Mereth Aderthad Interview: Interview with fish by Shadow
As the featured artist for Stella's Mereth Aderthad 2025 presentation "Cherished antagonist, despised protagonist - a defence of Elu Thingol," fish finds the "greyness" of characters like Thingol inspiring. Shadow spoke to fish about how upcoming artwork for the event.
SWG News
New Challenge: Gates of Summer
Choose a summer-related prompt or prompts from a collection of quotes and events from Tolkien's canon and his life.
Mereth Aderthad Interview: Interview with Varda delle Stelle by Shadow
Varda delle Stelle is the featured artist for cloudyhymn's Mereth Aderthad 2025 presentation "The Design of Dragons and the Doom of the Dwarves." Shadow spoke with Varda about her own connections to the earth and concepts in cloudyhymn's presentation, her creative process, and her hopes for her Mereth Aderthad paintings.
Mereth Aderthad Interview: Interview with Kai by Shadow
Kai is the featured artist for Maglor's Mereth Aderthad 2025 presentation, "Gil-galad was an Elven King: Kingship and Personhood in the last High King of the Noldor." Shadow spoke with Kai about his wide range of interests and inspirations in the legendarium and why Maglor's presentation so intrigued him that he finished the art for it the first night.
New & Updated Fanworks
[Writing] to taste you like the sun by queerofthedagger
“Have you ever kissed anyone?”
Findekáno stills, and finally looks at Maitimo. Finds him already staring back, unflinching and—hungry, almost, Findekáno would call it, if he did not know better.
“I have not,” he says, his heart…
[Writing] She Hath My Love (Drabbles about Women) by Elrond's Library
A collection of drabbles about women in Tolkien's Legendarium.
[Writing] High in the Clean Blue Air by StarSpray
They passed out of Lhûn and the wider coastline of Middle-earth opened up before his eyes. He had wandered those shores for centuries, and even now he felt the pull of that same wanderlust, and knew he would miss them for the rest of his life. Their wildness, the untamed waves, the rocky…
[Writing] Star in the Darkness by StarSpray
Now a great crowd of spirits, both Elves and lingering Men, were gathered before the newest tapestry as it fell open down the wall, luminous, gold and silver threads glittering in the pale light of Mandos.
[Writing] Banked Fires Blaze by Chestnut_pod
What is it to be made for a kinder world?
[Reference] So You Want to Present at a Tolkien Conference? Giving the Presentation by SWG Newsletter Staff
Video and materials from our session on how to give a presentation at a Tolkien conference. The session covers how to practice, plan, and prepare for the presentation; what to expect on the day of the presentation; tips for participating in the Q&A; and how to plan ahead for common worries…
[Reference] Interview with fish by Shadow by fish, daughterofshadows
Fish is the featured artist for Stella's Mereth Aderthad 2025 presentation "Cherished antagonist, despised protagonist - a defence of Elu Thingol." Shadow spoke with fish about his creative process, the importance of both tragedy and eucatastrophe to Tolkien's works, and the appeal of "greyness…
Current Challenge
Random Challenge
Turning Point
The Silmarillion has many moments when a character stands upon a crossroad: He or she will have to make a decision. At such a turning point in your story, create a fanwork about that moment that will define or alter the life of your character. Read more ...
New in References
So You Want to Present at a Tolkien Conference? Giving the Presentation by SWG Newsletter Staff
Video and materials from our session on how to give a presentation at a Tolkien conference. The session covers how to practice, plan, and prepare for the presentation; what to expect on the day of the presentation; tips for participating in the Q&A; and how to plan ahead for common worries and mishaps.
Interview with fish by Shadow by fish, daughterofshadows
Fish is the featured artist for Stella's Mereth Aderthad 2025 presentation "Cherished antagonist, despised protagonist - a defence of Elu Thingol." Shadow spoke with fish about his creative process, the importance of both tragedy and eucatastrophe to Tolkien's works, and the appeal of "greyness" in Silmarillion characters like Elu Thingol.
Interview with Varda delle Stelle by Shadow by Varda delle Stelle, daughterofshadows
As the featured artist for cloudyhymn's Mereth Aderthad 2025 presentation "The Design of Dragons and the Doom of the Dwarves," Varda delle Stelle describes her idea for this presentation as springing fully formed as Athena from Zeus's head. Varda chatted with Shadow about what drew her to this presentation, her approach to painting, and her hopes for her Mereth Aderthad work.
Featured Themed Collection
Part of our Themed Collection series for our newsletter, this collection features fiction, artwork, and essays that transcend the idea of Orcs as the enemy, instead considering their humanity.
Alliterative Verse for Arda by Rhunedhel
Part of our Themed Collection series for our newsletter, this collection features alliterative poems about Middle-earth.
Beyond the Silmarillion
[Writing] Remembrance by StarSpray
They found Elrond’s sons with Legolas and Gimli, and with Éomer King and Lady Éowyn, standing before an enormous fresco of a charging army of horsemen. “Why, isn’t that what just happened, the way it was told to us?” Sam exclaimed, looking up at it.
“No! This is a painting of the Battle…
[Artwork] Floating through the Forest River by Varda delle Stelle
Bilbo and Thorin's Company are arriving to Lake Town floating through the Forest River with the barrels
[Writing] The Wondrous Tale of the Bee-wolf by bunn
Once upon a time, JRR Tolkien wrote a fairy-tale retelling, an attempt to reconstruct an alternative version of the ancient poem called Beowulf, and he called it Sellic Spell: 'strange tale' or 'wondrous tale'.
Once upon a time, on the long road home from the Lonely…
Around the World and Web
Teitho June/July Challenge: Inheritance
The theme for the June/July Teitho challenge is "inheritance."
Kidnap Fam Survey
Polutropos is collecting survey data as part of her research on the "Living Legendarium", i.e., how the legends of Arda, from their earliest drafts by Tolkien to the posthumously published Silmarillion edited by Christopher Tolkien to the creative engagements by fans, are inherently indeterminate and mutable, inviting many and diverse interpretations.
Tolkien Native Language Appreciation Fest 2025
This Tumblr event aims to celebrate the diversity in the Tolkien fandom by giving all creators a chance to use their creativity to explore and experiment with all languages.
Russingon Week 2025
Russingon Week is a Tumblr and AO3 event for fanworks that center a romantic or queerplatonic relationship between Maedhros and Fingon.
Tolkien South Asian Week
Tolkien South Asian Week is a fandom-wide event on Tumblr to celebrate South Asian peoples, cultures, and lives through Tolkien’s Legendarium.
Middle-earth Olympic Teams
Quick Links: Challenge Page | Sign Up for a Team | Opening Ceremony
To join a team now, you should contact the team captain or contact the mods and request to be added to the team. On July 12, after team sign-ups close, you will be able to sign up via form.
Rivendell
Low-key Enchanted Sanctuary
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Team Captain: Independence1776 (Contact me to join the Rivendell national team!) Team Members: |
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House of Finwë
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Team Captain: Dawn Felagund (Contact me to join the House of Finwë national team!) Team Members: |
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Wood-elves
More Dangerous, Less Wise
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Team Captain: UnnamedElement (Contact me to join the Wood-elves national team!) Team Members: |
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Balar
Life's A Beach
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Team Captain: Grundy (Contact me to join the Balar national team!) Team Members: |
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