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Our temporarily titled "location bio" will focus on the landscapes and locations of Middle-earth. We need your help naming it!
SWG News
New Challenge: Tengwar
Each day for thirty-six days, we feature a randomly chosen letter from the Tengwar as a prompt.
A Sense of History: Crossroads
In the ongoing series on towers in Tolkien's work, a thread runs through "The Lord of the Rings," revealing the divine assistance of Varda in the travails of the Fellowship.
Cultus Dispatches: Canon Deviations, Multifandoms, and Original Content
Tolkien Fanfiction Survey data gives some insight into what connections, if any, exist between fanfiction and original fiction.
New & Updated Fanworks
[Writing] Tengwar (working title) by cuarthol
For the Tengwar prompt challenge. To be updated as new prompts are completed.
Current up through 'Anca'
[Writing] I Stood Aside by Flora-lass
Maedhros' horror at the burning of the ships. Inspired by a painting (see notes).
[Reference] Thálatta! Thálatta! by Simon J. Cook
While he never climbs the stairs of this Elf-tower, in Lothlórien Frodo Baggins descends a flight of steps to look into Galadriel’s Mirror, wherein he first sees the sea. This post examines the view.
[Writing] Words of Wisdom by AdmirableMonster
One or more drabbles about Pengolodh and his babysitter Salgant.
[Writing] Les Mots de Sagesse by AdmirableMonster
Plusieurs petites histoires qui parle de Pengolodh et Salgant pendant des moments differents.
[Writing] "Tengwar" ficlets by chrissystriped
Fics written for the "Tengwar" challenge.
[Writing] Upon Cirith Thoronath by StarSpray
A horrid cacophony of cries erupts ahead of them, as orcs appear—up the cliff on hidden ledges, on the path, with bows and swords. And behind them rises a figure of darkness and flame. The heat rolls down the path over them, bringing the smell of burning flesh and bitter fear with it. Someone…
Current Challenge
Tengwar
A daily prompt of a Tengwar letter per day. Read more ...
Random Challenge
Middle-earth Museum
Stroll the halls of an imaginary Middle-earth Museum and choose one (or more!) objects from our prompt list to inspire the creation of a fanwork. Read more ...
New in References
Thálatta! Thálatta! by Simon J. Cook
[]While he never climbs the stairs of this Elf-tower, in Lothlórien Frodo Baggins descends a flight of steps to look into Galadriel’s Mirror, wherein he first sees the sea. This post examines the view.
[]
With Gildor Inglorion we finally climb the stairs of Elostirion and look on the view, and what we see appears to reveal a hidden thread in the story of Frodo Baggins. This post reads two annotated translations of two Elvish songs to step through a crossroads in the narrative to arrive at the tower on the margin of the story, wherein is a stone that is a window onto Valinor.
Grief, Grieving, and Permission to Mourn in the "Quenta Silmarillion" by Dawn Walls-Thumma
[]In a book as full of death as the Quenta Silmarillion, grief and mourning are surprisingly absent. The characters who receive grief and mourning—and those who don't—appear to do so due to narrative bias. Grief and mourning (or a lack of them) serve to draw attention toward and away from objectionable actions committed by characters.
Beyond the Silmarillion
[Writing] Waybread (The Waybredlik) by Himring
[]Lembas speaks out.
[Series] Apr 1st Stories by Uvatha the Horseman
[]Once a year on April 1st, a canon character from LOTR or the Silmarillion gets pranked.
[Writing] Crossing Forest River by Dawn Felagund
[]Bilbo recounts, in verse, the attempt of Gandalf, Beorn, and him to cross the Forest River after the Battle of Five Armies. Written for the Hungarian Tolkien Society's 2024 Mailing Competition.
Around the World and Web
Monstrous May 2024
Monstrous May is a Tumblr event where, for each day of the month of May, there is a prompt involving and invoking the monstrous.
Fellowship of the Fics: Modern AU May
During May, Fellowship of the Fics offers modern AU prompt lists for setting, character occupation, and dialogue on Tumblr.
May challenge at tolkienshortfanworks
The May challenge has been posted to the tolkienshortfanworks community on Dreamwidth. Thematic challenge: name; formal challenge: acrostic. As usual, these can be filled independently and freely combined with other prompts such as the SWG challenges. New participants welcome!
May 2024 Calls for Papers
Conferences and publications that have open calls for papers in May 2024.
Angbang Week 2024
All new, unpublished fanworks about the Angbang (Melron) ship are welcome during this Tumblr event, running 6-12 May 2024.
Queens of the Quill
April is poetry month and Legendarium Ladies April, so in the spirit of both, this month's prompts will be poems by women writers. If you'd like to receive a prompt for this month's challenge, comment on our Dreamwidth, comment on our LiveJournal, send us an ask on Tumblr, or email us. Some of our poetic prompts are about heavier topics. If you'd rather avoid these (or any particular topic), just let us know in your request!
In honor of Legendarium Ladies April, we encourage participants to combine our challenge with LLA prompts, and we will have a special stamp for fanworks that do. Please make sure your story notes indicate the LLA prompt(s) you completed for your fanwork if you want to receive this stamp. You may use any past LLA prompts.
This challenge opened in .
Prompts
Choose your prompt from the collection below.
- View Prompts
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- Rabi’a al Basri, [O My Lord]
- Ho Xuan Huong, Floating Sweet Dumpling
- Isabella Whitney, A Sweet Nosegay, or Pleasant Poesy, Containing a Hundred and Ten Philosophical Flowers
- Georgia Douglas Johnson, When I Rise Up
- Izumi Shikibu, Although The Wind...
- Elizabeth Tudor, The Doubt of Future Foes
- Gabriela Mistral, The Teller of Tales
- Amy Lowell, Apology
- Aphra Behn, The Invitation
- Jessie Redmon Fauset, Dead Fires
- Sumita Chakraborty, Night Questions
- Chika Sagawa, Backside
- Cecila Vicuña, Inkamisana
- Dunya Mikhail, My Grandmother’s Grave
- Quyên Nguyễn-Hoàng, Learning Late Letters
- Enheduanna, The exaltation of Inana
- June Jordan, These Poems
- Maya Angelou, Still I Rise
- Kim Hyesoon, Lean on the Water (Day Four)
- Muriel Rukeyser, The Poem as a Mask
- Kathleen Jamie, The Wishing Tree
- Rosanna Warren, Fugue, Harpsichord
- H.D., After Troy
- Margaret Atwood, Morning in the Burned House
- Elizabeth Barrett Browning, To George Sand: A Desire
- Ada Límon, Dead Stars
- Amanda Gorman, The Hill We Climb
- Rachel Korn, Altered Reality
- Franny Choi, Hangul Abecedarian
Fanworks Tagged with Queens of the Quill
The Shipwright and the Hobbit by daughterofshadows
Belladonna goes to the sea and understands something of importance.
Círdan is there for emotional support, even if he doesn't know it.
Light in a Ruined House by Himring
Celebrian asks Elrond about Maedhros and Maglor.
Elrond does not find it easy to talk to her about them, so he begins in a somewhat roundabout way...
The Last Home at the End of the World by elennalore
After stepping into a chasm filled with fire, Maedhros finds himself in an eerily familiar house.
Golden Flower by Raiyana
What is left behind to linger in time.
We were never meant to survive by lightofthetrees
An eagle arrives in Gondolin, bearing news of a great battle to come. Maeglin and Rog discuss their decision to march to war alongside the King.
To Drain a Lake by Himring
Who would dream to drain a lake?
An attempt to answer this question, posed by my prompt, for Middle-earth.
A few short reflections.
Rain Washes Off All the Other Colors by Tethys Resort
“He has led us in here against our fears, but he will lead us out again, at whatever cost to himself. He is surer to find his home in a blind night than the cats of Berúthiel.” Aragorn, Moria.
The story of a woman and her cats.
Tattered and Split by StarSpray
The sea is huge, and grey, and loud, and Elwing hates it. She hates it and she fears it, and so once she is old enough to slip away from her nurses and her guardians, she goes down to the beach.
Lighthouse - Váya Calacar by Lferion
Those left behind do not sit idle. Five drabbles.
