Sotheby’s is delighted to announce that their English Literature, History, Children’s Books & Illustrations auction on 17 December (sale code L09777) will include an exceptionally early drawing by J.R.R. Tolkien. It is exceptionally rare for original artwork by Tolkien to be offered at auction. This early example depicts his aunt’s farm (‘Lamb’s Farm, Gedling, Notts’) and shows the location where he composed the earliest known writing that relates to his mythology.

The lot can be viewed here or the e-catalogue for the entire sale is available here (please note that the e-catalogue can take some time to load and the Tolkien drawing is lot 178).

Anthony and Jessica from herenistarion.org write: It is my hope this finds you well. As most of you know on Saturday Dec. 6th, 2009, 3pm, SI OUTLOUD Is hosting a Tolkien reading event, which I have pasted their event announcement below. We are very grateful to them for allowing Jessie and I, and The Northeast Tolkien Society to participate in this event. We will have a free raffle and some Tolkien related goodies to giveaway, plus take part in the program detailed below. Read the rest of this entry »

The Tolkien Society Seminar for 2010 is happening in two parts, one in the UK and one in Australia arranged by the Tolkien Society in partnership with Tol Harndor: The Australian Tolkien Society. The Tolkien Society Seminars provide academics, students and independent scholars with a venue for interdisciplinary dialogue. Read the rest of this entry »

A note from Vivienne Wilkes, one of the many organizers of the Middle-earth Weekend, with details of next year’s event. This will be held as usual at:

Sarehole Mill in Birmingham, England
and will be open from 11.00am until 5.00pm on
Saturday and Sunday
15th and 16th May 2010.

Vivienne is not taking an active role in the organization this year since she is instead following in the footsteps of Rosie Cotton. Rosie’s husband Sam Gamgee as, you will recall, became Mayor of Michael Delving in the years following the Hobbits’ adventures in ‘The Lord of the Rings’. By strange coincidence Viv is married to this year’s Lord Mayor of Birmingham. Of course a major difference is Michael Wilkes will be Lord Mayor for one year only whereas Sam was Mayor for many, many years. Read the rest of this entry »

From booksblog.dallasnews.com (via Gary L): Saturday evening, Nov. 21, 2009, lovers of two of the most popular writers of all time–C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien, known popularly for the Narnia series and Lord of the Rings–may spend an evening with Peter Kreeft of Boston. The dinner opens at 6:30 p.m. in Elliott Hall at Highland Park Presbyterian Church, 3821 University Blvd. in Dallas. Tickets are $70; the evening includes “the most literary silent auction in Dallas.” To reserve seats, email mdmonse@yahoo.com. More..

What exactly is going on with the two-part adaptation of The Hobbit? The world seems to be holding its breath in anticipation, including us, but as the calendar turned to November, we turned to a trusted rock-solid inside source and found a dragon’s treasure of updates. Read the rest of this entry »

The influence the Welsh language had on books by JRR Tolkien is to form part of a major new festival in Powys to honour the author. The Festival in the Shire will celebrate themes inspired by Tolkien, whose novels included Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit. Fans of the writer, leading academics and illustrators are expected to attend the planned event in Machynlleth. It is being organised by local book dealer Mark Faith for next August. More..

J.R.R. Tolkien was the fifth top earning dead celebrity on Forbes’ list, earning $50 Million last year. From Forbes.com: The creator of hobbits and Middle Earth languages left a lasting legacy for his fans and family with The Lord of the Rings franchise. The Tolkien estate and publisher HarperCollins recently reached a settlement with New Line Cinema over allegedly unpaid royalties from the Lord of the Rings movies. September’s agreement was reported at over $100 million, meaning J.R.R. Tolkien earned a sizable income in the last year. His earning potential isn’t dimming: The Hobbit is rumored for release in 2011, with directors Guillermo del Toro and Peter Jackson at the helm. More…

“The Shadow Dragons (Chronicles of the Imaginarium Geographica),” released October 27, 2009, is the fourth installment of James Owen’s The Chronicles of the Imaginarium Geographica. In this installment, J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis and Charles Williams, members of the Ancient Society of the Caretakers of the Imaginarum Geographica, are back to protect the Archipelago of Dreams and our world. Legendary Caretakers, past and present, will have to join forces with the mythical Don Quixote to prevent Mordred and his lieutenant, Sir Richard Burton, from rebuilding the collapsed Keep of Time and take over the world -both the Imaginary and our own. Time, space, legendary writers and larger than life characters meet as the Inklings take on the adventure of The Shadow Dragons.

Malcx sends this in: Now into its seventh year, our annual Art Exhibition is held at The Redesdale Hall, Moreton-in-Marsh, Glos, a wonderful Victorian building both on the outside and inside, making it an ideal location with free parking too. This year’s theme is “The Edge of the Wild” with Ted Nasmith’s wonderful image “Bilbo and the Eagles” leading the way and consisting of Original Artwork and Limited edition Prints from Tolkien artists: Ted Nasmith, Ruth Lacon, Jef Murray and Peter Pracownik. The artwork is displayed upstairs (there is a chair lift for disabled access) and completely fills the space – well decorated with flags and banners, with a showcase of historical Tolkien artifacts too. Read the rest of this entry »