New Challenge: Everyman
Create a fanwork about an ordinary character in the legendarium using a quote about an unnamed character as inspiration.
SWG News
Cultus Dispatches: Fanworks, AI, and Resistance by Dawn and Grundy
The fan studies column Cultus Dispatches returns with a history of how Tolkien fanworks fandom has reacted and resisted generative AI by drawing strong boundaries in a way that is not typical for the fandom.
Instadrabbling Sessions for April, May, and June
Instadrabbling continues on the first Saturday of each month on our Discord server.
New Challenge: Famous Last Words
For our March challenge, our moderators will assign you a famous last line to use as a prompt.
New & Updated Fanworks
[Writing] The Mirror Crack'd by AdmirableMonster
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…
[Writing] A Hundred Miles Through the Desert by StarSpray
“Come on.” Maedhros grabbed his hand and pulled him along down the path, both of them quickening their pace now, until the trees opened up into a wide meadow filled with flowers, bright yellow celandine and dandelions and sweet-scented pale chamomile mingling with cornflowers and irises. On…
[Writing] Til We're on the Other Side by StarSpray
It was only the second time Finwë had come out foraging with them, and of course this would happen—of course the Hunter would come, the Dark Rider on his steed with its terrible, heavy footfalls, and the deep-throated laughter that held no mirth, only malice.
In the dark…
[Writing] The Endless Years by Elrond's Library
Elwing reckons with the passage of time.
[Writing] a life freely given, a favor returned by skywardstruck
Finrod and Bëor stop for a while on the road to Nargothrond to rest. The bodies of the Secondborn often grow weary, and Finrod laments, massaging Bëor's back and renewing his beloved's vigor with the work of his hands. But Finrod has other burdens of his own, Bëor soon discovers, returning…
[Writing] dye me, nocturne by skywardstruck
Maglor without Maedhros, Daeron without Lúthien. Alone, they are nothing, but together, they can be something more.
Where do you turn, when you have no one else left?
Written for Tolkien Reverse Summer Bang 2023, featuring artwork by athlai.
[Writing] Hill and Water Under Sky by StarSpray
a collection of drabbles and mini ficlets in the meanwhile the world goes on 'verse that aren't long enough to stand on their own
Current Challenge
Everyman
Create a fanwork about an ordinary character in the legendarium using a quote about an unnamed character as inspiration. Read more ...
Random Challenge
B2MeM 2009
Back to Middle-earth Month in 2009 offered a daily prompt connecting our personal experiences to our creative work. Read more ...
New in References
Fandom Draws the Line: Fanworks, AI, and Resistance by Dawn Felagund, Grundy
By definition, fanworks fandom does not draw a lot of boundaries, but community archives and events have taken a strong stance against AI-generated fanworks due to ethical considerations and member input.
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.
Tolkien, Lunatic Physicists, and Abnegation by Cynthia (Cindy) Gates
This presentation for Mereth Aderthad 2025 discusses the parallels between the concept of abnegation in the scientific work surrounding the atomic bomb and in The Silmarillion. The relinquishment of self-interest in favor of the interests of others, abnegation was identified by Tolkien as a powerful act of spirit and reason. The legendarium has many examples of the complexities of abnegation, which parallel similar discussions held by physicists during and after World War II.
Featured Themed Collection
Beyond the Silmarillion
[Artwork] The Mirror of Galadriel by skywardstruck
Smoke rises from the Mirror, where the Lady of Lothlórien awaits to share its visions.
[Writing] Bar-en-Eladar by Gabriel
Out of the shadow, light is born anew.
A Chieftain is dead. And whilst the events surrounding his death are unclear, a son tries to come to terms with his loss.
[Writing] Why did Éowyn ask Faramir if he'd rather have a "woman of the race of Númenor"? by Quente
For most of my life, when reading Lord of the Rings, I read it through the perspective of Gandalf's words about Éowyn, that she'd spent years trapped as a caregiver, watching the realm she love fall from honor into disgrace.
But what if Éowyn was also a student of history?
…
Around the World and Web
Angbang Week 2026
Angbang Week is a tumblr event focusing on the relationship between Morgoth and Sauron, running from May 5-11, 2026
Gondor Week 2026
A Tumblr week event focusing on the history of the realm of Gondor.
Crablor Day
A day dedicated to everyone's favourite warcriminal crustacean - April 26, 2026
April/May Teitho Challenge
Teithio is running a prompt challenge around the theme of "heartbreak."
April Challenge Tolkien Short Fanworks
Tolkien Short Fanworks is running a challenge around the theme of "fools," "foolishness," or "being fooled."
Fanworks Tagged with Éowyn
Heroes and Monsters (Season One Now Streaming) by AdmirableMonster
Miranda Otto, lead writer on the docudrama Heroes and Monsters, has major writers' block. A chance encounter at her local coffee shop might be just the thing she needs to pen her Season Two opener.
Why did Éowyn ask Faramir if he'd rather have a "woman of the race of Númenor"? by Quente
For most of my life, when reading Lord of the Rings, I read it through the perspective of Gandalf's words about Éowyn, that she'd spent years trapped as a caregiver, watching the realm she love fall from honor into disgrace.
But what if Éowyn was also a student of history?
This is a deep-dive into the resonance of the drive for "racial purity" in Númenor as it relates to the politics of the Kin-strife in the 1500s of the third age.
A small but insistent ache by Quente
Arwen's stomach hurts and she ponders mortality; Éowyn provides medicine and a sympathetic ear.
The Sun Shone Upon Her by Isilme_among_the_stars
An embroidery piece inspired by Éowyn's journey in the Return of the King, when a time of joy comes after a long winter of despair. The words are quote from the book. The sun motif is taken from the design of Éomer's armour from Peter Jackson's The Two Towers. The flower design is my own.
The Choices of Lady Éowyn by Zdenka
Éowyn decides to join the Ride of the Rohirrim to Minas Tirith. A poem in alliterative verse.
The Shieldmaiden and the Witch-king by Zdenka
The fall of the Witch-king of Angmar, as told in the meter of Hiawatha.
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 of the Fields of Celebrant, long ago,” said Lady Éowyn, smiling at them
And There Make a Garden by Arveldis
Éowyn walked through the rows of the garden that sprawled beyond the house, her hand laid over the swell of her stomach. It was high summer, and the garden grew in wild abandon, hardly distinguishable from the fragrant wilderness that rippled and tumbled over the hills of Emyn Arnen.
Éowyn walks in her garden and reminisces about all the people who helped her create it.
[podfic] As Though At Sea by Chestnut_pod
Lothíriel finds many things in Rohan unsettling, but none so much as her future sister-in-law.
Tolkien Fandom | Animated illustration with music (English subtitles) by Sirielle
My illustrations with a bit of life and music by DTH. English subtitles added for the lyrics in Polish. (More details in description.)
[podfic] waving flares in the air by Chestnut_pod
The light enters the room before Éowyn does, a rolling dry heat with it; just enough warning for Faramir to close one book and open another. She enters hard on its heels. 'Hail, Steward, from the south fair tidings,' she says, pulling off her helm halfway through, so the words are muffled. 'I can’t stay long. I came to give you word of Harad and your brother.' (A Galadriel-accepts-the-ring AU.)
Éowyn - warrior & healer by daughterofshadows
Éowyn refuses to be a foot note in the history of men.
Sunshine by chrissystriped
After Sauron's defeat and the return of the army to Minas Tirith, Éomer goes to see his sister and finds her changed.
Runaway Horses by Himring
A runaway conversation about runaway horses.
Early in the Fourth Age, some of our heroes meet at Bree, including Merry, Elrohir, Faramir and Eowyn.
In the evening, the conversation takes an unexpected turn; stories are told and the stories range widely...
A Tale for the New Year (originally written in January 2019).
Burning in the House: Éowyn's Outcry and the Death of Aerin by Himring
In an attempt to allow widely separated parts of the Legendarium to throw light on each other, Aerin's final acts are compared to the imagery in which Éowyn's expresses her concerns in The Lord of the Rings. The relevant passages share the motif of the burning house. The handling of this motif suggests authorial sympathy with Éowyn's plight.
