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 wondered whether the mulled wine might come across as a bit stingy, after all that. But our scout is more impressed by the close personal encounter with Fingolfin than by any further material reward!
Lovely! I like pieces about characters Tolkien so casually mentions that toil behind the scenes. Glad he (or she) was praised and feted upon return. I especially like the final couplet.
Yes, the implications of this sentence about the hardihood of those Hadorian scouts were so easy to miss, until reading it in a prompt made me consider what that would have been like for them.
I am glad you liked the final couplet.
The scout is probably a he - not because anything in the poem itself requires it, but because I had a plot bunny about a friendship between the scout and a very young Hador which suggests it.
This is delightful! I hadn't seen the original poem before, but I love how you've framed it - and I love that Imrach's memory of being served wine by Fingolfin is so special, and how it inspires Hador here.
Thank you! The interaction with young Hador was a plot bunny that I had at the time when I wrote the poem, but was unable to do anything with then. I made a note of it, for maybe later, and then I found that note again and decided now was the time!
The poem is good on its own, but the story now surrounding it is fantastic. I love that Hador wants to hear the stories that the old like Imrach have to tell, and that this extends to wanting to know about the elves. To then be able to hear about the scout from the elves is a lovely turn. 🤍
Comments on Scout of the Third House
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.