Founded in 2005, the Silmarillion Writers' Guild exists for discussions of and creative fanworks based on J.R.R. Tolkien's The Silmarillion and related texts. We are a positive-focused and open-minded space that welcomes fans from all over the world and with all levels of experience with Tolkien's works. Whether you are picking up Tolkien's books for the first time or have been a fan for decades, we welcome you to join us!
New Challenge: Scavenger Hunt In this Matryoshka-with-a-twist, you will solve clues that point you to the challenge prompts.
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.
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.
She is one and many, the heroine and the victim, the courageous and the victim, the dead and the living, her feelings and sufferings are felt and shared together, and no justice, divine or earthly could mend her pain in the aftermath.
Fëanor shrugged, studying the contents of his wine glass. “Something must be done about that house. It will fall down eventually.” “It does not follow that it must be you that tears it down single-handedly. Are you sure you do not want help?” “It’s not as though I…
The thing about forgiveness, he thought, was that it was so much easier when the object of it was far away—or dead. It was so much easier to let it all go when those responsible were far away and unable to do any more harm.
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.
Feanor and Fingolfin, from their youth to their fall.
"I will do this gladly," Fingolfin said, whispering into Feanor's mouth, grasping for reasons and sense. "Gladly, if it will bring peace between us. If it will end the madness."
Orctober
A mysterious map points to locations used by escaped Orcs who seek to live in freedom. For this month's challenge, use elements from that map and those quests to create your fanwork, with a bonus puzzle to solve for those who dare attempt the ultimate escape. Read more ...
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.
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.
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.
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…
The Silmarillion Writers' Guild is more than just an archive--we are a community! If you enjoy a fanwork or enjoy a creator's work, please consider letting them know in a comment.
The gem he had returned to the Valar was poor recompense for his family’s sacrifice.
Oh, this line in particular was interesting. I liked this new perspective of Earendil as a father and husband first and a "chosen one"/emissary second. That's obviously not something we see in the Silm.
One thing, though, "thine brow" should be "thy brow". :)
I appreciate your words and your approval of my focus on Earendil, a character who often gets maligned a bit for his "desertion" of home and family.
I was uncertain about the Old English, but actually did look up the usage and thy/thine are interchangeable and dependent upon preference of the writer. I chose to use thine in this particular usage.
Well, I have the knowledge of the telescope already present. I had Helyanwe making one for Idril a few months ago in a story. So it seemed likely that it was something she learned when she was apprenticing with Lord Aule and that he could give such an item to Earendil. After all, if you were flying above lands that you used to know, wouldn't you want to take a closer look? LOL. Thanks for your comments, they are appreciated as always!
Perhaps. I doubt he will be able to see them every night. There will be clouds, the pathway he may take may need to be varied, and Maedhros and Maglor probably move often to avoid being discovered. But I do think that he feels more relief at having his sons in their care, with a dash of common sense. The two kinslayers probably are fairly conversant with how to take care of young boys having had so many younger brothers that they undoubtedly helped care for while they were growing up in Tirion
I love the contrast you have here: the first paragraph is so gentle and lyrical, with beautiful descriptions that make us feel like we're watching the stars. And then, the second is so much darker, with sinister atmosphere of the approaching war. So well done!
Thanks, Ellynn, I am quite fond of the stars (as are you, if I recall correctly) and can just imagine learning all about them as a young child. Then, having the opportunity to sail among them would be marvelous. But Morgoth lurks in the North and he was responsible for the death of his mother and his city. It was Earendil's coming to the Valar that started the machines of war in Aman and, indeed, they will bring war to the gates of Angband. Thank you so much for your words :-)
Comments on A Light from Afar
The Silmarillion Writers' Guild is more than just an archive--we are a community! If you enjoy a fanwork or enjoy a creator's work, please consider letting them know in a comment.