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: 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.
Finrod and Bëor stop for a while on the road to Nargothrond to rest. The bodies of the Secondborn often grow weary, and Finrod laments, massaging Bëor's back and renewing his beloved's vigor with the work of his hands. But Finrod has other burdens of his own, Bëor soon discovers, returning…
Maglor without Maedhros, Daeron without Lúthien. Alone, they are nothing, but together, they can be something more. Where do you turn, when you have no one else left?
Written for Tolkien Reverse Summer Bang 2023, featuring artwork by athlai.
It was only the second time Finwë had come out foraging with them, and of course this would happen—of course the Hunter would come, the Dark Rider on his steed with its terrible, heavy footfalls, and the deep-throated laughter that held no mirth, only malice.
“Come on.” Maedhros grabbed his hand and pulled him along down the path, both of them quickening their pace now, until the trees opened up into a wide meadow filled with flowers, bright yellow celandine and dandelions and sweet-scented pale chamomile mingling with cornflowers and irises. On…
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.
For most of my life, when reading Lord of the Rings, I read it through the perspective of Gandalf's words about Éowyn, that she'd spent years trapped as a caregiver, watching the realm she love fall from honor into disgrace.
But what if Éowyn was also a student of history?
…
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Angbang Week 2026
Angbang Week is a tumblr event focusing on the relationship between Morgoth and Sauron, running from May 5-11, 2026
Gondor Week 2026
A Tumblr week event focusing on the history of the realm of Gondor.
Crablor Day
A day dedicated to everyone's favourite warcriminal crustacean - April 26, 2026
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.
Oh! I have to confess I never thought of expanding this one, because of Idhlinn being Elleth's character.
Elleth was gracious enough to say that I had got her right in this short piece, but I don't think I'd be prepared to venture on a longer one--especially as Idhlinn is clearly part of an ongoing WIP.
By the same token, I admit I have a sneaky hope that Elleth might incorporate the concept into her WIP as part of Idhlinn's back-story, because she seemed to like it, too.
I might write more about Adanel at some point, though!
Links to two short pieces of Elleth's about Idhlinn, which you may not have seen:
This is wonderful, a small tale with Adanel in it. It's intriguing to consider that besides Andreth another wise woman was willing to exchange information with th e elves.
I think it would have taken a more personal relationship--such as Andreth had with Finrod--for Adanel to reveal that some of her ancestors had worshipped Melkor, but that doesn't mean she wouldn't have been willing to share other kinds of information freely!
And I'm sure she had other interesting things to teach.
And, once again, thank you so much for this ficlet. I'm still all asquee over it! :D Idhlinn *is* part of an ongoing WiP (and goodness knows when I get that written given my usual plethora of ongoing WiPs), but then she is a staple in most Fëanorian fic I write, as well. And your sneaky hope might just turn out to be true, because this should definitely be written in long form at some point. :)
Hmm, I loved Adanel's tales very much, and I had some pity for my own *kind*, so I decided long ago, there should be SOME men, human, whatever, not being forged or fouled by Morgoth, and led by the Maia Tom Bombadil and his friends, the Ents, to a land far away, later to be known as *The Shire*.
This would explain the Ents, still seen to the times of Sam Gamgees cousin, the suggestion of Treebeard, the hobbits may look after Ent WOMEN, the fact, this area was well cultivated, for example.
And it would offer the possibility, there were at least some men, not under the doom of Morgoth, with the choice of leaving the circles of the world, if they like to, which would make it a real gift, and no doom.
I appriciate this idea, and it is no real anticanon, in my opinion.
My abilities as author are somewhat poor, and even, if not, I would not dare to write this in English, so maybe this could be called a challenge?
Yes, you see, I want to see the human race in a level headed position, somehow.
But I always tried to explain ( especially to myself), why mortal kind of death should be a gift...
There are some kinds of dialogues, I placed between Maglor (reborn in somehow orkish form) and a descendent of those unmarred men and an elf, which deals with this theory, but I never could make a real story of all this fragments.
I always kept on writing extreme Mary Sues, and never will improve, I fear...
But I like reading, and, yes, to this, I read all your fanfics, and will continue, I promise...
Comments on Field of Research
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.