Fantasy Literature

George MacDonald and one of Tolkien’s most quotable lines

I’ve been re-reading many of the works of George MacDonald recently, in preparation for my keynote lecture at the George MacDonald’s Scotland conference at the University of Aberdeen next week (https://gmdscotland.wordpress.com/). My lecture is titled “George MacDonald and Celticity”, and…

By Dimitra Fimi | 9th July 2017 | Books, Conferences, Fantasy Literature, Tolkien | 2 Comments |

Beren and Lúthien: Some First Thoughts (and radio interview)

J.R.R. Tolkien’s Beren and Lúthien, edited by Christopher Tolkien, was published yesterday. The book is an attempt by Christopher Tolkien to extract one of the most beautiful, moving, and personal stories of his father’s ‘legendarium’ into a standalone book, allowing the…

By Dimitra Fimi | 2nd June 2017 | Books, Fantasy Literature, Folklore, Interviews, Media, Myth and Folklore, Tolkien, Worldbuilding | No Comments |

Tolkien and the Art of Book Reviewing: A Circuitous Road to Middle-earth

The Tolkien Society has just uploaded on YouTube my talk for Oxonmoot 2016, titled: “Tolkien and the Art of Book Reviewing: A Circuitous Road to Middle-earth”. I thought, therefore, that it would be a good idea to publish the text of…

By Dimitra Fimi | 17th May 2017 | Books, Fantasy Literature, Public Lecture, Tolkien | No Comments |

How Social Media Has Helped my Research (or, the kindness of strangers!)

This is a title I never thought I’d write! But, having finished another book (submitted exactly a year ago today!) I’m in that reflective mood again, thinking back to some important moments and turning points. Researching and writing a monograph…

By Dimitra Fimi | 1st May 2017 | Books, Celtic Myth, Children's Fantasy, Children's Literature, Fantasy Literature, Interviews, Irish myth and folklore, Lloyd Alexander, Media, Welsh myth an folklore | 2 Comments |

Literary Tourism: Wales, Land of Legends

Literature Wales (http://www.literaturewales.org/) launched today their new literary tourism website: Land of Legends – http://www.landoflegends.wales/. This was a project funded by Visit Wales (http://www.visitwales.com/) and I was delighted to have been one of the consultants on literary connections of specific…

By Dimitra Fimi | 12th April 2017 | Celtic Myth, Children's Fantasy, Children's Literature, Fantasy Literature, Folklore, Literature Wales, Media, Myth and Folklore, Welsh myth an folklore | No Comments |

Article on Invented Languages on the Times Literary Supplement (TLS) Online

I have had a new article published today on the Times Literary Supplement (TLS) Online, titled: “Inventing a Whole Language”. In this article I discuss imaginary languages, from early modern traveller’s tales and Victorian fantasy, to Tolkien, of course, as well…

By Dimitra Fimi | 17th March 2017 | A Secret Vice: Tolkien on Invented Languages, Books, Fantasy Literature, Invented Languages, Tolkien | No Comments |

The book is out! (plus “extended” table of contents!)

This week, the e-book version of my new monograph, Celtic Myth in Contemporary Children’s Fantasy, was released. This is my first experience of the braver new world of simultaneous e-book and hardback publication. The hardback won’t be out there for…

By Dimitra Fimi | 12th March 2017 | Books, Celtic Myth, Children's Fantasy, Children's Literature, Fantasy Literature, Henry Neff, Irish myth and folklore, Lloyd Alexander, Myth and Folklore, Welsh myth an folklore | No Comments |

“Twas the Night Before Christmas” and J.R.R. Tolkien’s Tinfang Warble

Following family tradition, the bedtime book I read to my near-four-year-old son on Christmas Eve was “The Night Before Christmas”, aka “A Visit from St. Nicholas”, by Clement Clarke Moore*. I used my mum’s old copy of the poem, a…

By Dimitra Fimi | 31st December 2016 | Christmas, Fantasy Literature, Folklore, Myth and Folklore, Tolkien | 2 Comments |

First impressions count? On academic book covers

Should you care whether your academic monograph or edited collection has an appealing cover? Does it matter? And can you/should you get involved? My answer to all of the above is yes! I know there are brilliant academic books out…

By Dimitra Fimi | 12th December 2016 | Books, Celtic Myth, Children's Fantasy, Children's Literature, Fantasy Literature, Tolkien | 2 Comments |

An interview with Henry Neff: Celtic myth, liminal times and fantastic creatures

My forthcoming monograph, Celtic Myth in Contemporary Children’s Fantasy, examines a number of ‘Celtic’-inspired works of fantasy literature, including Henry Neff’s The Tapestry. The Tapestry is a series of five fantasy novels that create an alternative world of ambitions scope, and…

By Dimitra Fimi | 8th December 2016 | Books, Celtic Myth, Children's Fantasy, Children's Literature, Fantasy Literature, Folklore, Henry Neff, Interviews, Myth and Folklore, Worldbuilding | 1 Comment |