Site Reopening Ribbon-Cutting Celebration

[dawn_felagund]

We are thrilled to announce the completion of our new website--the first step forward in building a more vibrant and inclusive community for Tolkien fans to enjoy. In celebration of this watershed moment for our group, we will hold a ribbon-cutting ceremony on April 24 and 25, featuring a live reading and instadrabbling session! There will be two sessions, timed to welcome as many of our members from around the world as we can.

Saturday, April 24, 23:00/11PM UTC (find this in my timezone)

Sunday, April 25, 15:00/3PM UTC (find this in my timezone)

The celebration will be held on the SWG's Discord server. (Not a member of our Discord server but want to join? See below!)

Live Reading

We'll kick off the event with a tribute and toast to the new site, then hand the mic to our members to share readings of ficlets, poems, and excerpts from Tolkien to mark the occasion.

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  If you're reading a poem or ficlet, please read only a work you have authored.
  
  
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  Selections should focus on the broad themes of renewal and looking toward the future.
  
  
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  Please choose a selection that can be read in five minutes or less.
  
  

If you want to read, complete this form. You can read at one or both sessions. At this time, we're asking for one selection per reader, but if you'd be interested in reading more, let us know in the Notes field on the form. If we have room, we will add you in! Once you've signed up, you'll hear from a moderator within the next week to confirm your reading time.

Just want to listen in? Listeners are more than welcome! Join our Discord server or look for a link on the date of the event to join in. We will also record the reading* so that those unable to attend can listen later.

* Participants can opt out of the recording; just check the appropriate box on the form above.

Instadrabbling

Instadrabbling is a long-running Tolkien fanfiction tradition carried on for at least the better part of two decades. Traditionally, a group gathers on a chat server, one participant offers four words chosen at random from the closest book at hand, and all participants create a perfect drabble using those four words, post their work, and squee and celebrate!

For this event, in an effort to welcome as many participants as we can, our expectations are considerably looser. Prompts will focus on the theme of renewal. Prompts can be anything at all: a quote, an image, a video clip, a song, a passage from Tolkien ... even the traditional four-word prompt! Participants are welcome to bring a prompt or simply create using the prompts offered by others.

All fanworks are welcome. While the tradition is a perfect 100-word drabble, if that's too short? (Too long??) Write something else! Write a poem or a short story. Don't write? Do a sketch using the prompts, work on a cosplay project, make a playlist--any and all creativity is welcome!

Participants are also welcome who don't want to create fanworks of their own but want to enjoy those made by others and join in the conversation. Join our Discord server or look for a link on the date of the event to join in.

How to Join Our Discord Server

If you're an SWG member, log in to the site and scroll to the bottom, where you'll find a link to our Discord server. If you're not a member of our site yet (do you want to be??), contact our mod team or leave a comment here, and we'll send you an invite.

We'll also post invite links on our site and social media that can be used at the time of the events to join in.

Ribbon image credit: Brett Croft (modified by Dawn Felagund under license terms)