You may have been asked at some point if you prefer mountains or the sea, an entry in the "would you rather?" category of questions that seeks to dichotomize people as one or the other. I live in the mountains but very much prefer the sea. Part of the reason is the passing ships. I connect to Tolkien's description of Fëanor having hands and mind seldom at rest because that's me too, yet I will sit on a beach or stand on a pier and do nothing but watch ships passing for as long as you allow me. This odd interest/hobby always felt vaguely Tolkienish for reasons I couldn't quite articulate. (It is not as though a container ship poking along on the horizon is carrying Elves to Valinor! Cheap sneakers to Montreal, maybe, but not wearied souls to rest and healing in the Undying Lands.)

Simon J. Cook's latest installment in his series about towers for A Sense of History begins to explain why. For exactly a year now, Simon has been exploring towers across Tolkien's work, focusing mostly on the tower analogy in Tolkien's lecture "Beowulf: The Monsters and the Critics" but also the many towers that dot the landscape of Middle-earth in his more familiar works.

This month's article, "Passing Ships," is just as the name suggests. Returning to the tower analogy of "Monsters and the Critics," Simon considers why the ability to look up on the sea in that analogy is so important. He considers the exordium to Beowulf, which he describes as a myth "framed by two ships" related to the mythic heathen king Scyld Scefing. Even in these days, Simon claims, the significance of these two ships, coming and returning over the sea from the west, has been lost, the poem offering a glimpse back at that forgotten tradition.

You can read Simon's article "Passing Ships" here.

SWG News

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.

Instadrabbling Sessions for April, May, and June
Instadrabbling continues on the first Saturday of each month on our Discord server.

Beta Readers

For the past several months, we have been making changes to our site to eliminate or decrease the use of modules that trigger an occasional error on user pages. This past week, we took the final step in this process and moved our Beta Directory off of a problematic module and onto a more dependable core software module.

Maybe it is news to you that we even have a Beta Directory! We do! It's located on the Tools menu of the archive.

When we rebuilt the archive in 2021, we wanted to make it easier for writers to find someone to help them with their projects. The Beta Directory is the result of that goal.

Any SWG member can set up a profile in the Beta Directory. The only requirement is a desire to help writers improve their work! The Beta Directory is searchable across multiple criteria to make it easier for writers to find someone likely to be excited about their project.

If you'd like to set up a beta-reader profile (or edit your existing profile), go to My Account and click Edit. You will find a tab for Beta there. Fill out as much or as little information as you like and make sure to check "Activate this profile" (which you can uncheck anytime you need to go on hiatus or be removed from the list, without losing your data. Simply recheck the box when you're ready to be listed again.)

This is slightly different than how beta-reader profiles were managed before. Our beta profile FAQ has more information and screen captures to help you find where you need to go. Hit REPLY here if you have questions or run into any snags.

New Fanworks

The Endless Years by by Elrond's Library [Writing]

Elwing reckons with the passage of time.

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dye me, nocturne by by skywardstruck [Writing]

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.

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a life freely given, a favor returned by by skywardstruck [Writing]

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 Finrod's favor in the best way he knows how.

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Til We're on the Other Side by by StarSpray [Writing]

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. 

In the dark woods near the Waters of Awakening, Finwë's brothers are taken.

In Valinor, when the Trees wither, Finwë is slain.

In the Fourth Age, things take place long thought impossible.

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Updated Fanworks

Hill and Water Under Sky by by StarSpray [Writing]

a collection of drabbles and mini ficlets in the meanwhile the world goes on 'verse that aren't long enough to stand on their own

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The Mirror Crack'd by 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?

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A Hundred Miles Through the Desert by by StarSpray [Writing]

“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 the other side of it was a larger party than Maglor had ever seen in Lórien—five figures sitting in the grass. Huan barked again, and they all looked up. “It seems everyone has come to fetch us home,” Maedhros said, laughing, as all their brothers scrambled to their feet.

After years in Lórien, Maglor and Maedhros are ready to return to their family and to make something new with their lives--but to move forward, all of Fëanor's sons must decide how, or if, they can ever reconcile with their father.

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Beyond the Silmarillion Fanworks

The Mirror of Galadriel by by skywardstruck [Artwork]

Smoke rises from the Mirror, where the Lady of Lothlórien awaits to share its visions.

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Bar-en-Eladar by by Gabriel [Writing]

Out of the shadow, light is born anew.

A Chieftain is dead. And whilst the events surrounding his death are unclear, a son tries to come to terms with his loss.

Read more ...

Around the World and Web

April/May Teitho Challenge
Teithio is running a prompt challenge around the theme of "heartbreak."

Barduil Month 2026
A month-long Tumblr events all about the relationship between Thranduil and Bard the Bowman.

Tolkien Reverse Summer Bang 2026
The Tolkien Reverse Summer Bang is back for another summer of collaboration between artists and writers!

Leaf & Lore: A Tolkien Writing Month
Start a story, work on a WIP, finish a fic, dabble in drabbles, pen a poem, type a tale, or otherwise wrestle with words. Set your own goal: Leaf & Lore is all up to you.

Gondor Week 2026
A Tumblr week event focusing on the history of the realm of Gondor.

Angbang Week 2026
Angbang Week is a tumblr event focusing on the relationship between Morgoth and Sauron, running from May 5-11, 2026

Aspec Arda Week 2026
This week-long event celebrates asexual and aromantic spectrum interpretations and headcanons of Tolkien’s Legendarium.

Crablor Day
A day dedicated to everyone's favourite warcriminal crustacean - April 26, 2026