Middle-earth Journeys

For fans of Alan Lee, who want an extra special copy of Children of Hurin:
Alan Lee will sign the book at Forbidden Planet (fantasy, sc-fi, comics bookstore etc) in Shaftesbury Avenue, London, on April 19th, between 6 and 7 pm. Be nice to him, if you're able to go there. Also by mail order, call 020 7803 1900.

Here is a link where i keep track of the signing events:
http://www.tolkienlibrary.com/press/Ala ... -Hurin.php

Thank you both . A pity Alan is signing on the 19th April - it's a day I can't do . Mind you, he must be fed up with signing things for me by now .

Iolanthe wrote:Thank you both . A pity Alan is signing on the 19th April - it's a day I can't do . Mind you, he must be fed up with signing things for me by now .

But then you can ask him to draw something for you instead of just signing. Just show him your own drawings and he will do anything for you.
Well, if the 19th doesn't work for you, then you can perhaps go to Oxford on the 20th or to Redesdale Hall in the weekend. I could kill myself for not being able to go to the UK in April. My colleagues are already wondering why on earth I've been to London three times since November. Must go to Berlin instead in April.

For those who cannot make it to London or NYC for the release of Children of Hurin there is an alternative! I organize the Children of Hurin Release Party. It is an on line event that will be 3 days in a row! Fantastic guests like Michael Drout, John Garth, Mark Hooker, Verlyn Flieger, Roger Garland,... will be attending and we have fabulous prizes to give away! You even can win a deluxe edition of Children of Hurin signed by Alan Lee AND Christopher Tolkien! Find all info at my site.

Hello Beren... may I congratulate you on your site It is an extremely informative and comprehensive site!! So well done and keep up the good work.

What a great event, Beren! Thanks for the invitation.

Fantastic Beren, what a great idea ! And what a list of guests.

Tolkien Estate Website

For everyone who loves Tolkien and spends time on the internet, this looks very promising! Looks like they are just getting started, but it already looks wonderful.

Check out The Tolkien Estate Website.

Thanks Riv... this looks very very interesting Bookmarked for future reference

This looks really interesting, and just watching the introductory graphics had me hooked!!!

Very nice teaser site!

And now I finally know what "website" is in Elvish. ...that is, I assume it's Elvish.

I honestly think that it is high time the estate came into the modern world. Even though they still take the hard line, the only internet voice until now has been the CT detractors and naysayers, of which I have certainly been a card carrying member. I find it refreshing that they are talking to, and explaining things to the internet peasants/Tolkien scholar-geeks. This is a HUGE step in the right direction...IMHO.

Seek to understand.

RR, I don't know much about this. The only hard line I know of is that CT didn't endorse the movies, and I do see some good reasons for not doing that (dwarf tossing, for example!). So what else have you detractors been saying?

Merry, so many of us bemoaned the fact that the Tolkien estate systematically went after any website that reproduced any of the Tolkien maps (irregardless of cartographer), and most of those websites have closed their doors forever. Middle-earth, they said, was their domain and no one could reproduce it.

They have also zealously guarded many of the words/terms specific to Tolkien's invented world and have brought suit to stop the unauthorized (and never permitted) usage. I hesitated to name this website Middle-earth Journeys specifically because the term Middle-earth has been the object of some of those suits. Many character and location names are among the contested terms.

I think (and I am hoping) that the coming of the Peter Jackson trilogy broadened this Tolkien audience so much that the estate has capitulated when it comes to this kind of splitting of hairs.