Following the publication in the UK of THE HOBBIT: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY ANNUAL 2013 on Thursday, the publishers of the film tie-in books have today ended months of speculation and revealed the covers to the full range of official tie-ins published this November.

On Tuesday November 6, four books will be published by Houghton Mifflin in the US and by HarperCollins in the UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. Then in December, Chronicles: Art and Design will be released.

See all the covers (and click through to our high-resolution gallery) below the cut. Continue reading “Harper Collins releases movie tie-in book covers!”

Publishers Houghton Mifflin Harcourt are running a competition where they’re giving away a nice little Hobbit and Lord of the Ring swag. It’s only open to US citizens and residents (which excludes me, too!) but the prizes are pretty nice. Competition closes very soon, so best enter now!

The winner receives:

  • A Hobbit tote bag
  • A ‘Second Breakfast is the Best Breakfast’ mug
  • A ‘Gandalf For President’ pin
  • A The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings boxed set

[More]

DragonCon is nearly here, and here’s some news of a great giveaway which will be happening at TORn’s booth at the convention.

Those of you who have kids, take note! In addition to some big stars from The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit, DragonCon this year will also feature the little star authors of Nimpentoad, a children’s fantasy book.  The furry bright-eyed little Nimpentoad is tired of being picked on by the bigger and meaner creatures of the ancient shadowy Grunwald Forest. He convinces his fellow Niblings to make the perilous journey to a castle where they hope to find refuge.  Along the way, they are confronted by ravenous goblins, trolls, rhinotaurs, and other perils. But with teamwork and Nimpentoad’s leadership, the Niblings outwit these menaces.

Continue reading “The Hobbit with Training Wheels!”

Author Elizabeth M Stephen‘s new book focuses on Aragorn the hero-king of The Lord of the Rings, although he is one of the pivotal figures of Tolkien’s mythology, a detailed examination of this popular character has been a notable omission from the spectrum of existing study. The book is published by ADC books.

Hobbit to Hero: The Making of Tolkien’s King, is a uniquely detailed study of the character “Aragorn” unraveling his evolution from hobbit ranger to Numenorean King and exploring how this unexpected transformation enabled Tolkien to fulfill some of the profound functions of his wider mythology.

Thanks to ringerspy Liz for the heads up. For details on the official book launch and for pre-ordering read more here.

 

We all listened to and read Peter Jackson’s words from Comic-Con about three possible “Hobbit,” movies carefully. But we didn’t listen to all the words and we missed a few things.

He told us. He told us — he did.

He said exactly what he meant, he said it plainly and the media and fans (and me) tried to figure out what he meant when he told us in plainness. Monday, Jackson dropped an atomic bomb of news and fandom reacted accordingly.

“The Hobbit,” adapted for the screen from the 300-page, 75-year-old book by J.R.R. Tolkien changed from from two movies to three in the blink of a Facebook post.

AMBITION
More on the words we ignored in a minute. We need to figure out when these films break, what it means for fans and websites and studios and cinema and the director, but lets not rush past the size and scope of this news. Lets not walk around Paris admiring all the cafes and churches without also pausing and noticing the big tower in the center of town.

We witnessed, the last few weeks since Comic-Con, something monumental, unprecedented, unparalleled and a little bit crazy. Jackson (and when we say “Jackson” we always mean the director and Walsh, Boyens and a team of others supporting their vision) is in unchartered territory here. Continue reading “The bold ‘Hobbit’ trilogy decision and what to expect”