Sign-Up to Hand Out Scavenger Hunt Prompts
Our May challenge will be a Matryoshka built around a scavenger hunt. If you'd like to hand out prompts (and receive comments on your work for doing so!), you can sign up to do so.
SWG News
New Challenge: Everyman
Create a fanwork about an ordinary character in the legendarium using a quote about an unnamed character as inspiration.
Cultus Dispatches: Fanworks, AI, and Resistance by Dawn and Grundy
The fan studies column Cultus Dispatches returns with a history of how Tolkien fanworks fandom has reacted and resisted generative AI by drawing strong boundaries in a way that is not typical for the fandom.
Instadrabbling Sessions for April, May, and June
Instadrabbling continues on the first Saturday of each month on our Discord server.
New & Updated Fanworks
[Writing] How Tolkien Presents Ordinary People in "The Silmarillion" by Dawn Felagund
Inspired by collecting the prompts for the Everyman challenge, this essay considers how ordinary people are subsumed and silenced in The Silmarillion, which begins a three-book arc that ends with the rise of the humble and ordinary.
[Writing] Blessed are the Leave-takers by Isilme_among_the_stars
As prince Curufinwë Fëanáro makes an historical speech from the high court of the King upon Túna, those at the back of the crowd strain to hear.
A silly little scene inspired by Monty Python's "Blessed are the Cheesemakers" scene from The Life of Brian, written for …
[Writing] After the Kinslaying by Deborah Judge
A Teleri fishing boat captain turns to farming on abandoned Noldor lands after her ship is stolen. A Noldor farmer returns with Finarfin to find that his land belongs to the Teleri now.
[Writing] I Sit and Think of Times There Were Before by Erdariel
In his old age, Isildur's former esquire Ruinamacil, known to later histories only as Ohtar, writes his own account of his escape from the ambush at Gladden Fields and journey to Imladris, and the history of his friend whom Isildur ordered to flee with him.
[Writing] Until the Stars are All Alight by Dagstjarna
Reembodied in Aman, Celebrimbor decides to return to Middle earth to help heal the darkness and hurt wrought by the ring.
[Writing] a riot of shadow and shine by Elrond's Library
These were simply flashes, a hint of a wider, greater world. A tantalizing glimpse of more, always at the edge of awareness, never within reach. Míriel would grasp it, if something as intangible as the concept of color could overflow in bounteous wonder over her hands.
But…
[Writing] The Exchange by Elrond's Library
An exchange is made during the Great Journey
Current Challenge
Everyman
Create a fanwork about an ordinary character in the legendarium using a quote about an unnamed character as inspiration. Read more ...
Random Challenge
When the Storm Breaks ...
Create a fanwork about storms, whether literal or figurative. Read more ...
New in References
Fandom Draws the Line: Fanworks, AI, and Resistance by Dawn Felagund, Grundy
By definition, fanworks fandom does not draw a lot of boundaries, but community archives and events have taken a strong stance against AI-generated fanworks due to ethical considerations and member input.
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.
Tolkien, Lunatic Physicists, and Abnegation by Cynthia (Cindy) Gates
This presentation for Mereth Aderthad 2025 discusses the parallels between the concept of abnegation in the scientific work surrounding the atomic bomb and in The Silmarillion. The relinquishment of self-interest in favor of the interests of others, abnegation was identified by Tolkien as a powerful act of spirit and reason. The legendarium has many examples of the complexities of abnegation, which parallel similar discussions held by physicists during and after World War II.
Featured Themed Collection
Beyond the Silmarillion
[Writing] Down the Long Years by Isilme_among_the_stars
Bilbo, the strange old hobbit with the wandering feet, senses something special in young Frodo the first time he sees the lad; as they become close, they find in each other a cameraderie not well understood by other hobbits. Five poignant moments between Bilbo and Frodo Baggins over the course…
[Artwork] The Mirror of Galadriel by skywardstruck
Smoke rises from the Mirror, where the Lady of Lothlórien awaits to share its visions.
[Writing] Bar-en-Eladar by Gabriel
Out of the shadow, light is born anew.
A Chieftain is dead. And whilst the events surrounding his death are unclear, a son tries to come to terms with his loss.
Around the World and Web
Week of Kiliel
A Tumblr event dedicated to the relationship between Kili and Tauriel.
Aspec Arda Week 2026
This week-long event celebrates asexual and aromantic spectrum interpretations and headcanons of Tolkien’s Legendarium.
April/May Teitho Challenge
Teithio is running a prompt challenge around the theme of "heartbreak."
Tolkien Reverse Summer Bang 2026
The Tolkien Reverse Summer Bang is back for another summer of collaboration between artists and writers!
Truly All Fanworks
This page includes all fanworks from the main SWG archive and the Beyond the Silmarillion section.
The Burden of Truth by Rhapsody
As she faces the concequences of her sons and husband's actions daily, Nerdanel must make a decision how to face tomorrow.
~ MEFA 2009: First Place in Genres: Drama: House of Finwë
| Canon Source: The Silmarillion and Related Works |
| Major Characters: Nerdanel |
| Major Relationships: No major relationships listed |
| Genres: Drama | Challenges: B2MeM 2009, New Beginnings, Strong Women |
| Rating: Teens | Warnings: Mature Themes |
| Chapters: 1 | Word Count: 783 |
| Posted on | Updated on |
This fanwork belongs to the series
| This fanwork is complete. |
| Table of Contents and Single Chapters | Show All Chapters | Comments (14) |
Illuminations by Dawn Felagund
For Back to Middle-earth Month 2009: scenes from the life of young Pengolodh, the loremaster of Gondolin whose writings brought us The Silmarillion.
Updated:
Truth for Day Eight: Beauty/Ugliness
The Mountains and the Sea, for Day Nine: Anti-Heroes
| Canon Source: The Silmarillion and Related Works |
| Major Characters: Celebrimbor, Original Character(s), Pengolodh |
| Major Relationships: No major relationships listed |
| Genres: Experimental, General, Poetry | Challenges: B2MeM 2009 |
| Rating: Teens | Warnings: No warnings apply |
| Chapters: 9 | Word Count: 8, 971 |
| Posted on | Updated on |
| This fanwork is a work in progress. |
| Table of Contents and Single Chapters | Show All Chapters | Comments (76) |
The Huntsman and the Lady by Sulriel
Galadriel walked away from the laws and ideals of the Valar so she could rule her own land in her own way, but faced with choices in these wild lands, is she really ready to abandon her upbringing to return to the old ways of her Avari forefathers?
| Canon Source: The Silmarillion and Related Works |
| Major Characters: Celeborn, Galadriel |
| Major Relationships: No major relationships listed |
| Genres: Erotica, Het, Romance | Challenges: No challenge listed |
| Rating: Adult | Warnings: Sexual Content (Graphic) |
| Chapters: 4 | Word Count: 5, 315 |
| Posted on | Updated on |
| This fanwork is complete. |
| Table of Contents and Single Chapters | Show All Chapters | Comments (5) |
A Ponderous Tome by oshun
A short character study of a youthful Elrond and a reflection on an aspect of his relationship with Maedhros and Maglor; in response to Day 26 of the B2MeM challenge. The prompt is: “a teacher who played a key role . . . . write a character who educated his people in some way.”
MEFA 2009, Third Place - First Age and Prior:
Featuring Maedhros or Maglor
Tree and Flower Awards 2013, First Place
Favorite Characerization of Elrond
| Canon Source: The Silmarillion and Related Works |
| Major Characters: Elrond, Elros, Maedhros, Maglor |
| Major Relationships: No major relationships listed |
| Genres: General | Challenges: Ankle Biters, B2MeM 2009 |
| Rating: General | Warnings: No warnings apply |
| Chapters: 1 | Word Count: 1, 082 |
| Posted on | Updated on |
This fanwork belongs to the series
| This fanwork is complete. |
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Heresy by Marta
"The cruel servants of Celegorm seized his young sons and left them to starve in the forest. Of this Maedhros indeed repented, and sought for them long in the woods of Doriath."
| Canon Source: The Silmarillion and Related Works |
| Major Characters: Celegorm, Maedhros |
| Major Relationships: No major relationships listed |
| Genres: Drama | Challenges: B2MeM 2009 |
| Rating: Teens | Warnings: Character Death, Violence (Mild) |
| Chapters: 2 | Word Count: 965 |
| Posted on | Updated on |
| This fanwork is complete. |
| Table of Contents and Single Chapters | Show All Chapters | Comments (2) |
Survivors of the Downfall by SurgicalSteel
Sailors from Umbar realize that Numenor is no more.
| Canon Source: The Silmarillion and Related Works |
| Major Characters: No major characters listed |
| Major Relationships: No major relationships listed |
| Genres: Drama | Challenges: No challenge listed |
| Rating: Teens | Warnings: No warnings apply |
| Chapters: 1 | Word Count: 2, 256 |
| Posted on | Updated on |
| This fanwork is complete. |
| Table of Contents and Single Chapters | Show All Chapters | Comments (12) |
In the Beginning by Marta
A professor, a typewriter, a rainstorm... and a beginning. (Triple-drabble.)
| Canon Source: The Silmarillion and Related Works |
| Major Characters: J.R.R. Tolkien |
| Major Relationships: No major relationships listed |
| Genres: General | Challenges: B2MeM 2009 |
| Rating: General | Warnings: No warnings apply |
| Chapters: 1 | Word Count: 298 |
| Posted on | Updated on |
| This fanwork is complete. |
| Table of Contents and Single Chapters | Show All Chapters | Comments (5) |
Uinen’s Revenge by oshun
Back to Middle-earth Month Challenge, Day 21 – The Prompt: Describe a big storm . . . place it in Tolkien's world. A fixed-length ficlet of 125 words (counted by MS Word). “But Uinen wept for the mariners of the Teleri; and the sea rose in wrath against the slayers, so that many of the ships were wrecked and those in them drowned.” (The Silmarillion, “The Flight of the Noldor.”)
| Canon Source: The Silmarillion and Related Works |
| Major Characters: Fëanor, Maedhros, Uinen |
| Major Relationships: No major relationships listed |
| Genres: Adventure, Drama | Challenges: B2MeM 2009 |
| Rating: General | Warnings: No warnings apply |
| Chapters: 1 | Word Count: 119 |
| Posted on | Updated on |
This fanwork belongs to the series
| This fanwork is complete. |
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The Bar Joke by oshun
Day 19 SWG Back to Middle-earth Month entry. The prompt: "If you could pass on three pieces of wisdom to future generations, what would they be?"
Summary: "Four guys were sitting in a bar . . . " (the Fab Four of the Finwean Cousins). A drabble and a half (150 words as counted by MS Word and the author). G-rated, but with warnings for extreme irreverence.
| Canon Source: The Silmarillion and Related Works |
| Major Characters: Fingon, Finrod Felagund, Maedhros, Turgon |
| Major Relationships: No major relationships listed |
| Genres: Humor | Challenges: B2MeM 2009 |
| Rating: General | Warnings: No warnings apply |
| Chapters: 1 | Word Count: 154 |
| Posted on | Updated on |
| This fanwork is complete. |
| Table of Contents and Single Chapters | Show All Chapters | Comments (15) |
Like Mother, Like Son by oshun
Day 18 of the Back to Middle-earth Month challenge. Prompt: “your character is in bed and he or she awakes to a future leader, heir, or current leader standing outside the window, staring into your character's face with a giant smile.”
Summary: Fëanor is in the dog house, but his heir does not mind. A double drabble (200 words as counted by MS Word).
| Canon Source: The Silmarillion and Related Works |
| Major Characters: Fëanor, Maedhros, Nerdanel |
| Major Relationships: No major relationships listed |
| Genres: General | Challenges: B2MeM 2009 |
| Rating: General | Warnings: No warnings apply |
| Chapters: 1 | Word Count: 191 |
| Posted on | Updated on |
This fanwork belongs to the series
| This fanwork is complete. |
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Letter to Fingon by oshun
SWG Back to Middle-earth Month prompt: A stereotype is a generalization, usually exaggerated or oversimplified . . . . Write a story… where characters break stereotypes. Summary: Maedhros writes a letter to Fingon questioning his strategy behind his attack on the dragon Glaurung. (I hope that the format is legible. I would have written it in Quenya (yeah, right!) and used Tengwar, but then no one would have been able to read it.) Thank you, IgnobleBard, for Beta reading this ficlet.
| Canon Source: The Silmarillion and Related Works |
| Major Characters: Fingon, Glaurung, Maedhros |
| Major Relationships: No major relationships listed |
| Genres: Humor, Romance | Challenges: B2MeM 2009 |
| Rating: Teens | Warnings: Expletive Language, Mature Themes |
| Chapters: 1 | Word Count: 958 |
| Posted on | Updated on |
This fanwork belongs to the series
| This fanwork is complete. |
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Sporting Woods by IgnobleBard
Namo takes a stroll through Lórien.
| Canon Source: The Silmarillion and Related Works |
| Major Characters: Mandos |
| Major Relationships: No major relationships listed |
| Genres: Humor | Challenges: B2MeM 2009 |
| Rating: Teens | Warnings: No warnings apply |
| Chapters: 1 | Word Count: 531 |
| Posted on | Updated on |
| This fanwork is complete. |
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Walking Down Narrow Streets by Marta
What if Tolkien's writings really were translations rather than original creations? Late one night, a certain professor wanders around Oxford, searching for answers.
| Canon Source: The Silmarillion and Related Works |
| Major Characters: J.R.R. Tolkien |
| Major Relationships: No major relationships listed |
| Genres: | Challenges: B2MeM 2009 |
| Rating: Teens | Warnings: Mature Themes, Sexual Content (Mild) |
| Chapters: 2 | Word Count: 2, 913 |
| Posted on | Updated on |
| This fanwork is complete. |
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The Threat of Spring by oshun
My entry for day 14 of the SWG Back to Middle-earth Month challenge. The prompt is: What is your favourite season? . . . . how your character would appreciate (or not) the same things.
A ficlet wherein a grumpy Fingon faces spring, once his favorite season. (Fingon/Maedhros)
| Canon Source: The Silmarillion and Related Works |
| Major Characters: Fingon, Maedhros |
| Major Relationships: No major relationships listed |
| Genres: Romance | Challenges: B2MeM 2009 |
| Rating: General | Warnings: No warnings apply |
| Chapters: 1 | Word Count: 384 |
| Posted on | Updated on |
This fanwork belongs to the series
| This fanwork is complete. |
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Till Fire Purge All Things New by pandemonium_213
Sauron has a moment of doubt in the Sammath Naur.
For B2MeM 2009: Day 15 -- The Ides of March: "Do I dare disturb the universe?"
MEFA 2009: First Place in Genres: Ficlets: General
Update! Illustration by the fabulous Robinka now added to the story!
| Canon Source: The Silmarillion and Related Works |
| Major Characters: Sauron |
| Major Relationships: No major relationships listed |
| Genres: General | Challenges: B2MeM 2009 |
| Rating: Teens | Warnings: No warnings apply |
| Chapters: 1 | Word Count: 196 |
| Posted on | Updated on |
| This fanwork is complete. |
| Table of Contents and Single Chapters | Show All Chapters | Comments (25) |
My Greatest Fear by oshun
A ficlet in which Fingon visits Maedhros at Himring Hill and they confess their greatest fears to one another. (Fingon/Maedhros: soft R, at the highest.)
My entry for day 13 of the SWG Back to Middle-earth Month challenge. The prompt: Write a story where the characters have to confront their greatest fears.
| Canon Source: The Silmarillion and Related Works |
| Major Characters: Fingon, Maedhros |
| Major Relationships: No major relationships listed |
| Genres: Romance | Challenges: B2MeM 2009 |
| Rating: Adult | Warnings: Mature Themes |
| Chapters: 1 | Word Count: 606 |
| Posted on | Updated on |
This fanwork belongs to the series
| This fanwork is complete. |
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That's Not Funny! by oshun
In their youth in Valinor, Maedhros has a secret crush on Fingon, his younger half-cousin, and Maglor loves to tease him about it.
A ficlet of 550 words in response to the SWG Back to Middle-earth Month challenge, day 11, humor misunderstood. (R-rated for language and implication only.) Also, translation of Quenya names at the bottom for those who want them.
| Canon Source: The Silmarillion and Related Works |
| Major Characters: Celegorm, Fingon, Maedhros, Maglor |
| Major Relationships: No major relationships listed |
| Genres: Humor | Challenges: B2MeM 2009 |
| Rating: Adult | Warnings: Mature Themes |
| Chapters: 1 | Word Count: 550 |
| Posted on | Updated on |
This fanwork belongs to the series
| This fanwork is complete. |
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If I were a wood elf... by Robinka
A poem in response to the 2009 Back to Middle Earth Month, Day Seventh: "In the woods".
| Canon Source: The Silmarillion and Related Works |
| Major Characters: No major characters listed |
| Major Relationships: No major relationships listed |
| Genres: Poetry | Challenges: B2MeM 2009 |
| Rating: General | Warnings: No warnings apply |
| Chapters: 1 | Word Count: 104 |
| Posted on | Updated on |
| This fanwork is complete. |
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The Far Side of the World by SurgicalSteel
During the reign of Tar-Ancalimë, a group of Númenórean mariners find something that surprises and alarms them in their explorations.
| Canon Source: The Silmarillion and Related Works |
| Major Characters: No major characters listed |
| Major Relationships: No major relationships listed |
| Genres: Adventure | Challenges: No challenge listed |
| Rating: Teens | Warnings: No warnings apply |
| Chapters: 1 | Word Count: 2, 434 |
| Posted on | Updated on |
| This fanwork is complete. |
| Table of Contents and Single Chapters | Show All Chapters | Comments (24) |
A Real Beauty by oshun
A double-drabble in response to the SWG Back to Middle-earth Month challenge, day 8, “contrast beauty/ugliness.”
It’s a story of young Finwean firebrands in love (Aredhel/Celegorm). I knew I would eventually get around to writing something like this. I’ve always imagined that Aredhel and Celegorm shared a youthful romance in Valinor.
| Canon Source: The Silmarillion and Related Works |
| Major Characters: Aredhel, Celegorm |
| Major Relationships: No major relationships listed |
| Genres: Romance | Challenges: B2MeM 2009 |
| Rating: General | Warnings: No warnings apply |
| Chapters: 1 | Word Count: 201 |
| Posted on | Updated on |
This fanwork belongs to the series
| This fanwork is complete. |
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As Little Might Be Thought by Marta
"For Maglor took pity upon Elros and Elrond, and he cherished them, and love grew after between them, as little might be thought; but Maglor's heart was sick and weary with the burden of the dreadful oath."
| Canon Source: The Silmarillion and Related Works |
| Major Characters: Elrond, Elros, Maglor |
| Major Relationships: No major relationships listed |
| Genres: Drama | Challenges: B2MeM 2009 |
| Rating: Teens | Warnings: No warnings apply |
| Chapters: 1 | Word Count: 878 |
| Posted on | Updated on |
| This fanwork is complete. |
| Table of Contents and Single Chapters | Show All Chapters | Comments (2) |
Breath of Forgiveness by IgnobleBard
Maglor thinks over old regrets.
| Canon Source: The Silmarillion and Related Works |
| Major Characters: Maglor |
| Major Relationships: No major relationships listed |
| Genres: Drama | Challenges: B2MeM 2009 |
| Rating: General | Warnings: No warnings apply |
| Chapters: 1 | Word Count: 441 |
| Posted on | Updated on |
| This fanwork is complete. |
| Table of Contents and Single Chapters | Show All Chapters | Comments (10) |
To My Father by oshun
Response to prompt for Day Four: March 4 of the Silmarillion Writers Guild observance of Back to Middle-earth Month. Relating to role models, I chose to write a drabble about feelings that Maedhros might have wanted to communicate to his father.
MEFA 2009, Third Place in First Age and Prior: Drabbles
| Canon Source: The Silmarillion and Related Works |
| Major Characters: Fëanor, Maedhros |
| Major Relationships: No major relationships listed |
| Genres: Drama | Challenges: B2MeM 2009 |
| Rating: General | Warnings: No warnings apply |
| Chapters: 1 | Word Count: 100 |
| Posted on | Updated on |
This fanwork belongs to the series
| This fanwork is complete. |
| Table of Contents and Single Chapters | Show All Chapters | Comments (10) |
Three Wishes by Noliel
Fingon musing while facing off against Gothmog. Almost-tribble.
| Canon Source: The Silmarillion and Related Works |
| Major Characters: Fingon |
| Major Relationships: No major relationships listed |
| Genres: General | Challenges: B2MeM 2009 |
| Rating: General | Warnings: Character Death |
| Chapters: 1 | Word Count: 312 |
| Posted on | Updated on |
| This fanwork is complete. |
| Table of Contents and Single Chapters | Show All Chapters | Comments (13) |
Happiness by Angelica
B2MeM day 3.
I'm at the other end of the continent where summer has been deadly. A storm last Sunday was one of the happiest moments in the week.
| Canon Source: The Silmarillion and Related Works |
| Major Characters: No major characters listed |
| Major Relationships: No major relationships listed |
| Genres: | Challenges: B2MeM 2009 |
| Rating: General | Warnings: No warnings apply |
| Chapters: 1 | Word Count: 101 |
| Posted on | Updated on |
| This fanwork is complete. |
| Table of Contents and Single Chapters | Show All Chapters | Comments (13) |
