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.
Thank you for teh review and the insight - you're right, it might be considered the arc of a day. Incidentally, that thought never crossed my mind while writing. ;)
Thank you very much for the review! I had hoped that that would be a striking scene, so it's good to know that it succeeds (for some people, at least!)
I liked this immensely--from the bright, rosy start to the melancholy end. You have such great way of using words to paint pictures, and having seen your work with pictures, I think you're also good with using pictures that inspire words to be written. I really, really like reading about your Fëanorians, particularly your Nerdanel.
Aaw, thanks, you're flattering me. It would be easy to go off writing an essay on a relation between words and pictures for me (in writing I'm usually describing the visuals I get imagining the scene, some sort of 'in-mind cinema', while with the manips I'm trying to get the visuals themselves down in pixels, so your connection isn't even so far off), but that would be beyond the scope of the review. Thanks for liking my Feanorians. Sneaky buggers, aren't they, worming their way into other minds?
Thank you. :) I hope it doesn't end at sorrow for poor Nerdanel. She deserves better than that, and I daresay she is stronger than succumbing permanently, too.
You write Nerdanel really well. She has such a bittersweet life. I'm always so impressed and in awe of Feanor, and the way your Nerdanel always wakes me up to the reality. It adds a much more personal touch to the glory of the Noldor and how their greatest glory came from Feanor but also their greatest sorrow. The sun is supposed to mark the waning of the Elves and that's exactly what it does in Nerdanel's case. She's very strong, and I admire her for moving forward despite her loss.
Comments on Changing Lights
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.