silmarillionwritersguild

[silmarillionwritersguild]

Few episodes within the legendarium inspire the tormented emotions as the third kinslaying and the aftermath between Maedhros, Maglor, Elrond, and Elros. The featured artist for polutropos' Mereth Aderthad 2025 presentation "'Kidnap Fam' and the Living Legendarium," Tang Wen Xi creates artwork, including martial scenes, with a bold, vibrant style that often seems to leap and move within the page. Dawn recently spoke to Tang Wen Xi about his inspirations within the legendarium and how he creates his one-of-a-kind art.

You can read Dawn's interview with Tang Wen Xi here.

[silmarillionwritersguild]

If you are attending Mereth Aderthad in-person and want to join us for dinner on Saturday and/or breakfast on Sunday, Mr. Felagund and I are working on getting reservations made and need a headcount.

Please use this form to RSVP no later than Sunday, June 22 if you would like to join us!

Dinner: Saturday, July 19, 6:00 PM at the Farmhouse Tap & Grill in Williston

Breakfast: Sunday, July 20, 9:00 AM at The Pour House (scroll down to Sunday Brunch Menu)

You are responsible for the cost of your own food and drinks at these gatherings.

We will have additional gatherings that do not require reservations and where virtual attendees can join. The schedule will be posted within the week!

If you're wondering, "what is this Mereth Aderthad thing?" find out more here!

[silmarillionwritersguild]

Fish is creating the art for Stella Getreuer-Kostrouch's presentation "Cherished antagonist, despised protagonist - a defence of Elu Thingol" for Mereth Aderthad 2025. Shadow spoke with fish about his creative process, the importance of both tragedy and eucatastrophe to Tolkien's works (and to keeping his fans forever in the fandom), and the appeal of "greyness" in Silmarillion characters like Elu Thingol.

You can read Shadow's interview with fish here.

[silmarillionwritersguild]

Tolkien Horror Week is back for another year of celebrating all the terrifying and unsettling bits of Tolkien's work! The event will run from October 26th to November 1st and accepts all types of fanworks. There is an AO3 collection for the event here.

Below are some suggested prompts for each day of the week. They are not mandatory; feel free to combine them or disregard them entirely.

Day 1: Angband, Utumno, & Tol-in-Gaurhoth | beautiful and yet horrible of shape | captives and thralls Day 2: Angmar & Minas Morgul | lit with a fell light | specters and wraiths Day 3: Mordor & the Dead Marshes | enmeshed in shadows | spells and enchantments Day 4: The Barrow-downs & the Old Forest | cold be hand and heart and bone | mists and mires Day 5: Mirkwood, Nan Elmoth, & Taur-nu-Fuin | hunted like wild beasts | beasts and monsters Day 6: Nan Dungortheb & the Paths of the Dead | phantoms of terror | webs and snares Day 7: Isengard, Moria, & Númenor | old and forgotten | rituals and sacrifices

Please mention @tolkienhorrorweek in the body of your post and tag #tolkienhorrorweek and #tolkienhorrorweek2025 in the first 10 tags. You may also submit a post. Please tag any content warnings/gore and place any NSFW content beneath a read more/link to AO3.

For more information, see the FAQ. If you have any questions, drop them in the ask box.

Art is by John Howe.

[silmarillionwritersguild]

Celrond Week 2025

"...and it was then that Elrond first saw Celebrían, and loved her, though he said nothing of it."

Announcing Celrond Week, a Tolkien fandom event celebrating the relationship between Celebrían of Lothlorien and her husband Elrond Peredhel, Lord of Imladris and Middle Earth’s favourite wifewise-guy. This event will run from October 20th — 26th 2025, and will feature three elements from which participants can pick and choose if and as they wish, or just go rogue!

A traditional “prompt list” — as seen in most fandom events, seven overarching themes and several literary/visual prompts within each one, to provide a spark of optional inspiration.

Bingo Challenges — a set of “bingo boards” that cater to those preferring to write sentence-fics, drabbles or shorter ficlets. These will be thematic, and feature short, or single-word, prompts that you collectively 'tick off' to reveal a 'prize' image underneath. Inspired by the @silmarillionwritersguild Potluck Bingo challenge.

Visual Prompts: for the artistically minded among us! These will include photo prompts, colour/mood boards, and even meme templates (Eg: “I bet Elrond is thinking about other elves…” Elrond: *thinking about taxation*) that you can take in whatever direction you see fit.

Prompts and boards will be shared on this blog across the next few weeks and in the run up to the event so do follow to keep updated, and the AO3 Collection will be linked here when live.��

Click here for a detailed guide to the event, including content guidelines and an FAQ. 

Happy Celronding!

[silmarillionwritersguild]

Tolkien OC Week

A fandom event for OCs and underdeveloped characters in Tolkien's world!

This event celebrates both characters of Tolkien's world and our own characters that need more love, by creating and reblogging all kind of fanworks, like fanfiction, fanart, fanvideos, fancrafts, headcanons, playlists, edits, moodboards etc.

The event is modded by @yellow-faerie and @elamarth-calmagol, and will take place between 25th August - 31st August 2025 for the fourth year running.

NSFW text entries are allowed and we’ll tag them accordingly when we reblog them, but please put them behind a “read more”.

We'll also be tracking the tag #tolkienocweek during this week!

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Event schedule for 2025:

1. Family Members (25th August)

Tolkien may have given us all the family trees of the hobbits, but he definitely didn't finish the ones for elves, dwarves, or rangers. Add an original character to a gap in a family tree, such as a missing wife, or create a whole new family member, like a second child for Galadriel and Celeborn.

2. Diversity (26th August)

It isn't the 1940s anymore! Create an OC whose race, culture, gender, sexual orientation, neurotype, or disability differs from what people usually imagine when they picture Middle Earth. For a world to feel real, its people must be diverse!

3. Forgotten Characters (27th August)

With so many versions of his stories, Tolkien dropped a lot of characters along the way. Choose one of these forgotten characters, such as Finwe's daughter Faniel, and share a fanwork about them.

4. Alternate Universes (28th August)

Share an OC from an alternate universe, such as a modern character isakai-d into Middle Earth, a daughter for Feanor, or a post-canonical love interest for someone who died in the original story. Anything goes!

5. Relationships (29th August)

Today, share an original character who is close to a canon character in some way. The relationship does not have to be romantic or sexual. The characters might be friends, colleagues, neighbors, or even arch enemies. What matters for this prompt is exploring the relationships between the original and canon characters.

6. Off the Map (30th August)

Tolkien's maps only stretch do far into the east and south, and his images of Valinor show even less. Today, give us a character who doesn't live within the bounds of the canonical maps. Maybe they live in Harad or Rhun, or the briefly mentioned continent created to the west of sunken Numenor when the world was made round, or even another planet within Arda.

7. Freeform

Every fandom week has to have a free day! Choose a prompt to do a second time, expand on an OC you already shared, or share an OC that doesn't fit any prompt.

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Since we want to celebrate creations about neglected characters all year long, the mods will occasionally reblog posts and fancreations about OCs and underdeveloped characters. If you would like to see your post on our blog, you're very welcome to tag #tolkienocweek. Since tumblr's tagging system is often being faulty, don't hesitate to message us, too!

We are looking forward to see and share all the awesome work you come up with!

[silmarillionwritersguild]

UPDATED PINNED POST!!!!

Hey yall! Welcome to kidnap fam week 2025! This is my first time hosting any sort of event like this, so please bare with me as I figure out how to do everything :)

If you have any questions before the event starts please do feel free to post on the community or drop an ask in the official blogs ask box.

The date of the event will be September 22 to September 28th. I did it this late because @sindarweek and @ainurweek will also be taking place in September

(Go check their blogs out!!!)

PROMPTS

settling in (day one)

E² settles into the fortress (ngl I forgot the name T-T)

Angst (and maybe fluff!) OR modern au if you don't like angst (day 2)

Autumn/fall (day 3)

E² first autumn outside sirion

Adventure (day 4)

E² sneak out for an adventure

Stories (day 5)

Maedhros or maglor tell a story of their past

New star (day 6)

E² notice a new star

Reunion (day 7)

PLEASE NOTE YOU DON'T HAVE TO USE THE DESCRIPTION OF THE PROMPT, OR THE PROMPT AT ALL. THEY ARE JUST IDEAS TO USE IF YOU WANT. INTERPRET THE PROMPT HOW EVER YOU WANT! :)

RULES:

Don't be an asshole. No slurs in here please. Cursing is fine as long as it isn't directed at another artist.

I hate that I have to say it, but just in case, please do not post any sort of idk fucked up art? Blood and dead bodies? Fine by me.

(Aka do NOT sexualize the children. Please. Adults are fair game, leave the kids out of it)

Is kidnap fam 2.0 allowed?:

Yes! This is mainly kidnap fam community, but I'll probably just count kidnap fam 2.0 as like an au or something!

Are prompts mandatory?:

No!!! The prompts will be merely suggestions/inspiration. You can use them, but you don't have to.

Anything kidnap fam is just fine! :)

Also here's the community I made if you'd rather use that :)

[silmarillionwritersguild]

Summer is a season of flourishing, when life is at its peak. It is a time of plenty, when the light lingers long and celebrations dot the calendar. As we prepare for our big Mereth Aderthad celebration in just a month's time—an event that celebrates the vibrant life of our group and all of the creators and members who have shaped its history—we turn to the topic of summer. Like summer, we hope the SWG and the creativity and fellowship between its members will be a light that endures for many years to come!

This month, challenge participants will select their own prompts from a collection of prompts related to summer. The collection includes quotes from the texts, canon events, events in Tolkien's life, and quotes from Tolkien's letters. As always, you can mix and match prompts if you want, and we encourage creative interpretations of prompts.

In honor of Pride Month, there is a special stamp available for fanworks that focus on LGBTQIA+ characters.

Thank you to @anerea-lantiria for this month's banner and stamps!

In order to receive a stamp for your fanwork, your response must be posted to the archive on or before 15 July 2025. For complete challenge guidelines, see the Challenges page on our website.

[silmarillionwritersguild]

Our Teitho prompt for June/July is Inheritance.

We can’t wait to see how you choose to use this prompt!

Inheritance can have many meanings. It can be the physical traits one inherits from relatives—eye color, hair color, a cleft chin—or it can be a tendency that runs in a family—a short temper, chattiness, prophetic dreams.

It could be a physical object like a home, a sword, a keepsake. Or a heavier burden like an oath or vow. Or it could be both, like the Ring of Barahir.

It can be a bloodline—like the Dunedain or the line of Durin. Or a legacy—like the shards of Narsil or the Arkenstone.

Inheritance may be tangible or intangible, may bring joy, wealth, or immense tragedy.

Inheritance can vary between siblings. Or it can lead to strife between family.

What story or art of Inheritance will you give us this month? Please submit your art or story to teitho.contest@gmail.com by July 31st.

We can’t wait to see what you create!

Your teitho mods,

Sian22, lotrfan, and Cassie

[silmarillionwritersguild]

Cloudyhymn's presentation The Design of Dragons and the Doom of the Dwarves posits dragons as a corruption of Dwarves, both sharing a connection to the earth but on opposing sides, similar to the relationship Tolkien sometimes described between Elves and Orcs. Varda delle Stelle, the SWG's assistant art editor, will be creating two paintings as the featured artist for cloudyhymn's presentation at Mereth Aderthad 2025. 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.

You can read Shadow's interview with Varda delle Stelle here.

[silmarillionwritersguild]

Back in March, we spoke with polutropos' about her presentation on the "kidnap fam" trope and its broad appeal in the fandom. Few episodes in the legendarium provoke such fascination and range of interpretations. Reese is the featured author for polutropos' Mereth Aderthad 2025 presentation, "'Kidnap Fam' and the Living Legendarium." Dawn spoke to Reese about her story, which is an epistolary found fiction, and the appeal of alternate universe, mythology and Tolkien and the many fruitful connections they share, the kidnap fam trope—and how the silences in all of these invite storytellers to fill the gaps.

You can read Dawn's interview with Reese here.

[silmarillionwritersguild]

Love kidnap fam? Hate it? Ambivalent? Great! Your thoughts are wanted.

I am collecting survey data as part of my 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. 

This portion of the study focuses on the various ways that fans of the Silmarillion understand and imagine the relationship between Maedhros, Maglor, Elrond, and Elros: the "kidnap fam". 

The resulting paper will be presented at Mereth Aderthad on July 19 2025 and published afterwards on the Silmarillion Writers' Guild. 

COMPLETE THE SURVEY until June 27, 2025.

Even if you're not completing the survey, reblogs are appreciated!

[silmarillionwritersguild]

Kai is a Tolkien artist whose work captures both the dramatic moments of the legendarium and the moments of friendship and love between characters that drove these storied events. Kai's work often captures light and radiance, making him fitting as a 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." Kai spoke with Shadow about how Maglor's topic was instantly inspiring, his range of interests over the years in the legendarium, and the meaning behind the painting he made for Maglor's presentation.

You can read Shadow's interview with Kai here.

[silmarillionwritersguild]

Info Post 2025

Everything you need to know in one place. Or at least the links to where you'll find the information.

Schedule!

So you want to be an...

artist for S&D

author for S&D

Sign-ups (this form covers both artists and authors!)

Website!

Discord!

[silmarillionwritersguild]

Camp Tolkien: Official Announcement

Welcome to Camp Tolkien!

This writing event is meant to be a little retreat in the middle of summer, giving writers the chance to work on a beloved project in the company of fellow writers.

Writers are invited to bring a project to Camp Tolkien--whether you're brainstorming, outlining, drafting, or editing--and spend the two weeks at camp working on your project. While other Inklings Challenge events are geared toward short stories, Camp Tolkien is meant to give writers a chance to make progress on larger projects. You can work on a short story if you wish, but since we're not aiming to finish the project by the end of the event, this is also a chance to work on whatever project is nearest and dearest to your heart at the moment--a novel, a play, an epic poem, whatever you like.

Camp Tolkien will be in session from June 9, 2025 through June 21, 2025. Every day from Monday through Friday, Camp Tolkien will offer four different summer-camp-themed activities. Each of these activities will be a writing prompt or challenge meant to inspire you in your project and/or add some fun to the writing process. Writers will choose at least one of the four activities to join in, though you can choose to complete multiple activities if you wish.

The prompts will be aimed at different parts of the writing process. Some will be better-suited for drafting, while others will work better for people who are outlining or brainstorming, and some are more about adding some excitement to the writing process itself, no matter which stage you're in. The hope is that everyone attending Camp Tolkien will find at least one activity per day that they can apply to their stage of the writing process.

For example, a day's list of Camp Tolkien Activities might look something like this:

Photography: Find at least five reference pictures that visualize the setting or characters of your project

Friendship Bracelets: Tell us about two characters who are currently friends, or talk about a childhood/former friend of a character

Nature Walk: Go on a walk outside and use something about the experience (a sensory detail, something you saw) as inspiration for your project

Rock Climbing: Set a timer for thirty minutes and try to finish as much of a draft of a scene as you can in that time

After finishing for the day, writers are invited to reblog that day's post, telling us which activity they joined, and either sharing what they wrote or telling us how the process went.

Each Saturday will be a Free Day, where writers can look over all the activities offered from the previous week and choose any activity they wish to use for that day's prompt. This could be a chance to complete an activity from a day you missed, or to complete an extra activity that you never got to.

The final day of camp, June 21, 2025, writers will get the chance to talk about their progress on their project and how the overall camp experience went.

This is a very low-key event, meant to make the writing process fun. People can join in as much or as little as they wish, and there is no sign-up process. Writers are just invited to check the blog each day and join in the fun of Camp Tolkien.

Any questions can be directed to the Inklings Challenge blog via ask box or DM.

And that's Camp Tolkien! Now go forth and create!

[silmarillionwritersguild]

Dawn Felagund is the featured author for Savannah Horrell's paper "By Guile Committed: Comparing Tolkien’s Thieves to Beowulf" for Mereth Aderthad 2025. Shadow spoke with Dawn about her story for Savannah's presentation, the juggling act of creating a fanwork for the event while also organizing it, and the power of reading Tolkien as a work of history.

You can read Shadow's interview with Dawn here.

[silmarillionwritersguild]

Reminder that there are 10 days left to post a challenge response if you want the stamp(s)!

A rustle of silk, the song of a sword unsheathed, the rhythmic clop of hooves on cobblestones … Period dramas take us back in time—to the good times, that is, and an escape to a past where we aren't asked to endure the absence of antibiotics, electric lights, or basic rights for most of the population; when people and clothing were beautiful (and had all of their teeth), no one stunk, and toileting practices are left to the imagination.

This month's challenge is a Matryoshka challenge, where you will choose a prompt set based on a level of difficulty, revealing one prompt at a time as you move through your fanwork. Prompts are based around common tropes found in period dramas. It is important to note, however, that your fanwork does not need to be a period piece itself. Any genre, topic, and approach to the prompts is welcome!

How a Matryoshka Challenge Works

Matryoshka dolls are also known as Russian nesting dolls, with each doll containing a smaller doll inside. A Matryoshka challenge works similarly, requiring creators to fit their response to each prompt within a fanwork already underway for previous prompts.

You will use multiple prompts for a Matryoshka challenge. First, choose your difficulty level: Beginner (two prompts), Easy (three), Medium (five), or Difficult (seven … and good luck!) You will include each prompt in your story, opening them one at a time as you create your fanwork. (See below for how to use the prompts for formats other than fanfiction.) Prompts will include directions about when you can open the next prompt. Prompt sets can be found below.

If you want to create a fanwork other than fiction for a Matryoshka challenge, you can use any of the following approaches to your prompt set:

You can, of course, use the Matryoshka rules for fiction. For example, if you are making a fan vid, you could open each prompt one at a time to guide the storyline and selection of video clips.

You can use each prompt individually to create a series of flash fanworks using either the prompt title or the full prompt (or a mixture of both). For example, if you request a Medium prompt set and want to make fan art, you could do a series of five sketches that fit each of the five prompts.

You can open all of the prompts at once and make a fanwork that incorporates them all in some way, using either the prompt title or the full prompt (or a mixture of both).

This month there is a special stamp available for nonwritten fanworks made using the Matryoshka prompts! This would include artwork, audio, link collections, playlists, videos, and multimedia fanworks. Writing is allowed but should also include one of these other types.

Thank you to Zdenka for this month's banner and stamps!

In order to receive a stamp for your fanwork, your response must be posted to the archive on or before 15 June 2025. For complete challenge guidelines, see the Challenges page on our website.