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Barduil Month 2024

Barduil Month 2023 celebrates the pairing Bard the Bowman/Thranduil Oropherion from The Hobbit. This year we're running four themed weeks in April on Tumblr and AO3, each with a set of five prompts, and we'll be posting the prompts in the next couple of days. In the meantime, please see our updated FAQs and get ready to flail about our lovely bi widower dads all over again!

Week 1, Monday 1 to Sunday 7 April: First Meetings
different first meeting | differences and similarities | Battle of the Five Armies | first impressions | uneasy allies

Week 2, Monday 8 to Sunday 14 April: Getting Together
overcoming differences | finding common ground | diplomatic incidents | first date | introducing the family

Week 3, Monday 15 to Sunday 21 April: Established Relationship
blended family | anniversaries | parties, festivals and holidays | downtime, time to relax, days off | family traditions

Week 4, Monday 22 to Sunday 28 April: Endings (happy or otherwise)
happily ever after | loss and grief | hope and despair | reunions and reincarnation | memories

As always, any kind of fan creation is welcomed and encouraged, whether that's fic, art, crafts, meta, or anything else. The AO3 collection is here if you want to post there too. We just ask that you stick to our rules of conduct, tag us in your posts and enjoy yourselves!

Tolkien Reverse Summer Bang (TRSB) 2024

First conceived in 2018, the Tolkien Reverse Summer Bang (or TRSB!) is a Tolkien-fandom-wide event celebrating the talent of our fanwork creators. At its core, the event is about bringing together the artistic side of our fandom with the literary talents it possesses, creating bridges between the separate areas of fandom experience for the enjoyment of all. During the late spring, signed up artists submit fan art pieces in progress or finished, which is then posted anonymously in our Gallery. The Gallery is open to the pool of writers who have signed up for the event only. Each writer is then invited to claim a piece of art to write for; the minimum word count is 5000.

We are open to all characters, genres, ships and ratings, and all canons that fall under the Tolkien fandom umbrella. This includes movieverse (i.e. the LOTR and Hobbit trilogies), lesser known works by Tolkien (such as The Father Christmas Letters), and/or other works with a clear link to his life or creative output (for example, Tolkien’s translations and academic texts, the 2019 Tolkien biopic, fan-made films like Born of Hope, and game canons such as Lord of the Rings Online). Crossovers between two or more Tolkien canons are permitted.

When we started this event, one thing we absolutely agreed on was our desire for maximum inclusivity. In practice this means that:

• We encourage participation from all sections of the Tolkien fandom, whether you prefer bookverse, movieverse, game canon, smaller canons, or Tolkien’s academic papers.
• Fan creators should ALL feel safe and able to join in, regardless of experience levels or perceived ability. This means that everybody is welcome, whether they’re a professional artist/writer or a complete beginner, whether they’ve been a fan for decades or fell in love with the films last weekend.
• As far as practically possible, all styles of art and all types of fic are permitted. We do not set restrictions on genre, style, rating or ship, although we do keep NSFW art submissions behind a lock, for the safety of our younger participants.

Above all, the event is supposed to be fun. Fandom should not be a place of difficulty, conflict and stress. With this in mind, we ask participants to be kind, inclusive, respectful and welcoming at all times.

Schedule

March 17 – 2023 Gallery Opens

The Gallery for 2023 is live at last! Enjoy all the beautiful pieces created for last year’s TRSB!

March 24 – Suggestion Form Opens

This form gives potential authors (or anyone else who wants to play!) the opportunity to suggest characters, places and scenarios they would like to see in the submitted art. We will post a link to the form on our Tumblr blog and here on the website. The answers will feed into a publicly available spreadsheet listing the ideas submitted; artists can peruse this to get inspired!

April 14 – Sign-ups Open

We post links to our sign up form on all the usual platforms. You can then sign up as an artist, an author, a beta, a cheerleader, a pinch hitter, or as two or more of these. Please see the ‘Signing Up’ section of the FAQ for more details on what these terms mean.

May 5 – Artist Sign-up Deadline

May 10 – Discord Server Opens

May 13 – Art Draft Due

Participating art submissions must be sent to the mods by this date to be eligible for the Claims Gallery.

For more details on how to do this, see the ‘Art Submissions’ section of the FAQ. Artists may submit up to two pieces of art, for claiming by two separate authors.

May 17 – Art Preview Opens

Our online gallery will be visible to signed up participants only.  Signed up authors can browse the artworks and see which pieces appeal to their muses!

May 18-19 Discord Art Talks

Repeating the fun from last year, these will be live chats on discord with mod presence – start times to be announced – where we go through the beautiful gallery and admire the work of our artists.

May 20 – Author Signups Deadline

May 25 – CLAIMS – 17:00 UTC

Authors submit a ranked list of the artworks they would like to claim to write fic for. Claims are on a first come, first served basis. One artwork will be allocated to each claiming author in the first instance; the mods will email you to confirm which piece you have successfully claimed and how to get in touch with your artist. See the ‘Claims’ section of the FAQ for more information.

What time is that for me?

TBA – Additional Claims

If a number of artworks are left unclaimed, we may allow authors to claim second and third pieces of art to write for. However, we don’t know until after claims night whether this will be needed, so this is likely to be announced at short notice – keep an eye on the blog and on your emails to avoid missing out.

June 7 – Post-Claims Check-in

The mods will email each artist/author pair to ensure that you have successfully established contact – even if you are not planning on a close collaboration, it is polite to check in with your partner, say hello, and make sure you’re both clear on must-haves and do-not-wants. One person from your pair must respond and confirm that you have done this!

June 16 – Free Rein Art Due

We know some artists like to give their authors as much creative freedom as possible and we have a dedicated collaboration option for this (see ‘Art Submissions’ FAQs). However, this means we require these artists to provide finished art to their authors much earlier than artists who are prepared to be more involved. See ‘Completing the Artwork’ in the FAQs for more details on how this works.

June 28 – Check-in #2

The mods will email each pair to ensure everything is on track. One person from your pair must respond – see ‘Check Ins’ in the FAQ.

June 26 – Check-in #3

The mods will email each pair to ensure everything is on track. One person from your pair must respond – see ‘Check Ins’ in the FAQs.

August 9 – Final Art Due

Artists should share a copy of the final art to their authors – but don’t post it yet!

Don’t email it to the mods.

August 16 – Final Check-in (#4)

Deadline to abandon your fic to a pinch hitter. There will be no penalty for dropping out on or before this date.

As per other check ins, except the mods will be providing instructions about promotional posts (see ‘Promotional Posts’ FAQ for more information). We will also ask you:

• Whether you have discussed posting logistics with your artist (if you’re embedding art in your AO3 story, for example)
• Whether you have specific posting needs re publicizing date/time frame (e.g. not wanting us to reblog your art/fic on Shabbat as you will be unable to respond)

August 26 – Art Can Be Posted

August 30 – Final Fic Due In Collection

Authors should post their stories in our AO3 collection with the artwork embedded or linked. (If you are writing a last minute pinch hit we can be a bit flexible with this deadline.)

TBA – Discord Art Reveals Event

September 6 – COLLECTION REVEALS

September 13 – Staggered Tumblr Reblogs Begin

September 20 – Gallery Submission

October 6 – Discord Server Closes

Other Links

• Rules
• Sign-Ups
• Frequently Asked Questions
• TRSB on Tumblr | Twitter | Instagram | Dreamwidth

Tolkien Oxford 50 Presentations Available

The aim of the conference was to exhibit and reflect on the range of different approaches, methodologies, and backgrounds with which Tolkien has been studied in the past 50 years, which reflects the complexity of his personality, the richness of his creative work and the breadth of his reception. In an (academic) world ever more divided into different political and social bubbles, Tolkien had provided an exceptional meeting place, for very different people united by a common interest. Just as in the ancestral music of the Ainur, the conference aimed to be a polyphonic event, in which different scholarly endeavours can come together in a moment of shared reflection and celebration.

Recordings of most talks are available here.

Presenters included:

John Garth (Author and Journalist): “An Entirely Vain and False Approach”: Literary Biography and why Tolkien was Wrong about It

Michael Ward (University of Oxford): Tolkien’s Faith in Fact and Fiction

Hamish Williams (University of Groningen): Classical Ideas in Tolkien

Lukasz Neubauer (University of Koszalin): Beowulf, Maldon and All That: A Tangled Web of Tolkien's Anglo-Saxon Scholarship and Fiction

Grace Khuri (Oriel College, University of Oxford): Kipling’s Medievalism and Tolkien’s Book of Lost Tales: Historicizing Myth and Mythologizing History in the Early 20^th Century

Holly Ordway (Word on Fire Institute/Houston Christian University): Tolkien’s Modern Reading: Past Perspectives, Present Insights, Future Study

Yoko Hemmi (Keio University): Tolkien, “British” identity, and the Celtic studies

Michaël Devaux (Université de Caen Normandie): Tolkien's Textual Variants and the Authorial Status

Simon Horobin (Magdalen College, University of Oxford): ‘Never Trust a Philologist’: C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien and the Place of Philology in English Studies

Giuseppe Pezzini (Corpus Christi College, University of Oxford): ‘Not about Anything but Itself’: Tolkien’s Language Invention and Literary Theory

Fëanorian Week 2024

Fëanorian Week will run March 25th, 2024-March 31st, 2024. The prompts are as followed:

• Day 1- Maedhros - > Childhood, Kingship, Angband, Coping, The Union, Relations with Different Races
• Day 2- Maglor -> Childhood, Wife,  Music & Songs of Power, Elrond & Elros, Kingship, Maglor’s  Gap, Redemption
• Day 3- Celegorm - > Childhood, Hunting, Orome & Huan, Strength & Beauty, Luthien, Nargothrond
• Day 4- Caranthir - > Childhood, Wife, Betrayal, Lordship, Dwarves & Humans, Marriage, Appearance
• Day 5- Curufin - > Childhood, Wife Celebrimbor, Forge Work
• Day 6- Ambarussa - > Childhood, Lordship, Regrets, Twin, Hunting, Nandor
• Day 7- Nerdanel and Feanor-> Mahtan, Finwe & Indis, Marriage, Reunion, Traveling, Creation, Healing

Rules: You are allowed to post anything fanrelated on the days.  If the prompts are not to your liking, you can do your own thing.  The tracktag is #feanorianweek.  Tag your work accordingly!  Have fun and be nice to others. Disrespect towards others will not be tolerated.

Publication of Tolkien's Collected Poems announced

Wayne G. Hammond and Christina Scull have announced the forthcoming publication of an edition of Tolkien's collected poems that will include substantial amounts of hitherto unpublished poetry, as well as published poetry (some of the latter in extract). Publication is expected in September.

The blog post by the editors linked above describes the genesis and background of this plan and some of the principles of selection. Additional details can be found in the description of the preview on Amazon here.

C+C (Celegorm & Curufin) Week 2024

C+C Week is a week-long Tumblr event from March 18th to March 23rd, exploring the relationship between Celegorm and Curufin, as well as their relationships with the rest of Arda. Prompts will be every other day.

Rules

• Content posted MUST BE YOUR OWN. No ifs ands or buts, and if you use AI-generated art I will come for you. Don’t be that guy.
• If your entry is late, THAT’S OK! feel free to be as late as you want. Yes, I would love if you posted half a year after this event’s ended.
• Please, be kind and considerate. I know Celegorm and Curufin aren’t the most popular of characters, don’t be a jerk about it.
• If you do not have fun you are immediately disqualified. Have fun.

C+C Week FAQs can can be found here.

Prompts

MAR. 17th - 18th: VALINOR

• Childhood
• Apprenticeships
• Family & friendship
• Dark omens

MAR. 19th - 20th: OATHS

• Fëanorian Oath
• Promises made
• Loyalty & betrayal
• Oaths broken

MAR. 21st - 22nd: CONTRASTS

• Light/darkness
• Laurelin/Telperion
• Heroism/villainy
• Adored/unseen

MAR. 23rd: SECRECY

• Words unspoken
• Lies by omission
• Taboos
• Late night rendezvous

Of course, you don’t have to use these prompts. They’re just for inspiration! I only ask that you keep to the theme of each day(s) somewhat. Please use the tag #c+c week 2024 (with spaces) or tag @candcweek.

Manwë Week 2024

Hello and welcome to Manwë Week!

Manwë Week is a week-long fandom event on Tumblr dedicated to Manwë Súlimo from J.R.R. Tolkien’s Silmarillion, planned for March 11th - 17th 2024. The month of March is known as Súlimë, so it seemed only fitting to create an event to celebrate the Lord of Winds!

All sorts of fanworks are welcome, including but not limited to art (digital or traditional), fanfiction, moodboards, headcanons or playlists.

Here is a brief overview of this year's prompts:

Day 1: Family | Breath & Air
Day 2: Friends & Love | Rain & Clouds
Day 3: The Children | Whispering Breeze
Day 4: Poetry & Birdsong | Taniquetil
Day 5: Free of Evil | Opposition
Day 6: Fallen | Storm
Day 7: Freeform

For more details, please have a look at the prompt list.

Any questions, suggestions or concerns? Check out the FAQ or send an ask!

Tolkienshortfanworks Challenge for March 2024

The tolkienshortfanworks challenge has been posted to the Dreamwidth community.

The thematic challenge is: glass.

This could be the beaker or the mirror or the substance.

Maybe even the Phial of Galadriel or the surface of Mirrormere...

The formal challenge is: triolet.

Here are some links for help with this form:

Definition and two modern examples linked at the Poetry Foundation.

Definition and discussion of an example by Hardy at the Academy of American Poets.

Wikipedia entry, containing another five examples from different periods in English and a French one.

These two challenge parts can be filled together or separately and be freely combined with other challenges like B2MeM or the SWG monthly challenges.

New participants welcome!

More details on the challenges at the linked entry.

Teitho March/April Contest: Alternate Universe

Our challenge for March/April is Alternate Universe.

Where will you take us? Historical setting? Literary crossovers? Or perhaps space?

Or will you choose to follow a canon story to an alternative end or situation? What if Boromir lived? What if Theoden didn’t arrive in time? What if Celebrimbor turned Annatar away? Or Fëanor regained the Silmarils?

What if Gondolin survived? Or Fingon lived? Gil-Galad lived through the Last Battle? So many possibilities!!

Tell us your story—how would you write an alternate universe/ending/plot line?

Your submissions are due to teitho.contest@gmail.com by April 30th!

Full Teitho contest guidelines can be found here.

March of the Noldor 2024

March of the Noldor is a Tumblr-based month-long event to commiserate the grueling walk the Noldor took, across the Helcaraxe, from Aman to Beleriand, through creating fanworks. March of the Noldor runs from March 1 - March 31, 2024.

How do I participate?

Post something regarding the march and mention @march-of-the-noldor on Tumblr. Everything made will be reblogged here.

Go forth and create something New!

But this is also a great time to reblog older works relating to the march too!

What is allowed?

EVERYTHING!

Art, fic, meta, moodboards, poems! It's all welcome!

Want to do a character study? Awesome!

Make a collage of the kind of wild life the Noldor might encounter? Amazing!

Talk about the different types of ice the Noldor walked across? Fantastic!

Record a list of new traditions that developed during the walk? Bring it on!