Mereth Aderthad Interview: Interview with Dr. Zara Ashkenazi-Khan by Saelind
The third kinslaying is one of the Silmarillion fandom's favorite topics of discussion because of its moral complexity. In our latest interview for Mereth Aderthad 2025, Dr. Zara Ashkenazi-Khan discussed her paper "Exile, Ruin and Resistance: Beleriand as Postcolonial Palimpsest" with Saelind, the application of postcolonial theory to the most challenging and violent moments in "The Silmarillion," and where scholarship and fanworks each take their place in understanding them.
SWG News
Mereth Aderthad Interview: Interview with Silmalope by Dawn
Silmalope is the featured artist for Shadow's Mereth Aderthad 2025 presentation, "The Aromantic in Tolkien." Dawn spoke with Silmalope about their approach to making art, what inspires their work, and the importance of diverse representation in fanworks.
New Challenge: Period Drama
A Matryoskha challenge with prompts inspired by common tropes in period dramas and historical fiction.
Mereth Aderthad Interview: Interview with JazTheBard by Maglor
Lúthien, Maeglin, and Arwen all share a reference to "twilight" in their names. In our latest interview for Mereth Aderthad 2025, Maglor spoke with JazTheBard about her paper "Twilight, Child Of: Comparisons Between Tinúviel, Lómion, and Undómiel," the role of gender in the legendarium, and setting parts of her presentation to music.
New & Updated Fanworks
[Reference] Interview with chrissystriped by Dawn by chrissystriped, Dawn Felagund
Chrissystriped is the featured author for Shadow's Mereth Aderthad 2025 presentation, "The Aromantic in Tolkien." Dawn spoke with chrissystriped about her story for Mereth Aderthad, her process as a writer, and the importance of representing aro-ace characters in fanfiction.
[Reference] Interview with Dr. Zara Ashkenazi-Khan by Saelind by Dr. Zara Ashkenazi-Khan, Saelind
In her upcoming paper for Mereth Aderthad 2025, "Exile, Ruin and Resistance: Beleriand as Postcolonial Palimpsest," Dr. Zara Ashkenazi-Khan considers why the third kinslaying stands apart in a book filled with violence. Saelind recently spoke with Zara about her paper, postcolonialism and …
[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] She Hath My Love (Drabbles about Women) by Elrond's Library
A collection of drabbles about women in Tolkien's Legendarium.
[Writing] One In the Fires of the Heart of the World by Isilme_among_the_stars
Maedhros finds that regret and pain do not end with death. But it does at last bring release from the oath and he can at last embark upon the long, hard road toward redemption.
[Artwork] Finarfin Moodboard by Artano
Moodboard focused on Finarfin before and near the beginning of the War of Wrath
[Writing] History has its eyes on you by daughterofshadows
Gil-galad, Hamilton lyrics and three poignant events in his life.
Current Challenge
Period Drama
A Matryoshka challenge where prompts are inspired by common tropes found in period dramas and historical fiction. Read more ...
Random Challenge
Archetypes
Prompts for this Matryoshka challenge are based on the archetypes that pepper myths, legends, and literature found around the world. Read more ...
New in References
Interview with chrissystriped by Dawn by chrissystriped, Dawn Felagund
Chrissystriped is the featured author for Shadow's Mereth Aderthad 2025 presentation, "The Aromantic in Tolkien." Dawn spoke with chrissystriped about her story for Mereth Aderthad, her process as a writer, and the importance of representing aro-ace characters in fanfiction.
Interview with Dr. Zara Ashkenazi-Khan by Saelind by Dr. Zara Ashkenazi-Khan, Saelind
In her upcoming paper for Mereth Aderthad 2025, "Exile, Ruin and Resistance: Beleriand as Postcolonial Palimpsest," Dr. Zara Ashkenazi-Khan considers why the third kinslaying stands apart in a book filled with violence. Saelind recently spoke with Zara about her paper, postcolonialism and The Silmarillion, and how fanfiction and scholarship each contribute in important ways to our understanding of Tolkien.
Interview with Silmalope by Dawn by silmalope
Silmalope is the featured artist for Shadow's Mereth Aderthad 2025 presentation, "The Aromantic in Tolkien." Dawn spoke with Silmalope about their approach to making art, what inspires their work, and the importance of diverse representation in fanworks.
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] Saying Goodbye by StarSpray
Frodo spent his last summer in the Shire much as he had the one before he’d gone on his journey.
[Multimedia] Rosemary for Remembrance by Himring
Three years after Arathorn's death, Gilraen receives a letter.
It contains a short poem and a sprig of rosemary.
Around the World and Web
Monster Fucker May 2025
This is an 18+ Tumblr and AO3 event for smutty fanworks involving monsters from the legendarium, put on by the Tolkien Pinup Calendar.
Tolkien100 Drabble Community
Tolkien100 is a long-running drabble community that originated on LiveJournal and is currently maintained on both LiveJournal and Dreamwidth. The community focusses on fixed length-drabbles (100 words). There are also regular prompts. New participants welcome.
May Challenge at tolkienshortfanworks on Dreamwidth
The May challenge has been posted at the tolkienshortfanwork community on Dreamwidth. This month it is a number of prompts containing "may", including "May It Be", by Enya.
Teitho May/June Challenge: Weddings
The theme for Teitho's May/June contest is "weddings."
Gondolin Week 2025
Gondolin Week is a Tumblr event for celebrating characters who called Gondolin their home.
Secret Gate
Sherlock Holmes. Miss Marple. Lieutenant Columbo. Kurt Wallander. Benoit Blanc. Your preferred sleuth may vary, but there’s nothing like a good whodunnit. From the most arcane puzzle to the easiest open and shut case, all mystery novels require certain basic elements. This month’s challenge is a Matryoshka that presents you with the building blocks of a mystery novel. When requesting your prompts, make sure to specify the difficulty level you would like: Beginner (2 prompts), Easy (3 prompts), Medium (5 prompts), or Difficult (7 prompts). Prompts can be found below.
While the prompts are elements of a mystery, your fanwork does not need to be a mystery—use the prompts as you see fit. As June is Pride month, we have a special stamp for fanworks featuring LGBTQ+ characters.
This month's stamps are by Varda delle Stelle.
This challenge opened in .
Prompts
Choose your prompt from the collection below.
- View Prompts
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Beginner
Prompt #1
Offbeat Hero. Give a character in your story an unexpected quirk. Check out this list of character traits or search "unusual character traits" or "character quirks" if you need ideas. Once you decide the quirk and assign it to a character, you can open the next prompt.
Prompt #2
Back from the Brink of Defeat. A character experiences an unexpected triumph.
Easy
Prompt #1
Motive. A character asks, "Why??" (It can be literal or figurative!) When you begin working on this prompt, you can open the next.
Prompt #2
Means. Your character needs something that is not immediately at hand. When the character realizes this, you can open the next prompt.
Prompt #3
Opportunity. A character is given a chance.
Medium
Prompt #1
London Fog. Consider the obscured and obscurity and work an element related to one of these themes into your fanwork. When you decide what you will do (you don't have to have started yet), you can open the next prompt.
Prompt #2
The Sleuth. Your character learns something shocking. When you decide what it will be, you can open the next prompt.
Prompt #3
Against the Odds. Let your character experience a setback. Once you begin creating about the setback, you can open the next prompt.
Prompt #4
Killing Me Strangely. Most causes of death are frankly boring—but never in mystery novels! Apply this concept by choosing a detail (large or small) from your fanwork and changing it into something unexpected. Once you decide on the detail you plan to change, you can open the next prompt. (Note that you don't have to have actually changed anything yet!)
Prompt #5
Red Herrings. Something a character assumed was true … isn't.
Difficult
Prompt #1
Noir. Your character must enter a dark setting. Once you've let him/her/them set foot into the shadows, you can open the next prompt.
Prompt #2
The Whodunit. Something happens. No one knows why or who did it. When you begin working on this prompt, you can open the next.
Prompt #3
Prime Suspects. A character is confronted with multiple possibilities. When you begin working on this prompt, you can open the next.
Prompt #4
Hint Hint. A hint is dropped or missed or possibly picked up. Add something to your fanwork to do with a hint. When you begin working on this prompt, you can open the next.
Prompt #5
Beyond the Call of Duty. A character goes above and beyond. When you begin working on this prompt, you can open the next.
Prompt #6
Cold Trail. A character sets out somewhere that doesn't end up going much of anywhere at all. When you begin working on this prompt, you can open the next.
Prompt #7
The Culprit. Fingers are pointed.
Fanworks Tagged with Secret Gate
Chronology of Arda's Light-forms by Anérea
An illustrated infographic timeline of the various sources of illumination of Arda from its creation to the sun.
Artifacts in Archive by Lferion
In Valinor, Cîr Imladris built, Elrond takes the opportunity to properly catalogue, categorize, and annotate one of the slowly diminishing collection of uncatalogued, uncategorized "miscellaneous objects with words attached" that had been part of the library and archive at Imladris from the beginning.
Betrayed by LadySternchen
Lúthien thinks she can trust her best friend- until she is proven wrong.
A Small (Mis)Adventure by Grundy
When Tuor can't find Eärendil, he sends for Maeglin to help.
Things You've Done by StarSpray
They sat in silence for a little while, until Maglor finished his cup of water and sighed. “There is something on your mind,” he said. “Out with it.”
To his vague surprise, Elros did not look up. He carefully plucked another flower and added it to his growing chain. “Why did you do it?”
“Why did I do what?”
“Not—just you. You and—everyone. Why did you come to Sirion?”
Once upon a moon on the brink of June by Himring
Quirky Tom is stumped in his investigation; his partner delivers the goods. (Deliberately misleading summary inspired by the challenge prompts! See Story Notes for more reliable information.)
It's not easy, but it's worth it by daughterofshadows
Three characters, three moments. Three stages of the same journey. The road of self-acceptance is never smooth.
On the Noldor, Exiled by Lferion
A sonnet addressing some of the challenges the Noldor faced as Exiles.
Listen to the Song by polutropos
Young Daeron has many questions. This time, they lead Beleg to a vision of a dark future for the elves on the westward journey.
Rematch by I_did_not_mean_to
A short crime-story that is a direct continuation of a Drabble written for B2MEM (Match).
Detective Aredhel and her second-in-command Haleth find the burned corpse of a boy. They now have to investigate men they had thought firmly and safely relegated to the past.
Can they be guilty of a crime so heinous? Why won't anybody in that dark, foreboding house cooperate when the women clearly toil to save their reputations and lives?
