Interested in being featured in an article about LOTR fandom? A journalist in the UK is interested in writing a piece about die hard LOTR fans. Here's some further details and contact information:

I am a journalist and feature writer looking to find MASSIVE LOTR/Hobbit fans.

I want to find people who have Tolkein-related tattoos, turned their rooms/houses into shrines to his work, changed their names to characters from Middle Earth etc.

I am open to ideas as well if anyone thinks they have a good story for me!

I would look at doing a piece for national/international papers and maybe magazines as well. There may even be some TV potential in it.

If you are interested and fancy a chat drop me an email at jake.rusby@mynewsagency.co.uk or call +44 2392820311.

Jake Rusby

--Admin on 22/12/11 - 09:01 pm 0 Comments

I'd to take some time to answer a few of the posed questions regarding my experience with LotR....

Here's my Tolkien history. I watched the first movie at the cinema and this was my first experience of Tolkien. I loved it. I then read the books, and loved them too. I then, like you guys, had to wait patiently for the other movies to be made, and watched them both on release day (or at least weekend). I have since read the Hobbit - and, of course, am eagerly anticipating the film. I think Martin Freeman is the perfect cast for the young Bilbo. I would have loved del Toro to have directed; I was pretty amazed by the world he created in Pan's Labyrinth, so would have been interesting to see what he would have made of Middle Earth.

Finally, I have seen bits of the animated version of LotR as it keeps showing on one of the channels here in the UK. I haven't watched it all, mind you; I really struggle to take it seriously with some of the voices (Sam and Gollum have me in stitches, which I'm sure is not the intention!).

Zhie asked which I prefer - the books or the films? As with almost all books I've read that have been turned into movies, I'd have to say I prefer the books. You just get more detail, and the story is complete - no need for editing or exposition.

Another question was which is my favourite of the books - I can't say - I read them all in one go, so it felt to me like one volume, really. Of the films, which I watched one at a time - I'd probably go with Two Towers - after reading the books I remember this being something I was really looking forward to seeing visualised (mainly Treebeard and the Ents.....).

As to a favourite character? I'd probably plump with Sam. Why? Barazinbar asked which character are you most like and I'd say it would have to be one of the Hobbits. I grew up in rural England, and have since moved to various towns and cities - and I always identified with the way the Hobbits talked about 'The Shire' and 'home' - talking amongst themselves about the various pubs and bridges and fields and the characters they know from The Shire - much like I have done with my friends about the village I grew up in. In many ways Sam is the true hero of the stories.

As to my thoughts on fan fiction and fandom. After watching the films and reading the books, I did think about what would happen next - but to be honest, I never thought once about trying to conceive a story of my own - I have never written any fiction (I'm not sure where to start, and I guess there is a real fear of failure/embarrassment) or seeking out any fan-fiction, at lest not until recently. I think there was always a concern for me that it would disappoint. I really want to give NaNoWriMo a try this November to challenge myself and to get writing.

So, I guess in summary I'd say I'm a fan, but just not a super-fan like some of you might be. It's just something I've not really gotten into.

Indeed I should! There are some things I've wanted to discuss with LotR fans (which I'm sure you guys have, at length) - the biggest one being that I thought the biggest flaw with films, in my opinion, was how easy it seemed for the Army of the Dead to sweep through the armies of Mordor. Being so wise and all, Gandalf and Elrond should have thought of it earlier! I'm sure you guys know the answer to that and will shoot me to pieces....but hey, we're here to learn and enjoy discussing topics with one another.

So that's my frank and honest account of my relationship with Tolkien and the world of LotR. Perhaps you're disappointed that I'm not a complete LotR geek and that the site is now in the wrong hands. I could certainly see how it would be beneficial to have more knowledge.

Thankfully though, Adora and I will be working together as a team, and also absolutely wish to use all of your knowledge and experience too. As Adora mentioned in a previous discussion, the site was started by her only after having watched the movies - so evidence shows that complete cannon knowledge isn't a prerequisite for creating and building a great community.

I'm not a world expert on Winnie the Pooh, but have managed to build one of the most beautiful, content rich and relevant Winnie the Pooh content sites on the Internet - one that has been enjoyed thoroughly by its users, and has received accolade from Disney and others - all with the support and guidance of its fans (and yes, I'm fully aware the differences between that and LotRFF are great). I now know quite a lot about Winnie the Pooh and I'm sure my knowledge of LotR is only set to rapidly grow too.

--Keith Mander on 03/07/11 - 10:39 am 2 Comments

Many thanks to everybody who took the time to read about the recent changes and who provided their feedback. I'd like to address some of the most common questions and concerns:

What changes?

LotRFF is now under new administration. Technical responsibilities and planning have passed hands, but the core focus and values of the site remain unchanged.

Who is the new owner?

That'll be me, Keith Mander. I formerly worked at both Google and Facebook and now dedicate a majority of my time to building web communities. My expertise is in reinvigorating websites and managing the process. I deeply care about the communities too and actively engage and partake in them. An example of this action can be seen on Just-Pooh.com and BusSongs.com. I recently took on the baton for managing the popular Twilight Archives site and aim to make significant improvements to it also.

Is Adora still involved in the site?

Absolutely. Adora has voiced that she would still like to be actively involved in the management of the website as a moderator and founder. You can still contact Adora using the LotRFF email address. Her new address is adora@lotrfanfiction.com. The old address (webmaster@lotrfanfiction.com) is still active and all messages are automatically forwarded.

What does Adora make of all this?

Adora and I spoke at length about the site and the plans for its future before the agreement was made. During this time we were merely discussing possible terms and conditions and making sure we were on the same page at every level. It wasn't a definite thing until really just a few days ago. We wanted to make sure everything was fine on the technical end, ensure a smooth transfer and as little downtime as possible before we made any announcements. Adora has been very supportive of the plans and has confidence that the site will continue to prosper. Of course, you'd better ask for her opinion! She did leave some comments on the original announcement, which I'd encourage you to read.

What is the future of LotRFF?

The future is bright! In the immediate period, I will be looking to understand the features that you'd like to see in the new site and begin to plan the rollout of a completely new design, backend and set of features. It'll take around a month or two before the new site goes live and I'll be sure to communicate updates with you. Work is currently underway on the new Twilight Archives site, and you can take a sneak peak at it's new design to give you a flavour of what is to come.

What kind of new features?

I have a long laundry list of ideas which include notifications, a messaging system, profile badges, easier story submission, character selection, ebook exporting, and challenges. The focus will be on improving the user experience and to foster engagement. Of course, it is you, the users who will help decide what it is that you want to see improved.

What are the long-term plans for the site?

The intention is to continue to develop the underlying fan fiction platform that runs the LotRFF site and leverage that technology to launch other fan fiction sites. Twilight Archives is another early part of this vision; in the near future you will be able to have a familiar experience across sites, use your same login and build a more complete profile. Our intention is not to take on FanFiction.net, but have a small knit group of popular, beautiful and deeply engaging fan fiction sites.

Will the site continue to be free?

You bet! You'll forever be able to add, edit, comment, review and read stories on the site. Everything you see today will remain free.

Will user data, or the stories be sold?

Definitely not; we respect your privacy and will do whatever we can to keep your data secure. Your data will never be passed onto a third party.

Is the site going to be plastered with ads?

First and foremost, we care about the community and the user experience. We'd never jeopardise that with the overuse of advertisements.

But your intention is to make a profit?

This, I'm sure, is the issue that causes the most concern amongst users. The site costs money to run through hosting costs and domain renewal. Moreover, I'm pledging several thousand dollars into the new revision of the site, hiring professional designers and developers. Further investment will be made into marketing efforts to encourage more engagement on the site. I'm also dedicating a substantial amount of my time as a self-employed person. Without any income stream, simply none of this would be possible. Some of the most high profile and engaged fan fiction sites (including fanfiction.net, twilighted.net, and harrypotterfanfiction.com) all generate revenue and have used that to grow and improve their sites. The site will never become a cash cow, the intention is only to cover costs and facilitate future investment into the site. It is absolutely the content that drives traffic and in turn, potential revenue. However, consider revenue being generated from the platform and facilitation of a place where users can share their fan fiction, rather than any single collection of stories. The alternative path is that there's no innovation, the site perishes and the owner bares the cost of running the site; this doesn't seem fair or progressive.

I want to out - can I delete my account and my stories?

Sure, they're your stories and you're welcome to do whatever you wish with them. Of course, I hope that you continue to visit the site and that you might reconsider your membership in the future.

I hope that you'll appreciate that I've tried to be very open and honest with you. We could have done more to better communicate the changes and for that I'm sorry.

I'm really excited about what we can do together with the site and I hope that you'll join me.

Please use the comments functionality to join me in this dialogue. You're also very welcome to email me directly.

--Keith Mander on 29/06/11 - 10:35 am 47 Comments

Hello,

My name is Keith and I'm delighted to make this very special announcement.

I've been talking with Adora for several weeks about the future of the site. We've come to an agreement where I will be taking on ownership and technical responsibilities for the site.

I can appreciate that this might surprise many of you. Rest assured that all of your stories are safe and the site will continue to exist for a long time to come.

Adora will continue to be very much involved with the site as the founder and moderator. You'll still be able to reach her using her site related e-mail address.

Adora has done an incredible job growing the community over the past 7-years and I'm super excited about helping take the site to the next stage as a team. Expect an all new design, new features and lots more over the coming month or two.

Please shoot an email to keith@lotrfanfiction.com if you spot anything that's not working on the site or if you'd like to chat!

I'll post more information about the plans real soon.

Speak to you again soon,

Keith

--Keith Mander on 26/06/11 - 10:42 pm 20 Comments

Voting for the 2010 MEFAs ends on December 15, at 11:59 PM GMT. THat's a little over a week away, and there's still time to get some
reviewing in if you'd like. Feel free to join up and review any stories you would like.



Also, if you have entered draft reviews at our website, please remember that they will not be counted unless you change them over to
Hidden or Final reviews. This must be done by that December 15 deadline as well.



For information on memberships at the MEFA website please see:



http://community.livejournal.com/mefas/249389.html



Marta


MEFA Admin.



--Nieriel Raina on 03/12/10 - 10:14 pm 1 Comments

The complete Lord Of The Rings trilogy is available for purchase on Blu-ray starting today! In celebration of this, our friends over at LordOfTheRings.net have provided a generous prize package to be given away to one of our very own members.



This package includes:

*"The Fellowship Of The Ring" Blu-ray disc
* "The Two Towers" Blu-ray disc
* "The Return Of The King" Blu-ray disc
* Five Bookmarks
* One Navy Blue Ornament
* One deck of LOTR Playing Cards
* One Travel Candle
* One Poster

To be eligible for this contest:

1.) You must be a US resident of at least 18 years of age.

2.) You must be a member of LotRFanfiction.com who has held an account here for a minimum of three weeks.

To enter:

Please send an email to webmaster@lotrfanfiction.com with the subject line "LotR Blu-ray Giveaway". Include your screenname and a link to your profile in the body of the email.

** Each person is permitted one entry. However, members who choose to make a donation of any size to the site hosting fund will be granted one additional entry.

The winner will be announced here on the site on Wednesday, September 22 and will also be notified via email.

Thank you!

--Adora on 14/09/10 - 08:49 pm 3 Comments

This is a relatively young Livejournal Fanfiction award group.

The nomination process is similar to the MEFA's, where the nominee must give the name of the story, a link, and an author email, also categories, such as Love, Relationship, etc but the voting process is much simpler: once the story is posted on the community, a member simply clicks 'Yes,' below the story to indicate that they believe the story deserves a Vintage Award.

To become a member, simply go to the community and join. The moderator will send you an email confirming your membership and you may then have access to nominate stories, or to look through the list of stories already nominated and to vote.

Unlike the MEFA's this community does accept NC17 stories as well as the lower ratings.

Many thanks, and take care,
Siân
http://community.livejournal.com/vintage_awards/

--Adora on 08/07/10 - 10:06 pm 0 Comments

Please be sure to hit the new "like" button over on the left sidebar to become a fan of the site!

--Adora on 18/06/10 - 11:03 am 2 Comments

Hey guys,



The Middle-earth Fanfiction Awards are currently accepting nominations for our 2010 awards. But not for long! Our nomination period will end on June 15, in just 10 days, so please get your nominations in now.



To nominate stories you must be a member of the MEFAwards Yahoo group. When you join this group you will be given a username and password at the awards website, where you can nominate stories. Please allow 24 hours for this information to be emailed to you; your Yahoo log-in information will not work.



If after 24 hours you haven't received a password please email mefasupport(.at.)mefawards(.dot.)net - I will look into the situation for you and send you your password ASAP.



Once you have your log-in information, you may nominate stories and vote for other peoples' nominations at:



http://mefawards.net/MEFA2010/



In the meantime you can begin familiarizing yourself with the site by using the "log in as guest" option.



REMEMBER:


--- you may nominate a piece until 11:59 PM GMT on June 15.

--- authors must finalize a nomination by 11:59 PM GMT on June 21, or it will not be able to compete. We really appreciate it if you can finish your form a day or two early, in case anything needs correcting.




(For the official time go to any MEFA2010 webpage. The time that page was loaded at will be displayed in the lower left corner, beside "Page Served at:".



Thanks,



Marta (MEFA Admin.)

--Nieriel Raina on 05/06/10 - 10:06 pm 0 Comments

The 2010 Middle-earth Fanfiction Awards have officially begun. We are accepting nominations from now until June 15, and would love to include your favorite stories, poems, essays, and other fanfic.



For an overview of what pieces are eligible and which aren't, as well as a run-down of some important changes to the 2010 awards, see



MEFA Livejournal Community



If you would like to nominate stories, you will need to join the Yahoo group MEFAwards.



MEFA Yahoo Group



Anyone who joins that group will be able to nominate up to twenty pieces of Tolkien fanfic, either their own or someone else's. Nominated authors will be able to vote in the awards but need to join the MEFAwards group in order to nominate stories.



Thanks in advance for your participation and interest! If you have questions, please email me: mefasupport-at-gmail-dot-com.



Marta (MEFA Admin.)


--Nieriel Raina on 15/05/10 - 12:33 pm 0 Comments