Just about twenty years ago, an anonymous person sent a challenge to the LiveJournal community Middle-earth News. The Lord of the Rings films had been out of theaters for over a year at that point, and energy in the Tolkien fanworks fandom was beginning to flag. The challenge was to make March a "Back to Middle-earth Month"—B2MeM for short—to remember one's love for Tolkien and keep the energy in the fandom high.

The SWG, along with several other Tolkien groups, picked up the challenge and promoted it in their own spaces. For us, it was a humble beginning for B2MeM: just an announcement in the March 2006 newsletter and nothing more. There were no prompts, no reminders, no roundups of what was created for the event. But March, it seemed, had been staked out in the minds of Tolkien fandom as B2MeM for the foreseeable future.

We're remembering this history as part of our ongoing effort to get all of our Special Projects back online, especially as B2MeM turns twenty years old this year. B2MeM 2006 never even had its own page on our site—our archive wouldn't open for three months after the first B2MeM—and its historical importance lies more in what would follow than the 2006 event itself. (B2MeM 2006 does have its own page now, in the interest of documenting its place in the SWG's historical record and Dawn's completionist tendencies.) B2MeM 2006 seems mostly to mark something magical about fandom, which is how an idea tossed out to the world can be picked up and take on a life of its own. I sometimes wonder if the anonymous person who invented the original B2MeM challenge stuck around in the fandom to see how big their idea would become in the coming years!

The SWG, B2MeM ... both are Tolkien fandom institutions that grew from a small idea. Remember that we support fandom endeavors whenever we can. If you have an idea for a fandom event, we will promote it in our Around the World and Web section, and we set up channels on our Discord server for events that aren't big enough for their own server but want a place for participants to learn and chat about their event. And for bigger projects, like the recent Fëanorian Zine, we collaborate around hosting as well. Decades of people having ideas and seeing them through has kept the Tolkien fandom alive.

Twenty years later, although no longer an SWG event, B2MeM is still alive. You can find more about this year's event here.

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.

New Fanworks

The last son of Feanor by ford_of_bruinen [Writing]

Maglor long after elves have left middle earth 

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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.

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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!