About

Thanks for visiting my website.

I am Professor of Fantasy and Children’s Literature at the University of Glasgow, and Co-Director of the Centre for Fantasy and the Fantastic. I am an expert on J.R.R. Tolkien and fantasy literature. My first monograph Tolkien, Race and Cultural History: From Fairies to Hobbits (Palgrave Macmillan, 2008) won the Mythopoeic Scholarship award in Inklings Studies. I have also co-edited the first critical edition on Tolkien’s essay “A Secret Vice”, in which he theorizes language invention as part of coherent worldbuilding (A Secret Vice: Tolkien on Invented Languages, HarperCollins, 2016). The book won the Tolkien Society Award for Best Book 2017. My latest monograph is titled Celtic Myth in Contemporary Children’s Fantasy: Idealization, Identity, Ideology (Palgrave Macmillan, 2017). Based on adaptation theory, reception studies, as well as archival research and interviews with authors, the book focuses on the construction of “Celtic” identities in contemporary fantasy novels for younger readers, both in the British Isles and in their Diasporas. The book was runner-up for the Katharine Briggs Folklore Award and won the Mythopoeic Scholarship Award in Myth and Fantasy Studies. See under Books for more information and visit the Articles and Essays section for free access to some of my shorter academic and journalistic works.

I have been interviewed by and consulted on national and international radio and TV (BBC Four, BBC Radio 4, BBC Radio 2, BBC Radio Wales, BBC Radio Scotland, History Channel). I have consulted on projects such as Literature Wales’s Land of Legends and I was one of the judges of the Wales Book of the Year Award 2017. I am an alumna of the Welsh Crucible Programme (2017).

I am co-editor of the Perspectives on Fantasy book series (Bloomsbury Academic). I have sat on the editorial boards of the Journal of Tolkien Research, the Journal of the Fantastic in the Arts, and the Literary Encyclopedia and I am a member of the advisory boards of Walking Tree Publishers, the Routledge Imaginary Worlds Book Series, and I Quaderni di Arda.

Feel free to contact me via the Contact page.

Below you can find an extended list of my activities (publications, public talks, keynote lectures, media appearances, etc.). For particular highlights and pages with dedicated material please see the menu above.

Professor Dimitra Fimi

Curriculum Vitae

 

ACADEMIC APPOINTMENTS

2018-currently: Professor of Fantasy and Children’s Literature, English Literature, School of Critical Studies, University of Glasgow (from 2020, also co-Director for the Centre for Fantasy and the Fantastic)

2009-2018: Senior Lecturer in English, Department of Humanities, Cardiff Metropolitan University

2009-2010: Associate Lecturer, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, Open University

2004-2009: Associate Lecturer, Centre for Lifelong Learning, Cardiff University

 

ACADEMIC QUALIFICATIONS

2006                Ph.D. English Literature, Cardiff University

2002                M.A. Early Celtic Studies, Cardiff University

2000                B.A. English Language and Literature, University of Athens

 

PUBLICATIONS

Monographs

Celtic Myth in Contemporary Children’s Fantasy: Idealization, Identity, Ideology. London: Palgrave Macmillan, 2017.

Tolkien, Race and Cultural History: From Fairies to Hobbits. Basingstoke, UK: Palgrave Macmillan, 2008.

Critical Edition from MSS

Tolkien, J.R.R. A Secret Vice: Tolkien on Invented Languages, edited by Dimitra Fimi and Andrew Higgins. London: HarperCollins, 2016. [Paperback, 2020]

Journal Articles

‘Gnomes, Gnature, and the “Gnifty Gnomobile”: Elemental Spirits, Deforestation and Energy Systems in Transition in Upton Sinclair’s The Gnomobile‘, Children’s Literature in Education, 2022. Available at: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10583-022-09507-7 (Open Access)

‘Language as Communication vs. Language as Art: J.R.R. Tolkien and Early 20th-Century Radical Linguistic Experimentation’, Journal of Tolkien Research, 5(1), 2018, pp. 1-28. Available at: https://scholar.valpo.edu/journaloftolkienresearch/vol5/iss1/2/ (Open Access)

‘The “Ancient Celtic Year” in Contemporary Children’s Fantasy’, Gramarye: The Journal of the Chichester Centre for Folklore, Fairy Tales, and Fantasy, 11, pp. 51-63.

‘Tolkien and Folklore: Sellic Spell and The Lay of Beowulf‘, Mallorn: The Journal of the Tolkien Society, 55, 2014, pp. 27-8. Available at: https://journals.tolkiensociety.org/mallorn/article/view/56/50 (Open Access)

‘Between Greece and Northwestern Europe: the fairy tales of Penelope Delta’, Fastitocalon: Studies in Fantasticism Ancient to Modern, 2 (1), 2012, pp. 97-112.

‘Teaching and Studying Tolkien’, Mallorn: The Journal of the Tolkien Society, 46, 2008, pp. 27-9. Available at: https://journals.tolkiensociety.org/mallorn/article/view/100/94 (Open Access)

‘A Note on Túrin and Oedipus’, Silver Leaves, 1, 2007, pp. 9-10.

‘Tolkien’s “‘Celtic’ type of legends”: Merging Traditions’, Tolkien Studies, 4, 2007, pp. 51-71.

‘“Mad Elves” and “Elusive Beauty”: Some Celtic Strands of Tolkien’s Mythology’, Folklore, 117 (2), 2006, pp. 156-170. [Translated into Spannish: ‘De Elfos “locos” y “belezza elusiva”: algunos filamentos celtas en la mitología de Tolkien’, J.R.R. Tolkien y la Tierra Media, Spain: Candamo, 2021.]

‘“Come Sing ye Light Fairy Things Tripping so Gay”: Victorian Fairies and the Early Work of J.R.R. Tolkien’, Working with English: Medieval and Modern Language, Literature and Drama, 2, 2005, pp. 10-26. Available at: https://www.nottingham.ac.uk/english/documents/working-with-english/volume-2/fimi-come-sing-ye-light-fairy-things-tripping-so-gay-victorian-fairies-and-the-early-work-of-j.-r.-r.-tolkien.pdf (Open Access)

Chapters in Edited Books

‘Fantasies of Space and Time’, in Ming Kong, M.S., Monteiro M.d.R., Pereira Neto, M.J. (eds.), Intelligence, Creativity and Fantasy: Proceedings of the 5th International Multidisciplinary Congress PHI 2019. London: Taylor & Francis, 2019, pp. 13-20.

‘Tolkien’s Arda’, in Wolf, M. (ed.), The Routledge Companion to Imaginary Worlds. New York: Routledge, 2017, pp. 377-84.

(with Andrew Higgins) ‘Invented Languages’, in Wolf, M. (ed.), The Routledge Companion to Imaginary Worlds. New York: Routledge, 2017, pp. 21-9.

‘”Tears are the very wine of blessedness”: Joyful Sorrow in J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings‘, in Helen, Daniel (ed.), Death and Immortality in Middle-earth: Proceedings of the Tolkien Society Seminar 2016. Edinburgh: Luna Press Publishing, 2017, pp. 183-195.

‘The Past as an Imaginary World: The Case of Medievalism’, in Wolf, M. (ed.), Revisiting Imaginary Worlds: A Subcreation Studies Anthology. New York: Routledge, 2016, pp. 46-66.

‘Teaching Tolkien and Race: An Inconvenient Combination?’, in Donovan, L.A. (ed.), Approaches to Teaching J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings and Other Works. New York: MLA, 2015, pp. 144-9.

‘Later Fantasy Fiction’, in Lee, S. (ed.), A Companion to J.R.R. Tolkien. Oxford: Blackwell, 2014, pp. 335-49. [Revised for 2022 revised and expanded edition.]

‘“Wildman of the Woods”: Inscribing Tragedy on the Landscape of Middle-earth in The Children of Húrin’, in Conrad-O’Brien, H. and Hynes, G. (eds.), Tolkien: The Forest and the City. Dublin: Four Courts Press, 2013, pp. 43-56. [Translated into Greek: ‘«Αγριάνθρωπος των Δασών»: εγγράφοντας (οιδιπόδεια) τραγωδία στο Τοπίο της Μέσης-γης’, Επιδράσεις της Αρχαίας Ελληνικής Γραμματείας στο Έργο του Τζ.Ρ.Ρ. Τόλκιν = Echoes of Ancient Greek Literature in the Work of J.R.R. Tolkien, Athens: Kedros, 2021.]

‘Tolkien and the Fantasy Tradition’, in Whitehead, C. (ed.), Critical Insights: The Fantastic. CA: Salem Press, 2012, pp. 40-60

‘Filming folklore: adapting fantasy for the big screen through Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings‘, in Bogstad, J.M. and Kaveny, P.E. (eds.), Picturing Tolkien: Essays on Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings Trilogy. Jeferson, N.C.: McFarland, 2011, pp. 84-103.

‘Material Culture and Materiality in Middle-earth: Tolkien and Archaeology’, in Wells, Sarah (ed.), The Ring Goes Ever On: Proceedings of the Tolkien 2005 Conference, Vol. 2. Coventry: The Tolkien Society, 2008, pp. 339-344.

‘Tolkien and old Norse antiquity: real and romantic links in material culture‘, in Clark, D. and Phelpstead, C. (eds.), Old Norse Made New: Essays on the Post-Medieval Reception of Old Norse Literature and Culture. Viking Society for Northern Research: London, 2007, pp. 83-90.

Entries in Reference Works

‘Ursula Le Guin: Biographical Profile’, in Clark, Robert (ed.) The Literary Encyclopedia, 2008. Available at: http://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=5219

‘Peter and Wendy’, in Clark, Robert (ed.) The Literary Encyclopedia, 2008. Available at: http://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=2836

‘The Little White Bird’, in Clark, Robert (ed.) The Literary Encyclopedia, 2008. Available at: http://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=329

‘Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens’, in Clark, Robert (ed.) The Literary Encyclopedia, 2008. Available at: http://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=2832

‘Unfinished Tales’, in Clark, Robert (ed.) The Literary Encyclopedia, 2008. Available at: http://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=5219

‘Victorian Fairyology’, in Drout, M. (ed.), The J. R. R. Tolkien Encyclopedia: Scholarship and Critical Assessment. New York: Routledge, pp. 186-7.

‘Greece: Reception of Tolkien, in Drout, M. (ed.), The J. R. R. Tolkien Encyclopedia: Scholarship and Critical Assessment. New York: Routledge, pp. 257-8.

Books Edited

(with Alistair J.P. Sims) Imagining the Celtic Past in Modern Fantasy. Perspectives on Fantasy series. London: Bloomsbury, 2023.

(with Thomas Honegger) Sub-creating Arda: World-building in J.R.R. Tolkien’s Works, its Precursors, and Legacies. Walking Tree Publishers: Zurich, 2019.

(with Dimitrios Kolovos) Επιδράσεις της Αρχαίας Ελληνικής Γραμματείας στο Έργο του Τζ.Ρ.Ρ. Τόλκιν = Echoes of Ancient Greek Literature in the Work of J.R.R. Tolkien. Athens: Kedros, 2021.

Journal Special Issue Edited

(with Thomas Honegger and Allan Turner) Special Issue: “Fantastic Languages – The Language of the Fantastic”, Fastitocalon: Studies in Fantasticism Ancient to Modern, 9, 2020.

Translation

Thomas H. Crofts (ed.) The Old Knight: An Edition of the Greek Arthurian Poem of Vat. Gr. 1822. with a translation by Thomas H. Crofts and Dimitra Fimi, Arthurian Literature, 33, 2016, pp. 158-83.

Book/Film/TV reviews (selected)

Review of Amazon Prime’s The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, “The road goes ever on Ringing the changes in Tolkien’s Middle-earth”, The Times Literary Supplement, 23 September 2022. Available at: https://www.the-tls.co.uk/articles/the-lord-of-the-rings-the-rings-of-power-arts-review-dimitra-fimi/

Review of Topologies of the Classical World in Children’s Fiction: Palimpsests, Maps, and Fractals, by C. Nelson and A. Morey. The Classical Review, 71 (1), 2021, pp. 231-234.

Review of Pipers at the Gates of Dawn: The Wisdom of Children’s Literature, by Jonathan Cott. Journal of the Fantastic in the Arts, 31 (3), 2020, pp. 474-477.

Review of Ebony Elizabeth Thomas’s The Dark Fantastic, “Dark others: Black girls and fantasy fiction”, The Times Literary Supplement, 1 November 2019. Available at: https://www.the-tls.co.uk/articles/dark-others/

Review of Tolkien (2019) biopic by Dome Karukoski, “Linguistics, mythology and tea: Love, study, friendship and war: J. R. R. Tolkien’s early life”, The Times Literary Supplement, 17 May 2019, p. 22. Available at: https://www.the-tls.co.uk/articles/linguistics-mythology-and-tea/

Review of The Lay of Aotrou and Itroun, by J.R.R. Tolkien, edited by Verlyn Flieger, and The Lay of Aotrou and Itroun, by J.R.R. Tolkien, edited by Aleksandar Mikić, with the assistance of Elizabeth Currie. Tolkien Studies, 14, 2017, pp. 184-191.

Review of The Story of Kullervo, by J.R.R. Tolkien, ed. by Verlyn Flieger. Journal of Tolkien Research, 3 (1), 2016, available at: https://scholar.valpo.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1038&context=journaloftolkienresearch

Review of Magical Tales: Myth, Legend and Enchantment in Children’s Books, ed. by Carolyne Larrington and Diane Purkiss. Folklore, 126 (2), 2015, pp. 241-242.

Review of  The Fall of Arthur, by J.R.R. Tolkien, ed. by Christopher Tolkien. Gramarye, 6, 2014, pp. 80-2, available at: http://dimitrafimi.com/articlesandessays/review-of-j-r-r-tolkiens-the-fall-of-arthur/

Review of The Myth of Persephone in Girls’ Fantasy Literature, by Virginia Holly. Times Higher Education, 5 January 2012.

Review of Beatrix Potter: Fables to Faeries, edited by Rowena Godfrey. Folklore, 123 (1), 2012, pp. 113-4.

Review of Laughing with Medusa: Classical Myth and Feminist Thought, edited by Vanda Zajko and Miriam Leonard. Folklore, 121 (2), 2010, pp. 236-238.

Review of Concepts of Arthur, by Thomas Green. Speculum: A Journal Medieval Studies, 84 (3), 2009, pp. 722-723.

Review of Elves in Anglo-Saxon England: Matters of Belief, Health, Gender and Identity, by Alaric Hall. Folklore, 119 (3), 2008, pp. 349-51.

Review of Ents, Elves, and Eriador: The Environmental Vision of J.R.R. Tolkien, by Matthew Dickerson and Jonathan Evans. Folklore, 119 (3), 2008, pp. 351-2.

Review of Inside Language: Linguistic and Aesthetic Theory in Tolkien, by Ross Smith. Tolkien Studies, 5, 2008, pp. 229-33.

Review of The Genre of Trolls: The Case of a Finland-Swedish Folk Belief Tradition, by Camilla Asplund Ingemark. Folklore, 118 (3), 2007, pp. 365-6.

Review of Icelandic Folktales and Legends, by Jacqueline Simpson. Folklore, 118 (3), 2007, pp. 366-7.

Review of Perilous Realms: Celtic and Norse in Tolkien’s Middle-earth, by Marjorie Burns, Tolkien Studies, 3, 2006, pp. 187-190.

Newspaper/Other Media Articles

(with Mariana Rios Maldonado) ‘Lord of the Rings: debunking the backlash against non-white actors in Amazon’s new adaption’, The Conversation, 25 February 2022. Available at: https://theconversation.com/lord-of-the-rings-debunking-the-backlash-against-non-white-actors-in-amazons-new-adaption-177791

‘Tolkien and the Art of Book Reviewing’, AC Review of Books, Vol. 1, Issue 1, 2020. Available at: https://acreviewofbooks.com/blog/tolkien-and-the-art-of-book-reviewing/

‘Was Tolkien really racist?’, The Conversation, 6 December 2018. Available at: https://theconversation.com/was-tolkien-really-racist-108227

‘Welsh Legend in Susan Cooper’s The Grey King and Jenny Nimmo’s The Snow Spider‘, Family Bookworms Wales (Guest Blog), 8 May 2018. Available at: http://familybookworms.wales/2018/05/08/welsh-legend-the-grey-king-and-the-snow-spider/

‘Ursula K Le Guin’s strong female voice challenged the norms of a male-dominated genre’, The Conversation, 24 January 2018. Available at: https://theconversation.com/ursula-k-le-guins-strong-female-voice-challenged-the-norms-of-a-male-dominated-genre-90636

‘J.R.R. Tolkien’s Christmas letters to his children bring echoes of Middle-earth to the North Pole’, The Conversation, 21 December 2017. Available at: https://theconversation.com/j-r-r-tolkiens-christmas-letters-to-his-children-bring-echoes-of-middle-earth-to-the-north-pole-89464 (reprinted in The Western Mail, 23 December 2017; translated into French and published in The Conversation on 5 December 2019, as ‘Quand l’auteur du « Seigneur des anneaux » prêtait sa plume au père Noël’, available at: https://theconversation.com/quand-lauteur-du-seigneur-des-anneaux-pretait-sa-plume-au-pere-noel-125669)

‘Why build new worlds’, The Times Literary Supplement (TLS) Online, 19 September 2017. Available at: https://www.the-tls.co.uk/articles/public/fantasy-worlds-invention-restraint/

‘Alan Garner’s The Owl Service at fifty’, The Times Literary Supplement (TLS) Online, 21 August 2017. Available at: https://www.the-tls.co.uk/articles/public/alan-garner-owl-service-fifty/

‘Riddles, Heroes, and Folktales Come True: Folklore in J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings’, Folklore Thursday, 27 July 2017. Available at: http://folklorethursday.com/creative-corner/riddles-heroes-and-folktales-come-true-folklore-in-j-r-r-tolkiens-the-lord-of-the-rings

‘Dimitra Fimi talks to fantasy writer Dan Anthony about his new book The Bus Stop at the End of the World’, Wales Arts Review, 26 July 2017. Available at: http://www.walesartsreview.org/interview-dan-anthony/

‘A University View’, The Western Mail, 4 May 2017. Available at: https://www.thefreelibrary.com/A+UNIVERSITY+VIEW.-a0491073663

‘Inventing a Whole Language’, The Times Literary Supplement (TLS) Online, 17 March 2017. Available at: http://www.the-tls.co.uk/articles/public/how-to-invent-a-language-tolkien-burgess/

‘How to invent a Tolkien-style language’, The Conversation, 7 April 2016. Available at: https://theconversation.com/how-to-invent-a-tolkien-style-language-57380

‘After 150 years, we still haven’t solved the puzzle of Alice in Wonderland’, The Conversation, 3 July 2015. Available at: https://theconversation.com/after-150-years-we-still-havent-solved-the-puzzle-of-alice-in-wonderland-44049

‘Enid Blyton’s The Faraway Tree to hit the screen in latest bid to aim fantasy at grown-ups’, The Conversation, 28 October 2014. Available at: http://theconversation.com/enid-blytons-the-faraway-tree-to-hit-the-screen-in-latest-bid-to-aim-fantasy-at-grown-ups-33347

‘Join the Great Chain of Reading and be Inspired’, The Western Mail, 3 March 2011. Available at: http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/join-great-chain-reading-inspired-1843727

‘Hobbit Songs and Rhymes: Tolkien and the Folklore of Middle-earth’, LotR Plaza, March 2009. Available at: https://dimitrafimi.com/articlesandessays/hobbit-songs-and-rhymes-tolkien-and-the-folklore-of-middle-earth/

Children’s Literature and Science Projects

Listen to the Universe! (GCRF-funded pop-up book on gravitational waves for children co-authored with
astrophysicist Dr Mariela Massó Reid and illustrated by Oliver Dean). More information under Children’s Literature and Science Projects.

Tiny Alice project (collaboration with physicist Dr Daryl Beggs to create the smallest ever reproduction of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, exploring nanotechnology in tandem with Victorian children’s literature). More information under Children’s Literature and Science Projects.

Exhibition Curated

Tiny Treasures: Miniature Books from Scotland and Beyond, Special Collections, University of Glasgow Library, July-September 2019.

 

CONFERENCES

Keynote Lectures

‘Fantasies of Space and Time’. 5th International Multidisciplinary Congress Phi 2019: “Intelligence, Creativity, and Fantasy”, Sorbonne Nouvelle, Paris, 7-9 October 2019.

‘Tolkien, Folklore, and Foxes: a thoroughly vulpine talk in which there may be singing!’, Tolkien 2019, Tolkien Society, Macdonald Burlington hotel, Birmingham, 7-11 August 2019. Keynote available to watch here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rAAYOnkVnwk

‘In the blood and in the landscape: Escaping (into) the “Celtic” past in Contemporary Children’s Fantasy’. Glasgow International Fantasy Conversations, Glasgow University, 26-27 April 2018.

‘George MacDonald and Celticity’. George MacDonald’s Scotland, University of Aberdeen, 19-21 July 2017.

‘Revisiting Race in Tolkien’s Legendarium: Constructing Cultures and Ideologies in an Imaginary World’. The Politics of Contemporary Fantasy, University of Würzburg, 5-7 October 2012.

Conferences Chaired

Watership Down 50th Anniversary Conference, Centre for Fantasy and the Fantastic (University of Glasgow) and School of English, Communication and Philosophy (Cardiff University), University of Glasgow, 2-3 September 2022.

Once and Future Fantasies Conference, co-sponsored by the IAFA, Centre for Fantasy and the Fantastic, University of Glasgow, 13-17 July 2022.

Glasgow International Fantasy Conversations (GIFCon) 2021, Centre for Fantasy and the Fantastic, University of Glasgow, 28-30 April 2021.

Sessions/Panels Organised

International Medieval Congress, University of Leeds: ‘Materiality in Tolkien’s Medievalism, I’, ‘Materiality in Tolkien’s Medievalism, II’, ‘Materiality in Tolkien’s Medievalism, III’, ‘J.R.R. Tolkien: Medieval Roots and Modern Branches’, and ‘New Voices and New Topics in Tolkien Scholarship: A Round Table Discussion’, 1-4 July 2019.

International Medieval Congress, University of Leeds: ‘Memory in Tolkien’s Medievalism’, ‘J. R. R. Tolkien: Medieval Roots and Modern Branches’; ‘“New” Tolkien: Expanding the Canon’; ‘Tolkien in Context(s): A Round Table Discussion’. 2-5 July 2018.

International Medieval Congress, University of Leeds: ‘J. R. R. Tolkien: Medieval Roots and Modern Branches’; ‘“New” Tolkien: Expanding the Canon’; ‘The Road Goes Ever On: The Future of Tolkien Scholarship – A Round Table Discussion’; ‘Otherness in Tolkien’s Medievalism’. 6-9 July 2017.

International Medieval Congress, University of Leeds: ‘J. R. R. Tolkien: Medieval Roots and Modern Branches’; ‘“New” Tolkien: The Story of Kullervo and A Secret Vice – A Round Table Discussion’. 4-7 July 2016.

International Medieval Congress, University of Leeds: ‘Celtic Literature in Tolkien’s Medievalism’; ‘“New” Tolkien: The Fall of Arthur and the Beowulf Translation – A Round Table Discussion’. 6-9 July 2015.

Papers Delivered (selected)

‘Gnomes, Gnature, and the “Gnifty Gnomobile”: Elemental spirits, Deforestation, and American Car Culture’, Climate Change and the Anthropocene: the 42nd International Conference on the Fantastic in the Arts (ICFA), 18-21 March 2021. Paper available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Wyq-BhI3DA

Larsen, Kristine and Fimi, Dimitra. ‘”It Makes Me Weep to Leave Them”: The Impact of the Cheddar Gorge, Somerset, Cave System on the Imagination of J.R.R. Tolkien’. Southeastern/Northeastern Section Geological Society of America, Reston, VA, 20-22 March 2020. [Conference cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic.]

‘“Queer” Border, “Hidden Kingdom”: Perceptions of Wales in J.R.R. Tolkien’s Work’. 53rd International Congress on Medieval Studies, Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, MI, 10-13 May 2018.

‘Irishness, Folklore and Modernity in Kate Thompson’s The New Policeman’. Fantasies of Contemporary Culture, Cardiff University, 23 May 2016.

‘Tolkien and Radical Linguistic Experimentation’. 51st International Congress on Medieval Studies, Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, MI, 12–15 May 2016.

‘“Celtic” Myth and Celticity in Lloyd Alexander’s The Chronicles of Prydain’. International Medieval Congress 2015, Institute for Medieval Studies, University of Leeds, 6-9 July 2015.

‘Kipling, Tolkien and their “mythologies for England”’. Enchanted Edwardians, Third Annual Conference of the Edwardian Culture Network, in association with the University of Bristol, 30-31 March 2015.

‘Where is Avalon?:  J.R.R. Tolkien’s otherworld in the West and The Fall of Arthur’. 49th International Congress on Medieval Studies, Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, MI, 8-11 May 2014.

‘“Wildman of the Woods”: Inscribing Tragedy on the Landscape of Middle-earth in The Children of Hurin’. Tolkien: The Forest and the City, School of English, Trinity College Dublin, 21-22 September 2012.

‘“You must’ve heard of Babbitty Rabbitty!”: Fairy Tales and Folklore in J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series’. Folklore & Fantasy, A Joint conference of The Folklore Society and the Sussex Centre for Folklore, Fairy Tales and Fantasy, University of Chichester, 13-15 April 2012.

Cox, K., Fimi, D., Jordan, S. and North, K. ‘Literary Walks: Exploring Cardiff Bay through E-Learning’. Annual International Conference Education & e-Learning, Global Science and Technology Forum (GSTF), Singapore, 7-9 November 2011. [presented by K. Cox]

Cox, K., Fimi, D. and North, K. (2011) ‘Literary Tourism: Exploring Cardiff’. IV International Critical Tourism Studies Conference: Tourism Futures: Enhancing Creative & Critical Action, Welsh Centre for Tourism Research, Cardiff Metropolitan University, 2-5 July 2011.

‘Kipling, Tolkien and Romantic Anglo-Saxonism’. 46th International Congress on Medieval Studies, Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, MI, 12-15 May 2011.

‘Tolkien and the Fairies: Faith and Folklore’. 44th International Congress on Medieval Studies, Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, MI, 7-10 May 2009.

‘Tolkien’s Science Fiction Experiments’. Space, Time, Machine and Monster: A Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Conference for the Valleys, organised by Academi, University of Glamorgan, Treforest, 21 June 2008.

‘Mappa Terrae-mediae: Exploring Middle-earth Cartography and Cosmography’. International Medieval Congress 2007, Institute for Medieval Studies, University of Leeds, 9-12 July 2007.

‘Tolkien and the Metaphysics of Language’. 42nd International Congress on Medieval Studies, Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, MI, 10-13 May 2007.

‘Film Folklore and Folklore in Film in Peter Jackson’s adaptation of The Lord of the Rings’. Folklore Society Annual Conference: ‘Folklore, Film and Television: Convergences in Traditional Cultures and Popular Media’, Warburg Institute, London, 31 March-1 April 2006.

‘Tolkien and Old Norse Antiquity’, Viking Society For Northern Research Student Conference, Oxford, 26 February 2006.

‘“Tears are the Very Wine of Blessedness”: Eucatastrophe, the Sense of Loss and Despair, and Sweet Sorrow in J. R. R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings’. Sixth International Conference of the Hellenic Association for the Study of English: ‘(Re)Constructing Pain and Joy in Language, Literature, and Culture’, Athens University, 20-23 October 2005.

‘“Needless to Say They Are Not Celtic”: J. R. R. Tolkien’s Love-Hate Relationship with “Things Celtic” and How They Sneaked into His Middle-Earth Literature’. Celtic Folk Studies Conference: ‘Folklore and Identity in Celtic Cultures’, Cardiff University, 20-23 July 2005.

INVITED TALKS

‘“I hold the key”: J. R. R. Tolkien through interviews and reminiscences’, Inaugural Annual Tolkien Lecture, University of Birmingham, 27 May 2022. Lecture available to watch here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=usDl-qgsPEA

‘Tolkien’s Unfinished Tales at 40: Traffics and Discoveries, Actions and Reactions, Limits and Renewals’, Oxonmoot 2020 (online), Tolkien Society,18-20 September 2020. Talk available to watch here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YAoMasPpskk&t=424s

‘Ursula Le Guin’s A Wizard of Earthsea: Challenging Tolkienian Fantasy’, public talk, Celebrating Ursula Le Guin’s Legacy and the 50 Year Anniversary of A Wizard of Earthsea, Cardiff Book Talk, Cardiff University 19 November 2018.

‘Wings, Antennae, and Stings: Tolkien’s Creepy Crawlies’, public lecture, Insects Through the Looking-Glass: Exhibition, Story Museum Oxford and Royal Entomological Society, 23 June 2018.

‘Mythopoeia: myth-creation and Middle-earth’, panel discussion alongside Professor Dame Marina Warner and Professor Verlyn Flieger, moderated by Professor Carolyne Larrington, Tolkien: Maker of Middle-earth Exhibition, Bodleian Library, University of Oxford, 5 June 2018.

‘Sailing to the West: The Fall of Arthur, Beowulf, and Tol Eressea‘, Oxonmoot 2017, Tolkien Society, St Antony’s College, Oxford, 21-24 September 2016. Talk available to watch here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aUJOm7s23wI

‘Hallowe’en in Literature’, Newport and Gwent Literary Club, 24 October 2016.

‘Tolkien and the Art of Book Reviewing: A Circuitous Road to Middle-earth‘, Oxonmoot 2016, Tolkien Society, St Antony’s College, Oxford, 8-11 September 2016. Talk available to watch here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z7AJ7o1gO50

‘Dreaming the Middle Ages: The Past as an Imaginary World in the Works of Thomas Chatterton, J. R. R. Tolkien and Umberto Eco’, public lecture, University of Oulu, Finland, 12 November 2015.

‘Constructions of Childhood in Tolkien’s Legendarium’, Oxonmoot 2015, Tolkien Society, St Antony’s College, Oxford, 10-13 September 2015. Talk available to watch here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nWU89Hnp_JE

‘The Lord of the Rings: Tolkien’s Legacy’, panel discussion, The Oxford Research Centre in the Humanities and the Bodleian Library, Oxford University, 29 October 2015.

‘Welsh heritage for teenagers: Re-writing the Mabinogion in Alan Garner’s The Owl Service and Jenny Nimmo’s The Snow Spider’, Centre for Lifelong Learning, Cardiff University, 17 June 2015.

‘Elves, Goblins and Other ‘Fairy’ Things in The Hobbit: Tolkien’s Victorian and Edwardian Inspiration’, The Return of the Ring: Celebrating Tolkien in 2012, Tolkien Society, Loughborough University, 16-20 August 2012.

‘Tolkien’s Middle-earth: Fantasy and Reality’, public lecture, Space, Time, Machine and Monster festival, supported by Literature Wales, The Riverfront, Newport, 18-19 October 2013.

‘Chatterton’s Forgery, Feigned Manuscripts and Literary Legacy: The Case of J.R.R. Tolkien‘, public lecture, UWE Regional History Centre, in association with the Thomas Chatterton Society, M-Shed, Bristol, 15 March 2012.

‘A Taste of Tolkien: An exploration of J.R.R. Tolkien’s works, his Welsh inspirations and his influence on others’, Buckland Hall, Brecon Beacons, South Wales, supported by Literature Wales, 11 December 2011.

‘Children’s Literature and Fantasy: From The Water Babies to Harry Potter’, public lecture, Literature Wales Literature Lounge Events, St. David’s 2/Dewi Sant, Cardiff, 13 October 2011.

‘Tolkien’s Wales in the Black Mountains: A Literary Walk‘, public lecture, Literature Wales Literary Tourism Programme, in association with the Brecon Beacons National Park Authority, 30 June 2011. Extracts are available to watch here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UFapivDb-gw.

‘The Welsh Language and Tolkien’s ‘Linguistic Aesthetic’, Guest Speaker, Tolkien and Wales: A Celebration, Cardiff University, 21 May 2011.

‘Tolkien’s Welsh Inspirations, Language and Places’, public lecture, Pentyrch and District Local History Society, 25 September 2009.

‘Tales Before Tolkien: Researching the Roots of Modern Fantasy’, public lecture, Humanities Forum, Cardiff Centre for Lifelong Learning, 11 June 2009.

TEACHING

I currently teach fantasy and children’s literature at Honours and postgraduate level, and contribute to the teaching of poetry and medieval studies. My main teaching sits within the English Literature: Fantasy MLitt (University of Glasgow), which I co-convene.

RESEARCH SUPERVISION

I have supervised 3 PhD students to successful completion and currently supervise 8 more PhD students. My PhD supervision includes cross-school supervision within the University of Glasgow, with Scottish Literature, Film and TV Studies, Celtic and Gaelic, Theatre Studies, and Theology and Religion.

Completed PhDs supervised

Andrew Higgins, The Genesis of J.R.R. Tolkien’s Mythology. Cardiff Metropolitan University, 2015.

Luke Shelton, ‘Small Hands Do Them Because They Must’: examining the reception of The Lord of the Rings among young readers. University of Glasgow, 2020.

Penelope Holdaway, An Exploration of Tolkien’s Changing Visions of Faërie through his Non-Middle-earth Poetry. University of Glasgow, 2021.

For a list of students I currently supervise, including links to their projects, see my University of Glasgow profile.

OTHER ACADEMIC ACTIVITY

Awards

2019 Mythopoeic Scholarship Award in Myth and Fantasy Studies for: Celtic Myth in Contemporary Children’s Fantasy: Idealization, Identity, Ideology. London: Palgrave Macmillan. (Acceptance remarks here.)

Tolkien Society Award 2017 for Best Book for: Tolkien, J.R.R. A Secret Vice: Tolkien on Invented Languages, edited by Dimitra Fimi and Andrew Higgins. London: HarperCollins.

2010 Mythopoeic Scholarship Award in Inklings Studies 2010 for: Tolkien, Race and Cultural History: From Fairies to Hobbits. Basingstoke, UK: Palgrave Macmillan. (Acceptance remarks here.)

Esteem

Judge for the Wales Book of the Year Award 2017 (English language entries)

Alumna of the Welsh Crucible 2017 Programme (http://www.welshcrucible.org.uk/)

Editorships

Co-editor: Perspectives on Fantasy book series (Bloomsbury Academic)

Member of editorial board: Journal of Tolkien Research (2014-2023)

Member of editorial board: Journal of the Fantastic in the Arts (2019-2022)

Editor for Fantasy, Science Fiction, and Children’s Literature: The Literary Encyclopedia (2017-2022)

Literary Encyclopedia Entries commissioned and edited:

1. Hugh Lofting (biographical profile), by Graeme Davis
2. Peter S. Beagle (biographical profile), by Dennis Wilson Wise
3. K. Jemisin (biographical profile), by Kim Wickham
4. Richard Adams (biographical profile), by Graeme Davis
5. George R. R. Martin (biographical profile), by Lars Johnson, Lars
6. Poul Anderson (biographical profile), by Dennis Wilson Wise
7. Charles Hamilton (biographical profile), by Graeme Davis
8. Jane Johnson (biographical profile), by Pamela Price
9. Ellenor Fenn (biographical profile), by Pamela Price
10. Gregory Maguire (biographical profile), by Karen Graham
11. Judy Blume (biographical profile), by Leah Phillips
12. Stephen R. Donaldson (biographical profile), by Dennis Wilson Wise
13. Michael Ende (biographical profile), by Sonia García de Alba Lobeira
14. Philip Pullman (biographical profile), by Chris Willis, Steve Barfield, Katharine Cox, and Kris Swank
15. Thomas Hughes (biographical profile), by Graeme Davis
16. Matilda (Roald Dahl), by Paola Trimarco
17. The Water Babies (Charles Kingsley), by Kris Swank
18. The Once and Future King (T.H. White), by Gabriel Schenk
19. A Wizard of Earthsea (Ursula K. Le Guin), by Luke Shelton
20. The Tombs of Atuan (Ursula K. Le Guin), by Luke Shelton
21. The Farthest Shore (Ursula K. Le Guin), by Luke Shelton
22. Tehanu: The Last Book of Earthsea (Ursula K. Le Guin), by Luke Shelton
23. The Other Wind (Ursula K. Le Guin), by Luke Shelton
24. Farmer Giles of Ham (J.R.R. Tolkien), by Davis Graeme
25. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (J.K. Rowling), by Graeme Davis
26. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (J.K. Rowling), by Graeme Davis
27. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (J.K. Rowling), by Graeme Davis
28. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (J.K. Rowling), by Graeme Davis
29. Kinder- und Hausmärchen (Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm), by Stewart Crehan
30. The Left Hand of Darkness (Ursula K. Le Guin), by Taylor Driggers
31. The Dispossessed (Ursula K. Le Guin), by Dennis Wilson Wise
32. Junk (Melvin Burgess), by Leah Phillips
33. Forever (Judy Blume), by Leah Phillips
34. Tom Brown’s School Days (Thomas Hughes), by Graeme Davis
35. The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, the Unbeliever (Stephen Donaldson), by Dennis Wilson Wise
36. Der Spiegel im Spiegel (Michael Ende), by Sonia García de Alba Lobeira
37. Five on a Treasure Island (Enid Blyton), by Graeme Davis
38. The Story of Doctor Dolittle (Hugh Lofting), by Graeme Davis
39. The Last Unicorn (Peter S. Beagle), by Dennis Wilson Wise
40. Broken Earth series (N.K. Jemisin), by Kim Wickham
41. The Eagle of the Ninth (Rosemary Sutcliff), by Graeme Davis
42. Watership Down (Richard Adams), by Graeme Davis
43. The Story of the Treasure Seekers (Edith Nesbit), by Matthew Creasy
44. Five Children and It (Edith Nesbit), by Matthew CreasyThe Railway Children (Edith Nesbit), by Matthew Creasy
45. A Game of Thrones (George R.R. Martin), by Lars Johnson
46. A Clash of Kings (George R.R. Martin), by Lars Johnson
47. A Storm of Swords (George R.R. Martin), by Lars Johnson
48. A Feast for Crows (George R.R. Martin), by Lars Johnson
49. Billy Bunter novels (Charles Harold St John Hamilton), by Graeme Davis
50. The Broken Sword (Poul Anderson), by Dennis Wilson Wise
51. The Governess; or Little Female Academy (Sarah Fielding), by Pamela Price

Peer-review

I have peer-reviewed book proposals and book manuscripts for Palgrave Macmillan, Routledge, Bloonsbury, and Bodleian Library Publishing, and articles for English, Humanities, Journal of the Fantastic in the Arts, Journal of Tolkien Research, Mythlore, and Tolkien Studies.

 

MEDIA

Audible

Audible original course (via The Great Courses) “The World of J.R.R. Tolkien”. 10 lectures, 4 hrs and 42 mins.

Radio and TV and Web Video (selected)

“Our Sacred Story”, BBC Radio 4: Archive on 4, 7 November 2020. Available at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000p60n

“Interview on Tiny Alice project and miniature book exhibition”, BBC Radio Scotland: Good Morning Scotland, 10 July 2019.

“J.R.R. Tolkien: Literature Showcase“, TRT World, 4 September 2018.

“Interview on the publication of Tolkien’s Beren and Luthien”, BBC Radio Wales: Good Morning Wales, 2 June 2017 (recording available under “Media”).

“Tolkien: The Lost Recordings”, BBC Radio 4: Archive on 4, 6 August 2016. Available at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b07mvd5z.

“Celebrating Alice”, BBC Radio Wales Arts Show, 2 December 2015. Details:  http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b06qdh6k (recording available under “Media”).

“How was The Lord of the Rings influenced by World War One?”, BBC iWonder guide, 2014, original URL: http://www.bbc.co.uk/guides/zgr9kqt (archived here).

“Why do the Elves in The Hobbit sound Welsh?”, BBC iWonder guide, 2014, original URL: http://www.bbc.co.uk/guides/z2hthyc (archived here).

“Interview on Tolkien and fantasy literature”, Deutschlandfunk: Der Zauber magischer Welten. 10 October 2012.

“Christmas in folklore and literature”, BBC Radio Wales: Jamie and Louise Show, 20 December 2011 (recording available under “Media”).

“Interview on 7th Harry Potter film (Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1)”, BBC Radio Wales: Jamie and Louise Show, 12 November 2010 (recording available under “Media”).

“Tolkien’s Welsh connections and inspirations”, BBC Radio Wales: Good Evening Wales, 29 October 2009 (recording available under “Media”).

“Clash of the Gods” series, History Channel: Episode 8: Beowulf (28 September 2009), Episode 9: Tolkien’s Monsters (5 October 2009), Episode 10: Thor (12 October 2009).

“Food in Literature”, BBC Radio 4: Woman’s Hour, 2 July 2007. Available at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/womanshour/04/2007_27_mon.shtml

Podcasts

“One Pod to Rule Them All: “Θα άρεσαν στον Tolkien οι διασκευές του; (με τη Δήμητρα Φήμη)“, POP για τις Δύσκολες Ώρες Podcast, 11 March 2022.

“A Conversation with Dr. Dimitra Fimi“, Longwinded One: The Podcast, S03E14, 30 March 2020.

“Dimitra Fimi“, The Tolkien Experience Podcast, Episode 1, 3 January 2020.

“Live from Tolkien 2019“, The Prancing Pony Podcast – 136, August 2019 (Dr Fimi’s interview begins at 01:24:46)

“Interview with Dimitra Fimi and Shaun Gunner“, TolkCast – Der Tolkien Podcast, 2019.

“Tolkien’s Secret Vice: An Interview with Dimitra Fimi and Andrew Higgins“, The Prancing Pony Podcast – 020, December 2016.

Interviews (selected)

“A rich world to be immersed in: interview with Dimitra Fimi”, tolkienista.com, 26 February 2021.

“Interview with Dimitra Fimi“, PHI Congress 2019, Paris, October 2019.

“When Dimitris met Dimitra Fimi“, tolkien.gr, 19 January 2019.

Interview with Dimitra Fimi and Andrew Higgins on the occasion of the publication of A Secret Vice, tolkiendil.com, April 2016. English version here. French version here.

“Interview with Dr. Dimitra Fimi on lecturing online Tolkien courses“, Tolkien Library, 5 September 2012.

“Exclusive: Q&A Interview with Dr. Dimitra Fimi“, Middle-earth News, 15 April 2011.

“Tolkien: British at heart? An interview with Dimitra Fimi“, Festival in the Shire Journal, Issue 3 (2010)

Consultation

Sleuths, Spies & Sorcerers: Andrew Marr’s Paperback Heroes: Episode 2: Fantasy, BBC 4, 2016 (consultant).

“Land of Legends” digital map (2017), funded by Visit Wales, linking Welsh landscape with literary works. The website features my research on J.R.R. Tolkien, Alan Garner, and Susan Cooper (consultant, contributing author).