Adventures of Tom BombadilAdding to an already lengthy list of scholarly works related to J.R.R. Tolkien’s writings and artwork, Wayne G. Hammond and Christina Scull are putting the finishing touches on a new edition of The Adventures of Tom Bombadil and Other Verses from the Red Book, scheduled for release on October 4, 2014. Tolkien fans and scholars know the book, originally published in 1962, as a collection of entertaining poems wonderfully illustrated by artist Pauline Baynes. The original book contained 16 poems, some about Tom Bombadil, others related to Middle-earth, and still others unrelated to his invented fantasy world.

From Wayne and Christina’s webblog: “This new edition will contain the sixteen poems as published in 1962, together with the original drawings by Pauline Baynes. But it will also include earlier versions of the poems, where earlier versions exist – some of these were published in magazines and journals which are now hard to find – and it will reprint a later ‘Bombadil’ poem, Once upon a Time. In addition, we are very pleased to be allowed to publish for the first time, from Tolkien’s manuscript, the predecessor of Perry-the-Winkle, called The Bumpus, and the complete, tantalizingly brief fragment of a prose story featuring Tom Bombadil, in the days of ‘King Bonhedig’. To these, we have added an introduction, comments on the poems and on Tolkien’s preface, and glosses for unusual words, as we did previously for Roverandom and Farmer Giles of Ham.”

Those of us with well-worn copies of the book on our bookshelves will definitely want to add the new edition to our collections this October! Thanks to ringer malickfan for alerting us to this great news!

Legolas2Tonight, via their Facebook page, Gentle Giant have released details of the next bust in their The Hobbit Trilogy bust line and the first one from The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug. The next character being created is none other than Legolas Greenleaf wearing his very cool Elven Armor. That’s not all, we get to see Legolas holding the severed Orc head from the interrogation scene after Thranduil separated the head from the Orc body. Legolas is up for Pre-Order right now for $75 with an estimated shipping date of the fourth quarter of this year.

Tauriel Auto 2At the start of December and all through the month, we teamed up with HarperCollins for a contest to win five copies of The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug Chronicles: Art & Design signed by Evangeline Lilly. All the entries have now been counted and we’re ready to announce the lucky winners that will be getting one of these wonderful books shipped to their homes. The winners are: Mervi M. of Finland, Nathan K. of London, Marissa O. of Tom Rivers, NJ, Rob D. of Panama City, FL, Abbott A. of Norfolk, VA. Congratulations to all of the winners and we hope you enjoy your really cool prize! We also want to thanks our friends at HarperCollins Publishers for teaming up with us.

Smaug WETA Temp CoverDue to be released
on April 1 (no, not an April fools joke), the new book Smaug: Unleashing the Dragon comes from the same wonderful team behind the three The Hobbit: Chronicles books. This release will be 96 pages, exploring the creation of the title character of the second Hobbit film from concept art to digital realization. Final cover art is not yet available, but you can order the book on Weta’s website as well as Amazon.com and other online book stores. Continue reading “‘Smaug: Unleashing the Dragon’ now available for pre-order on Amazon.com”

The Last UnicornFor those of you who aren’t aware, TORn friend and award-winning author and screenwriter, Peter S. Beagle, has been on tour for a few months offering a Q&A and screening of the movie: The Last Unicorn based on his best-selling novel of the same name. I was lucky enough to attend a screening a few months ago and it was well worth it! This month, the tour goes to Bakersfield, CA, Fort Collins, CO and a number of cities in New Mexico. Check below for the full January schedule courtesy of Peter’s publicist, Connor Cochran, and check out the tour’s website for future screenings near you.

The first screening is this Saturday, at noon, at the Southside Works Cinema in Pittsburgh, PA. (Less than 48 hours away!) Any fan who wants to buy a ticket should go to https://southsideworks.ticketsclevelandcinemas.com/, select Saturday from the dropdown date menu, scroll down until you see THE LAST UNICORN showing listed, and then click on the time.

AS FOR THE REST OF JANUARY…

• Friday January 17, 7 PM: the Reading Cinemas Valley Plaza 16 in Bakersfield, CA

• Sunday January 19, 1 PM: the Harkins Flagstaff 11 Luxury, with the signing session afterwards at the local Barnes & Noble store. (This one is also different than usual because all ticket sales have to be directly through us, instead of the theatre. People wanting to buy tickets in advance should call 650-728-8098 or email  flagstaff_tickets@conlanpress.com.)

• Wednesday, January 22,  7:30 PM: the Loft Cinema in Tucson, AZ

• Saturday, January 25, 11 AM & 6:30 PM & 9 PM: the Jean Cocteau Theatre in Santa Fe, NM. (And at 5 PM, as a separate ticket, there will be a special live-on-stage “fantasy summit” as Peter and George R.R. Martin interview each other!)

• Sunday, January 26, times to be announced, at the Lyric Cinema Café in Fort Collins, CO. (They may be showing the Bakshi LORD OF THE RINGS as well — still waiting to hear.)

In the gaps we’re still trying to set up shows in Las Vegas, Phoenix, and Las Cruxes/El Paso. Still in January, but after Fort Collins, we are working on possible shows in Denver, Colorado Springs, and Salt Lake City.

Tolkien Artist & Illustrator book coverJ.R.R. Tolkien was born on this day, January 3rd, 1892. During his lifetime, he created a world that came to life in our imaginations, and that we’ve come to love and cherish. While many of us can recite some of his prose an poetry by heart, and are familiar with his illustrations that appear in his books, there’s a whole treasure trove of lesser know drawings and paintings by the mulit-talented man. The folks over at brainpickings.org have a nice little tribute on their site celebrating the amazing artwork of The Professor as presented in the beautifully illustrated “J.R.R. Tolkien: Artist and Illustrator” by Wayne G. Hammond and Christian Scull. Have a look and join TheOneRing.net in a resounding: ‘Happy Birthday Professor Tolkien!’