SWG News

We Are Looking for Volunteers

Posted by Dawn Felagund on 31 October 2021. Last updated on 10 January 2022.

Do you value the SWG and want to get involved at a level beyond sharing fanworks, reading fanworks, and leaving comments! Volunteer!

We are currently seeking volunteers for the following jobs on our site.

Around the World and Web Scout

Around the World and Web is a long-running section of our site that aims to signal-boost events, resources, and content of interest to visitors to our site. Scouts are volunteers who find content that might be of interest to SWG members and guests and post it to our site.

We are specifically looking for scouts for the following sites. If you are a part of the Tolkien fandom on these sites, why not consider sharing what you find with the SWG?

• Tumblr
• Twitter
• the #signal-boosts channel on the SWG Discord server

How much time should I expect to spend as a scout?

The scout position is highly flexible in the amount of time required. You should expect to spend a few hours each month at a minimum, though you can of course spend more time if you want.

What are the requirements for a scout?

• Familiarize yourself with the requirements for posting to Around the World and Web.
• Use the form we provide on the site to share events, resources, and content that might interest visitors to our site.
• Communicate with the site moderators if you are unable to complete your responsibilities or have questions about your job. Elleth is the moderator who runs the Around the World and Web section.

I'm interested! What next?

Contact the site moderators and let us know if you want to focus on scouting for a particular site. We'll get you set up with the permissions you need to start posting right away!

Note that we will also assign the Scout role to event organizers who wish to post announcements about their event on our site. You will also need to be familiar with the guidelines for Around the World and Web, but we will only expect to see new announcements from you about your event. Again, contact the mods to have this permission added.

Art Editor

The art editor will work with contributors to our newsletter and Reference Library to find artwork for their articles and essays.

How much time should I expect to spend as an art editor?

The art editor position varies based on upcoming publications in the newsletter and References. You should expect to spend one to three hours per week as an art editor.

What are the requirements for an art editor?

• Familiarity with sites where Tolkien-based fanart is frequently posted (e.g., DeviantArt, Tumblr), including how to use them to contact artists.
• Communication with newsletter and reference writers to discuss the direction of their work and preferences for art that will accompany it.
• Communication with artists whose work is selected to obtain permission and discuss requirements for using the artist's work, such as how the artist would like to be credited.
• The ability to complete the above steps within a week under most circumstances, or communicate with the Reference editors if you are unavailable or cannot meet a deadline.
• The ideal art editor will have a high level of familiarity with the Tolkien fanart community and existing positive relationships with artists; however, all experience levels are encouraged to apply for this job.

I'm interested! What next?

Contact the site moderators and tell us a little bit about yourself! What is your experience with the Tolkien fanart and fanfiction communities? If you have prior experience leading projects, collaborating with others, or communicating with others, tell us about it!

New Challenge: Gnome Tome

Posted by Dawn Felagund on 16 October 2021. Last updated on 14 November 2021.

September's release of The Nature of Middle-earth, edited by Carl Hostetter, has generated a lot of discussion in the Tolkien fandom, to say the least. There are delightful details that expand on the legendarium we already know and love. There are some brief meanders down canonical roads swiftly abandoned. There is a shocking amount of math. Reactions to the NoMe (or, as we have come to lovingly know it, the Gnome Tome) have run the gamut from amusement to outrage.

In honor of more than four hundred new pages of Tolkien content, October's Gnome Tome challenge features a random prompt generator stocked with 170 quotes, concepts, and potential storylines from the Gnome Tome. Don't have the book? No problem! It is not required to connect your response to the new book. As always, you are welcome to use the prompts however you want, and we've intentionally included a lot that are open-ended and will hopefully generate thoughts and fanworks that can range well beyond this one book. Additionally, you are welcome to roll the prompt generator as many times as it takes to get a prompt you are excited to work with.

The Gnome Tome prompt generator can be found here. Full challenge guidelines can be found in the Challenges section of our site. To receive a stamp for the challenge, Gnome Tome responses should be posted no later than 10 November 2021.

Character of the Month: Uinen

Posted by Dawn Felagund on 22 September 2021. Last updated on 5 March 2022.

The Ainur were among the first characters to take their places in Tolkien's legendarium and some of the most unchanged as the tales evolved. Yet there were subtle changes in how Tolkien wrote his pantheon of demiurgic deities that reflect ethical and stylistic shifts in how Tolkien depicted Arda. The sea deity Uinen is one such case study. Initially a primal nature goddess associated with mermaids, Uinen would evolve into one of the chief protectors of seafaring peoples in the legendarium. This month's Character of the Month biography by Dawn Felagund traces how Uinen's characterization unfolded across decades of writing and revision.

You can read Uinen's biography here.

New Challenge: Dear Irmo

Posted by Dawn Felagund on 14 September 2021. Last updated on 16 October 2021.

What is at least 330 years old and deliciously salacious? A young Glorfindel? A Númenórean king having a midlife crisis? That wheel of cheese lost in the darkest corner of the Bag End larder? All of the above, right?? (Well, maybe not the cheese …) And also …

... advice columns! Historians trace the first advice column to 1690, and in the three centuries hence, the heartsore, woebegone, and perpetually puzzled have turned to these "agony aunts" (and uncles) to solve their most debilitating dilemmas about family, work, and of course, love.

Prompts for this month's challenge will be an actual advice column, tweaked just slightly to make it more relevant for Middle-earth. You can use your prompt however you want. Answer the question with a fanwork! Create a fanwork about the dilemma described! Take a passage, phrase, or even just a single word to inspire your fanwork! We encourage you to be creative in how you use your prompts. (And remember that names and other details about the identities of "LWs" are changed to protect the guilty, so swap out characters as you please!) You can choose your own prompt from our collection of letters.

In order to receive a stamp for your fanwork, your response must be posted to the archive on or before 10 October 2021. For complete challenge guidelines, see the Challenges page.

"Ratings & Warnings" Document Updated

Posted by Dawn Felagund on 2 September 2021. Last updated on 2 September 2021.

We have updated our Rating & Warning policy on the site, in accordance with discussion among SWG members and specific work undertaken by our inclusivity committee. You can find the new "Ratings and Warnings" document here.

Nothing has changed in terms of rating and warning policy. We have softened the language in hopes of communicating that in the vast number of cases, mistakes in ratings and warnings are not something we respond to punitively. We have also added clarity around the purpose of ratings and warnings, "retrospective" tagging, and how we respond to mistagged fanworks.

We've also added several new tagging options:

Domestic and Partner Violence
In-Universe Intolerance
- In-Universe Classism
- In-Universe Queerphobia/LGBTQIA+ Intolerance
- In-Universe Racism/Ethnocentrism
- In-Universe Sexism/Misogyny

The specific tags were based on a use-case exercise undertaken by several volunteers that showed that these were the tags most often needed. We also want to recognize that while the racism/ethnocentrism and classism tags reflected need during the use-case exercise, we also included them because we recognize that BIPOC fans and working-class fans are less present in our fandom due, at least in part, to marginalization they experience within the fandom. Making our site a safer and more welcoming space to fans who have historically felt unsafe and unwelcome in the Tolkien fandom is a priority for us.

Our work is not done here; we've received multiple requests to include a brief definition/description of each tag, so we'll be tackling that next.

As always, questions are welcome as a comment here or at moderator@silmarillionwritersguild.org. Finally, many, many thanks to all who worked on this project, especially the many of you who shared perspectives and ideas so thoughtfully throughout.

Congratulations to the Middle-earth Olympic Medalists!

Posted by Dawn Felagund on 21 August 2021. Last updated on 16 October 2021.

We are excited to announce the recipients of medals for the 2021 Middle-earth Olympics! Below are the medals that were awarded at our closing ceremonies on 22 August 2021.

Did you miss getting to award a medal to a challenge contributor or favorite fanwork? Why not leave a comment or send a message? All fanworks and usernames are linked below. Click on a fanwork to leave a comment or a username to send a message to that person.

Thank you to all participants who awarded medals!

Fanworks

All-Arounder to Kaylee Arafinwiel (awarded by Grundy)
Kaylee was the most adventurous of Olympians, attempting a record nine different prompts for this challenge!

Awesome AU to Silver Trails (awarded by Dawn Felagund)
I love your modern takes on the characters, the little jolts that the modernisms give! Especially, I liked The Purple Feathers, which managed to work in a lot of Olympic-related content into a sweet love story.

Brave New World to Himring, catadromously, and Kaylee Arafinwiel for Bruised Fruit, Bruised Egos (awarded by Dawn Felagund)
One of the cool (or maybe dangerous?) things about being on the mod team that makes the challenges is getting to craft challenges that you yourself would like to try. Relay writing was one such event in this challenge. A writer starts a story and hands it off to a progression of coauthors, all writing in a single sitting, from start to finish. Catadromously, Kaylee, and Himring were willing to give this a try with me and I had so much fun collaborating with them and seeing the different directions they took our shared story.

Breathtaking Stories to Kaylee Arafinwiel (awarded anonymously)
As the title of the medal indicates, I found several of her stories breathtaking, so ...

Brilliant Baby Birds to Kaylee Arafinwiel for Unexpected Nesting (awarded by daughterofshadows)
I adored the concept of Unexpected Nestings and the idea behind it is genius. The fic is super adorable and I just think the characters are all very very cute. Also Elwing/Eärendil/Eonwe is a really fun pairing. I hadn't thought about them together before.

Bringer of Joy to Cate Wolfe for The Song of Skateboard Legolas (awarded anonymously)
For making me smile when I sorely needed it :)

Experimental Archaeology to StarSpray (awarded anonymously)
Experimental archaeology is defined by Oxford Reference as "A branch of archaeological investigation in which carefully controlled experiments are undertaken in order to provide data and insights that aid in the interpretation of the archaeological record." While it is impossible to do ANYTHING approaching that in Tolkien's canon and while that is likely not StarSprays intent at all, her work focusing on underappreciated, sidelined, or minor characters in Tolkien's work remind me of this. StarSpray gives life to characters who were denied it and reimagines a past for them in beautiful ways.

Expert Storyweaver to Lferion for Red Thread and Thorns (awarded anonymously)
For a story about a fascinating original character, that gave me the chills.

Fabulous Worldbuilding to chrissystriped for Feast of the Hunter (awarded anonymously)
Feast of the Hunter develops this really fantastic tradition of opening the hunt with a ceremony and choosing the Leader of the Hunt that just fits the vibe of Thranduil and Eryn Lasgalen so perfectly, it really blew my mind.

From-400m-Sprint-To-Cross-Country Medal to Kaylee Arafinwiel for Unexpected Nesting (awarded by Anérea)
For starting us on a brief cuckoo crackfic before veering off on a wonderfully wacky wild...er, gull chase.

Indispensable Cheerleading to Dawn Felagund (awarded anonymously)
One could wax poetic about the importance of SWG in the Tolkien fandom and its historical relevance, and I certainly could as SWG has become my Tolkien home. However, what I want to focus on is this: Even when facing her own challenges, Dawn always finds time--against all odds--for those who ask things of her. Without Dawn's kind encouragement, I would never have had the confidence to pursue a childhood dream this year (presenting a paper); and, without her calm and kind presence on other platforms, I never would have found SWG in the first place. She makes the SWG what it is.

Instadrabble Ingenuity to StarSpray for Morning Mist and Silver Sun: Olympic Drabbles (awarded by Dawn Felagund)
This collection of ficlets written for our Olympic instadrabble session includes such delightful variety, each beautifully written in so few words. The collection spans the Years of the Trees through the Fourth Age; includes Elves and Hobbits and Peredhil; and in genre, spans the doom-filled to the gently humorous.

Ithildin Medal of Gratitude to All Creators (awarded by Anérea)
This is simply my way of giving thanks for all the energy and dedication you all put into creating these emotion-evokers, laugh-inducers, and thought-provokers.

Literal LOL to Cate Wolfe for The Song of Skateboard Legolas (awarded by Dawn Felagund)
How often do we say LOL but actually LOL? Well I did for this song; I was grinning by the second stanza and did the legit LOL thing with the line about the rollerskates. And somehow I now have a vivid mental image of Legolas skateboarding.

Meta Master to daughterofshadows for An Unexpected Journey: Getting into the Tolkien Fandom (awarded by Dawn Felagund)
Fandom "origin stories" are so much fun and almost a bonding ritual among fans, but daughterofshadows dives deep on this question, looking at the texts and the fandom from an aro perspective. I appreciated your insight in providing what was, to me, a new perspective on the legendarium.

Most Fun Instadrabbling to Himring, catadromously, and Dawn Felagund for Bruised Fruit, Bruised Egos (awarded by Kaylee Arafinwiel)
This was such a fun story to write and I just want to thank my co-authors for letting me join in!

Page Turner to chrissystriped for Vengeance Is Mine (awarded by Dawn Felagund)
From the first line of this short but powerful story, I couldn't stop reading. Christina handles brilliantly the tension in the moment and hints darkly at the past, building this dark little tale to a perfect pitch.

Painter with Words to Idrils Scribe (awarded by Dawn Felagund)
IdrilsScribe writes some of the most resonant imagery I've ever read, without resorting to endless blocks of purple prose. It was a joy to work with you during this challenge on the Finwean Correspondences!

Puppy Love to Aprilertuile for Annual Race and a New Friend (awarded by Dawn Felagund)
You had me with Huan! As the "mom" to three Golden Retrievers, this story made me smile ... and it really isn't even that unbelievable that he had an egg in his fur! I'm pretty sure all mine have at some point too!

A Song Worthy of Bilbo Baggins to Cate Wolfe for The Song of Skateboard Legolas (awarded by daughterofshadows)
The song of skateboard Legolas encapsulates the exact same humorous delightful energy that some of Bilbo Baggins' poems have and I think that's wonderful.

Sports Journalist to hennethgalad for The Teleri Times (awarded anonymously)
This was such a clever and funny take on what the Olympics might have really looked like in the Years of the Trees.

Squeal-Worthy Character Voices to Grundy and Raiyana for Tennis with an Elf and a Dwarf (awarded by daughterofshadows)
The letters in the fic are just really cool, and Carweg's and Harga's voices have this feeling of realness that I just haven't seen often. And the little bits of worldbuilding scattered across the letters just makes this a very enjoyable fic in general!

Tennis Champion to Dialux for Finwean Correspondences on the Topic of the Edain (awarded by Himring)
For getting the House of Finwe Team started on the Tennis challenge and keeping them organized and moving (also for writing the first letter)

Tennis Champion to Grundy and Raiyana for Tennis with an Elf and a Dwarf (awarded anonymously)
For a beautiful interpretation of the tennis prompt, introducing a pair of OCs that are absolutely delightful and a lot of fascinating worldbuilding.

Thought-Provoking to chrissystriped for Vengeance Is Mine (awarded anonymously)
For a story that gave me chills and made me think a lot about a character I'd never thought about all that much before.

Torchbearer to Aprilertuile for Oath Awakened (awarded anonymously)
I believe this was the first posted fanwork for the challenge.

Wordsmith to UnnamedElement for Hands of Fate (awarded by Dawn Felagund)
This story is relatively short for all that is packed into it: a single action told from multiple points of view rife with symbolism and sparse but gorgeous imagery that transported me to the final days of the Feanorian house and the First Age.

Commenting

Champion Commenter to Himring (awarded by Grundy)
Himring is a role model when it comes to leaving commments!

Great Comments to Himring (awarded by daughterofshadows)
They left some comments on my Olympics fills that made me really happy and made my day!

Jack Nicklaus Award to Lingwiloke (awarded by Grundy)
Lingwiloke set the record for the Golf event in this challenge with a record twenty-eight comments written on challenge responses!

Sea-Dragon Medal to Lingwiloke (awarded by Kaylee Arafinwiel)
Thank you Lingwi fren for reviews that keep me thinking and wanting to write more, even if the writing is craziness :D

Very Encouraging and Supportive to wisteria53 (awarded anonymously)
Wisteria53 has commented on a lot of my fanfictions, always in an encouraging and positive manner, and that was very appreciated and encouraging, more so on fanfictions I wasn't too sure about.

Other Involvement

A++ Record Keeper to Grundy (awarded by Lyra)
Grundy manages to keep track of the weekly signal boosts on Discord, as well as keeping a reliable eye on the channels and pinning interesting links. She's quick to approve accounts and add requested new characters or relationships. For the monthly challenges, she makes sure that the challenges are posted across platforms on time, provides prompts and graphics, and awards stamps. In short, she's a fantastic mod!

Amazing Prompts/Story Ideas to Narya (awarded by Nienna)
You always have the most amazing story ideas, whether they are things you write yourself, or things you prompt in an exchange. Earlier this year I saw one prompt that made me so excited I had a burst of inspiration and immediately wrote 1.5K without stopping. That has never happened to me before! I still haven’t posted it because I wasn’t sure how to end it and then TRSB temporarily put everything else to the side, but I definitely will. Even if I don’t end up writing anything at that time, your prompts always make me happy to see and give me thoughts about the Legendarium. And you have so many brilliant fics! And you have such a gorgeous writing style, and are such a kind person, and many other wonderful qualities beside ...

Beach Captain Extraordinaire to Grundy (awarded anonymously)
For motivating us, always being around to deal with silly (and not so silly) questions, and being an awesome mod for the discord in general <3

Conversational Brainstorming to Idrils Scribe (awarded anonymously)
Idril is always willing to share her knowledge and talk through ideas, particularly worldbuilding. She is patient during conversation, and she brings a fresh perspective to every bit of lore. Her enthusiasm for wood-elf culture is refreshing and challenges me to think of things differently while also creating synergistic energy that inspires me. I am grateful for the measured enthusiasm she brings and gives to the community.

Corinthian Pillar to Lyra (awarded by Grundy)
Lyra is the mod who helps keep things up and does it in artistic style.

Creative Champion to Kaylee Arafinwiel (awarded anonymously)
For being the best motivator and enabler of headcanons, interesting ideas and worldbuilding :)

Decathlon Champion to Dawn Felagund (awarded by Himring)
For astounding achievements in multitasking: at least nine different disciplines of modding and writing, while also washing mountains of laundry.

Effervescence to Nienna (awarded anonymously)
Nienna has both intense compassion and true vivacity, and she brings both to her fan presence, both in her writing and fanmixes and in her interactions in fandom. I am forever impressed with her commitment to deep thought on difficult issues, and the determined ways that she challenges herself and faces things head-on. She is kind and welcoming, and a true balm for difficult times.

Endless Enthusiasm to Kaylee Arafinwiel (awarded anonymously)
Kaylee is constantly engaged in discussion and creation of fanwork. Every time I turn around or check the sidebar on SWG, it seems like she has a new fic or drabble up, particularly with this challenge! She explores parts of the legendarium that are sometimes overlooked, which is fun to follow along with. Furthermore, Kaylee is always eager to say kind things on the Server or during team work, and she goes out of her way to make people feel welcome. Thank you, Kaylee!

Endless Source of Diverse Information to Janeways (awarded anonymously)
Janeways brings her life experiences and her professional expertise to enrich the fandom. I can always count on her to have something insightful to say in a situation and to frame things in a way that I had not thought of before. She is also welcoming and consistent as a mod!

Attention to Detail to Ermingarden/Emma (awarded anonymously)
While I do not know Emma well yet, she brings depth and insight to the SWG community. Her writing demonstrates great attention to detail and her use of footnotes in things she has shared in snippets delights me and would make Tolkien proud.

Fandom Anchor to Keiliss (awarded anonymously)
Kei and her other mods for the Slashy Swaps continue a fandom tradition that spans decades. Events like MSV continue to bring in new fans and previously shy fans (...like me!) into the active Silm and Tolkien fold. Without excellent, fair, and patient moderation, events like MSV would be impossible. While Kei does more than just MSV and can be counted on to offer perspectives that make me go "Oh!", her role as a fandom anchor can't be discounted :)

Fandom Anchor to Raiyana (awarded anonymously)
Need I elaborate on the importance of events like TRSB--one of the largest events I have ever ever seen--for the Tolkien fandom? I think not. Raiyana and her other mods handle the event with grace and order and compassion. TRSB actively builds a bridge between writers and artists, which is lovely. Raiyana of course brings more to the fandom than just TRSB, but this is an event that stabilizes fandom and encourages collaboration among members of SWG. TRSB has already gone down in fandom history, and Raiyana and the mods rolls in that cannot be understated--that consistent anchoring is everything.

Fandom Heart and Soul to Himring (awarded by Lyra)
Himring is a tireless commenter who always finds insightful and encouraging words for the (many!) fics she reads. She also manages to keep track of, and signal boost, things happening elsewhere in the fandom, has great patience, gives good advice and is a wonderful friend.

Fandom MVP to Dawn Felagund (awarded anonymously)
For making all of this possible in the first place, for giving us the archive and this community, and being an all around wonderful person <3

Freely Proffered Support to Dialux (awarded anonymously)
Fandom is about more than the texts we love--it is about the people we meet and the lives we touch and overlap with. When I was worried about my brother because of Covid, Dialux was willing to share information from her professional background and experiences to help me understand what was going on. In the middle of this challenge and my anxiety around finishing TRSB, her willingness to explain things to me meant a lot.

Freestyle Dressage to the SWG mods (awarded by Himring)
For the hilarious takes on the Olympic icons and the inventiveness of the prompts.

Gold Medal Mods to the SWG mods (awarded by Kaylee Arafinwiel)
We have the best mods running these challenges!!! I just want to thank all of you for being super fun and helpful and for making the SWG Olympics so great :)

Humility to Grundy (awarded anonymously)
While it goes without saying that Grundy is endlessly knowledgeable and insightful, she is a truly stabilizing force in the SWG. As a mod, she is fair and consistent, and as a member, she always has something typical or insightful to add. Her knowledge of fandom history and the experiences she brings often reminds me of how grand and storied this fandom is, and she reminds me to act with kindness and humility--something not everyone can inspire.

Inestimable Enablers to Grundy and Lyra (awarded by Dawn Felagund)
Grundy, Lyra, and I are the three mods who do nearly all of the work that goes into the challenges. I am very good at coming up with ambitious ideas, and they bring the right balance of enabling this (this challenge, in fact, was supposed to be a simple assigned prompt of quotes about sports from the legendarium and then I happened to it) and keeping things under control. They are both always there to bounce ideas and take on the vast amount of the administrative work, like awarding stamps and finding prompts, and both contribute nearly all of the banners and stamps. (Lyra often creates original art for them!) Without Grundy and Lyra, the challenges would not be nearly as fun or as well organized. I love working with you both, so appreciate all that you do, and think we make a fabulous team!

Knowledge to Himring (awarded anonymously)
Himring always drops into conversations--sometimes out of the blue--like a god riding through Middle-earth, sprinkling quotes and facts from the lore about her as she goes. I always know I can count on her to point me in the right direction.

Outstanding Contributions to the Silmarillion Fan Community to Dawn Felagund (awarded by Lyra)
Founder and guardian of the SWG, indefatigible admin and troubleshooter, fandom researcher sifting through heaps of data... do I need to go on?

Perspective to Independence1776 (awarded anonymously)
Indy always offers perspective couched in fandom history and experience that enriches the culture of our community and changes the way I see things.

Really Fun Boccia Prompts to Keiliss and Independence1776 (awarded by daughterofshadows)
Kei's boccia prompt of a window with the moon shining in was beautiful, and fitted Arwen's bedroom and the story vibe perfectly, and Indy's hot air balloons were a really fun challenge to incorporate!

Reliability to Shadow/daughterofshadows (awarded anonymously)
Shadow always has something kind to say, whether in write-ins or in discussions. They make people feel included. Their writing never fails to make me think of part of the legendarium in a different light.

Team Player to grey_gazania (awarded by Grundy)
Grey_gazania offered wonderful encouragement to teammates on Team Balar!

To Boldly Go to Janeways (awarded by Grundy)
Thank you for your intrepidness in volunteering as our newest mod!

Unsung Fandom Hero to Himring (awarded by Dawn Felagund)
Himring does so much to support the SWG behind the scenes and without ever looking for kudos or credit for it. She writes amazing and prolific comments. (She's the #1 reason we end up needing a 10 Comments stamp most months!) She signal boosts events, contributes to Around the World and Web as our sole scout so far, and is just quietly encouraging of the mods and fellow SWG members. Also, she's a beautiful writer and has an amazing reading voice at our live events! Thank you, Himring, for all that you do!

Woodelven Wonder to UnnamedElement (awarded by Kaylee Arafinwiel)
For being an amazing Team Captain and keeping Team Woodelves together.

New Challenge: Kings & Kink

Posted by Dawn Felagund on 16 August 2021. Last updated on 14 September 2021.

Throughout history, wherever there is writing, there is erotica. The first Mesopotamian scribe to take stylus in hand likely wasn't long before making lurid comparisons to the rising floods of the Tigris. Medieval scribes certainly tossed more than nightsoil in the gutter, and even those buttoned-up Victorians unbuttoned on the page.

Prompts for this month's challenge will be a passage or image from a "vintage" work of erotica or romance. You can use your prompt however you want: the entire passage or image, its emotional coloring, or just a passage, phrase, or even single word. Responses do not need to be erotica, include adult-rated content, or have anything to do with sex or romance. If you'd like to receive a prompt for this month's challenge, comment on our Dreamwidth, comment on our LiveJournal, send us an ask here on Tumblr, or contact us. Please let us know if you would like a NSFW, romance, or affectionate prompt, and if you prefer a text excerpt or an image.

August is also Akallabêth in August, so fanworks that take place during the Second Age will receive a special stamp.

In order to receive a stamp for your fanwork, your response must be posted to the archive on or before 10 September 2021.

Middle-earth Olympics Closing Ceremony RESCHEDULED

Posted by Dawn Felagund on 11 August 2021. Last updated on 16 October 2021.

The Middle-earth Olympics challenge is coming to a close, and to round out a fabulous monthlong event, we will host a closing ceremony on 22 August 2021 at 15:00 UTC. (Find the closing ceremonies in your own timezone here.) While there are only a few days left of the challenge, it is not too late to get involved!

• We have extended the challenge deadline this month to 15 August. All fanworks posted to the archive on or before that date are eligible for a stamp. As always, late fanworks are welcome but do not receive stamps. Find the Middle-earth Olympics challenge prompts here.
• Award a medal. Even if you weren't involved in the challenge, you can award a medal to someone who was. You can award medals for any kind of involvement in the challenge: creators, commenters, teammates, betas, fellow fans who inspired and helped you in any way as part of the challenge. Here is a chance to take just a few moments to show your appreciation for someone! (Find all of the fanworks created for the Middle-earth Olympics here.)
• All are welcome to join the closing ceremonies as readers or just as listeners. See below for more!

Closing Ceremonies

The closing ceremonies will be held on Sunday, 22 August 2021, at 15:00 UTC, on the SWG's Discord server. (Find the closing ceremonies in your own timezone here.) The closing ceremonies will consist of two components:

• Medal Ceremony. What is an Olympics without medals? While our event was not competitive, medals are available to show appreciation for anyone who participated in the challenge, not matter how big or small their role. We will announce the medal recipients at the closing ceremonies; medals awarded will also be posted on our website after the event. You can award a medal here.
• Middle-earth Olympics Fanwork Reading. We will close the event with an open mic portion for anyone who wants to read a fanwork or excerpt from a fanwork created for the challenge.
  • Please read only fanworks that you have created.
  • Readings should be kept to around five minutes or less.
  • Once everyone who wants to has had a chance to read, if we are still under an hour for the event, we will be glad to have participants read a second selection.
  • Participants who only want to listen are more than welcome.

If you're not a member of our Discord server, you can join in several ways:

• If you're a logged-in member of our website, scroll to the bottom and find an open invite in the site's footer.
• Contact the site mods and request an invite.
• Shortly before the event, we will post an open invite to our social media and here on our website. Here it is.

Award a Medal for the Middle-earth Olympics

Posted by Dawn Felagund on 1 August 2021. Last updated on 11 August 2021.

We're about halfway through the Middle-earth Olympics, so it's time to start thinking about medals!

Middle-earth Olympics is not a competition. However, what is an Olympic games without a medal ceremony? This is the chance to recognize challenge participants for absolutely anything that you appreciate about them, their work, or their contributions to our community. We will award medals on August 15.

Any SWG member can award a medal. (We count "SWG members" as people who are registered on our site and/or follow one of our social media accounts.) You do not need to be a challenge participant, but the recipient should be a challenge participant. Remember that "participant" means more than just fanworks creators. Commenters, betas, the people who help you with research and brainstorming for a challenge piece--all are eligible to be recognized!

You can award as many medals as you want and you decide what you're awarding the medal for! Get creative and have fun if you want! Of course, medals should be positive-focused. (Hopefully that doesn't need saying but just in case.) While the medal should be relevant to the challenge, you can certainly say nice things as well about what the recipient does in fandom spaces outside the challenge as well.

You can award a medal here.

And if you want to see the fanworks created for this challenge so far, see the Middle-earth Olympics page.

Middle-earth Olympics Live Events

Posted by Dawn Felagund on 20 July 2021. Last updated on 1 August 2021.

We have several live events forthcoming for the Middle-earth Olympics, all held on our Discord server. All are welcome!

• Sunday, July 25, 15:00 UTC: Relay Writing
• Sunday, August 1, 1:00 UTC: Instadrabbling
• Sunday, August 1, 15:00 UTC: Instadrabbling
• Sunday, August 15, time TBA: Medal Ceremony

More information on relay writing and instadrabbling can be found on the Middle-earth Olympics challenge page.

Not a member of our Discord server but want to be? There are several ways to join!

• If you're an SWG member, when you log in, you will find a link in the footer of the site.
• You can contact the mods at any time for an invite.
• We will post an open invite shortly before an event begins on our site (here!) and our social media.