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.
The fate of lovers has been sealed. After Aegnor pledges his love to Andreth, he seeks out council one last time from his wiser and more grounded eldest brother. However, his hopes that Finrod would join him in this newfound happiness are quickly dashed and it does not go well between the…
After the fall of Dorthonion, Edhellos (originally named in Quenya Eldalote), Angrod's wife, has chosen to move to Barad Nimras, the tower that Finrod built in the Falas on a headland west of Eglarest.
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).
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…
Storyteller
Storytelling is an interactive art, using words and actions to bring a story to life while encouraging the listener’s imagination. This challenge is all about storytellers in the Silmarillion tapestry. Read more ...
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…
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.
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.
Is the elf Maglor? This was an interesting story. I never thought that much about the Arkenstone. If it was a Silmaril, one can understand Thorin's great desire for it: one of the legendary Silmarils of Feanor... Thanks for writing!
Ah, the elf is Maedhros ... it is a kind of AU although it isn't hard to see the Arkenstone as a Silmaril and that certainly would fit with the effect it has on people. Thanks for commenting
A lovely piece. The conversation between Maedhros and the Dwarf crams so much characterisation into so few words and Gandalf's bemusement at the end winds it up nicely. Thank you!
Now that is a fun AU. I like the concept very much. Also like the idea that Gandalf worrying that his memory is fading--a reaction to the bodily form he has taken. I assume it would be restored immediately when he decides to cast off his elderly Mortal's body. Of course, my favorite part is Maedhros giving the stone to the Dwarves and walking away from it.
Yes, I'm sure the fading memory is due to the elderly body he is in, and it would be restored. And I find it thoroughly easy to believe that Maedhros (and Maglor) didn't want the Silmarils for themselves by the end of the First Age, even apart from the burned hands issue.
Awesome, awesome story Clotho! And you leave us in such suspense as to what happened after, w/r to the giver of the "Arkenstone."
"By Dwarvish standards unbreakable oaths of blood-thirsty vengeance were perfectly reasonable things, so he would not have felt inclined to criticise even if his guest had not just presented him with the worth of a kingdom."
Indeed. This has always been a point that's confused me greatly w/r to the Feanorians. If they'd been anything other than Elves, the battles of Alqualonde, Doriath and Sirion would have just been battles. But since they were Elves, for some reason they're held to a much higher standard. This is OK, I suppose, but I just don't see why the Teleri of Aman, the Sindar of Doriath, and the mixed folk of Sirion are all held blameless, when the Teleri attacked first and the others refused to give up jewels they had zero right to claim. Not sure if you're sympathetic to this viewpoint, but at least Radsvinn is!
Comments on Arkenstone
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.