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News

Book announcements, writing and research milestones, annual roundups, and more

How the tides of Tolkien’s world shaped The Lord of the Rings

Eighty years ago the Allies invaded France… and Frodo reached Mordor. Now I'm starting the first doctoral project to address how 20th-century war inspired Tolkien's epic.

June 14, 2026 2 Reactions

Tolkien, the critics, and why I’m doing a DPhil on Lord of the Rings

I’m about to begin an Oxford doctoral research degree on how world war shaped Tolkien’s masterpiece. Here's why I'm doing it, why it matters, and how you could help.

June 7, 2026 4 Reactions

Book news: Tolkien and the Smith who helped forge his future path

This week we welcome a pioneering collection of essays on the friendship most responsible for laying the path to Middle-earth. …

May 23, 2026 2 Reactions

My 2025 with Tolkien – from Faërie to Minnesota

I had a busy time with Tolkien in 2025 – in scholarly and popular publications, in talks and lectures, on my crowdfunding blog, and in manuscript archives…

February 2, 2026 6 Reactions

Tolkien’s 1918 return to Oxford: a new discovery

I have a new biographical article in the latest Tolkien Studies, with Peter Gilliver, filling in an important gap in Tolkien's life at the end of the First World War.

December 6, 2025 3 Reactions

Revealed: Tolkien’s 1939 lecture on fairy-stories

I've identified the manuscript Tolkien used for his landmark 1939 lecture On Fairy-stories – a manuscript previously thought lost.

October 16, 2025 2 Reactions

Tolkien’s road goes on – but there’s traffic ahead at Bovadium

I’ve been waiting for Tolkien’s Bovadium Fragments since 1976, when I first read Humphrey Carpenter’s Tolkien biography… And now it’s almost here. What can we expect?

May 24, 2025 1 Reaction

2024: My year of Tolkien and tribulation

I’ve been extremely quiet online this year, but far from idle in my work on Tolkien. Up to the end of September I was very productive. Then disaster struck, literally.

December 30, 2024 7 Reactions

From millstone to milestone! I’ve finished my book proposal

As you almost certainly know, I’ve been working towards a new book for a long time now. Before you get too excited, no, I haven’t finished it. There’s still a long…

May 19, 2024 3 Reactions

Branching out and seasonal sharing

You helped me hit my first goal with this Steady project. I’ve now set a further goal and introduced a new mid-tier membership. Why not upgrade – or give one as a gift?

December 20, 2023

To Rivendell via Anduin

A week with the Lord of the Rings manuscripts I just spent a week with the Lord of the Rings manuscripts at Marquette University. Research is one of the activities that…

December 2, 2023 2 Reactions

‘A strong start’

Dear friends and supporters – you know who you are. I just wanted to take this opportunity to thank you again for backing my work in the most practical way possible. I’m…

April 16, 2023 7 Reactions