The following event(s) took place in Middle-earth on April 26th: The unexpected party (1341) TheOneRing.net is officially registered (1999) TheOneRing.net celebrates its 10-year Anniversary. TheOneRing.net celebrates its 15-year Anniversary. TheOneRing.net celebrates its 20-year Anniversary. TheOneRing.net celebrates its 25-year Anniversary. [Join us on the Discussion Boards here!] April 26, 2941 (S.R. 1341) 1. Wednesday. The unexpected party. (from Karen Wynn Fonstad, The Atlas of Middle-earth) "Bilbo rushed along the passage... ...He pulled open the door with a jerk, and they all fell ..read more

We're delighted to share an exclusive interview from fellow Tolkien fanatic Eirik Bull - a journalist from Norway. He recently sat down with our friend, Weta Workshop's own Daniel Falconer. In Eirik's interview with Daniel they cover a lot of topics, looking at Daniel's history in working in Tolkien's amazing world, as seen in Sir Peter Jackson's brilliant adaptations over 20 years ago. Eirik and our friends at Weta asked us to share this interview - and you can look forward to another interview coming soon, with Sir Richard Taylor. We all hope you enjoy this amazing look at Daniel Falconer's ..read more

The Lord of the Rings – A Musical Tale, the multi award-winning musical production that has been wowing theatregoers in the UK over the past 12 months, is set for a USA debut in Chicago starting this July. Paul Hart, who created the acclaimed 2023 staging at the UK’s Watermill Theatre, will also oversee the production at Chicago Shakespeare Theater's The Yard. "I can’t wait for this next step in the epic journey of The Lord of the Rings as we craft this new staging for the US premiere production with Chicago Shakespeare Theater for Chicago audiences," Mr Hart said. "We loved creating this ver ..read more

On March 18 this year we began Middle-earth March Madness 2024: Magical Moments. TORn staffers had been working behind the scenes to choose and then vote on a plethora of happenings from The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings trilogy, which could be considered magical events. We whittled that number down to 64, and created seeding based on the staffer votes, and back in March we opened the contest to YOUR votes. Now, after six rounds and thousands of votes cast, we have a winner. Of all the moments when magical powers are used in Middle-earth, one has been chosen as the 'most magical'. If you w ..read more

Our good friends at Volante Opera have been in touch with very exciting news! You may remember, in 2022 and 2023 we brought you news of their work with composer Paul Corfield Godfrey, to bring to life his operas of stories from The Silmarillion. Godfrey had for many years been working on operatic excerpts from The Lord of the Rings - and during lockdown, he and the Volante Opera folks had even begun recording excerpts, 'just in case'; but the Tolkien Estate had not granted permission for those works to be released. We can now exclusively reveal that Godfrey and Volante Opera Productions have ..read more

  Field of Cormallen by Tolman Cotton The following event(s) took place in Middle-earth on April 8th: The Ring-bearers are honoured on the Field of Cormallen (3019) The Ring-bearers revisit fair Ithilien (3019) [Join us on the Discussion Boards here] 1. The Ring-bearers are honoured on the Field of Cormallen. (from the appendices) "When Sam awoke, he found that he was lying on some soft bed...  ...All the air was full of a sweet mingled scent. He remembered that smell: the fragrance of Ithilien." (Tolkien, 1965 Ballantine, p. 282-288 RotK) 2. The Ring-bearers revisit fair Ith ..read more

We come to it at last - the great battle of our time... Well, at least of this year's Middle-earth March Madness 2024: Magical Moments. TORn staffers picked 64 happenings from The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings trilogy, which could be considered magical events. (Though what exactly counts as 'magic' in Middle-earth is, of course, up for debate!) These moments were seeded based on staffer's votes, divided into four bracket (one for each book), and so it began. Now, three weeks later and with thousands of votes cast, we are down to the final two. Let's see how the Semi-finals played out: The ..read more

The LOTR on Prime twitter account popped up on Tolkien Reading Day with some juicy quotes from The Council of Elrond chapter of the Fellowship of the Ring. Since we all love to hope that Amazon's marketing people do nothing without purpose (as opposed to just doing nothing), Webcrawler, a frequent poster on the TORn Discord and a keen dissector of spoilers is here with some analysis of how it might all link back to some big story developments in Season 2 of The Rings of Power. ~ Staffer Demosthenes p.s. There are potential spoilers below based on various leaks and rumours we've heard over the ..read more

And then there were four... It is semi-final time in Middle-earth March Madness 2024: Magical Moments - from 64 starters, we're down to just our bracket winners remaining. Which magical happening has emerged triumphant from each division? Let's take a look: The Hobbit Division Alas! Speaking personally, I (staffer greendragon) was really hoping the Moon Runes would win this bracket. TORn staffers had voted those glowing, secret runes the #1 seed in this group; but the power of the Ring is of course not easily overcome, and the #2 seed took the lead and held on to it. The margin wasn't huge ..read more

In an unexpected journey that rivals Bilbo's own, TheOneRing.net is thrilled to announce the launch of its very own food truck, bringing the flavors of Middle-earth to the world - well, a portion of the world! Aptly named 'Middle-earth on Wheels', the plan is for the food truck to visit conventions and geeky gatherings across America, serving a delectable array of Tolkien-themed treats. Our truck will first appear at NYCC 2024. The Menu Inspired by the diverse experiences and tastes of our staff, the menu will vary, with various themes planned, including the seasons in the Shire, spicy dishe ..read more