The Bodleian Library in Oxford has an exceptional exhibition coming up later this year, which fans will no doubt travel far and wide to see. Tolkien: Maker of Middle-earth (June 1 – October 28) will display an extraordinary collection of illustrations, manuscripts, letters, personal belongings and more, giving a unique insight into J.R.R. Tolkien and his works. This ‘once in a lifetime’ exhibition is not to be missed – and thanks to our friends at the Bodleian, TheOneRing.net can reveal exclusively that tickets will be available from 2pm UK time tomorrow, Tuesday 13th February. Here’s what the Bodleian tell us:
The Bodleian Library is pleased to announce that free tickets for the upcoming, once in a lifetime exhibition, Tolkien: Maker of Middle-earth, will be available for booking from 2pm UK time on Tuesday 13 February 2018. We know that some visitors will want to travel some distance to this exhibition and want to help them ensure their entry in advance.
Tolkien: Maker of Middle-earth explores Tolkien’s amazing legacy from his genius as an artist, poet, linguist, and author to his academic career and private life. The exhibition takes you on a journey through Tolkien’s famous works, The Hobbit and The Lord of The Rings, displaying an array of draft manuscripts, striking illustrations and maps drawn for his publications.
Visitors will discover Tolkien’s early abstract paintings from The Book of Ishness, the touching tales he wrote for his children, rare objects that belonged to Tolkien, exclusive fan mail, and private letters.
The exhibition runs 1 June to 28 October 2018 at the Bodleian Libraries, University of Oxford.
If you’ve been thinking about making a pilgrimage to Oxford, this summer/autumn is the time to go; and be sure to grab those tickets tomorrow! Check out the exhibition website, here.
Thanks to the Bodleian Library for allowing us to make this announcement.
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The recent, completely Unexpected news of new Middle-earth stories coming from Amazon Studios has left Tolkien fandom in a bit of a Party mood. There haven’t been many details about which stories will be told, what the format will be, and who will actually be designing and managing this whole process. Do these Middle-earth stories need a Showrunner, or has Amazon Studios just not announced that they already have someone on the team?
Amazon is purported to have paid between $200 to $250 million just for the rights to the story before any costs for development, talent and production are taken into account. This is considered somewhat risky since there is no concept and no creative leader at the helm, and no characters or story to build upon. The only news to come out since the announcement is that Sir Ian McKellen has said he would be happy to don the Grey, pointy hat again.
We humbly submit our Top Ten list, in alphabetical order, of genre writers and Showrunners for consideration by Amazon Studios, and you, the fans. Do you agree or disagree? Did we miss anyone? Sound off in the discussion section below. Continue reading “Does Amazon’s Middle-earth need a Showrunner? Our Top Ten list.”
Fans who are waiting to hear further news about a possible Lord of the Rings television series can keep themselves busy for a while with a new publication of Tolkien’s poem, The Lay of Aotrou and Itroun. Although this work was released by UK publishers Harper Collins last year, it is available today from American publishers Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Here’s what they tell us about the book:
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt is proud to announce the publication on November 7, 2017 of THE LAY OF AOTROU AND ITROUN by J.R.R. Tolkien, edited by Verlyn Flieger. Unavailable for more than 70 years, this early but important work is published for the first time with Tolkien’s ‘Corrigan’ poems and other supporting material, including a prefatory note by Christopher Tolkien.
Set ‘In Britain’s land beyond the seas’ during the Age of Chivalry, THE LAY OF AOTROU AND ITROUN tells of a childless Breton Lord and Lady (the ‘Aotrou’ and ‘Itroun’ of the title) and the tragedy that befalls them when Aotrou seeks to remedy their situation with the aid of a magic potion obtained from a corrigan, or malevolent fairy. When the potion succeeds and Itroun bears twins, the corrigan returns seeking her fee, and Aotrou is forced to choose between betraying his marriage and losing his life.
Coming from the darker side of J.R.R. Tolkien’s imagination, THE LAY OF AOTROU AND ITROUN, together with the two shorter ‘Corrigan’ poems that lead up to it and which are also included, was the outcome of a comparatively short but intense period in Tolkien’s life when he was deeply engaged with Celtic, and particularly Breton, myth and legend.
Originally written in 1930 and long out of print, this early but seminal work is an important addition to the non-Middle-earth portion of his canon and should be set alongside Tolkien’s other retellings of myth and legend, The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrún, The Fall of Arthur and The Story of Kullervo. Like these works, it belongs to a small but important corpus of his ventures into ‘real-world’ mythologies, each of which in its own way would be a formative influence on his own legendarium.
We have FIVE copies to give away to lucky fans in the US! To enter, simply complete the entry form, and answer the following question:
Who is the editor of this new edition of The Lay of Aotrou and Itroun?
Complete the entry form by 5pm EST on Monday 13th November. [Enter Here] Five winners will then be chosen at random, and a copy of the latest Tolkien publication will be mailed to them. Good luck! (Sorry, this competition is only available to fans living in the United States.)
For those who don’t win, you can buy the book here; and it is also available as an e-book.
UPDATE: Many thanks to all who entered our competition. The winners have been notified by email, and their books are on the way to them!
Join several staffers from TheOneRing.net next weekend for the last big TORn hosted event of the year. We will have a panel at Stan Lee’s Los Angeles Comic Con on Saturday, October 28 at 10am, room 403A at the LA Convention Center. Our panel is titled “80 years in Middle-earth, why Tolkien is still so relevant” and will cover several of the themes Tolkien uses in his stories, and discuss some of the many tangible ways Middle-earth is still being brought to life. We have a sneak peak at the new Shadow of War game and some more casting rumors for the Tolkien Biopic in the works. And best of all, they’ve given us 75 minutes to talk, rather than the regular 50 minutes we normally get, so maybe a little Tolkien singalong is in order.
Tickets and schedule information can be found at the Convention website and you can let us know you are coming at our Facebook Event Page by RSVPing.
The Silmarillion is J.R.R. Tolkien’s first and last book. 
Professor Tolkien’s notes first dated to 1917 as he began developing the characters, stories and ideas for what was to become a Middle-earth mythology while recovering in a WWI military hospital from trench fever. Continue reading “The Silmarillion reaches its 40-year Anniversary!”
