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Time is running out to submit your story for this months Rewrite Tolkien contest, featuring characters from The Hobbit in the style of Edgar Allan Poe.  Contest deadline is Monday, October 28th at 12:00pm (noon), Eastern Standard Time.  The winner will have their story read live on the first TORn Tuesday of November.  Please read the submission guidelines here and good luck!

Hotel view early morning 6Humphrey Carpenter’s excellent biography, Tolkien, was published way back in 1977, and it is still considered the best of its kind. I remember reading it shortly after it came out and learning that in 1911, when Tolkien was a young man of 19, he formed part of a group taking a walking tour in the Swiss Alps. It was his first and only experience of really large mountains, and as he later made clear in several of his letters, the experience inspired the mountain landscapes in his Middle-earth writings.

At the time, I vaguely thought it would be wonderful to take a tour of the places Tolkien and his companions visited, to see exactly what had fired his imagination. Over the years that vague thought occasionally resurfaced, but I never imagined that I would actually be able to do it. Not until December 1, 2012, when TheOneRing.net posted an announcement that there was to be a tour based on that idea: “In the Footsteps of Tolkien.” Continue reading “In Tolkien’s Real Misty Mountains”

Denny's Gold CoinsBack at the start of October, we told you about Denny’s exciting contest to find Middle-earth’s greatest fan.  For US residents, this is a chance to win flights, accommodation and two tickets to see The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug world premiere in Los Angeles at the start of December.

There’s only a week to go to submit your video entry to win this incredible, once in a lifetime prize – the contest closes on October 31st.  And because we love to give stuff away, we here at TheOneRing.net have an additional incentive for you!

As part of their new Hobbit menu, Denny’s have created some ‘dwarvish gold’ coins.  These will not be available in restaurants; they are an exclusive piece of film memorabilia that fans won’t be able to purchase anywhere – and they come affixed to a Denny’s 20% off entire guest check coupon!  The only way to get one of these coins will be through contests and giveaways such as this.  To get your hands on one of these exclusive collectibles, here’s what you have to do:

Create your video and upload it to the Denny’s Fan Quest contest – you can find all the rules and details here.

Denny's gold coins2Once you’ve entered the competition, tweet @theoneringnet with the words ‘I’ve entered Dennysfanquest.com’, using the hashtag #MiddleEarthsDiner

That’s it!  When the competition closes, we’ll pick at random twenty tweets from those sent to us, with the hashtag and the right phrase.  Those twenty folks will each be sent a piece of dwarvish treasure, courtesy of Denny’s!

So what are you waiting for? Get filming, get tweeting and maybe get winning!

[Click here to enter Denny’s Fan Quest.]

Fictional FrontiersLong-time friend of TheOneRing.net, Sohaib Awan, has kicked off a new Fictional Frontiers podcast and invited our own MrCere to talk all things Hobbit. Long a radio program, Fictional Frontiers, with Shotglass Digital, is reaching a new audience with a new format that allows for a longer, more in-depth discussion. Awan has championed “The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey,” and loves both the realms of Tolkien and the work of Peter Jackson. He has used MrCere (Larry D. Curtis) as a frequent guest and in this episode they discuss both the upcoming second installment of the film and the success of the first and Curtis talks big picture about his time in New Zealand. The podcast can be found right here! Awan says MrCere will return in future episodes to talk more Hobbit.

hobbitdostaurielblrg2As we march closer to The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug more and more products will be announced. Today, our friends at Weta Workshop announced three new products all tied to the character Tauriel. Fans can now pre-order Tauriel’s Bow & Arrow, Tauriel’s Pendant, and the fabulous looking 1:6 statue of Tauriel.

The Bow & Arrow of Tauriel is an awesome looking prop replica of the weapon you will see her carry during the rest of the trilogy. Fans can get this right now for only $350 with an edition size of just 1,000 pieces worldwide. If you order this early you can get in on the partial shipment that is due to arrive in early November.

Continue reading “Collecting The Precious – Weta Workshop’s Tauriel Pre-Order Extravaganza”

NZ Post DOS

Continuing with their tradition of releasing commemorative stamps and coins for each of Peter Jackson’s films set in New Zealand, the home of cinematic Middle-earth, the New Zealand Post today announced the release of a new set of stamps and coins featuring key characters and scenes from The Desolation Of Smaug.

The 6 stamps feature Bilbo, Gandalf, Thorin, Legolas, Tauriel, and Bard, and are presented in a variety of packaging options.

The silver and gold coins feature Bilbo, Legolas, Bard, Azog, Thranduil, the 13 Dwarves, and a stunning image of  Tolkien’s own art depicting Smaug flying around the Lonely Mountain.