Mereth Aderthad 2025: Program Posted

The Silmarillion Writers' Guild Presents Mereth Aderthad 2025 - July 19, 2025, Burlington, VT and online - A celebration of creativity and scholarship inspired by the works of J.R.R. Tolkien. Registration is open!

We are excited to offer a first look at the program for Mereth Aderthad 2025, our twentieth birthday event coming up on July 19, 2025! The day will feature twelve presentations of Tolkien scholarship, each accompanied by stories, poetry, performances, and art.

The program will continue to evolve as our creators work on their pieces for the event, and you can always find the most up-to-date program on the Mereth Aderthad 2025 page, but we're delighted to share the range of topics and fanworks by so many brilliant writers, researchers, artists, and performers!

9:00-9:15 Welcome!

9:15-9:45

  • "Cherished antagonist, despised protagonist - a defence of Elu Thingol" by Stella Getreuer-Kostrouch
  • "Elu's decision" by Idrils Scribe
  • "Of Thingol and the Silmaril" by Flora-lass
  • Featured art Grey by fish

9:45-10:15

  • "The Aromantic in Tolkien" by Shadow
  • "Unexpected Commonalities" by chrissystriped
  • Featured art A Spectrum by Silmalope

10:15-10:45

  • "The Design of Dragons and Doom of the Dwarves" by cloudyhymns
  • Written fanwork by bunn
  • Featured art The Dragons, the Earth and the Dwarves by Varda delle Stelle

10:45-11:15

  • "Gil-galad was an Elven King: Kingship and Personhood in the last High King of the Noldor" by Maglor
  • "Arisen" by Shadow
  • Featured art Banner of Stars by Kai

11:15-11:45

  • "Exile, Ruin and Resistance: Beleriand as Postcolonial Palimpsest" by Dr. Zara Ashkenazi-Khan
  • Story by cloudyhymns

11:45-12:15

  • "By Guile Committed: Comparing Tolkien’s Thieves to Beowulf" by Savannah Horrell
  • "Noble Thieves" by Dawn Felagund
  • Featured art by bunn

12:15-1:00 Lunch

1:00-1:30

  • "Mythmakers vs. the made myths: Exploring a reader’s levels of religious alienation and connection in works about and by J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis" by Acha Rezak (Quente)
  • "Great Stories" by Janeways
  • Song by Zdenka

1:30-2:00

  • "Love, Grief, and Alliterative Verse in Tolkien’s Legendarium" by Paul D. Deane
  • Poem by Zdenka

2:00-2:30

  • "Tolkien, Lunatic Physicists, and Abnegation" by Cynthia (Cindy) Gates a.k.a. pandemonium_213
  • "Lightborn" by Azh, Admirable Monster
  • Featured art by Grundy

2:30-3:00

  • "Twilight, Child Of: Comparisons Between Tinúviel, Lómion, and Undómiel" by JazTheBard
  • Story" by Maglor
  • Featured art Three twilight children for the elven-kings under the sky by sesame

3:00-3:30

  • "How To Make a Star From a Tree: The Science of Telperion and Laurelin" by Zhie
  • "Light of the World" by Shadow
  • Featured art Light of the Two Trees by Anérea

3:30-4:00

  • "'Kidnap Fam' and the Living Legendarium" by polutropos
  • "Lost Stars" by reese

If you'd like to join us, registration is free, and there are both in-person and virtual options. You can register for Mereth Aderthad 2025 here.

Posted on 30 April 2025 (updated 30 April 2025) by SWG Moderators