Do you love The Hobbit? Do you love to draw? Then this contest is for you!

Harper Collins, the Tolkien publisher in the UK, is holding a contest for a fantastic prize. Use your artistic skills to create an artwork of Smaug for a chance to win a copy of your illustration on canvas and a collection of Hobbit books! So grab a piece of paper and some pencils and start drawing what YOU think Smaug looks like! The contest will run until December 13, 2013. You can enter the contest at this link. 

A Q&A article by Tolkien Scholar Michael Martinez

Here is a very interesting article that discusses the pros and cons of the fidelity (or lack thereof) book based movies have towards the book. Michael Martinez notes the difficulty of making a movie faithful to the book, especially Tolkien books, where main characters commonly die, and rights to much of Middle-earth's history is out of reach to Peter Jackson. He concludes by saying that Peter Jackson's changes are overall beneficial, if only because the characters are fleshed out and we learn more about them. 

Peter Jackson is not the only one making a Hobbit film!

Director Johan Zandbergen is currently overseeing the production of a fan-made, feature-length, animated The Hobbit, which is set to come out by Christmas 2014. All evidence suggests that we will be in for a treat. According to Tolkien Brasil, the script is "very faithful to the books and presents the childish tone that Tolkien’s work expresses, without losing the air of Middle-earth and seriousness of the mission of the dwarves." 

Eight high-resolution images!

Coinciding with the trailer, Warner Bros. has released a few high-res stills from the trailer. Click on an image to see the full-size version.

And new trailer details! 

The news is just in! The first official poster for The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug has just been released, along with some new information concerning the first teaser trailer!  It will debut June 11 at 1pm EDT, just two days from now, so check back then to see the first trailer for The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug!

A new arrival at United Cutlery!

An awesome new replica of the Sword of Kili has just been added to The Hobbit collection of United Cutlery. Meticulously detailed and made from the highest-quality materials, this sword is almost an exact copy of the prop they used for the movie, and you can own one for yourself for only $150!

Here's your chance to see Tolkien's original manuscripts!

Over the past sixty or so years, the original Tolkien manuscripts have been in the possession of the Marquette Libraries' Department of Special Collections. The department will conduct a total of ten showings of selected manuscripts over the next two years. Better still, they are open to both the campus community and the general public, no reservation required. Jump over to the Marquette University website to get more details »

The most famous weapon in Middle-earth!

And the bluest, too! From just watching the movies, or even by reading The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, you find very little concerning the history of Sting. It takes a great deal of delving into the Appendices and the more obscure Tolkien texts to piece this sword's complicated history together. Thankfully, you will not have to do that. Here is a complete compilation of the history of Sting! 

The truth behind one of the most misunderstood names in Middle-earth.

Contrary to popular belief, the Shire is not supposed to represent England. The name does not denote a special relationship to England. So why is it called 'The Shire,' an archaic English word?

Was Gollum's name derived from the name of a cave?

Did the wild, lunar landscape of the Irish Burren in County Clare have an impact on J.R.R. Tolkien's mythical Middle-earth? 

Jerry Vanderstelt's weekly Facebook highlight!

"In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit..."

- The Hobbit

And he went on a very unexpected journey...

No hobbits! 

An awesome book shadowed by the glory of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. A fan-made trailer for a movie not in production. An actor who would like to play a younger Gandalf. And great grief because Christopher Tolkien refuses to sell its rights to The Silmarillion!

The hobbit who slew a goblin in one blow!
This is the complete story of Bullroarer Took, famous for his extraordinary height (four feet five inches), his astounding victory at the Battle of the Greenfields, and inventing the game of golf! 

Warner Bros. claims that the Tolkien Estate has breached their contract.
First, the Tolkien Estate sued The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit producers, including Warner Bros. for breaching the written contract. Second, the Saul Zaentz Co., rightsholder to The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit, claimed that the Tolkien Estate has breached an unwritten agreement. Now, Warner Bros. counter-sues the Tolkien Estate! 

tolkienbrasil.com recently posted some interesting information that confirms the possibility of the creation of a Middle-earth theme park. You see, before he died, J.R.R. Tolkien sold the film, stage and merchandise rights for The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings to United Artists. United Artists never got around to doing anything with the rights, so they eventually got sold to Tolkien Enterprises, now known as the Middle-earth Enterprises, a division of the Saul Zaents Company. Now, the aforementioned website found a document for the U.S. Patent Office (shown above), in which the Saul Zaents Company has registered several uses for Middle-earth properties that includes theme parks. It is dated January 22, 2013. If you keep up with Tolkien news, then you will remember a few rumors floating around a few months ago about a Middle-earth theme park. This at least confirms these rumors. Then again, this document may have just been created to protect the Zaents Company rights. If the theme park actually was constructed, it is unclear whether it would be in New Zealand, or in one of the popular locations in the US, such as Florida or California. However, the park would only contain content from The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, since those are the only books Tolkien ever sold the rights to. A pity!

Ninety-five thousand, six hundred seventy-four to be exact. Here is a fantastic piece of stained glass artwork by Jian Guo, which tells the story of The Hobbit. He seems to have included every scene of consequence, with perhaps the exception being a brief ending. I will admit, though, that it would be hard to include a description of the Battle of Five Armies in a picture, as all the armies need to be included, and their alliances be made clear. Overall, I think he did very well. To find out more about this piece of artwork, visit this link. 

If you have gone to see The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, then you heard the name 'Dol Guldur' mentioned several times. You have probably also heard is elsewhere, either in a Tolkien book you read or on a Tolkien website, such as The Blog of the Hobbit. Chances are, you do not know that much about it. The movie gives a brief explanation of its ownership and history, but it is very brief. And, unless you have delved in the more obscure and difficult of Tolkien's books, you have heard just as vague and brief description. So, that is why I am about to tell you all there is to know about this dark fortress and why there is such a big fuss about it in Middle Earth.
Sauron, it happened to be, was not the first inhabitant of this foul castle. Many ages ago, over 4000 years before Bilbo found the ring, Amon Lanc, the Bald Hill, the hill upon which Dol Guldur was built, was populated by elves. Then, Mirkwood was known as the Greenwood the Great, and Amon Lanc was the capital of the Silvan elves of Oropher, who was the father of Thranduil. During the Second Age, however, the elves gradually migrated north to the Emyn Duir, the Black Mountains, later known as the Mountains of Mirkwood. It is sometimes said that they felt the power of Sauron was growing again, and decided to flee. It is also said that they distrusted the strength of the Dwarves of Moria and the meddling of  Galadriel and Celeborn in Lórien. Whatever the reason, Amon Lanc was deserted when Sauron came.

This post will contain a summary of what I think will happen in The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug. I may be correct in my assumptions, but then again, I may be a mile off the mark. I will go through the book and the photos that have been released and try to draw parallels, creating a rough sketch of what the movie will be like. There is a potential possibility for SPOILERS, so I warn you, if you want to be completely surprised by the next movie, do not proceed beyond the break. 
I will summarize each chapter and compare it with pictures and then combine the lot with my personal thoughts. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey goes through Chapter VI of The Hobbit, so it is safe to assume that The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug will begin in Chapter VII.

In 1978, the American Tolkien Society declared September 22 to be 'Hobbit Day', because it is the anniversary of The Hobbit's publication. Also, this years happens to be the 75th anniversary, so it is extra special. Peter Jackson's Facebook page has announced the release of the next trailer for The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey via a video, which you can watch below. You just have to wait three more days, because it will be revealed on the 19th. Sadly, this trailer will probably not feature and music composed by Howard Shore, but we do know that it will feature music from Immediate Music's album QUANTUM. The trailer, which is two minutes twenty-five seconds long, will be rated PG.

The results of npr's annual summer reader's survey of the top 100 teen books have come in. Not surprisingly, The Hobbit, by J.R.R. Tolkien, came in fifth. The Lord of the Rings, by the same author, came in seventh. Below you can see the top ten.

1. Harry Potter (series), by J.K. Rowling

2. The Hunger Games (series), by Suzanne Collins

3. To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee

4. The Fault in Our Stars, by John Green

5. The Hobbit, by J.R.R. Tolkien

6. The Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger

7. The Lord of the Rings (series), by J.R.R. Tolkien

8. Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury

9. Looking for Alaska, by John Green

10. The Book Thief, by Markus Zusak