderthad Interview: Interview with Dawn Felagund by Shadow. In our series of interviews of creators for Mereth Aderthad, Shadow spoke with Dawn about her story, written for Savannah Horrell's "By Guile Committed: Comparing Tolkien’s Thieves to Beowulf" presentation, the balance of planning an event and creating for it at the same time, and the intersection of Tolkien and Beowulf.
Mereth Aderthad Interview: Interview with Cindy Gates by Grundy. Cindy Gates' upcoming Mereth Aderthad 2025 presentation "Tolkien, Lunatic Physicists, and Abnegation" considers the ethics of science in the legendarium. Grundy spoke with Cindy about her research, her own experience as a professional scientist, and her long-running fascination with the Manhattan Project.
Mereth Aderthad 2025: Program Posted. Check out our schedule of presentations and fanworks, as well as featured artists for Mereth Aderthad 2025! Registration for in-person and virtual attendance is now open.
Character of the Month: Vidumavi of the Northmen. A seemingly minor character, Vidumavi's story illustrates the themes of fellowship, the fading of faerie, and the dangers of racial hierarchy.
Tolkien Fanartics: Mapping Arda - The Second Age. In the third part of the Mapping Arda series, Anérea and Varda delle Stelle present a selection of fan-created maps of the lands of the Second Age.

Latest News

Registration for Mereth Aderthad 2025 is open! Register here!

New Challenge: Gates of Summer
Choose a summer-related prompt or prompts from a collection of quotes and events from Tolkien's canon and his life.

Mereth Aderthad Interview: Interview with Varda delle Stelle by Shadow
Varda delle Stelle is the featured artist for cloudyhymn's Mereth Aderthad 2025 presentation "The Design of Dragons and the Doom of the Dwarves." Shadow spoke with Varda about her own connections to the earth and concepts in cloudyhymn's presentation, her creative process, and her hopes for her Mereth Aderthad paintings.

Mereth Aderthad Interview: Interview with Kai by Shadow
Kai is the featured artist for Maglor's Mereth Aderthad 2025 presentation, "Gil-galad was an Elven King: Kingship and Personhood in the last High King of the Noldor." Shadow spoke with Kai about his wide range of interests and inspirations in the legendarium and why Maglor's presentation so intrigued him that he finished the art for it the first night.

Newest Fanworks

to taste you like the sun by queerofthedagger


“Have you ever kissed anyone?”


Findekáno stills, and finally looks at Maitimo. Finds him already staring back, unflinching and—hungry, almost, Findekáno would call it, if he did not know better.


“I have not,” he says, his heart hammering madly inside his rib cage. Still, he adds, all bravado, “Why? Have you?”

She Hath My Love (Drabbles about Women) by Elrond's Library

A collection of drabbles about women in Tolkien's Legendarium. 

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 shores and the cliffs and the sandy beaches.

Star in the Darkness by StarSpray

Now a great crowd of spirits, both Elves and lingering Men, were gathered before the newest tapestry as it fell open down the wall, luminous, gold and silver threads glittering in the pale light of Mandos.

Banked Fires Blaze by Chestnut_pod

What is it to be made for a kinder world?

New in References

So You Want to Present at a Tolkien Conference? Giving the Presentation by SWG Newsletter Staff

Video and materials from our session on how to give a presentation at a Tolkien conference. The session covers how to practice, plan, and prepare for the presentation; what to expect on the day of the presentation; tips for participating in the Q&A; and how to plan ahead for common worries and mishaps.

Interview with fish by Shadow by fish, daughterofshadows

Fish is the featured artist for Stella's Mereth Aderthad 2025 presentation "Cherished antagonist, despised protagonist - a defence of Elu Thingol." Shadow spoke with fish about his creative process, the importance of both tragedy and eucatastrophe to Tolkien's works, and the appeal of "greyness" in Silmarillion characters like Elu Thingol.

Interview with Varda delle Stelle by Shadow by Varda delle Stelle, daughterofshadows

As the featured artist for cloudyhymn's Mereth Aderthad 2025 presentation "The Design of Dragons and the Doom of the Dwarves," Varda delle Stelle describes her idea for this presentation as springing fully formed as Athena from Zeus's head. Varda chatted with Shadow about what drew her to this presentation, her approach to…

Newest Artwork

A Bedu Hobbit tent-hole by Anérea

A Hobbit home in the desert of Harad

Rating: General
Warnings: No warnings listed

Eärendil in the Bay of Eldamar by Varda delle Stelle

Eärendil on Vingilótë arrives in the Bay of Eldamar; in the bottom right corner it says: "Vingilótë" and "Aiya Eärendil Elenion Ancalima!" 

Rating: General
Warnings: No warnings listed

Varda delle Stelle by Varda delle Stelle

Portrait of Varda Elentari

Rating: General
Warnings: No warnings listed

Around the World and Web

Teitho June/July Challenge: Inheritance
The theme for the June/July Teitho challenge is "inheritance."

Kidnap Fam Survey
Polutropos is collecting survey data as part of her research on the "Living Legendarium", i.e., how the legends of Arda, from their earliest drafts by Tolkien to the posthumously published Silmarillion edited by Christopher Tolkien to the creative engagements by fans, are inherently indeterminate and mutable, inviting many and diverse interpretations.

Tolkien Native Language Appreciation Fest 2025
This Tumblr event aims to celebrate the diversity in the Tolkien fandom by giving all creators a chance to use their creativity to explore and experiment with all languages.