There has been a trend over the past year in which small conferences promote their registration or their call for submissions by claiming that they are seeking to reinvigorate or reanimate a field of scholarship that is on the wane. For instance, one such conference claimed that: 2023 is a significant turning point in Tolkien studies because the generation of scholars that truly knew him is entering retirement. It’s not yet clear what sort of scholarship will fill the void they are leaving. This claim is odd for several reasons. First, what is meant by the phrase “truly knew him”? If the ide ..read more

We have finally had the perfect opportunity to sit down with our good friend Tom Hillman! Longtime friend of the hosts and supporter of Tolkien Experience Tom Hillman is finally on the podcast! Tom was the first person to submit hs Tolkien Experience Project entry, and we thought that the publication of his book later this year gave us the perfect excuse to have him on the show! Please watch for his book Pity, Power, and Tolkien’s Ring: To Rule the Fate of Many later this year! Unedited video of this interview is available exclusively to our patrons on Patreon! Subscribing at $5/month gets ..read more

We start our newest season with an interview with a well-established artist: Donato Giancola! Donato has been an avid fan of Tolkien’s work for a long time and creates artwork based on Tolkien’s world when he gets the chance. Known for his work on Magic the Gathering, modern science fiction and fantasy covers, and a plethora of other venues! You can find prints of Donato’s work on his website, or purchase his most recent art book Middle-earth: Journeys in Myth and Legend. We are so glad he had the time to talk with us! Unedited video of this interview is available exclusively to our patron ..read more

For this episode, we were excited to welcome the president of Tolkiendil, the French Tolkien society: Laura Martin-Gomez! Laura received her PhD in 2020, and her research interests include fandom studies and Tolkien’s texts. Her thesis examined fan groups in the US, UK, and France to parse out the similarities and differences in these groups from the 70s until just before internet fandom became more influential. We were very eager to have her on the podcast, and grateful we could work out a time during this busy season. We hope you enjoy listening to the episode as much as we enjoyed recordi ..read more

This is one in a series of posts where the content is provided by a guest who has graciously answered five questions about their experience as a Tolkien fan. To see the idea behind this project, or if you are interested in sharing your own, visit the project homepage. If you enjoy this series, please consider helping us fund the project using the support page. I want to thank Donato Giancola for allowing me to use his artwork for this project. Prints are available on his website! Now, on to K. A.’s responses: 1. How were you introduced to Tolkien’s work? I was around 12 years old when the Pete ..read more

For this episode, we were honored to welcome a very influential figure in the Tolkien fandom: Brian Sibley! Brian is the recipient of the Tolkien Society’s award for Outstanding Contribution in 2022. He is an honorary member of the society, and is perhaps best known to the Tolkien community because of the radio adaptation of The Lord of the Rings he created for the BBC. His newest project The Fall of Númenor is a book that pulls together Tolkien’s writings about the island civilization and promises to be an insightful and essential text! We hope you enjoy the interview! Unedited video of t ..read more

This is one in a series of posts where the content is provided by a guest who has graciously answered five questions about their experience as a Tolkien fan. To see the idea behind this project, or if you are interested in sharing your own, visit the project homepage. If you enjoy this series, please consider helping us fund the project using the support page. I want to thank Donato Giancola for allowing me to use his artwork for this project. Prints are available on his website! Now, on to Tim’s responses: 1. How were you introduced to Tolkien’s work? The Hobbit Cartoon when i was 5 or 6. Alm ..read more

This is one in a series of posts where the content is provided by a guest who has graciously answered five questions about their experience as a Tolkien fan. To see the idea behind this project, or if you are interested in sharing your own, visit the project homepage. If you enjoy this series, please consider helping us fund the project using the support page. I want to thank Donato Giancola for allowing me to use his artwork for this project. Prints are available on his website! Now, on to Mike’s responses: 1. How were you introduced to Tolkien’s work? When I was 6 or 7, I was given an illust ..read more

This is one in a series of posts where the content is provided by a guest who has graciously answered five questions about their experience as a Tolkien fan. To see the idea behind this project, or if you are interested in sharing your own, visit the project homepage. If you enjoy this series, please consider helping us fund the project using the support page. I want to thank Donato Giancola for allowing me to use his artwork for this project. Prints are available on his website! Now, on to Anna’s responses: 1. How were you introduced to Tolkien’s work? I saw the trailer to the Fellowship movi ..read more

This is one in a series of posts where the content is provided by a guest who has graciously answered five questions about their experience as a Tolkien fan. To see the idea behind this project, or if you are interested in sharing your own, visit the project homepage. If you enjoy this series, please consider helping us fund the project using the support page. I want to thank Donato Giancola for allowing me to use his artwork for this project. Prints are available on his website! Now, on to Eve’s responses: 1. How were you introduced to Tolkien’s work? My first memory of Tolkien’s work was as ..read more