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!
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.
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."
A Teleri fishing boat captain turns to farming on abandoned Noldor lands after her ship is stolen. A Noldor farmer returns with Finarfin to find that his land belongs to the Teleri now.
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.
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.
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.
This was a very moving story from the poem in the beginning to the fate of the last Fëanorian in the end. I usually prefer stories with a happier ending, but this is just beautiful. And you manage to instill a sense of every character, their feelings, wishes and regrets in such a short space. Thank you for sharing these.
Oh, this chapter is chilling. I love the formatting of it: the jewels are always there no matter what, their voices triggering Feanor to commit terrible crimes.
The way this is laid out raises the interesting question of responsibility, and of how the light of Varda is such a corrupting force. Is the light of the Trees too strong a thing for an elf to handle? That's a question that could spark plotbunnies for *me*! :D
Through each piece I can see that madness and obsession inspired the the jewels, leading to the House of Feanor's downfall.
Some of the sons of Feanor were tricked by the seductive voices of the Silmarils, which play right into their pride and belief that they can restore the House's glory if only they strike the right blow... How far from humanity they have fallen, to believe that the Silmarils are worth more than the lives of their kin and the people who were loyal to them.
And then there were the sons who realized their mistakes, and (at the same time, horribly) realize that they cannot atone for them. I can't figure out which mindset is more tragic.
Nerdanel's piece was a lovely inclusion. She has always been one of my favorites, and this captures her tragedy and helplessness very well.
Thanks so much for your review. This was my chance to show the Feanorians as not evil but completely misguided and lost themselves. In my mind, the Silmarils were like cocaine and they were addicts. And like drug addicts, they don't care about what damage they do to themselves or others, they just want to get their next fix or the ultimate high. It doesn't really make them evil - it makes them flawed which despite some people's opinions, Elves are flawed.
This was a very moving story from the poem in the beginning to the fate of the last Fëanorian in the end. I usually prefer stories with a happier ending, but this is just beautiful. And you manage to instill a sense of every character, their feelings, wishes and regrets in such a short space. Thank you for sharing these.
Thanks so much for your comments. This story was so special to me because I wanted to show the Feanorians as something more than 'monsters' and kinslayers.
Oh, this chapter is chilling. I love the formatting of it: the jewels are always there no matter what, their voices triggering Feanor to commit terrible crimes.
The way this is laid out raises the interesting question of responsibility, and of how the light of Varda is such a corrupting force. Is the light of the Trees too strong a thing for an elf to handle? That's a question that could spark plotbunnies for *me*! :D
Through each piece I can see that madness and obsession inspired the the jewels, leading to the House of Feanor's downfall.
Some of the sons of Feanor were tricked by the seductive voices of the Silmarils, which play right into their pride and belief that they can restore the House's glory if only they strike the right blow... How far from humanity they have fallen, to believe that the Silmarils are worth more than the lives of their kin and the people who were loyal to them.
And then there were the sons who realized their mistakes, and (at the same time, horribly) realize that they cannot atone for them. I can't figure out which mindset is more tragic.
Nerdanel's piece was a lovely inclusion. She has always been one of my favorites, and this captures her tragedy and helplessness very well.
Thanks so much for your review. This was my chance to show the Feanorians as not evil but completely misguided and lost themselves. In my mind, the Silmarils were like cocaine and they were addicts. And like drug addicts, they don't care about what damage they do to themselves or others, they just want to get their next fix or the ultimate high. It doesn't really make them evil - it makes them flawed which despite some people's opinions, Elves are flawed.
Comments on Fëanorian Fates Series
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.