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…
Haleth leaves to find her brother, even though her father does not permit her to.
Current Challenge
Everyman
Create a fanwork about an ordinary character in the legendarium using a quote about an unnamed character as inspiration. Read more ...
Random Challenge
Halls of Mystery
Explore the place and ideas behind one of the most mysterious locations on Arda, the halls of Mandos, or the ideas of Elven "death" and rebirth. 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.
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.
Fantastic work, Lyra! You addressed the theme beautifully, and for me, this poignant, painful and awkward meeting rings with authenticity. Eärendil's narrative is executed in a most satisfying way!
Aw, thank you very much! I blame this entirely on B2MeM - I chose to play Eärendil because my usual characters tend to be rather angsty, and what happened? I discovered Eärendil\'s angsty side... ;) Glad you enjoyed it!
So I decided to read this tonight because I can't sleep, and now I'm curled up in bed getting teary because this meeting is so painful and so real. Excellent, excellent story.
I think he does. He observes that they behave like "Mortals or Feanorians" in leaving their weapons, and although he feels that they qualify as neither, "not really", he is aware that in some ways, they are both (half-)mortal and (raised) Feanorian. I was also trying to allude to their Feanorian upbringing with my cumbersome description of their assymetrical cloaks, covering their right shoulder (and thus, their right arms). I probably didn't make a very good job of it, but in my 'verse, this is a typically Feanorian thing - a fashionable show of solidarity with Maedhros ("Our leader can't use his right hand, so we hide ours, too"). It's distantly inspired by the Renaissance mantella, only reversed, and as a long cloak rather than a cape. Although Elrond and Elros are no longer among the Feanorians at this point in the story, they continue to wear their cloaks "Feanorian-style", possibly as an act of rebellion or a covert vote of confidence. I am not sure Eärendil picks up on that, however, although he does pick up on the strangeness of the cloak. But anyway, yes, he knows, and when he assumes that they "called another man their father", he means Maglor.
I think they have come to understand - or at least accept - their parents' decisions at that point. And neither of them strike me as cruel people. Eärendil's fate, meanwhile, is a lot crueller than it may at first appear! Thank you for liking and letting me know!
Comments on Lives Apart
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.