Founded in 2005, the Silmarillion Writers' Guild exists for discussions of and creative fanworks based on J.R.R. Tolkien's The Silmarillion and related texts. We are a positive-focused and open-minded space that welcomes fans from all over the world and with all levels of experience with Tolkien's works. Whether you are picking up Tolkien's books for the first time or have been a fan for decades, we welcome you to join us!
New Challenge: Title Track Tolkien's titles range from epic to lyrical to metaphorical. This month's challenge selected 125 of them as prompts for fanworks.
Our Annual Amnesty Challenge: New Year's Resolution Start 2026 off with creativity! If you missed a challenge or didn't get to finish or post a challenge fanwork, complete any 2025 challenge before 15 February to receive the stamp.
He was going to die. The molten rocks would burn him just like the cursed gem in his palm did. Maybe less painfully but still being burnt hurt and Maedhros knew it. He intimately knew it from his time in Angband where Þauron burnt him often in frustration and to toy with him and his master…
“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…
Aldarion storms off towards Middle-earth. For the Title Track challenge.
Current Challenge
Title Track
Create a fanwork using our collection of 125 titles from Tolkien's books, chapters, essays, poems, and fragments as inspiration. Read more ...
Random Challenge
Anniversary Contest
To celebrate the 30th anniversary of the publication of <em>The Silmarillion,</em> we hosted a writing contest for Silmarillion-based fiction. Read more ...
This presentation for Mereth Aderthad 2025 discusses the parallels between the concept of abnegation in the scientific work surrounding the atomic bomb and in The Silmarillion. The relinquishment of self-interest in favor of the interests of others, abnegation was identified by Tolkien as a powerful act of spirit and reason. The legendarium has many examples of the complexities of abnegation, which parallel similar discussions held by physicists during and after World War II.
This presentation for Mereth Aderthad 2025 discusses the many similarities between Tolkien's three "twilight children," Tinúviel, Lómion, and Undómiel (Luthien, Maeglin, and Arwen) in terms of appearance, plot, and cultural background. Yet these three characters play very different roles in the text.
Presented at Mereth Aderthad 2025, this paper makes the case thata, although the term "aromantic" had not yet been coined in Tolkien's day, many of his characters can be read as aromantic. The paper takes a closer look at Aredhel, Bilbo, and Boromir as three examples of characters who can be read as aromantic.
“There’s a goblin hiding in the taters, Dad!” Pippin hefted the pan, which was much too big for him to carry, let alone wield.
Around the World and Web
March Challenge - Tolkien Short Fanworks
Tolkien Short Fanworks is running a challenge for the month of March to create a Back to Middle-earth Month themed challenge.
Tolkien Fashion Week 2026
This two-week-long Tumblr event is dedicated to honoring the world of fashion and textiles Tolkien wrote about in his books.
Celegorm and Curufin Week 2026
Celegorm and Curufin Week is a Tumblr week celebrating the relationship between Celegorm and Curufin Feanorion
Back to Middle-earth Month 2026
Back to Middle-earth Month is returning for it's 20th year with many prompts and archival efforts.
The Silmarillion Writers' Guild is more than just an archive--we are a community! If you enjoy a fanwork or enjoy a creator's work, please consider letting them know in a comment.
I'm not suggesting that everybody in Armenelos, even in the later Second Age, was unkind! But our second Numenorean was not one of the luckier ones. Fortunately, they are much happier in Pelargir! (The second Numenorean could well be "he", but I did not use any pronouns in the ficlet, I think.)
Indeed, there are many reasons for unkindness and I actually read their experience as coming from a complex source; I got the impression this was not very late in the Second Age, but still tensions may have been such in Armenelos at that stage as to affect the general nature of their families and companions, with the first growing up in an atmosphere of freedom of expression, and the second with insidious underlying fear in the capitol influencing the attitude of the second's family and associates, regardless of political affiliation. (Not sure why, but as I read an image of two middle aged men enjoying their morning appeared in my mind and I didn't even notice that no pronouns were used. My apologiesfor the assumption.)
As so often is the case with your drabbles, this is much bigger in the inside than it appears!
Thank you very much for your thoughts! Yes, something like that.
And no need to apologize! I just wanted to explain that I myself was using "they" because I hadn't quite made up my mind about their gender, not because I had decided they were non-binary. I have no problem with your envisioning them as men!
But it was was not I who came up with the idea of the SWG's Great Beleriand Bake-Off challenge and quite a lot of other people contributed to the Impressive prompt & recipe list for that challenge!
Ostensibly this is about bread, but it is about so much more than that too. How you've managed to include a little dissertation on home and belonging and how some will find that in the place of their birth, and others will find it in distant lands... that was well done. The man from Armenolos, finding generosity and kindness on a foreign shore is so beautifully bittersweet. ❤️
I suppose there is some complex tipping point to it, because we humans seem to be able to forgive our first homes quite a lot, just because we grew up there, but sadly sometimes that basic sense of safety or warmth just isn't there... But there is still hope for later, elsewhere!
Comments on True Bread
The Silmarillion Writers' Guild is more than just an archive--we are a community! If you enjoy a fanwork or enjoy a creator's work, please consider letting them know in a comment.