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dawn_felagund)
Hi, all,
Due to a glitch in the RSS feed that we use to compile the story list each month, stories posted to the archive between March 13 and March 24 were inadvertently left off of the list. Clearly, this amounts to quite a few stories! :) Rhapsody has kindly fixed the list for us, and the correct version is now available on our website:
http://www.silmarillionwritersguild.o
All the best,
Dawn
dawn_felagund)
It's late again, thanks to B2MeM and my traveling out of the country, but this month's newsletter is finally done and posted! Hopefully, next month, I can get back on the proper schedule again. :)
http://www.silmarillionwritersguild.o
This month's edition contains a new comic from pandemonium_213: the next installment in Gothmog and Draugluin's adventure with Professor Thu while Melkor is gone on vacation. In addition there is news from within and beyond the SWG, a list of this month's stories, and a new challenge.
I would like to draw attention to an important announcement from Angelica, our Library of Tirion moderator, in this month's newsletter. We are once again running low on stories to add to the Library of Tirion. For those of you not familiar with it, LofT is the section of our archive for stories published prior to the opening of the SWG archive in 2007. We rely on our members to suggest their favorite pre-SWG authors so that we can ensure that this era of fandom history is represented on our site. Please email us with your requests or use the request form on the site. There is more information here:
http://www.silmarillionwritersguild.o
Thank you to Pandemonium, Rhapsody, and Angelica for their contributions to this month's newsletter!
dawn_felagund)
Due to B2MeM being massively successful this year and therefore monopolizing my time in a big way, the newsletter is dreadfully late. I do apologize--but here it is at long last! :)
http://www.silmarillionwritersguild.o
This month's edition contains news from the SWG, from groups beyond our borders, stories added and updated during February, and the current challenges on the site. In honor of Back to Middle-earth Month, Oshun has contributed the first part of what promises to be an informative and insightful biography of Gandalf. This part considers how he appears in LotR and The Hobbit (compared to the very different character we see in The Silmarillion and related works) as well as the archetypal roles he plays. The biography is also illustrated by Pandemonium_213.
Pandë has also contributed another in her series of brilliantly funny Gothmog & Draugluin comics. This month, Melkor prepares to whisk his wife away on a romantic getaway, and Lil Gothmog heads off to Tol-in-Gaurhoth with his babysitter (sorry! observer!), Professor Thû.
Many thanks to Oshun, Pandemonium, Rhapsody, and Angelica, who contributed to this month's newsletter. (And got their stuff in on time! :) Enjoy!
dawn_felagund)
No, your eyes do not deceive you--the February 2012 edition of the SWG newsletter is on time this month! And it has lots of new stuff worth a look.
http://www.silmarillionwritersguild.o
Of course, you will find news from within the SWG and beyond our borders. Back to Middle-earth Month (B2MeM) preparations are in full swing, as we have close to three dozen BINGO cards created by participants and many people signed up to play in this year's event. I will be releasing another round of new cards shortly, probably tomorrow, so stay tuned!
Oshun has written another bang-up biography on Rochallor. Wait ... Fingolfin's horse? Yes ... but do not let Rochallor's beastly nature deceive you; yet again, Oshun has gifted us with a well researched and thought-provoking biography, as she looks at Rochallor's canonical role in his master's defiant and impetuous (totally Finwion!) final stand against Melkor. She also points to the significance of horses in heroic literature. Oshun does a consistently fabulous job on these monthly biographies, and Rochallor's joins her impressive list of biographies well worth a look.
For those who have missed the Funnies section, we have excellent news--Pandemonium's clever Gothmog & Draugluin comic is back this month! Professor Thû and his Orcish assistant have just taken over Tol Sirion and need to take stock of the place. Welcome back, G&D crew--you have been missed!
Many thanks to Oshun, Pandemonium, Rhapsody, and Angelica, our newsletter contributors who help keep SWG members informed and entertained!
dawn_felagund)
I almost forgot to announce that the January newsletter is up on our website:
http://www.silmarillionwritersguild.o
My comods and I have written our annual New Years' letter to keep the group informed of where we hope to go in the next year. We've also included some tips on how to use the archive's Character list to find stories you want to read and ensure your story is being found by eager readers. Around the World and Web has announcements from groups outside of the SWG as well. (Special plug: I am working with some other Tolkien fans on a project to put together a Silmarillion-based podcast, and we are looking for folks who would be interested in participating. There are more details in the newsletter!) You can also find a list of all the stories, poems, and plays updated and finished during the month of December.
Oshun took a well-deserved month off during December, and I wrote the character biography in her stead. I updated my earlier and very perfunctory "emergency" biography of Namo Mandos. He is a character who has invited intriguing and varied interpretations in Silmarillion-based fiction, and my research revealed him to have deep roots not only in Tolkien's legendarium but also in world mythology.
We change challenges every three months, so this is the month for a new challenge for any writers or artists who care to accept it: It's All in the Numbers. This challenge asks participants to ponder how individuals and cultures in Arda utilized numbers. We're also revisiting the "Four Elements" challenge and have a new quote of the month, so if you need to kickstart the muses during the deep of winter (or the unrelenting heat of summer, for those of you in the south!), we encourage you to try one of the month's challenges!
Thanks to rhapsody11 for her help in putting the newsletter together (and for reminding me that I hadn't posted an announcement about it yet! :)
My best wishes for a lovely New Year!
dawn_felagund)
The December 2011 edition of our newsletter has been posted on our homepage:
http://www.silmarillionwritersguild.o
As usual, we have news from within and beyond the borders of the SWG. Additionally, Oshun has written another fabulous biography, this month on Varda, drawing on everything from ancient myth to modern pop culture to explain why Varda is so important in the books and so appealing as a character, as well as giving a review of what we know of Varda from Tolkien's texts.
This month, we also revisit the "Gift of a Story" challenge and encourage our authors to create something for a friend this month, in honor of the winter holidays and New Year.
Many thanks to our newsletter contributors--Oshun, Rhapsody, and Angelica--for making it happen every month! :)
dawn_felagund)
Our November newsletter has been posted on the website!
http://www.silmarillionwritersguild.o
In this month's news, Angelica, our Library of Tirion mod, sends a reminder to send in your requests for stories and authors (pre-2007!) for the Library of Tirion section of our archive. This project aims to archive stories that were published before our archive opened. We're almost out of stories to post and so need some new recommendations! Also, if you use or intend to upgrade to Internet Explorer 9, be sure to check out how to make your browser compatible with the archive.
This month's biography is on Tulkas. Tulkas has a singular purpose in The Silmarillion, but as is often the case, delving into earlier drafts reveals details about him that were scrubbed from the published text.
The newsletter also contains a list of stories added to the archive last month, a fresh set of challenges to tickle your muses, and announcements from groups beyond the SWG. Many thanks, as always, to my comods Rhapsody and Angelica, who do most of the ground work needed to publish the newsletter!
http://www.silmarillionwritersguild.o
Enjoy! :)
dawn_felagund)
The October edition of our monthly newsletter has been posted!
http://www.silmarillionwritersguild.o
In addition to news from within and beyond the SWG, this month's newsletter includes a brand-new challenge, as well as a revisited challenge and a quote for the month. Catch up on the stories you might have missed this month with the monthly listing of archive updates.
Oshun has once again crafted an exceptional character biography for the newsletter. This month's biography about Orome takes inspiration from the season, looking at how Orome's character parallels with similar figures that appear in world mythology, particularly that of Britain and northern Europe.
http://www.silmarillionwritersguild.o
Enjoy!
dawn_felagund)
This month's newsletter is a bit delayed with my apologies--between hurricanes and starting back to school, Real Lifetm stood between me and my time to put the pieces together! As always, sincerest thank yous go to Oshun, Angelica, and Rhapsody, who write the content!
The new newsletter is here:
http://www.silmarillionwritersguild.o
In site news, we have some updates on the Season of Writing Dangerously. We continue to seek banner-makers willing to help us create rewards for participants, winners, and cheerleaders for this event. Finally, we left off two of Keiliss's stories from last month's Akallabeth in August list--apologies to Kei! Please go check out her always-incredible work.
Oshun has written this month's biography on Ecthelion, whose popularity with fans belies the few mentions he receives in the text. As one of Tolkien's oldest characters--he appears in the earliest version of The Silmarillion--Oshun dug deep to find all of the information she could on him and create another fine biography for our References section.
As always, we have a list of August's new stories, current challenges, and news from beyond the SWG--including a new Tolkien podcast and a call for betas and artists for a Big Bang challenge, as well as announcements from challenges and contests.
http://www.silmarillionwritersguild.o
Enjoy!
current location: the study
current mood: tired
current song: Fleet Foxes, "Blue Ridge Mountains"
We're back on schedule for the newsletter after B2MeM, so May's edition has been posted on the website:
http://www.silmarillionwritersguild.o
We have news from within and outside of the SWG, a list of stories posted to the archive in April, a new set of challenges, and a character biography of Vaire the Weaver. (I didn't think there would be much to say about her when I started this one, but I found quite a bit that I found intriguing and surprising!)
Many thanks to my comods Rhapsody and Angelica for their invaluable assistance putting this month's newsletter together.
Enjoy! :)