2026 Mythopoeic Scholarship Award in Inklings Studies
16 hours ago - By Trotter
2026 Mythopoeic Awards Finalists Announced
The Mythopoeic Society has announced the finalists for the 2026 Mythopoeic Awards. For more information about the awards, visit the Awards section https://www.mythsoc.org/awards.htm ; the finalists for the literature and scholarship awards and text of recent acceptance speeches are also listed in this section. The winners of this year’s awards will be announced at Mythcon 54, “Get Your Fantasy Kicks on Route 66,” which runs July 24-27, 2026, in Weatherford, Oklahoma.
Congratulations to all who were nominated.
Mythopoeic Scholarship Award for Inklings Studies
https://www.mythsoc.org/news/news-2026-06-02.htm
Letter for Auction
28 May - By Trotter
A Letter from Tolkien to Mr Schiro is once again being auctioned, with the sale taking place on the Wed, 17 Jun 2026 2:00 PM GMT
Estimate USD 30,000-40,000
https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/2 ... ts-is-to-me-as-wilton-ct/
Carpenter #203: Letter from J.R.R. Tolkien to Herbert Schiro • 17 November 1957 (#327)
We have documented previous auctions for this letter
2021 - https://www.rrauction.com/auctions/lot ... ommunists-are-orcs/?cat=0 Sold for USD 59,139
2025 - https://historical.ha.com/itm/autograp ... w-ShortDescription-071515 asking USD 52,000 - Not Sold
Description
J.R.R. Tolkien
Headington, Oxford, UK, November 17, 1957
Tolkien ALS Refuting Allegory in His Trilogy: "To ask if the Orcs 'are' Communists is to me as sensible as asking if Communists are Orcs"
ALS
Magnificent, content-rich autograph letter signed, "J.R.R. Tolkien", just two years after the publication of "Return of the King". 2pp, 6.75" x 8.5", Headington, Oxford, November 17, 1957. The already renowned author writes to Herbert Schiro, a medical student at the University of California, providing one of his most direct and comprehensive statements on the meaning and interpretation of “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy. Tolkien explicitly refutes allegorical readings of his masterwork, declaring, "There is no 'symbolism' or conscious allegory in my story. Allegory of the sort 'five wizards = five senses' is wholly foreign to my way of thinking." He goes on to deliver one of his most memorable lines regarding contemporary political interpretations: "To ask if the Orcs 'are' Communists is to me as sensible as asking if Communists are Orcs." Matted and framed with the original transmittal cover with double-sided glass to an overall size of 12” x 20”. Not examined out of the frame. Letter has flattened folds, otherwise no visible mars. Envelope has toning and light soiling commensurate with use.
While rejecting allegory, Tolkien acknowledges the concept of "applicability," noting the moral complexities he embedded in his characters: "sloth & stupidity among hobbits, pride and escapism among Elves, grudge and greed in Dwarf-hearts, and folly and wickedness among the 'Kings of Men.'" Most significantly, he reveals what he considers the true theme of his work: "it is about Death and the desire for deathlessness. Which is hardly more than to say it is a tale written by a Man!"
In full:
"I was delighted with your letter, which I shall certainly keep. There is nothing much really to say (beyond recording the pleasure that your enjoyment and sympathy give me), as you understand the matter so well. There is no 'symbolism' or conscious allegory in my story. Allegory of the sort 'five wizards = five senses' is wholly foreign to my way of thinking. There were five and that's just a unique fact of history. To ask if the Orcs 'are' Communists is to me as sensible as asking if Communists are Orcs.
That there is no 'allegory' does not, of course, say there is no applicability. There always is. And since I have not made the struggle wholly unequivocal: sloth & stupidity among hobbits, pride and escapism among Elves, grudge and greed in Dwarf-hearts, and folly and wickedness among the 'Kings of Men,' and treachery and power-lust even among the 'Wizards,' there is I suppose applicability in my story to present times. But I should say, if asked, that it is not really about Power and Domination: that only gets the wheels going; it is about Death and the desire for deathlessness. Which is hardly more than to say it is a tale written by a Man!
Thank you again! I may possibly be coming to the States next spring (I have never managed to come before), and in all that vastness it is conceivable that we might contrive a meeting? I have a dear friend: one Meredith Thompson (a Canadian), who lives in Los Angeles, and whom, if time allowed, I shd. try to visit. (He is a professor at the university of S. California).”
By 1957, when this letter was written, “The Lord of the Rings” had been in print for 2-3 years and was gaining significant critical acclaim and a growing readership. The trilogy was already being recognized as a major work of literature, with positive reviews from respected critics and authors. Tolkien's personal response to Schiro demonstrates his profound dedication to ensuring readers understood the deeper truths of his Middle-earth saga.
The letter has been published multiple times, evidence of its importance in understanding Tolkien’s writing as fictional history. It was first published (in part) in an article by Glen GoodKnight, '"Death and the Desire for Deathlessness": The Counsel of Elrond' in Mythlore Issue 10 (1975), p. 19; amended and published (again in part) in Humphrey Carpenter and Christopher Tolkien, The Letters of J. R. R. Tolkien (1981), letter 203.
This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.
Estimate USD 30,000-40,000
https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/2 ... ts-is-to-me-as-wilton-ct/
Carpenter #203: Letter from J.R.R. Tolkien to Herbert Schiro • 17 November 1957 (#327)
We have documented previous auctions for this letter
2021 - https://www.rrauction.com/auctions/lot ... ommunists-are-orcs/?cat=0 Sold for USD 59,139
2025 - https://historical.ha.com/itm/autograp ... w-ShortDescription-071515 asking USD 52,000 - Not Sold
« A Description of the Island of Númenor »: a reconstruction
21 May - By Druss
The following paper was originally published in April this year at Tolkiendil given in French under the title « Une Description de l’île de Númenor » : une reconstruction and is presented here, translated into English for your enjoyment. Druss
« A Description of the Island of Númenor »: a reconstruction
In 1980, only three years after having presented The Silmarillion to readers, Christopher Tolkien proposed a new book, Unfinished Tales of Numenor and Middle-earth, which would compliment the latter, but also The Lord of the Rings.
Among this “collection of writings, disparate in form”,Christopher Tolkien, Introduction, Unfinished Tales.[1] which as a volume is “divid[ed] […] into Parts corresponding to the first Three Ages of the World”, there exists a singular text - 'A Description of the Island of Númenor'.Hereafter abbreviated as DN.[2]
This text presents, in a few pages, a description of “the physical nature of the Island”. Christopher Tolkien indicates in his introduction that he has “included selections from [his] father’s account of Númenor”, an account apparently written at the beginning of the 1960s. Thus, when reading it, we are tempted to consider this text as a continuous one, written as a whole by Tolkien, with only a few small portions deemed unnecessary by Christopher Tolkien.
As it turns out, it is more complicated than had first been thought.
In 2021 The Nature of Middle-earth was published,Hereafter abbreviated as Nature.[3] a book edited by Carl Hostetter and presenting, in a similar manner to that of Unfinished Tales, disparate texts on varying subjects. Among them are two texts, respectively entitled 'Lives of the Númenóreans'Nature, pp. 316-327. Hereafter abbreviated as LN.[4] (Part III, chapter XI) and 'Of the Land and Beasts of Númenor'Nature, pp. 331-341. Hereafter abbreviated as LBN.[5] (Part III, chapter XIII), from which Christopher Tolkien built the text published in Unfinished Tales. In reality, LN and LBN form a single document, existing in three different versions, but always continuous, LBN following on from LN in footnote 5.Nature, p. 316. The text of LN edited by Carl Hostetter presents two types of notes: five footnotes and two author’s notes, but in fact, even these two author’s notes are footnotes in the manuscript. Hostetter chose to extract them because of their length.[6]
This short essay aims to “reconstruct” the text 'A Description of the Island of Númenor' by visualizing which elements Christopher Tolkien extracted from one or another of the source texts to recreate it, but also, to complete the LBN text which was not presented in full by Carl Hostetter in Nature.
By looking at the three texts in parallel (see figure 9 at the end), we quickly realize that DN is based in very large part on the second of the two texts, LBN, with approximately one quarter found in LN, found in footnote 2,Consequently, in our reconstruction, we give only this note.[7] (while the rest of the chapter addresses primarily the habits and customs of the islands population).
Finally, with these extracts, is some sentences of DN’s text which are not associated with any of Tolkien’s texts that have been published to date. So, there are two hypotheses. The first, that these sections actually came from an unpublished text by Tolkien, which is unlikely, otherwise it would likely have been published by Carl Hostetter in Nature, with the two others sources (or at least quoted as such). The second hypothesis, the most promising and realistic, is that these passages are from the hand of Christopher Tolkien himself, repeating in similar fashion the work he carried out on The Silmarillion, by completing some passages to make the writing more fluid as a single unbroken text.
As commented by Carl Hostetter, the very first paragraph of DN is largely sourced from LBN (Figure 1, dark green), though it is reduced by two-thirds compared to LBN. Hostetter then indicates that DN follows LBN “closely”Nature, p. 332.[8] with some additional details. Since his edition of LBN is incomplete, it is not possible to know with any certainty. However the second paragraph addressing the preservation of documents and the survivors of the Akallabêth (Figure 1, light green) is reproduced almost identically from LBNConfirm by Carl Hostetter, below in this topic.[9] .
Figure 1 – Paragraphs 1 and 2 of DN on the right, compared to LBN, on the left.
As the second, the third paragraph of DN is from LBN, but reduced (Figure 2, light green). §4 starts with a repetition of several sections of LBN from the first footnote (noted as fn1 in figure 9). However, Christopher does not provide all of the textual information, very likely to give more consistency to the tale. In LBN, we learn that the five promontories, shaping the island as a star, are 100 miles wide and 200 miles long, and that Meneltarma rose to nearly 3,000 feet, with the last 500 feet unscalable save by a single road. DN’s text says that “a winding spiral road was made upon it beginning at its foot upon the south, and ending below the lip of the summit”, a sentence extracted and rephrased by Christopher from LN, which has “a spiral road from its southern base […] up to its summit” (Figure 2, violet). The grey elements are additions, presented to better transition the text, except in the cases of "sacred to the worship of Eru Ilúvatar" just after "Pillars of Heavens" both written by Christopher Tolkien.
Figure 2 – Paragraph 3 and beginning of paragraph 4 of DN, at the center, compared to LBN on the left and to LN on the right.
From the middle of §4, Carl Hostetter specifies that the text of DN follows that of LBN (with the exception of a few details set aside by Christopher), up to and including §11.Nature, p. 332.[10] If Hostetter omits most of this passage in LBN, the few quotations he gives allows us to confirm that Christopher did indeed use LBN, albeit with some textual revisions (Figure 3). Thus, in §7, he uses "Towards the great North Cape the land rose to rocky heights of some 2,000 feet, the highest of which (Sorontil) rose straight from the sea in tremendous cliffs" in the form "Towards the North Cape the land rose to rocky heights, and there great Sorontil rose sheer from the sea in tremendous cliffs," again omitting the precise altitude; In §9, the Yavannamírë possesses "globed and scarlet fruits," although LBN indicates that it had "rose-like flowers and globed and scarlet fruits".Our emphasis.[11] Later, Christopher adds that Tar-Aldarion is the sixth King of Númenor and removes Gil-galad's given name, Finellach, which appears in Tolkien's later writings, replacing it with Ereinion. It is likely that this omission of Finellach was Christopher's choice to maintain consistency between Unfinished Tales and The Silmarillion, which uses Ereinion.
Figure 3 – Paragraphs 4 to 9 of DN, on the right, compared to LBN on the left. Elements in light green are reintroduced in LBN from DN. In orange, editor's commentary.
§10, concerns the Nunduinë River, which is the first instance of a passage being moved out of its original context (Figures 4 and 5, in yellow). In LBN, it appears much later in the text, before a long passage on birds is given. Similarly, §12 on the laurinquë is entirely taken from a passage found in the second half of LBN, interspersed with some rewordings on the geography of Hyarrostar (Figures 4 and 6, in burgundy). §13 and §14 are then taken almost verbatim from LBN, except again for a clarification of the altitude for the Orrostar promontory.
Figure 4 – Paragraph 10 and beginning of paragraph 14 of DN, on the right, compared to LBN on the left. Elements in light green are reintroduced in LBN from DN; elements of LBN in light grey weren't reused in DN. In orange, editor's commentary. In yellow and burgundy, extracts of LBN appearing later in the text (see Figure 5).
From the end of §14 onwards, it becomes clear that a great deal of information from LBN was omitted by Christopher Tolkien, in particular "a long discussion of the flora and fauna of Númenor which is absent from the later text, as are many details concerning the distances and populations of the island."Nature, p. 333.[12] The reason for this is undoubtedly that the subject deviated quite significantly from his editorial plan; indeed, he makes it clear in his introduction that he has focused on what he considers to be the "physical aspect" of Númenor. This passage comprises of slightly less than half the length of DN, and only two paragraphs on birds are retained virtually unchanged by Christopher, the one beginning with "The birds of Númenor were beyond count…" (Figure 5, dark green) and the following one, "The birds that dwell near the sea…" (Figure 5, khaki), which together form the end of §14. One important detail, however, and probably done so for the sake of uniformity, Christopher swaps the two extracts around in his text.
Figure 5 – Paragraph 14 of DN, on the right, compared to LBN on the left. In light grey, the long extract. In yellow, the section about Nunduinë river (see also Figure 4 above).
§15 is the second example within the introduction of an extract from LN used in DN. This entire passage about horses is indeed taken directly from the second half of the LN note (Figure 6, purple and blue), but Christopher rearranges several sentences again to improve readability. One passage, however, is used in full, from "Therefore the roads of Númenor" to "thence to Andúnië in the west." In LN, the discussion about horses continues with some information about dogs that is completely absent from DN. In LBN, no section is taken from this source, with the exception of the two sentences about the laurinquë used previously (Figures 4 and 6, in burgundy) and a second passage used by Christopher in DN (Figures 6 and 8, in turquoise).
Figure 6 – Paragraph 15 of DN, at the center, compared to LBN on the left and LN on the right. In light grey, the rest of the long extract unused by Christopher. In burgundy, the section about the laurinquë (see also Figure 7 below). In turquoise, an extract used below (see Figure 8).
DN continues by addressing the craftsmanship of the Edain, a passage taken "with no significant variation"Nature, p. 340.[13] from LBN.
Figure 7 – Paragraphs 16 to 18 of DN, on the right, compared to LBN on the left. Elements in light green are reintroduced in LBN from DN; elements in light grey weren't used in DN.
The very last paragraph of DN, §19, is a composition of three different extracts: two from LN and one from LBN. The opening of §19 on fishing and navigation is taken from the first half of the note in LN. After a transitional sentence by Christopher, the middle of §19, on Elvish navigators and the shipwrights of Númenor is taken from footnote 2 in LBN, which is found much earlier in that text, towards the end of the long discussion on flora and fauna which was omitted by Christopher.
Finally, the conclusion of DN, concerning Vëantur and the creation of the Guild of Venturers by Aldarion, is a direct continuation of the passage on fishing found in LN, which Christopher concludes with a transition of his own to the 'Tale of Aldarion and Erendis' that follows DN in Unfinished Tales.
Figure 8 – Paragraph 19 of DN, at the center, compared to LBN on the left, and LN on the right. In turquoise, the extract of LBN from Figure 6.
Complete visualization of text.
1 Christopher Tolkien, Introduction, Unfinished Tales. ↩
2 Hereafter abbreviated as DN. ↩
3 Hereafter abbreviated as Nature. ↩
4 Nature, pp. 316-327. Hereafter abbreviated as LN. ↩
5 Nature, pp. 331-341. Hereafter abbreviated as LBN. ↩
6 Nature, p. 316. The text of LN edited by Carl Hostetter presents two types of notes: five footnotes and two author’s notes, but in fact, even these two author’s notes are footnotes in the manuscript. Hostetter chose to extract them because of their length. ↩
7 Consequently, in our reconstruction, we give only this note. ↩
8 Nature, p. 332. ↩
9 Confirm by Carl Hostetter, below in this topic. ↩
10 Nature, p. 332. ↩
11 Our emphasis. ↩
12 Nature, p. 333. ↩
13 Nature, p. 340. ↩
English language Hobbit illustrated by Tove Jansson
11 May - By remy
What is The Hobbit: Illustrated by Tove Jansson by J. R. R. Tolkien about?
Landmark new edition featuring a wealth of charming illustrations from Tove Jansson, creator of The Moomins, published in English for the first time.
Smaug certainly looked fast asleep, almost dead and dark, with scarcely a snore more than a whiff of unseen steam, when Bilbo peeped once more from the entrance. He was just about to step out on to the floor when he caught a sudden thin and piercing ray of red from under the drooping lid of Smaug’s left eye. He was only pretending to sleep! He was watching the tunnel entrance!
Whisked away from his comfortable, unambitious life in his hobbit-hole in Bag End by Gandalf the wizard and a band of dwarves, Bilbo Baggins finds himself caught up in a plot to raid the treasure hoard of Smaug the Magnificent, a large and very dangerous dragon. Although quite reluctant to take part in this quest, Bilbo surprises even himself
https://www.awin1.com/cread.php?awinmi ... Fvariant%3D56243105530235
Just saw this on the Harpercollins website
Finally - An English Edition of The Hobbit illustrated by Tove Jansson
Due for publication September 2026
Live Auctioneers 1st GA&U Printing Lord of the Rings
26 April - By Mr. Underhill
Description
Tolkien, J.R.R. (1892-1973). [The Lord of the Rings trilogy:] The Fellowship of the Ring. 1954. -- The Two Towers. 1954. -- The Return of the King. 1955. All London: Allen & Unwin Ltd.
Together, 3 volumes, 8vo. Folding map tipped-in each volume, printed in red and black by Christopher Tolkien. Original red cloth, gilt-lettered spines, top edges stained red (spines leaned, light spotting to text block); dust jackets (light soiling and toning to spines and near flaps folds, splits along joints of The Fellowship of the Ring, cellotape repaired neatly on verso, tiny nicks to fore-corners); folding case. Provenance: The Times Library, London (stamp on rear pastedown of The Fellowship); Betty K. Burns (ownership signatures on pastedown near gutter).
FIRST EDITIONS, ALL FIRST IMPRESSIONS OF THE GREATEST FANTASY NOVEL EVER WRITTEN. The Return of the King has the newly corrected and accepted first issue points: on p. 49, no signature mark is present, and the lines of type are straight. In Hammond’s bibliography, it was noted that in The Return of the King, the first impression, first state, was marked by the signature mark “4” and sagging type on p. 49 but has since corrected this to say that these are indicative of the first impression, second and third states. Hammond noted this misinterpretation in Issue 11 of The Tolkien Collector (October 1995).
Considered the greatest fantasy trilogy of the modern era, C.S. Lewis wrote of it that: “no imaginary world has been projected which is at once as multifarious and so true to its own inner laws; none so seemingly objective, so disinfected from the taint of an author’s merely individual psychology; none so relevant to the actual human situation yet so free from allegory.” Tolkien, a noted scholar of Old English, conceived the idea for his tales set in “Middle Earth” while in the trenches of the First World War; its immense influence has been felt ever since.
In a new preface to the 1965 edition, Tolkien wrote: "As for any inner meaning or 'message,' it has in the intention of the author none. It is neither allegorical nor topical." In his essay entitled "On Fairy-Stories," Tolkien describes his purpose in writing about an imaginary world: "The peculiar quality of the 'joy' in successful Fantasy can thus be explained as a sudden glimpse of the underlying reality or truth. It is not only a 'consolation' for sorrow of this world, but a satisfaction, and an answer to that question, 'Is it true?' The answer to this question that I gave at first was (quite rightly): 'If you have built your little world well, yes: it is true in that world." Hammond A5a-i, ii, and iii; Bleiler, Supernatural Fiction 1606-8; Pringle, Modern Fantasy: The Hundred Best Novels 16; Cawthorn & Moorcock, Fantasy: The 100 Best Books 76.
This lot is located in Chicago.
https://www.liveauctioneers.com/item/2 ... -the-ring-1954-chicago-il
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