Fantasy Freaks and Gaming GeeksTORN Pal Ethan Gilsdorf sends us word on his new book ‘Fantasy Freaks and Gaming Geeks’ and a West Coast book tour, take a look!

Ethan Gilsdorf presents his travel memoir / pop culture narrative “FANTASY FREAKS AND GAMING GEEKS: An Epic Quest for Reality Among Role Players, Online Gamers, and Other Dwellers of Imaginary Realms.” The book is an exploration and celebration of fantasy and gaming subcultures. The events begin with a “geek trivia contest” with prizes that tests the audience’s knowledge of all things Tolkien, Harry Potter, Dungeons & Dragons and more. Gilsdorf will then read an excerpt from “Fantasy Freaks and Gaming Geeks,” followed by a Q&A and book signing. More info: http://www.fantasyfreaksbook.com

Continue reading “Fantasy Freaks and Gaming Geeks Book Tour Announcement”

Shannon writes: Thanks to your reporting I found out about Sir Ian attending the Shakespeare Gala in DC. It was several days after my twenty-first birthday, so I approached my parents asking them if we could make the trek there from New York as my present, and much to my surprise, they agreed. They are well aware of my goal to meet the entire Fellowship and have helped me meet five so far, so it seemed like a great idea to them to help me meet such an awesome number six for my birthday. Continue reading “Sir Ian McKellen Shakespeare Gala Report”

Richard Taylor KEA Luncheon MelbourneMia writes: I attended the KEA Luncheon [last Thursday] in Melbourne, and wanted to share a few photos with you. The luncheon was fascinating, and it was an honour to be there. Richard was extremely friendly, and gave a great speech before jetting off to Sydney!! More..

New Screens for Lord of the Rings Online: Siege of Mirkwood, Digital ExpansionTurbine has just released a new batch of screenshots for The Lord of the Rings Online: Siege of Mirkwood, the upcoming digital expansion to the award-winning MMO, which is scheduled to launch on December 1st in North America. The images depict the new Scuttledells region deep in the forests of Mirkwood.

Siege of Mirkwood will expand the online world of Middle-earth where players will join forces to press further eastward into the dark, foreboding and treacherous forest of Mirkwood and take part in the epic conclusion to Volume II of The Lord of the Rings Online. More..

mckellen_pengilley_104842astormcrow20 sends us word that Sir Ian McKellen is set to appear on both The View and Late Night with Jimmy Fallon on Thursday, November 5, 2009.

Tom HollanderHolbytla writes: The BBC has just commissioned a six part series entitled ‘Handle with Prayer’ starring Tom Hollander, for broadcast sometime in 2010 (production beginning in January). This obviously casts doubt on his availability for the role of Bilbo, having previously appeared on a number of lists as a possible candidate for the part.