When we first opened our archive in 2007, we called it our MFAQ—Most Frequently Asked Question: "Does my story count as Silmfic?" It seems like an easy question, but it's not. The Silmarillion—as in the published book—is of course but a part of the more sprawling legendarium. People, cultures, lands, and historical events spill from the pages of The Silmarillion into other works and vice versa. Tolkien himself did this, pulling bits from the "Silmarillion" into The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. So at what point does something become a "Silmwork"?
Of course, we have our MFAQ among our FAQs: How does the SWG define "Silmfic" or "Silmarillion-based fanworks"? We've created a checklist there; all you need to do is check one item and you're good to go. But here's a few insider tips from the mods that may also help creators decide if their work belongs with us.
- Characters and groups that span multiple books are welcome as long as there is a strong connection to The Silmarillion. Same with multi-age works: We love multi-age works, but a significant portion should take place in one of the time periods on the list.
- Speaking of: we accept Third Age fanworks! This often gets overlooked because we tend to hear "Third Age" and think "Hobbit and Lord of the Rings," but in fact, most of the Third Age is eligible for our site. If your fanwork takes place in the vast swath of the legendarium not covered in depth in those two books, it is welcome with us—yes, even if it is about people who feature heavily in these books.
- We are all Tolkien fans here. The SWG started at a time when the Tolkien fandom was coming down from the Lord of the Rings films, and most fanworks were centered on that book and those films. Silmarillion-based fanworks were often quickly overwhelmed on other Tolkien archives (of which there were many at the time), so we carved out the SWG as a space for Silmarillion-based fanworks. However, we are Tolkien fans—works do not need to be scrubbed of all mentions of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings.
- Fanworks that draw on adaptations of Tolkien are welcome as well, as long as there is a significant basis in the The Silmarillion or a related work. (Looking especially at Rings of Power fanworks here!) Choose Crossover as one of your genres if you're creating based on an adaptation as well. (Maybe consider posting it for our Crossroads of the Fallen King crossover challenge!)
- If you think a fanwork is on the line, post it. The mods are rarely as strict as people think we are, and we favor including more Tolkien fanworks.
- And if you've posted five fanworks or 10,000 words with us, you can post anything Tolkien-based you want in the Beyond the Silmarillion section!
SWG News
New Challenge: Epic 80s
This month's challenge features hundreds of fresh prompts from the bodacious decade of the 1980s.
Cultus Dispatches: Communities Do Comment
Comment data from the SWG underscores community as an essential component to a robust commenting culture.
Instadrabbling Sessions for July, August, and September
Instadrabbling continues on the first Saturday of each month on our Discord server.
New Fanworks
Is it raining with you? by AdmirableMonster [Writing]
In the last days of Númenor, two very different men meet in Umbar and fall in love.
(Please note that while this work is heavily inspired by Disco Elysium, no knowledge of the game is necessary to read the fic!)
Read more ...Wrensong and Roses by Isilme_among_the_stars [Writing]
Concerned by his responses to the paraphernalia of healing, Fingon steals Maedhros from his room for an impromptu garden excursion. Maedhros battles with dark thoughts.
Read more ...Bon(e)fire by Fuin [Writing]
On the night before the battle, Caranthir and his ally share thoughts about their peoples' traditions:
Burning bones ward off evil.
Read more ...McShady by Babblecat [Writing]
Melkor has himself a bad time in the Void.
Read more ...
Updated Fanworks
A Thousand Winds that Blow by StarSpray [Writing]
When uneasy dreams bring him back into Beleriand, Daeron finds a pair of twins who have lost their home, and an enemy who has lost himself. The Shadow's reach is growing ever longer, and if they are to survive, they must do it together.
Read more ...Nasyalossë by Lovimmy3365 [Writing]
Erestor lay up against a tree, brown washed to black in the wet of the snow. The black disc of the new moon sailed across the dark sky. Erestor wished it were gone. He had no need to look into dark eyes any longer.
He was dying.
(AKA Erestor unwittingly travels back in time to the days between the Dagor Bragollach and the Nirnaeth Arnoediad, meets the sons of Feanor, Thingol and his ilk, many Laiquendi, many Dwarves, and Men besides, and THEN decides to solve the drowning of Beleriand himself. This has nothing to do with his personal problems. Nope. Not at all. Erestor is having regular feelings.)
Read more ...Until the Stars are All Alight by Dagstjarna [Writing]
Reembodied in Aman, Celebrimbor decides to return to Middle earth to help heal the darkness and hurt wrought by the ring.
Read more ...From That Rubble by StarSpray [Writing]
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 have much else to do. I need to build something new there,” he said after a few moments. “To do that, I must first clear away the old and broken things.”
Decades out of Mandos, too many things in Fëanor's life remain broken. He can't do anything except wait for his sons to come to him, but he can do something about the old and crumbling house where they once lived.
Read more ...The Mirror Crack'd by AdmirableMonster [Writing]
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 life and finds he has a queer connection with Maedhros, Himring's lord. As their intimacy grows, however, so do the dangers surrounding them, both without and within. What secrets are hidden inside the depths of Anniavas's lost memories--and how will those with whom he is forging and deepening bonds react, when those secrets are at last revealed?
Read more ...Eä's Redemption by AaronAzrael [Writing]
This is my new poetical attempt to add my own interpretation to Tolkien's Cosmology as to Eru's Creation and the Valar's minds and behind-the-scene providence reasons and mechanisms.. I often review Eä as part of our own world, just in another dimension, this is why I have always seriously thought on the matter who the Ainur are, who Eru is, how he matches our own religious pantheon, and this has been conducted after serious research of many esoteric teachings of our own planet's heritage.
Read more ...Around the World and Web
Scribbles and Drabbles 2026
Scribbles & Drabbles is a fic and art exchange with a minimum word count of 100 words.
Tolkien Disability Pride 2026
This Tumblr event focuses on ALL creative works focusing on disability in Tolkien's universe.
Tolkien Gen Week 2026
Tolkien Gen Week will run from July 6-12, 2026 to appreciate all of the incredible characters and relationships within Tolkien’s legendarium that fall under the broad category of “gen.”