Mereth Aderthad Interview: Interview with Varda delle Stelle by Shadow
Varda delle Stelle is the featured artist for cloudyhymn's Mereth Aderthad 2025 presentation "The Design of Dragons and the Doom of the Dwarves." Shadow spoke with Varda about her own connections to the earth and concepts in cloudyhymn's presentation, her creative process, and her hopes for her Mereth Aderthad paintings.
SWG News
Mereth Aderthad Interview: Interview with Kai by Shadow
Kai is the featured artist for Maglor's Mereth Aderthad 2025 presentation, "Gil-galad was an Elven King: Kingship and Personhood in the last High King of the Noldor." Shadow spoke with Kai about his wide range of interests and inspirations in the legendarium and why Maglor's presentation so intrigued him that he finished the art for it the first night.
Mereth Aderthad Interview: Interview with Reese by Dawn
Reese is the featured author for polutropos's presentation "'Kidnap Fam' and the Living Legendarium" at Mereth Aderthad 2025. Dawn spoke with reese about the silences storytellers leave, mythology, and the appeal of alternate universe fanfiction.
Mereth Aderthad Interview: Interview with Dawn Felagund by Shadow
In our series of interviews of creators for Mereth Aderthad, Shadow spoke with Dawn about her story, written for Savannah Horrell's "By Guile Committed: Comparing Tolkien’s Thieves to Beowulf" presentation, the balance of planning an event and creating for it at the same time, and the intersection of Tolkien and Beowulf.
New & Updated Fanworks
[Writing] High in the Clean Blue Air by StarSpray
They passed out of Lhûn and the wider coastline of Middle-earth opened up before his eyes. He had wandered those shores for centuries, and even now he felt the pull of that same wanderlust, and knew he would miss them for the rest of his life. Their wildness, the untamed waves, the rocky…
[Reference] Interview with fish by Shadow by fish, daughterofshadows
Fish is the featured artist for Stella's Mereth Aderthad 2025 presentation "Cherished antagonist, despised protagonist - a defence of Elu Thingol." Shadow spoke with fish about his creative process, the importance of both tragedy and eucatastrophe to Tolkien's works, and the appeal of "greyness…
[Writing] Set in Stone by silmalope
An artisan can never forget what she has made, for a part of her soul goes into the making. (Nerdanel character study/ficlet in six parts.)
[Reference] Interview with Varda delle Stelle by Shadow by Varda delle Stelle, daughterofshadows
As the featured artist for cloudyhymn's Mereth Aderthad 2025 presentation "The Design of Dragons and the Doom of the Dwarves," Varda delle Stelle describes her idea for this presentation as springing fully formed as Athena from Zeus's head. Varda chatted with Shadow about what drew her to this…
[Writing] Saying Goodbye by The Wavesinger
Fíriel spends one last night with her lady.
[Writing] One in the Deep Waters by Isilme_among_the_stars
Maglor finds himself alone with only sorrow and song for companions. But lamentation can neither undo the sorrows of which it tells, nor turn new hardships aside.
[Writing] They Can Nearly Talk by Chestnut_pod
All things bright and beautiful,
All creatures great and small,
All things wise and wonderful,
Eru Ilúvatar made them all.
For an Age of the world, Valinorean readers have devoured Doctor Heriel's bestselling tales of animal leeching in the beautiful…
Current Challenge
Period Drama
A Matryoshka challenge where prompts are inspired by common tropes found in period dramas and historical fiction. Read more ...
Random Challenge
Potluck Bingo
Help yourself to a collection of prompts on bingo boards designed by members and friends of the SWG. Read more ...
New in References
Interview with fish by Shadow by fish, daughterofshadows
Fish is the featured artist for Stella's Mereth Aderthad 2025 presentation "Cherished antagonist, despised protagonist - a defence of Elu Thingol." Shadow spoke with fish about his creative process, the importance of both tragedy and eucatastrophe to Tolkien's works, and the appeal of "greyness" in Silmarillion characters like Elu Thingol.
Interview with Varda delle Stelle by Shadow by Varda delle Stelle, daughterofshadows
As the featured artist for cloudyhymn's Mereth Aderthad 2025 presentation "The Design of Dragons and the Doom of the Dwarves," Varda delle Stelle describes her idea for this presentation as springing fully formed as Athena from Zeus's head. Varda chatted with Shadow about what drew her to this presentation, her approach to painting, and her hopes for her Mereth Aderthad work.
Interview with Grundy by Shadow by Grundy, daughterofshadows
Long fascinated with the Manhattan Project, Grundy was naturally drawn to Cindy Gates' Mereth Aderthad 2025 presentation “Tolkien, Lunatic Physicists, and Abnegation" and is making a work of glass art to accompany it. Shadow spoke to Grundy about her inspiration on the project and long love of Tolkien.
Featured Themed Collection
Part of our Themed Collection series for our newsletter, this collection features fiction, artwork, and essays that transcend the idea of Orcs as the enemy, instead considering their humanity.
Alliterative Verse for Arda by Rhunedhel
Part of our Themed Collection series for our newsletter, this collection features alliterative poems about Middle-earth.
Beyond the Silmarillion
[Writing] Remembrance by StarSpray
They found Elrond’s sons with Legolas and Gimli, and with Éomer King and Lady Éowyn, standing before an enormous fresco of a charging army of horsemen. “Why, isn’t that what just happened, the way it was told to us?” Sam exclaimed, looking up at it.
“No! This is a painting of the Battle…
[Artwork] Floating through the Forest River by Varda delle Stelle
Bilbo and Thorin's Company are arriving to Lake Town floating through the Forest River with the barrels
[Writing] The Wondrous Tale of the Bee-wolf by bunn
Once upon a time, JRR Tolkien wrote a fairy-tale retelling, an attempt to reconstruct an alternative version of the ancient poem called Beowulf, and he called it Sellic Spell: 'strange tale' or 'wondrous tale'.
Once upon a time, on the long road home from the Lonely…
Around the World and Web
Tolkien Native Language Appreciation Fest 2025
This Tumblr event aims to celebrate the diversity in the Tolkien fandom by giving all creators a chance to use their creativity to explore and experiment with all languages.
Russingon Week 2025
Russingon Week is a Tumblr and AO3 event for fanworks that center a romantic or queerplatonic relationship between Maedhros and Fingon.
Tolkien South Asian Week
Tolkien South Asian Week is a fandom-wide event on Tumblr to celebrate South Asian peoples, cultures, and lives through Tolkien’s Legendarium.
Scribbles and Drabbles 2025
Scribbles & Drabbles is an annual Tolkien event where artists create artwork and writers then write stories (a drabble or longer) inspired by the art.
Camp Tolkien 2025
A Tumblr event with daily prompts aimed at different stages of the writing process.
She Hath My Love (Drabbles about Women) by Elrond's Library
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Only Death and Doom
prompt: laugh, valley, path, stay
Lalwen surveyed the valley below, the cradle that held her brother’s home – Barad Eithel, the stronghold that held the north, mirrored by her nephew’s mountain-top keep. She was a wandering spirit, tied to no one single place, flitting like the bejeweled butterflies on the myriad paths of seasonal migration. She could never stay in one place. Restless. Agitated. Never content to be still, she gathered her warrior women and led them into danger, waged war to keep her family, her people, her adopted home, safe. Lalwen courted no man, only death and Doom, and was determined to meet Mandos laughing.
