Around the World and Web includes announcements and items of interest from beyond the SWG.
Ainur Week 2026
Ainur Week will be returning from November 16 to 22, 2026.
Glorthelion Week 2026
𝐖𝐞𝐥𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐆𝐥𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐖𝐞𝐞𝐤 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟔
Hello everyone and welcome to another year of Glorthelion week! An entire week dedicated to Glorfindel and Ecthelion relationship.
The event will run on Tumblr from November 16th to November 22nd. All creations are welcome, as long as it is created by you. Don't forget to tag #glorthelionweek and mention the blog (to make sure I can see your creation in case tags don't work).
Prompts are not mandatory! You can follow them, be inspired by them or let your imagination go wild and create whatever you want! Event rules can be found here.
Prompts 2026:
↳ Day one: A Glance across the Square | The Bells of Festivals | Gifts of the Heart
↳ Day two: Words in the Dark | Following the Star | The Weight of the Sword
↳ Day three: Silver and Gold | Sun and Moon | The Roar of the Waterfall
↳ Day four: Silver Flutes | The Language of Flowers | Water Mirrors
↳ Day five: A Final Glance | Entrusted Secrets | "I will find you again"
↳ Day six: Ashes and Sorrow | Waiting in Mandos | Forever Changed
↳ Day seven: Beyond the Circles of the World | Constellations | The Promise Kept
Happy creating!
Nolofinwëan Week 2026
Nolofinwëan week welcomes fan creations centering any members of the House of Fingolfin and their descendants through the ages.
Nolofinwëan week welcomes fan creations centering any members of the House of Fingolfin and their descendants through the ages.
To Participate:
- Create fanfiction, fanart, headcanons, close readings and musings, moodboards, photography, rec lists or anything else that inspires you to celebrate Nolofinwëan characters.
- Mention the blog @nolofinweanweek in your post and include the hashtag #nolofinweanweek2025 in the first 10 tags.
- If you would like, add your work to the AO3 collection.
- Take inspiration from the nonmandatory daily prompts.
- Complete one or more of the community challenges.
Rules & Requirements:
- There are no minimum or maximum requirements; anything goes!
- There are no content restrictions or rules on tagging beyond what AO3 requires of you. If you post to tumblr and your fill is Mature or Explicit, and/or falls under one of AO3’s major warnings, please provide tagging on your post, though!
- That said, please refrain from using genAI.
- This fest operates firmly under the premises of ‘don’t like; don’t read,’ ‘ship and let ship’ and ‘your kink is not my kink but that’s okay’ (if you’re unfamiliar with these concepts, see this post). We will not tolerate any shaming, harassment, or attempts to police content.
The mod runs on CET, but folks can post content or interact with the blog at their convenient time.
All prompts are non-obligatory—feel free to interpret as loosely or closely, to cross-match, or to ignore altogether!
Day 1: It Was But a Dream
- Characters: Turgon, Anairë, Idril
- Silmarillion Phrase: “poured forth their joy in music and song”
- Inspirational art:
Amber Fort, Jaipur #1 Photograph by Inger Hogstrom
Day 2: Breath of Darkness
- Characters: Elenwë, Argon
- Silmarillion Phrase: “there was now no returning”
- Inspirational art:
The Night Is Stirring (Anger) by Zao Wou-Ki
Day 3: Light Splinters the Sky
- Characters: Eöl, Eärendil, Gil-galad
- Silmarillion Phrase: “as a naked flame”
- Inspirational art:
Day 4: Embraced in the Mist
- Characters: Fingon, Aredhel
- Silmarillion Phrase: “green things even among the pits and broken rocks”
- Inspirational art:
Shan-Shui style painting by Yang Tianyou
Day 5: Flames Arising in Might
- Characters: Fingolfin, Maeglin
- Silmarillion Phrase: “shadows of madness and despair”
- Inspirational art:
Burning the Slums of Nairobi by Kiure Francis Msangi
Day 6: The Sea’s Embrace
- Characters: Elros, Elwing, Tuor
- Silmarillion Phrase: “still hope may seem bright”
- Inspirational art:
Moon Trace Art Installation by Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts
Day 7: New Beginnings; Old Longings
- Characters: Elrond, Celebrían, Peredhil Descendants
- Silmarillion Phrase: “love would lead me”
- Inspirational art:
14th International Tolkien Mailing Competition
The Hungarian Tolkien Society invites you to join the international “Quendi” category of the Tolkien Mailing Competition: five rounds of quizzes, riddles and creative tasks. This category is organised in English, open to any individual participant, and also to teams of 2–5 people. The five rounds of the competition will last from November to April. Application deadline: 5 November, 2026.
The Tolkien Mailing Competition ("TLV" abbreviated from its Hungarian equivalent "Tolkien Levelező Verseny") takes place for the 21st time this year—and it is international for the 14th time. In the first years it was organised only in Hungarian, and only for groups of Hungarian students aged 10–18-years. As many people above this age group became interested in the competition, we launched a separate category for individuals in Hungarian, and at the same time we decided to go international. The outcome was definitely encouraging. In the past few years the international Quendi category had many participants (and for a while even an organiser) from various foreign countries: you can see here the final results of the previous competition.
(Click here for the Hungarian article about all categories.)
In the international Quendi category both the challenges and the communication will be entirely in English—but you don't have to be perfectly fluent in English for taking part in the competition. You only have to be able to understand the texts by Tolkien, and maybe to write a story or an essay—it does not have to be of academic level. The competition was originally devised for middle and high school students, and we did not make big changes in the style, but it is open to anybody who feels young enough for it. You can always choose to count your years by Elvish standards!
Participation in the Quendi category requires a thorough knowledge of The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion. Other works by Tolkien may be needed occasionally, as some questions (riddles, quizzes, etc.) can refer to those, but you will have about four weeks for each round, that is, plenty of time to look up in the books everything you might need.
Besides the quizzes, there will be creative challenges. For example, you may be asked to describe a situation, write a short poem, make a drawing or take a photograph, etc. We would like to be proud of our participants, so we ask you to share the rights of your creative productions royalty-free (and you accept this condition by your registration for the competition). Your works—with due credit to authors/artists—might be published by the Hungarian Tolkien Society, e.g. on our website, www.tolkien.hu, or in our journal, the Lassi Laurië. (You can read about Lassi Laurië in English here.) Please do not publish these works yourself without consulting us first, and especially not before the end of the competition. (Artwork submitted by teams is credited as teamwork by default, but you can add the name of the actual author/artist for each piece.)
You can participate in the Quendi category alone as an individual competitor, or you can participate as a member of a team of 2–5 people. The individual competitors and the teams will receive the same set of tasks, but the winner will be announced separately for individuals and teams.
As an individual competitor, you can make the decision to solve only the quizzes or only the creative tasks in each round: besides the absolute winners of the individual and team subcategories, the separate winners of the lexical and the creative parts will also be announced. This choice is only available for individual competitors, teams are expected to do the full version!
We will go on with the team competition only if we receive at least 5 applications from teams. If we have to cancel the team competition, team members will have the opportunity to compete on their own or to withdraw their application. There is also a maximum limit of 60 competitors (individuals and teams counted together) in the Quendi category (and we got quite close to this limit last year).
The contest starts in November and continues until April. Every month you will receive the questions of the next round (five rounds overall), and you will have to submit your solutions until the indicated deadline (you will have about four weeks for each round). Communication is done via e-mail. Our e-mail address is tlv[at]tolkien.hu: questions and comments are always welcome there. We are happy to answer all your questions about the competition—except disclosing the solutions of the actual tasks.
Not submitting your solutions for two consecutive rounds means quitting the competition.
There will be no prizes in the international category, only the public announcement of your achievement and a certificate sent by e-mail. There is no registration fee, either.
If you want to participate, please fill in this online registration form.
Registration as an individual competitor: choose the “I am competing alone.” option on the form.
Registration as a team: each team member should fill in a registration form separately, choose the “I am a member of a team of 2-5 people.” option, and provide the same team name. We also need a contact person for each team. Please agree on a unique team name and choose a contact person from the team before starting the registration.
You should see an automatic confirmation message after the successful registration, but if you are in doubt about the success of your registration, ask the organisers via e-mail whether they have received your registration or not! You should receive the first round of tasks during the week after the application deadline. If you do not receive it, write to us!
The application deadline is:
5 November, 2026
Tolkien Food Week 2026
Tolkien food week 2026 themes
2nd of November- Dùnedain travel food
3rd Nov- plant-based
4th Nov- hobbit hole recipes
5th Nov - Elven feasts
6th Nov - at the Prancing pony
7th Nov- Dwarven banquets
8th Nov - at the Valar's table 🦅
Fics, recipes, ficlets, art, photos, polls, crack... have fun
These are mere suggestions ofc, you absolutely can post when you want on theme or not 😉
(Headers/banners here if you want)
The White Oliphaunt 2026
Sign ups will open on November 1st, 2026. See the blog linked in this announcement for more details.
Around the World and Web Archive
Events listed here are no longer active but are listed on the site for historical purposes.
Esoteric Tolkien Week 2025
Mark your calendars one and all for the newest fandom event on the block - Esoteric Tolkien Week! This event is dedicated to the strange, inexplicable, fantastic, obscure, and uncanny in Middle-earth and beyond. It will run from July 13th to July 19th, 2025, and accepts all varieties of fanworks.
Inspirational prompts, as well as an ao3 collection, are forthcoming. Prompts will be out within the next two weeks; the collection will open somewhat closer to the event, most likely in May or June.
Event Guidelines
All types of fanworks are accepted as long as they are made by you - so no generative AI, please. NSFW creations are welcomed, though we do ask that you tag mindfully (e.g. indicate that the work is NSFW) and place explicit content under a readmore. Works can be in any language.
Be respectful of other participants. This event is meant to be a fun, inclusive space and is not a place to argue about interpretation or creative choice. If you don’t like something, we ask that you keep it to yourself and refrain from offering criticism unless the creator has specifically requested it.
Please include #esotolkienweek or #esotolkienweek2025 in the first few tags of your post and @ this blog somewhere in the post body. We want to make sure everyone has a chance to see your work! Late posts are perfectly fine and will still be reblogged, but we ask that you hold back from posting before the day of your chosen prompt(s). Tumblr can be tricksy, so in the case that your creation has not been reblogged here within 48 hours, please reach out through asks or messages.
This event aims to be supportive of all fans. Any form of bigotry, harassment, or hate will not be tolerated. We welcome creations that draw from a wide range of experiences and encourage you to do the same.
If you have any questions or concerns not covered here, feel free to reach out via the ask box.
Prompts
These prompts are for inspiration only - so feel free to mix and match, use them as a jumping-off point, or ignore them completely as you see fit.
Each prompt is composed of a place, an object, and an action. Choose one or two, combine them all, or work without them - whatever you do, we can't wait to see what you create!
July 13th - Day 1: Mountains & Valleys | Books & Maps | Climb
July 14th - Day 2: Seas | Treasures | Voyage
July 15th - Day 3: Forests | Crowns | Get Lost
July 16th - Day 4: Lakes & Rivers | Vessels | Sleep
July 17th - Day 5: Cities | Talismans | Beg
July 18th - Day 6: Temples | Clothing | Yearn
July 19th - Day 7: Plains | Songs & Legends | Leap
Teitho July/August Challenge: Heat
Our Challenge for July/August is HEAT.
How will you choose to interpret this prompt? Will you follow some hobbits in the high heat of summer days—to picnics, fruit picking, or dipping toes in the river?
Or will you give us stories that recall the scorching heat of dragon fire—in Beleriand, in Erebor, in Dale. Or Balrogs in battle?
What about the fiery heat in the depths of Mt. Doom? Or the great forges of Moria, Erebor, Gondolin, Rivendell?
There is heat in food—spices and tastes from distant lands.
Or the heat in a relationship, a love affair, an argument.
Or the simple heat of a fire and the company of loved ones.
We look forward to your stories and art for this prompt! Please submit to teitho.contest@gmail.com by August 31, 2025.
July challenge at tolkienshortfanworks (Dreamwidth)
The tolkienshortfanworks prompts for July have been posted to the Dreamwidth community.
The thematic challenge for this month is: flowing water.
Here is a choice of three quotation prompts, all taken from LOTR:
1)
They could hear few words, but it seemed plain to them that the song was a rain-song, as sweet as showers on dry hills, that told the tale of a river from the spring in the highlands to the Sea far below.
2)
For a moment Frodo stood near the brink and let the water flow over his tired feet. It was cold but its touch was clean, and as he went on and it mounted to his knees, he felt that the stain of travel and all weariness was washed from his limbs.
3)
The lights died down, and the glow of the trees faded; but outside under the arch they could see old Treebeard standing, motionless, with his arms raised above his head. The bright stars peered out of the sky, and lit the falling water as it spilled on to his fingers and head, and dripped, dripped, in hundreds of silver drops on to his feet.
The formal challenge this time is:
Write a concrete poem or shape poem that is in the shape of a drop of water or drops.
The simplest way to do that is to make your line lengths fill in the outline of the shape.
More details on the challenges at the linked entry
Sunshine Revival 2025
Come one, come all! Step right up to the very first Sunshine Revival challenge!
Is that popcorn and funnel cakes that I smell? And if you listen carefully you can hear the cheerful notes of the Calliope in the distance. You may have noticed we've got some summer carnival sounds and aromas in the air. Which is fitting, since that is our theme this year! Prompts will be inspired by elements of our summer carnival, but don't worry: the prompts themselves are very open-ended and you can write about whatever strikes your fancy.
The format of the Challenge posts will be a little new. Each challenge post will have two prompts: one will be for general journaling (for example, reflecting on personal experiences or sharing thoughts about a topic) and another will be asking you to create something (such as a written or visual work) based on a theme. You're welcome to choose one or both prompts and they are very flexible so if the prompt says "write a story" you can of course write a poem, share a plot bunny, make a mixtape, draw a picture, or do anything else you want; it's up to you how you want to participate!
Tyelkormo and Maitimo Week 2025
While attention is often paid to other Fëanorian relationships, the sibling relationship between Maedhros and Celegorm is extremely underrated. So what better way to shine some light on them but by starting a fandom event?
This event will be kicked off from the 4th-10th of July, and we would love to have you all participate in this event to celebrate these two cute lil bros!
Now, much like any of the other events, the rules are quite simple:
- Please be kind to each participant. Bullying ain't cool kiddos and will not be tolerated.
- Writings, drawings, headcanons, moodboards and any other way you amazingly creative people can find to show your brilliant minds are part of this challenge. Go nuts!
- Due to both @sadtimo and my own values, we will not be reblogging works containing sibling incest. Anyone is welcome to participate, and we both are thankful of you for respecting us as well.
- Please be mindful of the tagging, tw needed, and don't forget to mention us in your posts.(The blog username, but we try to keep up with personal mentions too). And just to make sure it will show up, you can use the tag #tm week. We'll be checking whatever comes up on the feed.
- The week is just a formality, so don't worry about submitting works after the deadline. We will be keeping up with them after the event is finished, and we will be giving shout-outs!
- Prompts and themes are just there to give you ideas. You don't need to follow them if you don't want to. I personally never do because forcing myself to write/draw a certain topic can never come out like my own moments of inspirations.
- Most importantly, just have fun!
Prompts
Day 1 (July 4th): Before the Darkness Came
Includes all works focusing on the pre-darkening era of Valinor. They can involve their childhood, teenage years or their lives as youths in Tirion and Formenos.
Day 2 (July 5th): Loyal Companions
Stories involving Tyelkormo and Maitimo and their pets or the animal companions they had in life.
Day 3 (July 6th): The Matters of Heart & Mind
The personalities behind the warlords we see in the Silmarillion. What were they like? What hobbies and skills they possess?
Day 4 (July 7th): On The Front Lines
Tyelkormo and Maitimo as strategists and war planners. Whether through successful battles, disastrous battles, or skirmishes with Orcs, these brothers protected Beleriand and her people for centuries.
Day 5 (July 8th): The Gods They Loved
Day 5 is dedicated to the brothers and the relationship between them and the Valar.
They were their guides and guardians, until they weren't. Tell or show your stories/arts of what happened.
Day 6 (July 9th): The Curse of the Oath
Stories revolving around the oath, what it took and what little it gave.
Day 7 (July 10th): Healing & Renewal
From fourth age re-embodiments, to various fix-its, or just small, tender moments of comfort and healings they shared with each other.
Hope they are to your satisfaction! If not, then write/draw your own prompts and themes! All is welcome!
Samfro Summer 2025
From July 1st-10th, join us in creating writing, artwork, and any other creative endeavour for Samfro Summer! This 10 day event will have daily summer themes that we can all follow along with, and you can post your works with the hashtag #samfrosummer!! the daily themes are listed below.
Prompts
Day 1: Large Gatherings / Festivities
- county fair, carnival, summer festival, backyard parties, cultural celebrations, weddings, party time, meeting family
Day 2: Sun / Heat
- solstice, freckles, sunburn, tanned skin, sweat, blinding lights, searching for shade, sunrise/sunset, glowing, ethereal, wind/breeze
Day 3: Nature / Wilderness
- camping trip, hiking, bonfire, wildflowers, stargazing, shapes in the clouds, grass beneath your feet, mountains, wildlife, storms
Day 4: Rebirth, Regrowth, Rejuvenation
- finding yourself, family, change of seasons, trying something new/trying again, refreshing love, planting the seeds
Day 5: Snacks & Refreshments
- lemonade stand, ice cream, picnic, barbeque, cooking together, picking berries, come over for a meal, farmers market
Day 6: Summer Pastimes
- reading a book, lazy mornings, going for a walk, hammock, summer routines, boredom, domesticity, loving in secret
Day 7: Water / Beach
- beach day, swimming, tanning, in the sand, cooling off, lakes/rivers, cool bath, waterfalls, a quick dip, skipping stones
Day 8: Games & Creativity
- board/card games, art, writing, muse, sports, sculpt, gifts, scrapbook, paint, teaching the rules, having fun, crafting, sewing
Day 9: Hard Work
- yard work, gardening, building something, rekindling, getting out of your comfort zone, chores/housework, making up
Day 10: Wildcard
- it’s a wildcard!! create something for a summer prompt we haven’t covered OR go back and do a prompt you couldn’t get to / had more than one idea for :)
Rules
DO:
- From the daily themes, either pick one of the “example/prompts” (or combine a few) or choose your own related to the daily theme and create a work of writing/art/some other creative endeavour to share!
- Tag your works each day with #samfrosummer.
- Support each other! reblog and share one another’s works/pieces!
- Tag nsfw/mature/triggering content properly. We want everyone to be included and we don’t want anyone to see things they are uncomfortable with.
- Use the same hashtag if you post your works on other sites so that we can keep them all together
- Take creative liberties! Make works in canon universe, in different AU’s or timelines, gender-swapped, anything you want! All we ask is that you stick with the daily summer-related theme.
- Send an ask with questions.
- Let us know if you will be participating!
DON’T:
- Spread hate or ship discourse. Don’t like? Don't participate! Easy.
Disability Pride 2025
This event will focus on bringing attention to disability in Middle-earth. No matter what it is let us show pride in our diversities and empower one another.
- You may post works on fan fic, fan art, headcanons, playlists, gif sets, mood boards, stim boards, pngs, anything as long as its yours! NO AI.
- Past works accepted too. Don't feel pressure; this is all in good fun.
- Post your OCs.
- Write some headcanons.
- Learn about and explore mobility aids and different therapy modalities from a Middle-earth lens.
- Past works welcome!
- Feel free to reach out if you have any questions!
- #Tolkien disability pride
Teitho June/July Challenge: Inheritance
Our Teitho prompt for June/July is Inheritance.
We can’t wait to see how you choose to use this prompt!
Inheritance can have many meanings. It can be the physical traits one inherits from relatives—eye color, hair color, a cleft chin—or it can be a tendency that runs in a family—a short temper, chattiness, prophetic dreams.
It could be a physical object like a home, a sword, a keepsake. Or a heavier burden like an oath or vow. Or it could be both, like the Ring of Barahir.
It can be a bloodline—like the Dunedain or the line of Durin. Or a legacy—like the shards of Narsil or the Arkenstone.
Inheritance may be tangible or intangible, may bring joy, wealth, or immense tragedy.
Inheritance can vary between siblings. Or it can lead to strife between family.
What story or art of Inheritance will you give us this month? Please submit your art or story to teitho.contest@gmail.com by July 31st.
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.
This portion of the study focuses on the various ways that fans of the Silmarillion understand and imagine the relationship between Maedhros, Maglor, Elrond, and Elros: the "kidnap fam".
The resulting paper will be presented at Mereth Aderthad on July 19 2025 and published afterwards on the Silmarillion Writers' Guild.
COMPLETE THE SURVEY until June 27, 2025.
Russingon Week 2025
Russingon Week is a Tumblr and AO3 event for fanworks that center a romantic or queerplatonic relationship between Maedhros and Fingon. Russingon Week will run June 16th to June 22nd, 2025.
Rules
- Be kind and courteous! No shaming, harassment, or bigotry will be tolerated.
- Works featuring any interpretations, themes, and topics are welcome. We encourage creators to use appropriate archive tags and content warnings where needed.
- Creations of any sort (fanfic, fan art, meta, moodboard, fan song, rec list, interpretive dance, rescuing a loved one who is currently chained to a cliff) are encouraged!
How to Participate
- Make a work of any sort that centers a romantic or queerplatonic relationship between Maedhros and Fingon. If you post on tumblr, @ this blog (russingon-week) or tag it #russingonweek and we’ll reblog it!
- Sometimes tumblr notifs can be wonky, so feel free to message us or send us an ask if we haven’t noticed/reblogged your work.
- You can also feel free to anonymously submit anything you’d like using the “submit” function on the blog.
Prompts
Day 1 – June 16th: Beginnings and Renewal
- Valinor
- Childhood friends to lovers
- Re-embodiment
- Children and parenthood
- First time
- Modern AU
Day 2 – June 17th: Devotion and Desertion
- Losgar and the Helcaraxë
- Weddings and oaths
- Infidelity & Betrayal
- Role reversal AU
- Allies and enemies
Day 3 – June 18th: Despair and Defiance
- Rescue from Thangorodrim
- Battles and Kinslayings
- Angry sex
- "Make it worse" AU
- Lies and truths
- Breaking taboos
Day 4 – June 19th: Peace and Ennui
- The Long Peace
- Fluff
- Tender sex
- Time loop AU
Day 5 – June 20th: Memory and Song
- Epistolary
- In-universe writing or art
- Laws and Customs of the Eldar
- Salacious letters/erotica
- AUs based on another work of fiction
Day 6 – June 21st: Tragedy and Doom
- Nirnaeth Arnoediad
- Foresight and ósanwë
- Fantasy/ghost sex
- Greek Myth AU
Day 7 – June 22nd: Endurance and Survival
- Post-rescue from Thangorodrim
- Fix-it AU
- Legacy
- Nature
- Ritual sex
