Unless you’re very new to Tolkien fandom, you know that the rights to The Professor’s creations are shared by various groups, making for sometimes complicated copyright ownership. Tolkien himself sold movie and merchandising rights to United Artists back in 1969; those rights are now owned by Middle-earth Enterprises, which is part of the Embracer Group – now known as Fellowship Entertainment. Rights to television adaptations of eight episodes or more remain with the Tolkien Estate – so Prime Video’s The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power is licensed directly by the Estate. Furthermore, the rights Tolkien sold were only for The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings; so all other literary works by The Professor (including The Silmarillion) remain with the Estate.
Today Curtis Brown Heritage announced that The Tolkien Estate has joined the roster of writers and estates they represent. Curtis Brown are literary agents with a long history, and their ‘Heritage’ department represents literary estates including those of A.A. Milne, Iain Banks, and Douglas Adams. Their press release shared their delight in ‘working with the Tolkien Estate to preserve and celebrate J.R.R. Tolkien’s extraordinary literary legacy’. Here below is the full press release:
Curtis Brown Heritage to represent the J.R.R. Tolkien Estate
Curtis Brown Heritage is delighted to welcome the Tolkien Estate to their list of the literary estates of many of the twentieth century’s most renowned writers.
A writer, artist, scholar and philologist, John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (1892–1973) is best known for his tales set in the world of Middle-earth, widely considered foundational to the modern fantasy genre. Beloved by readers, writers and creators across the world, in almost every language, through literature and artworks, J.R.R. Tolkien set the standard for all that has come after.
Norah Perkins, Head of Curtis Brown Heritage, said, ‘It is a great honour and a joy to be working with the Tolkien Estate to preserve and celebrate J.R.R. Tolkien’s extraordinary literary legacy, and to help to bring new readers (and viewers and listeners) to his writing. I am thrilled to be joining the Estate on the next part of the journey.’
The Tolkien Estate said, ‘As a family, we remain deeply conscious of the responsibility of looking after J.R.R. Tolkien’s literary works and legacy. We are committed to keeping his stories alive for generations to come. In Curtis Brown Heritage we have found partners who share that passion, and we are delighted to be working with them.’
Jonny Geller, CEO of The Curtis Brown Group, said: ‘I’m delighted on behalf of Curtis Brown to welcome one of the great literary estates of the world to the agency. All of us who grew up passionate about reading have been influenced and dazzled by the works of J.R.R. Tolkien, and we are committed to help to bring a new generation of readers to the enduring pleasure of these great books.’
About J.R.R. Tolkien
J.R.R. Tolkien was born in the Orange Free State (now in South Africa) in 1892. He came to England aged three, and was brought up in and around Birmingham. He graduated from the University of Oxford in 1915, and saw active service in France during the First World War. After the war he worked on the Oxford English Dictionary as a lexicographer, and pursued an academic career teaching Old and Middle English. Alongside his professional life as an academic at the University of Oxford, he invented his own languages and began to create what he called a ‘Legendarium’, from which emerged The Hobbit (1937), The Lord of the Rings (1954/55) and The Silmarillion (published posthumously in 1977 by Christopher Tolkien). He was a member of the Inklings along with C.S. Lewis, and he wrote and illustrated children’s stories for his family such as Letters from Father Christmas, Mr Bliss and Roverandom, as well as fairy tales for adults, including Farmer Giles of Ham, Leaf by Niggle and Smith of Wootton Major.
About The Tolkien Estate
The Tolkien Estate (comprising The Tolkien Estate Limited and The Tolkien Trust) is the custodian of the works and legacy of J.R.R. Tolkien published in his lifetime, and the joint custodian with the Christopher Tolkien Estate of the works published after J.R.R. Tolkien’s death in 1973. Christopher Tolkien, J.R.R. Tolkien’s third son, was his father’s literary executor from 1973 until 2017, and produced twenty-four books of his father’s unpublished manuscripts, which significantly extend the accessible Tolkien canon. The Tolkien Estate remains managed directly by the descendants and family of J.R.R. Tolkien.
The Tolkien Trust is a UK registered charity established in 1977 by J.R.R. Tolkien’s children to enable the Tolkien family to give to charitable causes on a regular basis. Through the Trust, the Tolkien family continues to support a wide spectrum of causes and concerns in the UK and around the world.
About Curtis Brown Heritage
Curtis Brown Heritage was launched in 2016 and is the first bespoke literary estates division of a literary agency in the world. Built on Curtis Brown’s 125-year history, Heritage has a track record of success in creatively and sensitively managing the literary estates of beloved British writers (including those of Douglas Adams, Iain Banks, Gerald Durrell, Laurie Lee, Fay Weldon, A.A. Milne and Barbara Taylor Bradford) and some of the finest historians, poets and philosophers of the 20th century (including Isaiah Berlin, E. H. Carr, Nevill Coghill, C.L.R. James, Iris Murdoch and Stephen Spender). We recognise the immense cultural, literary and historical value of our writers, and it is our mission to combine our strong heritage with commercial savvy and passionate advocacy to celebrate, nurture and preserve their work for generations to come.
About The Curtis Brown Group
Founded in 1899 by Albert Curtis Brown, the company has a long and distinguished history as a world-renowned literary agency representing many famous writers, including Daphne du Maurier, John le Carré and A. A. Milne. Today, Curtis Brown also houses many other industry-leading divisions including a global Talent agency, representing leading actors and performers, as well as Unscripted and Entertainment and Musical Theatre & Production Arts. CBG is also home to a prestigious Theatre, Film and Television department (representing leading screenwriters, directors, producers, playwrights, and writer-performers) as well as a Media Rights department. The Curtis Brown Group is now home to over 250 members of staff and a vibrant ecosystem of companies that span the arts and culture sector. The Curtis Brown Group includes boutique literary agencies C&W (formerly Conville & Walsh) and Ed Victor Ltd, our in-house writing school Curtis Brown Creative, talent agencies Tavistock Wood and Markham Froggatt & Irwin and production company Cuba Pictures. In June 2022, United Talent Agency acquired The Curtis Brown Group.
It’s Thursday, and already the Marriott hotel in downtown Atlanta is pulsing with music, crowds and excitement. DragonCon is upon us! And staffers from TORn are looking forward to connecting with our fellow fans.
We’ll be at our ‘fan table’ in our usual spot (Hyatt Exhibition Level, opposite the entrance to the Art Show). We have some awesome new buttons for sale, as well as this year’s shirt designs – the Prancing Pony Club:
And Bilbo from the Rankin/Bass The Hobbit:
Please come by the table and say hi. As an added bonus – if you come and tell us something Boromir would have done (in the style of Denethor, a la ‘Boromir would have remembered his father’s need…’), we have a special secret prize for you!
Join us in Bree!
Friday night is of course the annual ‘Evening at Bree‘, starting at 8.30pm. We’re in the Grand Ballroom in the Courtland Grand (same venue as last year), and we’ll have the Brobdingnagian Bards and Beth Patterson playing again, as well as a new (to Bree) band this year, the duo Kinnfolk. The Elf Choir will sing for us, and of course we’ll have the costume contest. (If you’d like to enter, please sign up before the event, either at the High Fantasy Track room: Marriott L401, or at our table.)
Panels
There is lots to enjoy for Tolkien fans this year. TORn’s own panel, ‘An Hour with TheOneRing.net’, when staffers deej, Madeye Gamgee and greendragon will be joined by TORn’s good friend Knewbettadobetta, is Saturday 5.30pm in the Hyatt International South. You can also find greendragon on The Rings of Power Season 2 panel (Friday 1pm, Marriott A601), and join many excellent Tolkien scholars and friends of TORn for ‘Harmony and Dissonance: Creation in Tolkien’s Mythos’ (Sunday 1pm, Marriott L401). For those who stay right through the end of the con, come and Scour the Shire with us at 11.30am on Monday, Marriott L401.
Dance Party
The High Fantasy Track’s ‘Goblin Ball’ goes 90s this year – and our own deej will be DJing once again! Put on your plaid shirt and DMs, apply some frosty lipstick, and come and party 1990s style. We’ll be dancing in the Marriott A601 from 10pm on Sunday night.
As if that weren’t enough…
Tolkien lovers abound at DragonCon this year! Artist Donato Giancola is well-known to fans of Middle-earth, and he’s this year’s Guest of Honour in the Art Show – so be sure to stop by and visit him there. Another featured guest is singer, songwriter, actor and well-known Tolkien fan Jason Charles Miller, who will be performing and appearing in a couple of panels.
We have one more trip around San Diego Comic-Con 2025 for you. In this episode of the Collecting The Precious Podcast Jim and I, along with very special guest Matt from Nerd of the Rings, talk about the fun that was SDCC 2025. We cover how cool it was, and that despite there wasn’t a film or show coming out this year, that there was awesome stuff to be seen from Weta Workshop, Vanderstelt Studio, Middle-earth Enterprises, and Cliff Cramp Illustrations. That’s not to mention how freaking awesome our booth was.
San Diego Comic Con is almost upon us – and we are looking forward to seeing our fellow fans there. Here are some of the things Tolkien fans can look forward to this year:
First and foremost, be sure to visit us at Booth #1934. There will be so much going on there! We’ll have our two new shirts designs for 2025 – official licensed apparel, a steal at just $30 each.
AND as if that wasn’t enough – returning to SDCC is the legend himself JED BROPHY, who will be signing all weekend at TORN’s booth #1934. Jed is the only actor to feature in The Lord of the Rings trilogy, The Hobbit trilogy, AND The Rings of Power. Plus he is a fabulous guy – don’t miss your chance to meet him and snag an autograph.
More booths – don’t miss them!
When you’ve had your fill at TORn’s booth, you might stroll across the aisle and visit incredible artist Jerry Vanderstelt at #1931. You’ll want to check out all his art – and in particular, he has created a new original artwork based on the Rankin/Bass animated The Hobbit. There will be FREE prints of this amazing masterpiece – but to claim them, you’ll have to go on a quest to another booth… Middle-earth Enterprises are making their first con appearance ever, inside the Dark Horse booth #2615. We’ll say no more about it, except that you will NOT WANT TO MISS IT! The Vanderstelt prints are not the only treasures to be claimed there…
Our good friends Weta Workshop return to SDCC after a five year absence, with a big new booth #3613. You’ll also find the wonderful Badali Jewelry near door A at booth #715.
Panels to share all the latest news and views!
If you can tear yourself away from such an exciting show floor, we have PANELS for you:
Friday 2.30pm, Room 5AB: The Lord of the Rings: What’s Next?
This is TORn’s own, unofficial panel; which means you’ll get all the latest gossip and grist from the rumour mill! Our ears are to the ground and we have thoughts to share on all the goodies coming up in Tolkiendom. What will we see in The Rings of Power Season 3? When will we be hunting for Gollum…? Join us to speculate!
Sunday 2.15pm, Room 6BCF: Middle-earth: The Adventure Ahead
For this panel, TORn is collaborating with Middle-earth Enterprises to bring you official news from Weta Workshop, The Brandywine Festival, Return to Moria and more – all the latest announcements from Middle-earth Enterprises and their licensees. And there may be some very special guests!
Phew! So much to keep us all busy – and this is supposedly a ‘quiet’ year!! We don’t have an official party or offsite experience happening this year; we are drawing breath before the big year with all that will be happening in 2026! BUT there is so much to see and visit on the show floor, and we hope to see you at our booth #1934, and at our panels. Hanging with our fellow fans – it doesn’t get better than this! See you in San Diego!
Oh and – if you can’t make it to San Diego, or if you just know you’re going to have the post con blues a week from now, then you should plan on going on Comic Con The Cruise! It’s next January – but right now we are giving you the chance to WIN a Cruise for Two! Don’t delay – enter today!
Feast your eyes! Here’s a first look at the new shirt designs we’ll be selling at our booth (#1934) at San Diego Comic Con this year.
First of all, if you have crazy visions of yourself in Bree, you might find yourself down at the Prancing Pony Club (complete with sparkle of course):
Next – we’re very excited to reveal that we’re partnering with Middle-earth Enterprises in bringing fan favorite the Rankin/Bass The Hobbit to SDCC first the first time. These Hobbit shirts are EXCLUSIVE and some of the first official merch ever for the animated TV special! Quantities are extremely limited.
Alas, these shirts will not be for sale online. We WILL have the Prancing Pony Club shirt for sale at DragonCon. Let us know if you’d like to see The Hobbit shirt for sale there as well!
More details of TORn’s participation in San Diego Comic Con coming soon; we hope to see you there, bright and early, to snap up these special shirts before they’re gone!
Over the last few years one of the most in demand exclusives to get at San Diego Comic-Con has been the print sets our friend Jerry Vanderstelt has at his booth and I have no doubt that this year won’t be any different.
This years set is titled Winged Fury, and captures three of Jerry’s prints in a never before released size of 12×16. The three prints that make up this set are the Fell Beast, Smaug, and The Balrog. I personally have all 3 as individual prints and I cannot wait to add this set to my collection. They are exceptionally well done. This limited edition, 350 print run, at a price of $40, will not last past the end of SDCC on July 27th. Fans going to Comic-Con can pre-order theirs right now, if they’d like, and simply take their receipt to booth 1931 to pick it up. The online pre-order will be limited to only 150 copies, with the final 200 being sold exclusively at the show. Get yours now because you do not want to risk not getting it once the show starts.
