July Newsletter

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July's Challenges

All Good Beasts

While Elves and Men get a lot of attention in fanfiction, sometimes we neglect some The Silmarillion’s greatest supporting actors: animals! Whether a heroic beast like Huan, who slays the lord of werewolves and earns nearly as much screen time as his master Celegorm, Fingolfin’s great warhorse Rochallor, or someone’s unrecorded pet rabbit, animals have an important place in The Silmarillion and in the lives of its characters.

This month, write a story featuring an animal. Show how important a beloved animal is to a character or tell a story through the eyes of one.

Browse through a list of Middle Earth’s animals for inspiration.

International Day of Femslash

Additionally, July 19th is the International Day of Femslash! Have a femslash bunny? Enter it in this challenge! See our announcement under the "Around the World and Web" section for more detail.

Quote of the Month

...but he became the friend of birds and beasts, and they aided him, and did not betray him...

The Silmarillion, Of Beren and Luthien

Character of the Month: Beleg Cuthalion

Coming Soon!

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View past character profiles.

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Want more challenges? Check out our complete challenge listing for more than two years' worth of challenges to inspire your writing!

Have an idea for a challenge? Some of our most popular challenges have been created by you, the members of SWG! If you have a plotbunny gnawing at your ankle, a favorite quote, or a favorite character that you think might inspire others as well, please send an email to moderator@silmarillionwritersguild.org and we'll try to include your challenge in our next newsletter!

July's News

The Yellow Pages

The SWG Yellow Pages are up! Looking for something specific but not sure where to begin? Looking for ways to become more involved in the fandom? Browse the Yellow Pages for fanart websites, references, roleplaying groups, and more!

Is there a group that you think should be listed in the Yellow Pages, but isn’t? Check out the guidelines for submitting a group or site to the Yellow Pages.

Around the World and Web

International Day of Femslash is the 19th!

Remember, July 19th is International Day of Femslash! This fandom “holiday” aims to provoke a positive avalanche of femslash material from across a wide range of fandoms, languages and geographical locations. Have a femslash story laying around collecting dust? Always considered writing a femslash story but never got around to it? Now is the perfect opportunity to share your femslash work!

SWG will be participating in this event, and we encourage femslash fans in SWG to share their work for this unique fandom holiday. Keep checking our page on the International Day of Femslash site for more details as they develop!

Tickets Are on Sale for 2008 Elffeast!

This year's location is the castle complex Balduinstein in Germany, near the city of Limburg. Participants enjoy a 13th-century old castle tavern, castle ruins, two Hobbit and a dwarf house, and the palatial Noldorinhome. The surrounding woods invites fall hunting, and we give thirsty travelers next-to-exquisite catering and a Rohan banquet including mead and wine. And, of course, you mustn't miss Fëanor’s sons offer the Evil Flames with their unforgettable fire show on Saturday!

Not many tickets are available, so act quickly to reserve yours by visiting the Elffeast website!

The Men of Middle Earth Awards

Nominations are open for The Men of Middle Earth Awards, which celebrates the extensive variety of pairings in the LOTR slash fandom. Awards are presented based on story length and pairing; winners will be announced on November 10.

Fics completed between July 1, 2007 and June 30, 2008 are eligible; stories completed by December 31, 2006 can be nominated in the Classic Fiction category. And this year we're pleased to present a new authors award by pairing. Specific guidelines and eligibility requirements can be found here.

Join us in recognizing the wide range of LOTR slash pairings! E-mail
mome.awards@gmail.com for additional information.

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Around the World and Web is provided for our members to inform them of events in the larger Tolkien community. SWG is not affiliated with and does not endorse the groups that we feature in Around the World and Web, and we are not responsible for content on sites outside of our own. Please use discretion and caution when visiting unfamiliar sites on the Internet.

Would you like to see your group or event featured on Around the World and Web? See our Promotions Page for more details or email us at moderator@silmarillionwritersguild.org.

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