Around the World and Web

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:

First sunrise by Kimura Buzan 

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:

Yesterdays Gone by Thomas Hjelm

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.

Athrabeth Podcast: Episode 36: Tolkien and Diversity Recap

Episode 36 of the Athrabeth podcast discusses the Tolkien Society Seminar, Tolkien and Diversity. Hosts Jude and Stef attended the Tolkien Society Seminar last weekend and are very proud to present their recap of the events. It was a tremendously enriching seminar and they're pleased to have the opportunity to highlight all of the seminar's contributors. Listen to Episode 36: Tolkien and Diversity Recap here.

 

Fall for Tolkien Artist Sign-Ups Open July 15

How the Fall for Tolkien event works: Artists submit their art.  All art submitted should be "finished" before it is submitted.  Art is added to a super awesome presentation.

At the end of the submission period, artists who also want to write get first dibs at making claims.

Authors choose art to write for.

Each author can make up to three claims to start; as they finish pieces, they can return and make additional claims.  Artwork can be claimed multiple times.

Complete Fall for Tolkien guidelines are available on their website.

Fall for Tolkien Schedule

July 15: Artist Sign-ups Open
September 1: Author Sign-ups Open
September 15: Artist Sign-ups Close
September 20: Art Submissions Due
October 3: Author Sign-ups Close
October 10: Author Claims (for Artists) Open
October 17: Author Claims (for Authors Only) Open
December 18: Author Submissions Due
December 21: AO3 Collection Opens

Welcome Back, Tolkien Fan Fiction!

The Tolkien Fan Fiction archive has been rebuilt and is back online! First opened in 2005, TFF is open to members of the Henneth-Annun Groups.io discussion list and accepts nearly all fanfiction based on Tolkien's works. The complete TFF rules are here.

Fansplaining Podcast, Episode 153: The Productive Fan

In Episode 153, “The Productive Fan,” Elizabeth and Flourish respond to a listener letter about some fic authors’ tendencies to see themselves as ‘bad’ if they aren’t producing written work. Topics covered include the perils of prescriptive writing advice, the Protestant work ethic, Flourish and Elizabeth’s personal writing habits, and the impact of professional authors’ conversations on fanfic authors’ discourse. Find the podcast and a transcript on the Fansplaining website.

Teitho June/July Contest: Vision

Teitho is a monthly contest for fanfiction and fanart set in Tolkien's world. The Teitho prompt for June/July is Vision.

We're excited to see where your vision of a story takes you this month! Will it be a vision seen in a dream? Or a nightmare? 
Is vision with the eyes or the mind? What does Finrod's foresight reveal to him? Are there other visions Galadriel has seen in her Mirror?

A vision for a new home, a new community, a new beginning? Or visions of past glory?

Ghostly visions seen on the path to Erech or fearful images conjured by Morgoth himself?

A vision of beauty, a vision of potential. The inner workings of the mind of Feanor?

The choice is yours–tell us your story and let us see Tolkien's world through you.

Submissions are due by July 30th!

Learn more about Teitho here and find the full Teitho rules here.

Tolkien Experience Podcast Episode 35: Interview with Erik Mueller-Harder

Luke Shelton says of his Tolkien Experience Project, "I started the Tolkien Experience Project because one of the first things that comes up when Tolkien fans get into a shared space is the desire to bond over our experiences of Tolkien’s work." In Episode 35, he interviews Erik Mueller-Harder, a Tolkien scholar who has focused on Tolkien's cartography and map-making. Erik also runs the website tolkienists.org, with its the Tolkien Society Award-nominated Tolkien Art Index and his LRCitations. You can find Luke's interview with Erik on the Tolkien Experience YouTube channel. You can subscribe to the Tolkien Experience Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Play, Spotify, Stitcher, and via RSS Feed or support the podcast on Patreon.

Mini Spring Bang 2021 Collection Open

The AO3 collection for the 2021 Mini Spring Bang has been opened! Check out Silmarillion fanworks created for this event.

Tolkien Society Seminar 2021: Tolkien and Diversity Recaps

Not a single word was spoken at the Tolkien Society's 2021 summer seminar before a contingent of Tolkien fans had decided they weren't having it. Bad photomanips involving the Eye of Sauron and other such images were (no kidding) used to smear the presenters and the very idea of the seminar. Why? For it focused on the topic of "Tolkien and Diversity."

Diversity and representation have long been subjects of discussion and debate in the Tolkien fanfiction fandom (and the alarmist pearl-clutching has a long history too). The SWG commends the Tolkien Society--one of if not the most prominent organizations devoted to study and appreciation of the Professor's work--for tackling this important topic.

Eventually, many of the presenters' talks will be available on the Tolkien Society's YouTube, and a conference proceedings is in the works as well. In the meantime, if you couldn't attend but want to know more about the presentations, the following blogs have recaps. (Know of others? Link them in the comments and we'll add them!)

Tolkien and Diversity: A Seminar Report by Christian S. Trenk (The Tolkienist)
Tolkien and Diversity Presentations (Day One) and (Day Two) by Robin Anne Reid (Tolkien on the Web)
Episode 36: Tolkien and Diversity Recap by Jude Vais and Stef Midlock (Athrabeth podcast)

Call for Papers: Academia Lunare, "Not the Fellowship. Dragons Welcome."

Our Call for Papers include essays from academics, independent researchers, fans and creative writers, appealing to both the casual reader and a more research-oriented one. We consider this cross-disciplinary collaboration a strength, and the beginning of many more journeys.

For the 2021 project, writers are invited to engage with a fictional character of choice from any of Tolkien’s works who is not part of The Lord of the Rings’ Fellowship. Though they can be characters of LOTR.

Friends, foes or neutral; dead or undead; divine beings, beasts (of the mythical or animal variety), or other. We welcome all. Bill the Pony, though undoubtedly an honorary member of the Fellowship at least according to Sam, is - for our purposes - fair game.

The purpose of this Call for Papers aims, on the one hand, at bringing to the fore more of Tolkien’s characters who do not receive the same attention as the Fellowship. On the other hand, we want to tackle these less appreciated characters in new ways, and in the light of a contemporary sensibility.

All the details about submitting are on the Academia Lunare page. Please visit it before submitting! Closing Date: 31st of August 2021.

Mythcon 51: A Virtual "Halfling" Mythcon (July 31-August 1)

The 51st Mythcon, a "virtual 'halfling' Mythcon," will be held on Saturday, July 31, and Sunday, August 1. Registration is open on the Mythcon site for the cost of $20 USD. The preliminary Mythcon schedule gives a sneak peek at this year's presenters and session titles.