First and foremost, if you are joining us in-person for Mereth Aderthad 2025 and would like to join us for dinner on July 19 and breakfast on July 20, tomorrow is the last day to RSVP.

Mereth Aderthad is now less than a month away! If you've missed the last several months of these newsletters, we are gathering, both in-person and virtually, in honor of the SWG's twentieth birthday on July 19, with social events on either side of that event. We have twelve presenters sharing their research on various aspects of the legendarium with fanworks that respond to each presented alongside. The program and more on Mereth Aderthad can be found here, and you can register here.

As we approach the event, we've been interviewing presenters and creators about the work they will be sharing. We are bringing those interviews to a close, but this week, have conversations to share with two artists and a writer working on fanworks to accompany Mereth Aderthad presentations.

The featured artist for polutropos' "'Kidnap Fam' and the Living Legendarium," Tang Wen Xi creates artwork using vivid colors and a 3D style that often makes it seem that his landscapes and his warriors are pushing out of the page. Dawn spoke to him about his work; like many of our artists, he developed his unique style through studying tutorials (always comforting to those of us who are artists only in our dreams!) He also pushes beyond the Eurocentrism traditional to Tolkien fanart, depicting characters in dress and armor from cultures throughout the world. Tang Wen Xi finds this approach to be keeping with Tolkien's own work. "Haradrim and Easterlings are part of his worldbuilding," he said, "so it's apparent that he's not locked to the European side of Middle-earth."

You can read Dawn's interview with Tang Wen Xi here.

Anérea and Shadow are the featured artist and featured writer, respectively, for Zhie's "How To Make a Star From a Tree: The Science of Telperion and Laurelin," and they are both also interviewers for Mereth Aderthad. Therefore, it made sense that they interview each other about their fanworks for Zhie's upcoming presentation! There conversation spanned the various interpretations of light in Tolkien's world, the cartography of creating fanworks, and the challenges of pushing past imposter syndrome.

You can read and listen to Shadow and Anérea's conversation with each other here.

In other news, Anna (IdleLeaves) is generously continuing with monthly instadrabbling sesssions on the first Saturday of each month on the SWG Discord: July 5, August 2, and September 6 are the next three scheduled. Learn more about these instadrabbling sessions here and join the Discord here if you'd like to come create with us!

SWG News

Cultus Dispatches: Revelations from Marquette's Fanzine Dataset
In September 2026, Marquette University released a dataset about their Tolkien fanzine collection. Analysis of the data reveals what these fanzines contained and show how pre-internet Tolkien fandom responded to the publication of "The Silmarillion."

New Challenge: Unquote
Choose a prompt from our selection of misheard, miswritten, and misrepresented unquotes that are in no way part of the actual "Silmarillon."

Character of the Month: Eönwë
This month's biography focuses on Eönwë, who started with a variety of identities but settled into the role of Manwë's herald, exemplifying the values of strong leadership and justice.

Instadrabbling Sessions for October, November, and December
Instadrabbling continues on the first Saturday of each month on our Discord server.

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!

New Fanworks

The last son of Feanor by ford_of_bruinen [Writing]

Maglor long after elves have left middle earth 

Read more ...

Room in the Heart by Dagstjarna [Writing]

Newlywed Indis begins acquainting herself with married life, both its highs and lows. 

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The Parting Birds by Dagstjarna [Writing]

Dior tells Elwing a bedtime story.

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Burdens Carried, Burdens Shared by Elrond's Library [Writing]

Haleth will break Aredhel’s heart, but not before loving her.

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Did Somebody Order a Silmaril? by annarobots [Writing]

Eärendil arrives in Valinor with a special delivery. But in this version, it’s not Eönwë who hails him…

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Updated Fanworks

Darling Enemy by octopus_fool [Writing]

Eärendil thought he would have the sky to himself.

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Bury Me to Release Your Splendor by annarobots [Writing]

“Do you know what grows on the shores of the southern isles? A trading-merchant might bring many strange specimens to our lands, like nothing I have ever seen. In recent days, I have tasted a ripe fruit with firm flesh that parted beneath my tongue in a burst of liquid sweetness. So moist, so yielding, its juices dripped down my chin like fragrant honey. Have you ever known such succulence?”

Fingon’s wife has arranged a special surprise for the Lord of Himring.

Or: everyone’s cool with a little ethical nonmonogamy until someone throws a temporary sex change into the arrangement. Lord Maedhros loves Fingon with all his heart, that is known. But how will he react to Fingwen?

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The Day Transcending Night by StarSpray [Writing]

The Rings have been forged. The armies of Mordor are marching into Eriador. Eregion burns. 

Far away from it all, by the shores of the Sea, Celegorm remembers his name.

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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. 

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Drabble-poems by Flora-lass [Writing]

All written for SWG instadrabbling sessions/prompts. Updated in October 2026 with Ambarussa, and Firiel.

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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.

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Beyond the Silmarillion Fanworks

IN THE SHIRE-RECKONING by Diane Finnis-Robb [Writing]

-This novel was completed for Hobbit Day 2026 and will be updated in serialized fashion here as I make final edits; so feedback is very much welcome.

-It is a multi-generational novel spanning a period of time from the formation of the Shire to the Great Plague in Year Thirty-six and focuses on the origins of an old feud between the Bucks and the Tooks.

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For a Better World by Ellynn [Writing]

Thirteen years before the War of the Ring, an orcling — more intelligent and more curious than most — is born in Mordor. His curiosity will lead him to both incredible discoveries and perilous situations, all of which will shape him into a leader unlike any Mordor has ever known. But to become that leader, he must defeat all his rivals, especially the most abhorrent of them all — his enemy since earliest childhood.

Read more ...

Around the World and Web

14th International Tolkien Mailing Competition
The Hungarian Tolkien Society invites you to join the international “Quendi” category of the Tolkien Mailing Competition: five rounds of quizzes, riddles and creative tasks. This category is organised in English, open to any individual participant, and also to teams of 2–5 people. The five rounds of the competition will last from November to April.

Glorfindel Week 2026
A Tumblr fandom week dedicated to the elf Glorfindel.

Tolkien Food Week 2026
fandom event from the 2-8th nov 2026 where we share recipes, fics and comfort food for body and soul.

Silmarillion Secret Stockings 2026
A fandom event to celebrate the end of year holidays with prompt-based gifts.

Tolkien Horror Week 2026
Tolkien Horror Week is back for another year of celebrating all the terrifying and unsettling bits of Tolkien's work!

Erestober 2026
An event running throughout October, to show appreciation for Erestor!