As excitement for the release of The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug builds, there are all kinds of goodies coming out to go along with the movie, including some fabulous movie tie in books, as well as some new editions of The Hobbit itself. Our good friends at Harper Collins, publishers for all things Tolkien in Europe, have given us some amazing sets of NINE (well, actually 12, as one is a box set of four!) books to give away to four lucky readers! The winners will receive:
All of these books could be yours! And because we love our readers everywhere, this competition is open worldwide. All you have to do to win, wherever you are in the world, is answer one simple question and complete the form below. The competition runs until the opening of the movie, on December 13th; after which we’ll pick four winners at random, from all the correct entries. Continue reading “Harper Collins competition – win a complete set of new Hobbit publications”
The Desolation of Smaug Annual 2014 If you’ve been thinking about grabbing yourself a copy of The Desolation of Smaug 2014 Annual, the folks at German website Premium Format have posted up a bunch of great images (instead of the terrible ones you usually see that use way too much flash) that showcase just how good this hardcover book looks.
Our friends at Harper Collins — the publishers of Tolkien in the UK -– tell us that they’re running another competition in addition to their How do you see Smaug? that is on right now.
Our good friends at Harper Collins – Tolkien publishers in the UK – are running a competition where they want to see YOUR version of Tolkien’s mighty dragon Smaug! They say:
‘Smaug is an incredible and mysterious character, his sleep and anger equally frightful. J.R.R. Tolkien described and illustrated the dragon with awe-inspiring words and artworks. Now it’s your turn to create your version of Smaug, as you imagined it when you first read J.R.R. Tolkien’s descriptions. Illustrators, designers, Hobbit fans of all ages – anyone can enter the competition and submit their Smaug’s artworks to win a fantastic grand prize!’
That prize is a copy of your own illustration, beautifully mounted on canvas! The winner will also get a collection of Harper Collins Hobbit books. Ten runners-up will win an exclusive, deluxe print of their artworks.
Get out those pens, pencils, inks, paint and whatever else takes your fancy, grab a copy of The Hobbit, reread Tolkien’s description of the fiery worm, and get illustrating! Full details of the contest, and where to submit your artwork, can be found here. The contest runs until December 13th, when (in many countries) we’ll finally be able to see Peter Jackson’s Smaug in all his glory on the big screen!
Harper Collins will be releasing various movie tie-in books for The Desolation of Smaug on November 7th. We’ll bring you details – and a chance to win copies! – nearer the time. Meanwhile you can find more information at Harper Collins’ website, here.
Thanks to our friends at Hobbitfilm.it, we have another seven new art images from The Desolation of Smaug.
Nothing dramatically revealing here, but we do like the moody shot of a swampy Mirkwood forest (is that the Company crossing a vast fallen tree?), and the RA army will undoubtedly appreciate what seems to be a new still of Thorin Oakenshield. Continue reading “Seven new images from the 2014 Desolation of Smaug Desk Diary!”
Yesterday saw not only the launch of the new The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug trailer, but also another exciting release for Tolkien fans – the publication of the latest edition of the book which started it all! You may remember TORn’s post about Jemima Catlin, the young illustrator behind the first new illustrated edition of The Hobbit since Alan Lee’s iconic version in 1997. (Catlin is also the featured illustrator for the 2014 Tolkien Calendar.)
This book is now available for purchase in the US! (It was released by HarperCollins in the UK in September.) It’s a beautiful edition. The hardcover, with cloth binding, is charmingly old fashioned, and the cover illustrations have gold accents, which shimmer with the promise of the magic contained within. Catlin’s images are a combination of pencil, ink and watercolour; there are many little pictures decorating the text, as well as more than ten full page, full colour pieces. The story is interpretated in lively, delightful drawings which show a new interpretation of old friends.
This is an edition to treasure, and would particularly be a wonderful introduction to The Hobbit for children. It’s a great reminder that, as spectacular as the movies are, the enchantment began in the pages of a fabulous book. If you’re thinking about holiday shopping already, add this to the list! I for one feel I can never have too many editions of The Hobbit; this beautiful new edition is certainly worth adding to your collection.
Our friends at Harper Collins — the publishers of Tolkien in the UK -– tell us that they’re running another competition in addition to their 
Thanks to our friends at