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.
I'm glad I get to be the first to review. You already know how crazy I am about Maitimo. It's easy to feel the same way about Fingon. Reading about them in a garden somehow reminds me of "The Scented Pleasure Garden" especially when you mentioned the blue flowers for Fingon and that he feels that red flowers would suit Maitimo.
But all kidding aside, I enjoyed reading the story because of the of what lies beneath: of innocent, golden times shadowed with the premonition of darker future events. Thanks for sharing this.
My favorite line is Nelyo's: "Do you ever think that maybe we're just like that flower...that maybe, maybe we weren't meant to stay rooted forever."
Oh, god, it was so hard not to think of your fic when I was writing this!I was trying to be serious, and you made it very difficult. :pI have not been into early Valinor fic much lately, I don’t know why.(Maybe it’s just too uplifting for me...?)But I have to admit, it was such a relief to take a break from “Just One Victory” and write something even halfway uplifting and innocent, even if I couldn’t resist a bit of foreshadowing.And I’m very glad that you enjoyed it.Thanks for reviewing!
Beautiful, insightful and very atmospheric piece. I especially like the bits of foreshadowing, because I often wonder how much exactly the Eldar would know/feel about their future for sure and how that knowledge might influence the present. Great job!
Thanks very much!I have a bad habit of foreshadowing more than necessary, so it’s reassuring to know that I didn’t go completely overboard.I’m glad you enjoyed it.
I'm a sucker for visual imagery, so your beautiful descriptions of light and colour really stayed with me.
Nice symbolism, too, with the red and blue for Maedhros and Fingon respectively. Out of curiosity, do the white flowers represent anyone in particular, or are they just symbolic of fragility?
Also, well done with the foreshadowing!
Nelyo once said that I would make a good king.
Small sentences like that, sprinkled throughout - very effective. Also, the concept of blasphemy was - not chilling, exactly, but premonitory (is that even a word?).
Mistrali
P.S. I've been listening too much in English class lol.
Thanks for taking the time to review.I tried to keep symbolism to a minimum here (well, considering that the entire story was built around it, anyway); I am not a symbolism person at all, so the white flowers can mean whatever you’d like.Really, I wrote most of this story while sitting in a garden, and there literally were white and blue flowers all over the place, but no red.I guess that just got me thinking.And I can never resist foreshadowing; it’s all over the place in almost all of my stories.
p.s. Don’t pay too much attention in English class – they’ll destroy your appreciation of all things literary, and they never know what they’re talking about anyway. :p
This is a lovely piece- loads of wonderful undercurrents and oblique references as well as that sort of excitment that comes from discovering love - and I love the rather more adult and knowing Nelyo. Just thoroughly enjoying reading your work right now.
Comments on Blasphemy
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.