Huge News: Christopher Tolkien resigns as director of Tolkien Estate

I was hoping we’d get a stand-alone Fall of Gondolin similar to Beren and Luthien, it I guess this is it.

Either way, Christopher’s contribution has been monumental and it really is the end of an era. Bless him with a peaceful and healthy retirement. His father would have been tremendously proud of his achievements in publishing his work with such sincerity and respect for the material.

Sad news, but things have obviously been brewing for a while. It's really hard to overestimate how important Christopher's contribution has been to Tolkien Studies.

In terms of copyright & future rights being sold etc --most posthumous material (e.g. The Silmarillion) is copyright The Tolkien Copyright Trust & CT. The Estate doesn't control that, does it? And leaving The Estate hardly prevents him from editing further material; altho' that seems unlikely in any case, for the reasons already widely discussed (i.e. his statement in B&L).

BH

I've gotten confirmation that he is still Literary Executor - just stepping down as a director (there are many) for the Tolkien Estate. So mostly this is a logistics change for managing Estate decisions.

He did say in the preface of B&L that it is "(presumptively) my last book in the long series of editions of my father's writings".

The Estate was formed in 2011, so I believe the Tolkien Copyright Trust moved there at that time.

B&L for example says

"All texts and materials by J.R.R. Tolkien © The Tolkien Estate Limited 2017

Preface, Notes and all other materials © C.R. Tolkien 2017"

So I assume that the Estate would manage any rights to the Tolkien content in B&L - if someone wanted to make a movie of the Preface and Notes however, they would also need to get Christopher's permission.

I've gotten confirmation that he is still Literary Executor

Thank you for that clarification. I assumed he was indeed no longer going to be the Literary Executor and that is a very important distinction.

I've gotten confirmation that he is still Literary Executor

Thank you for that clarification. I assumed he was indeed no longer going to be the Literary Executor and that is a very important distinction.

Qweniden wrote:

I've gotten confirmation that he is still Literary Executor

Thank you for that clarification. I assumed he was indeed no longer going to be the Literary Executor and that is a very important distinction.

Given he is already 93, I'm not sure it is a particularly important distinction. I don't think we can expect much more from him (even if there is much more to curate that remains worthy of curation). I think he has done the job to the extent it needs doing.

PERMISSIONS AND REQUESTS

Is it possible to write stories that are set in Middle-earth?

The short answer is most definitely NO!

We understand only too well the fascination and enjoyment that the world of Middle-earth can bring, but the fact remains that this is an imaginary world, created by the author on his own terms and in his own right. So, however tempting, to publish this type of fan-fiction for personal or commercial purposes, even online, is absolutely not authorized.

In the era of the Internet, with people selling ‘homemade’ literary works on websites all over the world, it must be unambiguously stated that the Tolkien Estate has never authorized the commercialisation or distribution of such material, and has no intention of doing so.

The Tolkien Estate’s mission is to defend and protect the integrity of J.R.R. Tolkien’s works. As literary executor, it has always been Christopher Tolkien's goal to publish the writings of his father—both finished and unfinished—in the most faithful and scrupulous way, without adaptation or embellishment.

www.tolkienestate.com

Think the website needs an update...

BH

PERMISSIONS AND REQUESTS

Is it possible to write stories that are set in Middle-earth?

The short answer is most definitely NO!

We understand only too well the fascination and enjoyment that the world of Middle-earth can bring, but the fact remains that this is an imaginary world, created by the author on his own terms and in his own right. So, however tempting, to publish this type of fan-fiction for personal or commercial purposes, even online, is absolutely not authorized unless you give us USD 250M, in which case, fill your boots.

.

www.tolkienestate.com

Fixed it.

Haha, yes much better