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From the Editor

So, here we are with the May issue of the journal of the Festival. You will see some differences - the first is that after editing four very highly acclaimed issues of the journal, our original editor Colin Duriez has handed the reins over to me. I would like to thank Colin very much for setting such a high standard in the journal, and I hope that we can take this forward and reach as many people as we can with the journal in the future. Colin has done such a wonderful job of bringing the journal to where it now is and he will be on hand to advise and help out as we develop the journal further. I would like to welcome all readers and potential contributors to the journal - this is your publication, so if there is something you would like to see in it, just contact me and we can find out if we can incorporate your wishes. If there is an article that you can offer, please do so as it will always be welcome. I am looking to covering as broad a range of subjects and interest areas as we possibly can.

As a means of starting some dialogue between the editor and readers, I have included a short article of mine that have recent thoughts about character development in The Hobbit. I invite any comments or thoughts on this - and indeed on any subject that the readers would like to air their views on. This is my way of being proactive and seeing if we might get as much inclusion and discussion as we can in this monthly journal - it is a powerful forum for fast dialogue between its readers.

After a very successful Preview event for artwork in late March, we now look forward to the main event in August. It might be timely to consider the sheer scale of what is about to take place near Aberystwyth this summer. We have not seen this number of important authors and authorities on JRR Tolkien converge on one place at one time in the UK, giving both academic and more general talks since the Tolkien Society hosted the Tolkien Centenary Conference at Keble College, Oxford with the Mythopoeic Society of America back in 1992. That’s almost twenty years, and much has happened since then - most especially the making and release of the highly successful and critically acclaimed movies directed by Peter Jackson. The Lord of the Rings movies brought JRR Tolkien’s works to many millions of people who had never read them and were unlikely to do so otherwise, and so the interest in Tolkien and his writings has never been greater than it is today. As well as this, we have seen the completion of the publication of the History of Middle earth series by Christopher Tolkien, as well as the Children of Hurin and Sigurd and Gudrun. In addition, many important scholarly studies of Tolkien’s works have appeared which open valuable insights into his creativity. Many of the authors of these scholarly studies will be at the Festival this summer to give talks.

So, this is not an event to be missed - certainly not as so many of the Tolkien authorities who will be attending are travelling here from the USA and are rarely seen or heard in the UK in such circumstances where ordinary Tolkien fans in UK and Europe can gain access and listen to them. Let us hope that the event will be the success it deserves to be - and here is hoping that all Tolkien fans will choose to come along to what is a very special Festival and enjoy the fellowship and enthusiasm of everyone there.

I would wish to raise the level of anticipation for The Festival and so another new feature in this issue is an article about Aberystwyth, the nearest town to the venue for the event. It will also act as an introduction to the region for those who are attending The Festival.

Alex Lewis