Tolkien Collector's Guide has spotted something very interesting -- a new and revised edition of Humphry Carpenter's The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien is coming out this November (Nov 9 to be precise). This revised edition is already available for pre-order on Amazon (30 quid for a hardcover book; 20 quid for a kindle version). Looks like it's going to be a beast of a book, too: 700 pages versus the 463 of the 1981 edition. In this revised and expanded edition of The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien, it has been possible to go back to the editors’ original typescripts and notes, restoring more than 150 ..read more

In 2024, Worldcon - the World Science Fiction Convention - will be taking place in Glasgow (August 8-12). In anticipation of this exciting event, the Glasgow organisers have scheduled various online events for this summer - and we here at TORn are delighted to be joining them for an online panel! Staffers Tookish, Madeye Gamgee and greendragon will be joined by our good friend KnewBettaDoBetta, as well as staffers from Glasgow 2024, to discuss the perennial appeal of the Professor's works. Just what is it about Middle-earth which keeps us coming back, again and again? What is it about Tolkie ..read more

Middle-earth returns to card decks worldwide with the new officially licensed The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth sets. Wizards of the Coast, owners of Magic: The Gathering, streamed a first look at many of the LOTR cards, mechanics, characters and artwork arriving in June. It's time to embark on a different sort of journey as Magic presents characters, locations, and epic moments from the epic fantasy novels of J.R.R. Tolkien. The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth™ is packed with exciting new cards and a few marquee keywords and mechanics to review. So, gather your Fellowsh ..read more

Back in 2022 we told you about composer and sound engineer Jordan Rannells' amazing project - to create 'an immersive audio soundscape' of music and ambient sounds, to be listened to whilst reading The Lord of the Rings. For Tolkien Reading Day (March 25th) this year, Rannells teamed with the folks from ArdaCraft to create a live stream event, where parts of The Fellowship of the Ring were read over the corresponding chapters of Rannell's A Long-Expected Soundscape. The Towers Collection Now, The Towers Collection (for The Two Towers) is available - and we have some promo codes for TORn's fol ..read more

The Hollywood Reporter in conjunction with Prime Video recently posted a series of behind-the-scenes videos focusing on the set design in the Prime Video series "The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power". The "Building Middle-earth" series of videos show details that can be missed while watching the series at home. The commentary by set designers, actors, and craftspeople reveals insights and secrets about the decisions that went into the direction the series took and how it was made. The craft and care that went into the sets is truly amazing! It's the type of stuff Ringers everywhere are ..read more

Varking Runesong here! I was blessed enough to receive a PC and PS5 key to test The Lord of the Rings: Gollum early on behalf of TheOneRing.net. My goal here is to describe my play-through scenarios, what type of system I run the game on, what I liked, what wasn’t for me, and ultimately… how much I actually enjoyed playing the game. The Lord of the Rings: Gollum is developed by Daedalic Entertainment and is also published by them as well as Nacon. The game is available or will be available on multiple platforms such as Xbox, PlayStation, Nintendo Switch and PC. You will need to make sure your ..read more

It's an exciting time for Middle-earth fans who are gamers, as rumours and discussion abound of possible future video games. But forget what may come in the future: Daedalic Entertainment's The Lord of the Rings: Gollum is here! Release day for this long-expected game is tomorrow, May 25th; and the good folks at Daedalic have given TORn an exclusive video to share, in anticipation! Some of the designers behind the game discuss level design, diving deeper and giving insight into the world building process. Take a look: https://youtu.be/GGyGclNvk5g Yesterday Daedalic released another video, loo ..read more

Amazon Games, developers of the acclaimed New World online RPG game, are heading development of a new multiplayer The Lord of the Rings video game. Embracer, the fresh new owners of The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit, are licensing the Middle-earth MMO gaming rights to Amazon Games, whose first and only game, New World, was a big bold swing into a crowded massive-multiplayer-gaming space against Grand Theft Auto, Minecraft, World of Warcraft, Final Fantasy XIV, No Man's Sky, and of course LOTRO. This new LOTR MMO game will be a persistent open world Middle-earth set in the third age, but no ..read more

Many Middle-earth fans will be familiar with the spectacular work of artist Donato Giancola. His art has graced the covers of Tolkien editions as well as calendars, and last year saw a fabulous exhibition of his work at the Huntsville Museum of Art. Visitors there were lucky enough to see his massive new painting, 'Beacons of Gondor' - a breathtaking, gigantic rendering of sweeping scenery and drama. If you live in the New York area, this Saturday you could see that painting - and more - for yourself. Giancola is holding an Open Studio in Brooklyn, 11am to 6pm, May 13. This is an incredible ..read more

We got to ask Wizards of the Coast artist and art director Ovidio Cartagena about the new officially licensed The Lord of the Rings expansion cards for Magic: The Gathering. Was there any particular aspect, creature, or perhaps landmark of Middle-earth that you haven't seenfrom other artists, and have always wanted to bring to life through your own art? The Scouring of the Shire and the Battle of Bywater were very interesting to me. The whole plot involving Old Toby, and the discovery of trade between Saruman and the Shire, always caught my attention. Naturally, the destruction of something ..read more