So excited to see @aranelparmadil.bsky.social in person again!

Since today is #Tolkien’s birthday and the annual birthday toast is happening, here is my blog post about it from a few years ago. It talks about why I appreciate the tradition! luke-shelton.com/2019/01/03/t...

Happy Birthday, Professor! 🎂 🎉 Today marks J.R.R. Tolkien's 134. Birthday! Worldwide, Tolkienfans will rise their glasses at 21:00 to honour the man who brought us all together. 🧑‍🎨 This amazing artwork of Tolkien is by the talented Rote Ronja who sailed into the West last August, much too soon.

Happy Birthday to JRR Tolkien! To the Professor! 🍻 #TolkienBirthdayToast #art

Tomorrow is J.R.R. #Tolkien's 134th birthday! As Frodo did for Bilbo, the Tolkien Society continues to celebrate Tolkien's birthday in his absence with our #TolkienBirthdayToast. Our tradition: at 9pm your time raise a glass and toast "The Professor!" www.tolkiensociety.org/events/tolki...

Always love reading about how people first experienced Middle-earth!

You can join a worldwide organisation dedicated to #Tolkien - just in time for Christmas! Members of the Society receive 6 Amon Hen a year, our journal Mallorn, member-only events and discounts, and more! Visit www.tolkiensociety.org/join and join from anywhere in the world!

Call for papers! We are now accepting proposals for papers to be presented at #Westmoot26. Deadline is March 1, 2026. Please visit our webpage for more details. #intothewest #jrrtolkien #westmoot

🧵 There's an add running on many podcasts right now for student Google Gemini. I don't want to condescend to students, because I think many are savvy about GenAI, but please understand that "free" year they're offering means training their AI by uploading *your* work, your intellectual property.

Westmoot 2026’s theme is Hope and Eucatastrophe and we want your papers! Be sure to submit a proposal for our event in Minneapolis, May 22-24, 2026! www.tolkiensociety.org/events/westm...

Pack your pocket-handkerchiefs! Registration for #Westmoot26 is now open! Learn more & book your spot on our website. Hotel booking available soon!

www.currentaffairs.org/news/ai-is-d... Thanks for sharing @craigfranson.bsky.social

Rewatching the lecture videos of a science fiction course from @drahsturgis.universeodon.com.ap.brid.gy today. What a delight it is to be able to go back and go through lectures again after several years!

With ICE and other extremist groups trying to claim #Tolkien, this old post still holds up: “Tolkien does not simply give us hope for a better future or strength to endure hardship. Instead, the text [is] a call to action, a challenge...” luke-shelton.com/2021/01/08/r...

Wondering why no one likes your posts anymore, even among your friends? It's because @jay.bsky.team and team have decided to hide a huge amount of content from all of our feeds by default. Here's how to turn it off. First go to the hamburger menu in the upper left corner

10 Years since I made this meme, which is a perfect cross-section of Star Trek fandom and frustration with psychoanalytical literary theory. So…you know…here it is, if you are into both of those things…

The 3rd and final part of my piece on constructing childhood in Tolkien’s legendarium is now out, this time focusing on hobbit childhoods and hobbits *as* children. @uofgfantasy.bsky.social @tolkiensociety.org #TolkienTuesday dimitrafimi.substack.com/p/constructi...

If you’re not signed up yet, don’t forget to register for the @tolkiensociety.org seminar on October 18! It’s free and online! www.tolkiensociety.org/events/semin...

*Any new LOTR thing is announced* Me: Ok but does it involve complex interpersonal relationships that break down masculine stereotypes

It's that time again. For the next 24 hours, drop any infectious disease and/or vaccine-related questions below in response to this post, and I will do my best to answer them. Responses are for information only and are NOT medical advice. #AskAnIDDoc September 2025 edition.

This is the most anti-science thing I have watched today. What is most shocking about this is all of these statements are being made without any scientific evidence to back it up. There are very few safe options to treat pain and fever in pregnancy so this is also an attack on women's health.

On 21 September 1937: J.R.R. #Tolkien's The Hobbit was published. The book tells of a hobbit, Bilbo Baggins, and his journey with thirteen dwarves to recover their treasure from a dragon, Smaug. It's sold over 100 million copies and is one of the best-selling books of all time. #BookSky

If you've not read this essay, or even if you have, I can't recommend it enough. In the first place, it's incredibly insightful, well-written, and proof positive that brilliant Tolkien scholarship can and does happen outside the academy. In the second place, it makes me cry.

From all of us at Westmoot, we hope everyone has a great time this weekend at #Oxonmoot, whether you are attending in-person or online! Pictured here is Frodo Baggins- oops, we meant Zak Francis, carrying the Ring to Mordor and making a quick stop at #Westmoot25. #westmoot #intothewest

Westmoot folks who are attending Oxonmoot this weekend- we’re going to take a Westmoot group photo in front of the dining hall at 11:30! Spread the word! #westmoot #oxonmoot #intothewest

Westmoot folks who are attending Oxonmoot this weekend- we’re going to take a Westmoot group photo in front of the dining hall at 11:30! Spread the word! See you soon! #westmoot #oxonmoot #intothewest

When you first read the LotR, which character did you most relate to? This month, Dr. Luke Shelton @lukebshelton.bsky.social explores reader response theory and the ways that personal experience and interpretation interact with criticism. Thanks, Luke! athrabeth.simplecast.com/episodes/epi...

This was such a fun and engaging experience! Thanks so much to @podcast.athrabeth.com for having me!

Eglerio! My series editor’s copy of @joelmerriner.bsky.social’s Illustrating The Lord of the Rings in the Soviet Bloc: Iconographies of Difference has just arrived! The book will be available from 18 Sep - details here: www.bloomsbury.com/uk/illustrat... @uofgfantasy.bsky.social @tolkiensociety.org

"Which Way, Western Man" is a notorious 1978, neo-Nazi classic by eugenicist William Gayley Simpson. It blames Jews for the racial destruction of the modern world and calls for a violent, global "revolution" modeled on Hitler's genocidal anti-Jewish campaign. /1

The journey to Middle-earth and understanding J. R. R. Tolkien begins inside Marquette University's archives, which has more than 11,000 pages of drafts for The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings.

Shorte filme concept: Post-credits scenes for everye Shakespeare playe

PSA.

Turn this off if you still have an Academia.edu account.

Harold Bloom was not the greatest fan of Tolkien (even though he edited multiple collections about him/his works). But I find his concept of “misreading” really valuable when thinking about interpretations of a work.

Very excited to see this book ready for pre-order! mcfarlandbooks.com/product/Quee...

"Parma Eldalamberon 17: Words, Phrases & Passages in _The Lord of the Rings_" is available again on demand at: The Great British Bookshop: www.thegreatbritishbookshop.co.uk/products/par... and at: Barnes and Noble: www.barnesandnoble.com/w/parma-elda...

Here again are alternative and credible sources for vaccine information and guidance until sanity returns in US Public Health : WHO - www.who.int/teams/immuni... Canada - www.canada.ca/en/public-he... ECDC - www.ecdc.europa.eu/en/immunisat... U.K - www.gov.uk/government/p...

I am revisiting my PhD thesis to mine it for some upcoming things, and I am struck once again by the incredible aptitude for compassion and generosity that these young readers have.

ATTENTION! 🐰LATE FOR A VERY IMPORTANT DATE? 🐰Fear not! We're extending the Call for Papers for ONE WEEK from today, due to the high number of enquiries & excellent proposals we've received at, well, white rabbit o'clock! Missed the deadline? Now is your chance! Spread the word

Up now on JTR: 'Tolkien & Psychology'. Papers by @nicholasbirns.bsky.social, @cameronbourquein.bsky.social, @drfairylelie.bsky.social, Mareike Huber, Kris Larsen, Martin Hauberg-Lund Laugesen & Bo Kampmann Walther, Ali Mirzabayati, Dawn Walls-Thumma, & me! scholar.valpo.edu/journaloftol...

I have published my closing remarks for #Westmoot! luke-shelton.com/2025/05/13/w... #westmoot25 @westmoot.org

I have published my closing remarks for #Westmoot! luke-shelton.com/2025/05/13/w... #westmoot25 @westmoot.org

This year, we were spoiled with keynotes by @annasmol.bsky.social, @donatoarts.bsky.social, and @banzailibrarian.bsky.social. It will be tough to come up with a lineup any better than that! #westmoot #westmoot25

#Westmoot has been a very rewarding experience over the past few days. Now come the post-conference blues. I revisited this old blog post to give myself some important reminders, and I post it here in case someone else finds it helpful, too: luke-shelton.com/2019/08/15/t...

#Westmoot has been a very rewarding experience over the past few days. Now come the post-conference blues. I revisited this old blog post to give myself some important reminders, and I post it here in case someone else finds it helpful, too: luke-shelton.com/2019/08/15/t...