Possibly the best resource on our site is our Character Biographies. There are more than 150 of them on the site, featuring a range of characters important to The Silmarillion. Like many parts of our site, the character biographies began somewhat by happenstance and then grew into something very different from the original modest idea. The first biography, of Irmo/Lórien, was published in August 2007. To those accustomed to the later biographies, the first biographies are very short. The idea began as a featured character of the month, which would be a sort-of challenge to write about that character, and the month's newsletter would include a brief biography of the character—enough to acquaint a new Silmarillion reader with the basics of that person.

The member who volunteered to take on the task of writing the monthly biography was Oshun, an early SWG member and author of much-loved stories. Oshun quickly ran away with the project, crafting increasingly detailed and elaborately sourced biographies as time went on. Reading back through her work, the short summaries did not last for long. Furthermore, she was insistent on citing her biographies as though they were academic articles. Many fan resources at the time made claims that were difficult to support with the texts, and Oshun was committed that the SWG's reference section—where her biographies eventually came to live—would not be yet another of them.

Over the years to come, Oshun was joined by other writers who contributed biographies of their favorite characters, but her writing makes up the bulk of our biography collection. With time, the focus shifted from presenting the character of the month as a challenge and instead amassing a collection of biographies that could aid someone creating fanworks about a new character in learning the basics about the character, including which texts to read to learn more. Oshun passed away in 2024, but her more than one hundred biographies continue to aid creators who want a quick, well-sourced primer on a character.

Our character biographies now cover most Silmarillion characters, and it's no longer practical to feature a new one each month. However, we do still accept new biographies for characters we haven't written yet; in particular, we are looking for biographies for Elendil, Gothmog, Yavanna, Eönwë, Marach, Hador, Manwë, Melkor, and Nienor. If your favorite character isn't in our collection or on that list, we'd still love to feature a biography of that person! You can learn more about contributing to the character biographies here, or reply to this email.

SWG News

New Challenge: Epic 80s
This month's challenge features hundreds of fresh prompts from the bodacious decade of the 1980s.

Cultus Dispatches: Communities Do Comment
Comment data from the SWG underscores community as an essential component to a robust commenting culture.

Instadrabbling Sessions for July, August, and September
Instadrabbling continues on the first Saturday of each month on our Discord server.

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.

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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.

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McShady by Babblecat [Writing]

Melkor has himself a bad time in the Void. 

 

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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. 

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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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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?

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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.

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.”