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: Gates of Summer Choose a summer-related prompt or prompts from a collection of quotes and events from Tolkien's canon and his life.
Mereth Aderthad Interview: Interview with Varda delle Stelle by Shadow Varda delle Stelle is the featured artist for cloudyhymn's Mereth Aderthad 2025 presentation "The Design of Dragons and the Doom of the Dwarves." Shadow spoke with Varda about her own connections to the earth and concepts in cloudyhymn's presentation, her creative process, and her hopes for her Mereth Aderthad paintings.
Mereth Aderthad Interview: Interview with Kai by Shadow Kai is the featured artist for Maglor's Mereth Aderthad 2025 presentation, "Gil-galad was an Elven King: Kingship and Personhood in the last High King of the Noldor." Shadow spoke with Kai about his wide range of interests and inspirations in the legendarium and why Maglor's presentation so intrigued him that he finished the art for it the first night.
Mereth Aderthad Interview: Interview with Reese by Dawn Reese is the featured author for polutropos's presentation "'Kidnap Fam' and the Living Legendarium" at Mereth Aderthad 2025. Dawn spoke with reese about the silences storytellers leave, mythology, and the appeal of alternate universe fanfiction.
Video and materials from our session on how to give a presentation at a Tolkien conference. The session covers how to practice, plan, and prepare for the presentation; what to expect on the day of the presentation; tips for participating in the Q&A; and how to plan ahead for common worries…
They passed out of Lhûn and the wider coastline of Middle-earth opened up before his eyes. He had wandered those shores for centuries, and even now he felt the pull of that same wanderlust, and knew he would miss them for the rest of his life. Their wildness, the untamed waves, the rocky…
Fish is the featured artist for Stella's Mereth Aderthad 2025 presentation "Cherished antagonist, despised protagonist - a defence of Elu Thingol." Shadow spoke with fish about his creative process, the importance of both tragedy and eucatastrophe to Tolkien's works, and the appeal of "greyness…
As the featured artist for cloudyhymn's Mereth Aderthad 2025 presentation "The Design of Dragons and the Doom of the Dwarves," Varda delle Stelle describes her idea for this presentation as springing fully formed as Athena from Zeus's head. Varda chatted with Shadow about what drew her to this…
Video and materials from our session on how to give a presentation at a Tolkien conference. The session covers how to practice, plan, and prepare for the presentation; what to expect on the day of the presentation; tips for participating in the Q&A; and how to plan ahead for common worries and mishaps.
Fish is the featured artist for Stella's Mereth Aderthad 2025 presentation "Cherished antagonist, despised protagonist - a defence of Elu Thingol." Shadow spoke with fish about his creative process, the importance of both tragedy and eucatastrophe to Tolkien's works, and the appeal of "greyness" in Silmarillion characters like Elu Thingol.
As the featured artist for cloudyhymn's Mereth Aderthad 2025 presentation "The Design of Dragons and the Doom of the Dwarves," Varda delle Stelle describes her idea for this presentation as springing fully formed as Athena from Zeus's head. Varda chatted with Shadow about what drew her to this presentation, her approach to painting, and her hopes for her Mereth Aderthad work.
Part of our Themed Collection series for our newsletter, this collection features fiction, artwork, and essays that transcend the idea of Orcs as the enemy, instead considering their humanity.
They found Elrond’s sons with Legolas and Gimli, and with Éomer King and Lady Éowyn, standing before an enormous fresco of a charging army of horsemen. “Why, isn’t that what just happened, the way it was told to us?” Sam exclaimed, looking up at it.
Once upon a time, JRR Tolkien wrote a fairy-tale retelling, an attempt to reconstruct an alternative version of the ancient poem called Beowulf, and he called it Sellic Spell: 'strange tale' or 'wondrous tale'.
Once upon a time, on the long road home from the Lonely…
Kidnap Fam Survey
Polutropos is collecting survey data as part of her research on the "Living Legendarium", i.e., how the legends of Arda, from their earliest drafts by Tolkien to the posthumously published Silmarillion edited by Christopher Tolkien to the creative engagements by fans, are inherently indeterminate and mutable, inviting many and diverse interpretations.
Tolkien Native Language Appreciation Fest 2025
This Tumblr event aims to celebrate the diversity in the Tolkien fandom by giving all creators a chance to use their creativity to explore and experiment with all languages.
Russingon Week 2025
Russingon Week is a Tumblr and AO3 event for fanworks that center a romantic or queerplatonic relationship between Maedhros and Fingon.
Tolkien South Asian Week
Tolkien South Asian Week is a fandom-wide event on Tumblr to celebrate South Asian peoples, cultures, and lives through Tolkien’s Legendarium.
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.
I am noticing the second time around so many details that I rushed through on the first read--galloping to the end. I leave some more comments on the chapters as I go! It is incredibly creative and unique.
Both QN and Return to Aman deserve multiple rereads to garner all the small details, lovely descriptions, vivid characterizations. I'll start rereading them both
I've just realised that although the centering and bold text have copied across, the italics have not: I'll have to go back through and put them back in! I hope it doesn't make Feanor's dialogue too hard to read. This sort of thing is the reason I haven't got to copying across all of Return to Aman yet!
I really liked the scene with Sauron. There was a bit of mystery about who he was, and why he would "help" (unless he's not actually helping?). I wonder when we will meet him again, and if spirit-Fëanor with fight Morgoth head on at some point!
Yes indeed, help from Sauron is to be treated with considerable caution! (I'm sure it's fine. That fine upstanding citizen Sauron is entirely to be relied upon!)
I think the parts with Fëanor and Sauron talking together are my favorite one. This one is very sinister and seems to imply that, somehow, Fëanor has been working for Morgoth all along and Morgoth is somehow... fond of him?
Well, Morgoth does hate Feanor most of all: that's probably about as close to 'fond' as Morgoth can get! I think Morgoth tried to make Feanor into his tool. He didn't entirely succeed!
Really liked the fight between Fëanor and Sauron. It reminds of the song contest between Finrod and Sauron, and the images used were great: kinslaying versus the humiliation of Melkor! I hope for some Fëanor versus Melkor now, and wonder if Fëanor will ultimatly go to Mandos and meet with Fingolfin again.
I'm really enjoying all the magic woven throughout this story. It feels very authentic to me. I love it when Maglor and Maedhros show their superpowers!
“Thank you,” Elrond said, his eyes bright with laughter. “I’d hate to feel my education lacked something compared with a century or so of the finest teaching in Tirion, despite war, orcs and the Black Enemy of All the World.”
I really love this chapter it is one of my favorites. I know these comments I am leaving are insufficient. Sometimes I can write long rambling comments and other times I can't, but I just want you to know how much I love details of this story.
Elrond's curiosity and his optimism are young Elrond as I have always imagined him!
Oh I was so happy to see another chapter. What a lovely end. I like the fact that Celebrimbor wears the Star, even though it is hard. And that he staus among the remnants of the Fëanorion loyalists and free thralls.
His conversation with Elrond reveals so much of both of them. I'm glad Elrond is looking, has thought it out and that they both agree some shouting is necessary. Their palpable frustration that they missed signs of what Maedrhos and Maglor would do in the end and that they were deceived rings true.
Elrond's to speak for them is just right--as we know from your others fics he does accomplish that. And poor Celebrimbor is right--Fëanor's grandson sailing into Alqualondë demanding a Silmaril is asking for trouble. But the advice to seek out Finrod--because he knows everyone and that he of all people would still be willing to help is perfect.
and I loved the twist at the end! That Fëanor wrote and rewrote this history and that it changed in the retelling and is waiting to be found in Elrond's vast library.
Im glad he kept his promise to Maedhros--that really mattered to Maedhros and I'm relieved Fëanor respected that.
Comments on Quenta Narquelion
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.