New Challenge: Scavenger Hunt
In this Matryoshka-with-a-twist, you will solve clues that point you to the challenge prompts.
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.
[Writing] On the Nature of Time by Elrond's Library
A series of half-drabbles using the one word prompts for the March/April 2025 Birthday Bash Challenge, looking at the perception of time through the eyes of Maiar (in general), Maedhros (specifically), and Aragorn and Arwen (specifically).
[Writing] Somber Reflections by Artano
Finrod ponders on the mortality of Men and how few he has met, and Bëor is there to pull him back to reality.
[Writing] The Spruce Tree by Dagstjarna
A young Celegorm and Curufin befriend an old Spruce tree.
[Writing] Eä's Redemption by AaronAzrael
This is my new poetical attempt to add my own interpretation to Tolkien's Cosmology as to Eru's Creation and the Valar's minds and behind-the-scene providence reasons and mechanisms.. I often review Eä as part of our own world, just in another dimension, this is why I have always seriously…
[Writing] Hill and Water Under Sky by StarSpray
a collection of drabbles and mini ficlets in the meanwhile the world goes on 'verse that aren't long enough to stand on their own
[Writing] Otornassë by vulpeculi4r
In the aftermath of the third kinslaying and the death of Amrod and Amras, Maglor needs to reassure himself that Maedhros is still there with him.
[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.
Scavenger Hunt
Solves clues to find your prompts for this Matryoshka challenge. Read more ...
Turgon's Rock Opera
On the anniversary of the publication of "The Silmarillion," we’re reflecting on the importance of music in Arda with prompts that come from rock songs. Read more ...
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.
[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.
Tolkien Native Language Appreciation Fest 2026
A Tumblr event to celebrate the linguistic diversity of the Tolkien fandom.
Scribbles and Drabbles 2026
Scribbles & Drabbles is a fic and art exchange with a minimum word count of 100 words.
Russingon Week 2026
A Tumblr week event focusing on the relationship between Maedhros and Fingon.
Boromir Week 2026
If you are Boromir girlies/gents/stans/simps, then this event is for you! So, come join us, and bring your fanfiction, art, gifs, moodboards, and headcanons that highlight everything you love about our Captain of Gondor!
Silmarillion Epistolary Week 2026
Silmarillion Epistolary Week is a Tumblr challenge dedicated to creating fanworks to tell the story of the Silmarillion in the style of an epistolary novel.
Ouch! Ouch! Ouch! What a bad way to go! When he reconsiders his decisions and sees his mistakes, when he finally realizes that his best creation are his sons, they react to the *bad* Feanor who swore the Oath, not the *good* Feanor who loves them and whose parting memory was going to be fun time with all the family together. So many regrets to work out in Mandos.:(
Great story.
I've had moments as a reader when I assumed he was blind to the wrongs he did, and felt only the wrongs done to him: but I realized that tragedy also lies in the possibility that he *had* such a realization: but all the mechanics of doom are already set going!
Oh this was so utterly heartbreaking. I love the memories you have chosen, the regret as he sees himself with more objective eyes and finds his actions petty, wrong, regretful. And that horrible misunderstanding at the end--he would do things diffently with the clarity death is giving him. Such a devastating comprehension.
But. I will find a shred of hope--for he goes to Mandos' Halls enlightened by his thoughts here. Not in anger or in rebellion but thinking of those he loved or who loved him tat evshould have cherished more. And that gives me hope for him in the Halls.
That's a wonderful thought. I am a HUGE fan of "what happens in Mandos, and beyond" stories: the second chances.
It's fascinating, isn't it? Tolkien gave us some of the most poignant character moments ever, of those who realized some great error they had made, and tried to make up for it in the face of doom: Thorin, Boromir. But he also gave us characters who make similarly tragic errors and never get the chance to change anything: Isildur. And those whom he lets us see only from the outside: and we are left to guess or imagine whether they felt regret or not: not only Feanor but Thingol come to mind.
And in every case. we readers say (and write, and draw): what if?
That he should have cherished more is what it should say in the previous comment! Sorry for typo--no way to edit it.
Oh wow, this story really packed a punch! Such a bitter list of regrets and could-have-beens already... and such an awful, heavy misunderstanding to finish it off. Powerful writing and such a satisfying, thought-provoking look at what may have gone through Feanor's head as he died. Brilliant work!
It flowed from the dense net of objects and connections that the first part of the Silm gives us: the sword, his brother, the sons . . . the wide lands of Beleriand, that are *meant* to mean freedom as well as vengeance.
So glad it worked for you!
I know I praised this on Tumblr and commented on AO3 but just want to go on record here (what I consider my home site) at how wonderful it is. Very special to me over the last couple of days, because I have been examining a lot why I find Feanor and sons so compelling.
Anyway, here is a cut and paste of my initial AO3 comment.
You ripped my heart out! This is such a keeper. I am so jealous. All of this stuff is in my heart and my mind when I write stories of Feanor and all of the Finwean brood, but I spend tens of thousands of words and never am sure I manage to communicate what it is that moves me so much about his story. Oh, well! That is what I do--write fanfic to try to ferret out those individual tangents.
And the end! I love the concept that he could have been trying to say something else. It is beautifully done. Thanks so much for adding this to fandom.
And I thank you for commenting here, too. This site has the totally unique--Silmarillion-ness---that steeped-ness in the legendarium that just delights me.
This week I ended up reading a story here from 2010 and it was amazing: that layered sense of fan creation and imagination, which this site can offer as a dedicated archive.
I am rambling a bit, I blame wine and Netflix.
But, that's why I cross post and why I appreciate your commenting here after being kind enough to do so on the other platforms.
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Comments on Da Capo
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