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Awesome Ladies Podfic Anthology XII

It’s time for the twelfth annual Awesome Ladies Podfic Anthology! As always, we'll be collecting short lady-centric podfics by different readers in different fandoms to release as an anthology and as a collection of individual files.

The submission deadline for podfics is February 14th, and we will post the anthology on February 28th.

The theme for this year's anthology is exploration. It's optional—all podfics are welcome as long as they follow the rules laid out in the Submission Guidelines—but feel free to let it inspire you if you'd like.

If you are not familiar with this project, you can see the previous eleven anthologies here.

To Podficcers: Interested in participating? We'd love to have you. This should be a low-stress project, even for people who are new to podficcing, due to the word-count: 1500 words or less (with many being as short as 1-2 minutes). If you'd like to record something for this anthology, please fill out this quick google form and we'll send you the link to the spreadsheet where we'll be keeping track of all the podfics. If you would prefer to interface via email instead of using the form/spreadsheet, you can email klb at sekritproject@gmail.com, and she will reach out to get you set up.

Complete guidelines for the Awesome Ladies Podfic Anthology can be found here.

Tolkien Reverse Summer Bang 2022 Schedule Posted

The 2022 schedule for the Tolkien Reverse Summer Bang is as follows:

• 1st April - suggestions spreadsheet opens
• 15th April - sign ups open
• 8th May - artist sign ups close
• 15th May - art drafts due
• 20th May - gallery open
• 22nd May - author sign ups close
• 29th May - claims
• (***TBA - additional claims***)
• 5th June - post claims check in
• 12th June - final art due from artists who chose the “free rein” collaboration option
• 26th June - check in #2
• 31st July - check in #3
• 7th August - final art due from all other artists
• 14th August - final check in / deadline to abandon your fic to a pinch hitter
• 4th September - fics due in collection
• 9th September - reveals
• 12th September - staggered Tumblr reblogs begin

Note that this year's bang will only allow two submissions per artist in order to keep numbers manageable.

To keep up with the 2022 event, follow TRSB on Tumblr or @TolkienRSB on Twitter.

Squidge Restoration of Lost Podfics

The fandom archive Squidge has hosted the Jinjurly audio/podfic archive for a couple of years now, but have only recently taken control of the day-to-day stuff that needs to be done.  Furthermore, a hack of the Jinjurly archive resulted in the loss of many, many podfics. Site moderators have recovered a number of files for the archive.

They are asking the podfic community who may have used Jinjurly if they have replacement files. They also need volunteers to help with the immense task they are undertaking to restore these fanworks.

For now, there is a Google Form for submitting replacement files or new podfics for the archive.

The Squidge Status Dreamwidth has much more information on the project and ways to get involved to help.

Second Age Week, January 17-23

Showing  love and appreciation for the Second Age in all its facets. From proud Númenoreans to deep digging Dwarves, to the last High King of the Noldor, and the Dark Lord of Mordor - this week is dedicated to all of them and more!

A list of non-mandatory prompts below:

Day 1 Elves - Gil-galad, Oropher, Celebrían and many others - Lindon and Belfalas, Imladris and Eregion, Lórinand and Greenwood. What were the elves doing in the Second Age? This day is dedicated to them and their many endeavours.

Day 2 Men - What made Drúedain leave Númenor? What occurred in the East where the Blue Wizards journeyed? What was the situation on Númenor under Ar-Gimilzôr’s rule? On this day of Second Age Week, we explore the race of Men - from proud Númenoreans, through those who would come to be known as Dunlendings, to the Haradrim in the South.

Day 3 Dwarves - From Ered Luin through Khazad Dûm to the Eastern Realms, dwarves played an important role during the Second Age. On this day you can explore their history and culture, events they participated in, prominent characters such as Durin IV. or Narvi and more!

Day 4 Sauron and his minions - Annatar, Zigûr, Tar-Mairon, Gorthaur - in the Second Age, Sauron was at his strongest. With his lies and deceits, he weaved his way into the court of Númenor and the forge of Eregion and began a reign of terror from his fortress in Mordor. This day is dedicated to him and his many followers.

Day 5 Artefacts and Symbols - The Second Age was full of prominent artefacts and symbols - from the Rings of Power to the White Tree of Númenor, their history and fate - there’s plenty to explore!

Day 6 Impactful events - The rise and fall of kingdoms; councils and meetings, battles and wars - during the spam of 3441 of this Age, history books could easily be filled.

Day 7 Freeform - Did we forget about something or is there a prompt you want to revisit? Feel free to use this day for any Second Age related content!

The week will  run on Tumblr during January 2022 - 17th to 23rd - and will be hosted by @iminye​ and @armenelols. ​ 

More details about tags, etc. in the linked post.

Worldbuilding Exchange (Final Year)

This will be the final year of the Worldbuilding Exchange. See their Dreamwidth page for more details on how to sign up, information about this being the last year for the exchange, and relevant links: https://worldbuildingex.dreamwidth.org/

Seasons of Drabbles: Winter Round 2022

Seasons of Drabbles is an exchange for the creation of drabbles and drabble variants. It will run once per season. The current round is for winter 2021-2022.

Schedule:
Nominations open: January 3 (will remain open through signups)
Signups open: January 9
Signups close: January 16 @ 11:59pm Eastern time (Countdown)
Assignments out by: January 19
Assignments due: January 29 @ 11:59pm Eastern time (Countdown)
Collection opens: February 06 @ noon Eastern time (Countdown)
Authors revealed: February 8 @ noon Eastern time


AO3 Collection | Tagset | Nomination guidelines | Mod email: seasonsofdrabbles@gmail.com

Tolkienshortfanworks challenge for January

The tolkienshortfanworks challenge for January has been posted at the Dreamwidth community.

The thematic prompt is "beginnings or fresh start" and the formal  challenge is alliterative verse.

In The Lord of the Rings, Tolkien chiefly uses the form to render the poetry of the Rohirrim, but he also composed long narrative poems and shorter descriptive pieces in it.



Tolkien's most famous alliterative lines (based on an Old English model) are probably these:

 

Where now the horse and the rider? Where is the horn that was blowing?

Where is the helm and the hauberk, and the bright hair flowing?

New joiners to the community are always welcome. More details at the linked entry.

Call for Papers: Popular Culture Association Conference Tolkien Studies Area Deadline Extended!

The Tolkien Studies Area (TSA) welcomes proposals for individual papers, paper sessions (with four proposals), and roundtables (with five-seven participants) in any area of Tolkien studies. All PCA sessions are scheduled in 1.5-hour slots. Individual presenters should plan for fifteen minutes to present, and roundtable participants should plan for 5-7 minutes each.

We welcome scholars in all period specializations, from any disciplinary perspective, including interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary, and using any critical theory. Tolkien studies includes but is not limited to: the Legendarium, adaptations and transformative works, reader reception and fan studies, source studies, literary studies, critical race studies, cultural studies, tourism studies, medieval and medievalist studies, media and marketing, religious studies.

Academics, independent scholars, and graduate students are invited to submit through the online submission page. At this time, we are not accepting proposals from undergraduate students.

For individual paper proposals, please submit contact information (name, institutional affiliation if an, e-mail addresses, and telephone number), a title and a 300-word proposal that includes information on the topic, theory or method, and relation to relevant scholarship.

Possible Topics

Adaptation Studies

Games, Films, Art, Amazon’s Tolkien

Cultural Studies/Reception Studies/Fan Studies

•           Race & Tolkien
•           Queer Tolkien
•           Gender & Tolkien
•           Class & Tolkien
•           Intersectional Tolkien
•           Tolkien & Religion or Spirituality (Catholic, Buddhist, Neo-Paganism)
•           Tolkien & White Supremacy (then and now)
•           Tolkien’s Fandoms (fanfiction, fan art, fan vids, cosplay, collecting, tourism)
•           Tolkien Fanzines (Marquette or other archives)
•           Tolkien & Contemporary Fantasy (examples: N. K. Jemisin, G. R. R. Martin, Terry Pratchett)

Literary Studies

•           New Tolkien Publications
•           Tolkien & Genre
•           Tolkien & Romanticisms
•           Tolkien & Medievalisms
•           Tolkien & Modernisms
•           Tolkien & Postmodernisms
•           Tolkien & the Sciences

Possible Roundtable Topics:

•           Games, Gaming, Gamers (Online or Tabletop)
•           New Disciplines, Methods, Pedagogies
•           How and Where To Publish
•           The Question of Tolkien and Theory
•           Digital Tolkien (Digital Archives, Corpus Projects)

Fandom Snowflake Challenge

Ever other day, starting on the first and running through the twenty-ninth of January, one of us will post a challenge or idea or prompt. We will also be hosting a friending meme on the thirty-first, to close out the fest.

Participants use your own space to respond to that challenge in whatever way suits you best. If you like, you can drop a comment on the challenge post and link to your response, so that you can share your thoughts with other fans. Please comment, interact, and celebrate each other, as all together we are what make up fandom!

There is no minimum for the number of challenges you have to do. One is a complete acceptable number, as is zero, as is all fifteen. You do not have to do them on the day they're posted, and you can do them in any order you please. You are free to interpret "fandom" as widely or as narrowly as you please, and talk about any kind of fanwork or type of fandom interaction you can think of.

The Fandom Snowflake Challenge can be found on Dreamwidth, Tumblr, Twitter, and Pillowfort.

Screw Yule 2022

Everyone is cordially invited to participate in this year's Screw Yule, a celebration of Elves, Smut, and a New Year's Resolution to toss Laws and Customs right out the window (or, at least, ignore whatever is necessary to appease your muses.)

What is Screw Yule? Screw Yule started in 2005 as the smuttiest writing and art challenge around, and is still going strong in its 17th season. It's a chance to start the year nice with some naughty elves (and friends), with a focus on populating the fandom with rare pair goodness.

R+ ratings encouraged, but lower ratings are still accepted.

January 1st through January 20th.

Pairing prompts, sassy bingo cards, kinky playlist..

Runs on AO3; for rules and FAQs see collection profile.