Character of the Month: Marach
There are few details in the texts about Marach, but he is noteworthy for his allegiances and his descendants, who would become pivotal to the history of Middle-earth and the eventual defeat of Morgoth and Sauron.
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!
Character of the Month: Marach
There are few details in the texts about Marach, but he is noteworthy for his allegiances and his descendants, who would become pivotal to the history of Middle-earth and the eventual defeat of Morgoth and Sauron.
New Challenge: Allusive
Literature and art constantly refer back to each other using allusions, and this month's prompts are inspired by allusions to literature, myth, art, and history.
Cultus Dispatches: "The Rings of Power" Is a Ripple (So Far)
Tolkien Fanfiction Survey data for 2025 shows that "The Rings of Power" TV series has not had the same impact on the fandom as the film trilogies did ... so far.
New Challenge: Building Middle-earth
Let global architecture be your inspiration in this challenge, where you will work with a prompts that are architectural styles, locations in Arda, or both.
[Writing] An Alluring Offer by octopus_fool
Tata is offered a solution to a grave problem, at a very low price...
[Writing] The Mirror Crack'd by AdmirableMonster
Rescued from a brutal Angband hunt, an ex-thrall with a strange and powerful artifact embedded in his spine is brought to Himring, for it is one of the only places in Beleriand which welcomes such folk. Though he has no memories of his life before, Anniavas slowly becomes accustomed to his new…
[Writing] From That Rubble by StarSpray
Fëanor shrugged, studying the contents of his wine glass. “Something must be done about that house. It will fall down eventually.”
“It does not follow that it must be you that tears it down single-handedly. Are you sure you do not want help?”
“It’s not as though I…
[Writing] most days I don't recognize me by annarobots
Of course, she knew that in the Blessed Land, true harm was unlikely to come to him. The Valar watched over them all, and the lesser spirits were everywhere. It was a great hound of Oromë who had found him happily splashing in the creek, in fact. But anyone could drown in mere…
[Series] Eat, Pray, Love by AdmirableMonster
The Darkest Timeline AU for my Steampunk Númenor series.
In which the Mouth of Sauron is originally a Númenorean chemister rescued from Ar-Pharazôn's intimate attentions by Sauron himself.
[Writing] Rise from the Ashes by AdmirableMonster
In the wake of Sauron's death, his Mouth remembers Númenor.
[Reference] Speak Friend and Enter: Trends in Fandom Entry Year by Dawn Walls-Thumma
Across three surveys and ten years, the Tolkien Fanfiction Survey has document when authors began writing. These data reveal trends in how film promotions, the films themselves, the books, and other historical contexts have influenced not only who writes but how long they stay.
Allusive
Choose from our list of allusions to history, literature, mythology, and art to create a fanwork. Read more ...
Meet & Greet
For our annual Matryoshka challenge, we add an interactive component. Receive your first prompt and track down the rest by interacting with other SWG members or finding prompts posted online. Read more ...
Speak Friend and Enter: Trends in Fandom Entry Year by Dawn Walls-Thumma
Across three surveys and ten years, the Tolkien Fanfiction Survey has document when authors began writing. These data reveal trends in how film promotions, the films themselves, the books, and other historical contexts have influenced not only who writes but how long they stay.
There are few details in the texts about Marach, but he is noteworthy for his allegiances and his descendants, who would become pivotal to the history of Middle-earth and the eventual defeat of Morgoth and Sauron.
[Artwork] A Memento of Faery by Grundy
TRSB26 art 144 - an artifact brought back from Faerie by a Starbearer.
[Writing] Down the Long Years by Isilme_among_the_stars
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…
LotR Week 2026
A week-long event for The Lord of the Rings
Finwëan Ladies Week 2026
Finwëan Ladies Week will run from September 21-27, 2026!
Fingon x Finrod x Maedhros Day 2026
A day to celebrate the relationship of the three eldest princes.
Forgotten Ground Regained Features Tolkien-Inspired Alliterative Poetry
The quarterly journal "Forgotten Ground Regained" publishes alliterative poetry and, in Issue 11, turns to focus on poems written about Tolkien's world, including several pieces by SWG poets.
Sindar Week 2026
A Tolkien event week for the Sindar, the Grey-Elves, from the Years of the Trees to the Third Age.
I feel like the moods are layered like the mountains, with more implied than the eye can see.
Starlit nights are always so calm and peaceful for me, and your piece so palpably conveys a sense of relief and release that must have been felt when the background radiation of Morgoth’s energy — insidiously permeating the last half-millennium of the First Age — suddenly subsides.
Of course Celeborn feels a fresh hope for a new Age!
I have the sense that Tom is rather Buddha-like, existing purely in the moment, accepting things as they are, ebbing and flowing in perpetual — balancing — cycles, differing only in detail.
I am curious to know what led to your choice of featuring Celeborn here, if it isn't only that he just fits so comfortably here.
Canon seems to emphasize more how much Morgoth left behind of himself, but I thought surely when he departed it must have had an effect that could be felt, especially by anyone strong in osanwe (as Celeborn does seem to be, later in the Return of the King)? And Elrond does mention later that at first they felt quite optimistic, after the fall of Morgoth, but I thought that it might take a while for that to set in, for some who had seen their home in Beleriand destroyed.
I picked Celeborn because of how Treebeard talks about him and also because it would make sense for him to be approximately in this place at this time, if he was planning a settlement at Nenuial. He is a Sinda and he is older than both Elrond and Galadriel (at least in my 'verse) and that was what I wanted for this, because he would also remember the times when Beleriand was (relatively) at peace, long before Melkor himself attacked again.
You were right that the banner was easy to upload! I think it looks great like this, do you agree? Thank you very much for making it and also for your comments!
Yes, I think there's a distinct difference between the leached influence Morgoth infused Arda with, and his radiated vibrational frequency. (No matter how I phrase this I can't help sounding all new-agey!) Same with the feeling of despair people felt due to the effects of destruction and devastation; that's directly related to the trauma they'd experienced and would take time to heal, while Morgoth's "bad vibes" would just, as you put it, feel gone.
Ah, yes, I like your line of thinking of the interconnections between Treebeard, Tom, and Celeborn.
(And I'm so happy you're happy with the banner :)
Nice. Happy.
But still... a hint of sorrow. Only a hint. Barely there. Almost nothing. But...
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