No, it is not Saturday, but we are sending the newsletter a day early since our moderators will be busy with our Mereth Aderthad event tomorrow. This event will showcase presentations from twelve Tolkien scholars along with stories, poems, music, and artwork that creatively respond to the topics of their presentations. So what will the weekend look like?
The big event is Saturday, at 9:00AM Eastern (find this in your timezone) with both in-person and virtual attendance options available.
We will have both in-person and virtual social events throughout the weekend. Find the social event schedule here!
Some of the presentations and all of the fanworks created for Mereth Aderthad are available on the archive beginning on Saturday the 19th. Beginning on the 19th, you can find the interactive program here, which includes links to all of the fanworks, presentations and materials when available, and interviews with most of the presenters and creators. Some presenters will be sharing their presentations, papers, and transcripts after the event; you will find those here when they do.
Mereth Aderthad has a fanzine, which includes many of the creative works you will see and hear at the event, as well as several that were created especially for the zine. You can find those works linked on the interactive program, where you can also download a digital copy of the zine, beginning on Saturday the 19th. Attendees will receive information on how to get a print copy at the event, and any leftover print zines will be made available after the event.
If you want to join us and haven't registered yet, you can register here. You will receive a link to the virtual event when you do (unless you're joining us in-person, in which case we'll see you at the South Burlington Public Library!) Even if you can only join for a short while, you're more than welcome; we have upgraded our Zoom account to have room to accommodate anyone who wants to attend. If you have issues with your registration or have trouble getting into the event, email the mods or use the #mereth-aderthad channel on our Discord. SWG moderators will be monitoring both throughout the event to assist when needed!
A huge thank you to everyone who is making this weekend possible: event volunteers, presenters and fanworks creators, donors, and attendees!
SWG News
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Instadrabbling Sessions for July, August, and September
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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.”