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.
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.
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.
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.
These were simply flashes, a hint of a wider, greater world. A tantalizing glimpse of more, always at the edge of awareness, never within reach. Míriel would grasp it, if something as intangible as the concept of color could overflow in bounteous wonder over her hands.
Everyman
Create a fanwork about an ordinary character in the legendarium using a quote about an unnamed character as inspiration. Read more ...
Random Challenge
Teen Spirit
In honor of the SWG becoming a teenager, create a fanwork about an adolescent character or adolescence using our prompt generator. 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…
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 enjoyed this story! Elros's eager volunteering is very endearing and the interaction between the Maiar and Valar are rather fun. Elros's lingering issues with his brother elicit sympathy, though. Thank you!
Well, as serious as the Akallabeth is, there had to be some light moments in the lives of the Edain. *grin* i am glad you enjoed this, Dawn, especially Namo popping up. Thanks for letting me know.
This was a fun read, full of humourous moments. I'll be looking forward to the rest of your Ak-in-Aug stories for more of the same. But despite the humour, it was nice to see Elros develop from the error-prone goof of his first appearance to the more competent leader of Men at the end, ready to step into his role as the great first king of Númenor.
Thanks, Darthfingon. I am glad you found this to be a fun read. I really enjoyed writing it, especially the humorous parts. Elros had much to learn before he could become the king his people needed. I do not think it was easy for him at first, as this story shows.
A very interesting story. I liked the images of the scythe. It must have been hard for Elros to adjust to his new life. I liked seeing things through Eowne's POV.
I loved this story. It was fun to see the events from Eonwe's perspective and how he grumbled about having to be the teacher. Elros was hilarious! But it was also very interesting to watch all the other variables playing into the story, like Elros' feelings of inadequacy, his relationship with Elrond, the Valar's pov... Very nice work!
Thanks, Fireworks. I am glad you enjoyed this. I like Eonwe very much and he appears in many of my other stories, especially in "Elf, Interrupted", which you can read over at SoA.
Comments on Eönwë Among the Edain
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.