Cultus Dispatches: Six Demographic Takeaways from the 2025 Tolkien Fanfiction Survey
Ten years of demographic data from the Tolkien Fanfiction Survey show consistencies in who reads and writes fanfiction, as well as a few key demographic shifts.
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Cultus Dispatches: Six Demographic Takeaways from the 2025 Tolkien Fanfiction Survey
Ten years of demographic data from the Tolkien Fanfiction Survey show consistencies in who reads and writes fanfiction, as well as a few key demographic shifts.
New Challenge: Epic 80s
This month's challenge features hundreds of fresh prompts from the bodacious decade of the 1980s.
Cultus Dispatches: Communities Do Comment
Comment data from the SWG underscores community as an essential component to a robust commenting culture.
Instadrabbling Sessions for July, August, and September
Instadrabbling continues on the first Saturday of each month on our Discord server.
[Writing] and let's be winners by mistake by atlantablack
"Move farther north," Caranthir says to her a month after the attack, gaze steady on her even as his hands continue briskly gutting fish. "There is plenty of land closer to my fortress, and my people can help protect yours if there is another attack."
Haleth looks up from her…
[Writing] Changing Styles by StarSpray
“What did you do to your hair?”
[Writing] A Song Amidst His Torment by Elrond's Library
Of course it was a trap.
Maitimo has to survive. He must. But what price is too high to pay for survival?
[Writing] From That Rubble by StarSpray
Fëanor shrugged, studying the contents of his wine glass. “Something must be done about that house. It will fall down eventually.”
“It does not follow that it must be you that tears it down single-handedly. Are you sure you do not want help?”
“It’s not as though I…
[Writing] Star of Hope by Fuin
A new star shines in the sky. They claim it brings hope.
[Writing] The Message by Flora-lass
Borondir carries Steward Cirion's urgent request to Eorl the Young, with the help of his horse but at great personal cost.
Epic 80s
Create a fanwork using on of our righteous prompts based on popular culture from the 1980s. Read more ...
Also Appearing
Choose from 120 alternate universe prompts, both settings and genres, to inspire a fanwork. Read more ...
Six Demographic Takeaways from the 2025 Tolkien Fanfiction Survey by Dawn Walls-Thumma
Data from the 2025 Tolkien Fanfiction Survey shows demographic changes in participant gender, age, and education and new revelations about neurodiversity.
Communities Do Comment: Expanding the 3C's of Commenting with SWG Data by Dawn Walls-Thumma
Expanding on my 2018 article "Why People Don't Comment," comment data from the SWG underscores community as an essential component to a robust commenting culture.
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.
[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.
Celedriel Week 2026
A Tumblr event week focusing on the relationship between Celeborn and Galadriel.
Esoteric Tolkien Week 2026
A fandom event dedicated to the strange, otherworldly, and inexplicable in Middle-earth and beyond.
Tolkien Gen Week 2026
Tolkien Gen Week will run from July 6-12, 2026 to appreciate all of the incredible characters and relationships within Tolkien’s legendarium that fall under the broad category of “gen.”
Tolkien Disability Pride 2026
This Tumblr event focuses on ALL creative works focusing on disability in Tolkien's universe.
Scribbles and Drabbles 2026
Scribbles & Drabbles is a fic and art exchange with a minimum word count of 100 words.
This is heartbreaking and wonderful all at once. (I love stories about Mandos; they are [one of] my weaknesses in Silmdom. ;) And, imho, not enough authors take advantage of the idea of Elves being able to resist the call of Mandos. Here, you use it to wonderful effect to show the grief of death, not in the loss of life, but in the loss of connection to what is left behind. These lines were simple and yet brilliant:
“Without me,” he said flatly.
“Yes, without you.”
for showing this first realization and, also I thought the very human urge to be remembered and grieved by loved ones, for some impact on their lives to marked one's passing.
Thanks so much, Dawn. I like writing about Namo too. He's such a mysterious and interesting character. I actually got the idea for this story from Lissa, who wrote a nice piece about an Elf refusing the call. In this case the Elf answers, only to find he will live again but be alone until his family chooses or is able to join him. Like someone said, we hope our families will be able to go on without us but it's also distressing to think of them letting go. I'm glad you thought I captured this well.
An intelligent and disquieting story, IgB, filled with existential creepiness! Nicely done.
Your Námo is a mix of the benign and coldly detached, but I'd be hard pressed to call him compassionate. You've done a nice job in portraying the god of death (as I've noted elsewhere, hints of Hades and Anubis invaribly spring to mind when I think of Námo) as remote yet wise.
"White oblivion" is a fantastic bit of wordcraft here. I immediately visualize the afterlife-as-white-nothingness as portrayed in films.
You convey an excellent sense of the peaceful combined with the strange here, not only with the white space and the deceased elf with his unraveling threads back to his former life, but also with the concept of a "configured spirit" burning its memories away to the small timeless flame. The prospect of dreaming oneself into a blank slate is a frightening one, the promise of "pleasant dreams" notwithstanding.
This is a fascinating, and vey disturbing, look at Mandos. Death may not be permanent for Elves, but you do a nice job of showing it's far from painless - and some of their losses (such as the separation from any family remaining in Middle earth) may be permanent.
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Comments on No Traveler Returns
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