The Tolkien Society is pleased to announce it will be hosting the online Christopher Tolkien Centenary Conference on Saturday 23rd and Sunday 24th November 2024.
Following conversations with key people in the Tolkien community, the Tolkien Society is holding a two-day online event in honour of Christopher Tolkien. You can register to attend the online Conference below.
The Society has a long track record of holding large events to commemorate key anniversaries. In 2005 the Society held “The Ring Goes Ever On” for the 50th anniversary of the publication of The Lord of the Rings. In 2012 we held “The Return of the Ring” for the 75th anniversary of the publication of The Hobbit. And in 2019 we held “Tolkien 2019” for the Society’s 50th anniversary. But most famously, in 1992 the Society held the “J.R.R. Tolkien Centenary Conference” at Keble College, Oxford, in honour of the 100th anniversary of Tolkien’s birth. This event recalls the former.
“We seek to honour and remember Christopher. Although we know the enormity of the world that Tolkien created, we only know that thanks to Christopher’s work. He spent almost 50 years after his father’s death to bring Tolkien’s legacy to us all. His hard work and diligence has shined a light on the corners of Middle-earth that would otherwise be unknown to us. We all owe him a tremendous debt, and I hope this event goes some way in recognising Christopher’s legacy as much as his father’s.” — Shaun Gunner, Chair of the Tolkien Society
Speakers and schedule
We will be joined by some of the best authors, scholars and artists in the Tolkien community to honour Christopher Tolkien and his legacy.
Confirmed speakers (in alphabetical order):
- Douglas A. Anderson – author of The Annotated Hobbit
- Nicholas Birns – author of The Literary Role of History in the Fiction of J.R.R. Tolkien
- Sara Brown – lecturer on Tolkien, and Language and Literature Department Chair at Signum University
- Sonali Chunodkar – researcher on secondary beliefs in Tolkien’s works
- Michael Drout – editor of Beowulf and the Critics, and J.R.R. Tolkien Encyclopedia; co-editor of Tolkien Studies
- Vincent Ferré – Tolkien scholar, lecturer and translator and editor of Dictionnaire Tolkien
- Dimitra Fimi – co-editor of A Secret Vice
- Verlyn Flieger – editor of Smith of Wooton Major, The Story of Kullervo, and The Lay of Aotrou and Itroun; author of Splintered Light
- William Fliss – Tolkien archivist at Marquette University’s Raynor Library
- Christopher Gilson – chief editor of Parma Eldalamberon and leading member of the Elvish Linguistic Fellowship
- Nick Groom – author of Twenty-First-Century Tolkien
- Peter Grybauskas – editor of The Battle of Maldon: together with The Homecoming of Beorhtnoth
- Wayne G. Hammond – co-editor of J.R.R. Tolkien: Artist and Illustrator, The Lord of the Rings: A Reader’s Companion, The Art of The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien, and Roverandom
- Andrew Higgins – co-editor of A Secret Vice
- Thomas Honegger – co-editor of Sub-creating Arda and Laughter in Middle-earth: Humour in and around the Works of J.R.R. Tolkien
- Carl Hostetter – editor of The Nature of Middle-earth and Vinyar Tengwar
- John Howe – artist who has illustrated covers for The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The History of Middle-earth
- Yvette Kisor – researcher on medieval literature and the works of J.R.R. Tolkien
- Kristine Larsen – writer and researcher on science and astronomy in Tolkien’s works
- Alan Lee – artist who has illustrated The Lord of the Rings, The Children of Húrin, Beren and Lúthien and The Fall of Númenor
- Ted Nasmith – artist who has illustrated The Silmarillion and Unfinished Tales
- Richard Ovenden – Bodley’s Librarian and co-editor of The Great Tales Never End
- John D. Rateliff – author of The History of The Hobbit
- Robin Reid – researcher on Tolkien fandom, fan fiction, and race in Tolkien’s works
- Christina Scull – co-editor of J.R.R. Tolkien: Artist and Illustrator, The Lord of the Rings: A Reader’s Companion, The Art of The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien and Roverandom
- Brian Sibley – author of The Fall of Númenor
- Chris Smith – the Tolkien editor of HarperCollins
- James Tauber – researcher on corpus linguistics and digital humanities for Tolkien’s works
We will have both talks and panels across the weekend. Speakers will cover topics including (but not limited to): reflecting on Christopher Tolkien’s life and works; Christopher as an author in his own right; Christopher as an editor and curator of his father’s works; reminisces of Christopher; and working with him on other projects. The full schedule will be published closer to the event.
A selection of the talks will be recorded and hosted online after the event. You can see talks from previous events on our YouTube channel.
Smials
As this is an online event, we are encouraging smials to get together — either at someone’s house or in a public venue — so they might be able to enjoy (and discuss) the proceedings of the Conference together in real time. We also think it would be a good opportunity to also share appropriate food and drink together.
Should you have any thoughts or questions, you can get in touch with our Smials Co-ordinator.
Bookings
The event will be entirely free to attend, and you can register here.
