The Fireside

The Folio Society's limited-edition of The Lord of the Rings has sold out in about 36 hours after it was announced. Sadly, I didn't get the chance to write about it here, as I often enjoy doing about new Tolkien books/editions. In their catalogue, they've been publishing editions of The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings , and The Silmarillion . With the release of the limited-edition of The Lord of the Rings by Alan Lee, there's obviously been requests for matching editions of The Hobbit and The Silmarillion . THE HOBBIT For The Hobbit , they have four artists they could go with to produce a similar edition which would match the recent Lord of the Rings . First up, is John Howe, whose Smaug (above) is among my favourite Tolkien pieces. John Howe has sort-of-but-not-really illustrated The Hobbit before: he did the infamous pop-up book. This would be a wonderful occasion to include some of his newer pieces related to The Hobbit that haven't been published yet (aside ...

  Aside from thinking about and speculating which Tolkien books are coming out next year (whether they be completely new or new editions of existing work), I also ponder what the calendar will be: who the artist is, what the 'theme' is, and which (if any) book it's related to. If not for the illustrated edition of Unfinished Tales that had come out this year, I was willing to bet that the calendar would be themed after John Howe's most recent (English! and Tolkien!) art book called A Middle-earth Traveller . I'm standing firm by that for the 2022 calendar. It's not exactly known when Prime's Middle-earth series is set to debut; though John Howe is the lead conceptual artist on the project. Making the calendar for that year be based off his book would generate (more) interest in Howe's artwork, as well as the Prime series because of it. Alan Lee has two art books out, for both The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit , which also got calendars themed after ...

The artwork for the Unfinished Tales 40th Anniversary Illustrated Slipcased Collector's Edition has *finally* been revealed! From the looks of things: - Ted Nasmith's 'The Blue Wizards Journeying East' is being used for the illustrated slipcase - John Howe's Black Rider (rear of the standard edition dustjacket) is used on the cover of the book - Chances are, Alan Lee's new illustration of the Numenorean ship will be used as a (foldout?) frontispiece. (Typically, whatever image the dustjacket of the standard edition uses is replicated as a frontispiece with its corresponding slipcasd collector's edition.) Remember, this is a UK edition, so you're best off ordering off Blackwell's, Waterstones, or The Book Depository. ISBN: 9780008387969 "Sumptuous, 40th anniversary collector’s edition of this collection of tales which takes readers further into the stories told in The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings and The Silmarillion, featuring 18 full-co...

At long last, HarperCollins has revealed the cover art for the upcoming 40th anniversary illustrated edition of Unfinished Tales . As you can see from the above image, it'll 'match', design and measurement-wise with The Great Tales books ( The Children of Hurin, Beren and Luthien and The Fall of Gondolin ) and the forthcoming new editions of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings (as 3 books). There will be a slipcased collector's edition as well, though no image for that one yet. I was hoping that the above image ("The Blue Wizards Journeying East" from Ted Nasmith) would be used for the cover, going by the fact that it will be used for the 2021 Calendar. I still like the Alan Lee cover art, though I guess I got my hopes too high. Expect this edition to come out October of this year. US fans, yes, you'll be getting it as well, though from Houghton Mifflin. Here's the info for the standard edition. I'll provide it again on publication day, as the ...

Very recently, it was announced that there would be a forthcoming illustrated edition of Unfinished Tales , as well who the artists would be for the 2021 Tolkien Calendar. It was assumed - and it turned out to be true - that the calendar will be based on the forthcoming edition. Here in one spot are ordering links for the upcoming releases, as this information has come out over time. I will update with cover art, etc, once revealed. I'd be willing to bet that the image I've used for this post ("The Blue Wizards Journeying East" by Ted Nasmith) will be the cover of the standard edition, and possibly appear as a frontispiece in the deluxe edition. - Unfinished Tales illustrated edition (standard hardback) : https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0008387958/?coliid=I2XHCI1JCKVYK5&colid=2H2WN2XWM72NV&psc=1&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it - Unfinished Tales illustrated edition (deluxe edition) : https://blackwells.co.uk/bookshop/product/9780008387969 - 2021 Tolkien Calenda...

The details of the 2021 Tolkien Calendar have been revealed! I had a feeling it would be centered around the upcoming illustrated edition of Unfinished Tales . The cover, 'The Blue Wizards Journeying East' by Ted Nasmith, was previously seen as the cover for a paperback in 2010. Slight speculation: I believe that the image used as the calendar's cover will also be the image used for the cover of the illustrated edition of Unfinished Tales . Oh and for the deluxe, it would appear as the frontispiece. "The official Tolkien calendar, this year containing twelve stunning paintings inspired by the stories collected in UNFINISHED TALES by J.R.R. Tolkien. Three of the world’s finest Tolkien artists present the Three Ages of Middle-earth in breathtaking glory. The official Tolkien calendar has become an established publishing event, eagerly anticipated by Tolkien fans the world over. Previous Tolkien calendars have become much sought after collector’s items, and this...

It has been revealed that there will be a new, illustrated, edition of Unfinished Tales . It will feature artwork by Ted Nasmith, Alan Lee and John Howe. As of this post, I am unsure if they will be new illustrations, or a compilation of their existing material. I'm guessing the size dimensions will be the 'standard' size; and not over-sized like The Lord of the Rings 60th anniversary illustrated edition or Jemima Catlin's illustrated Hobbit (reg or deluxe). The info below follows. Also, remember that these are UK editions, and as such, should be ordered off Amazon UK, Blackwell's or Waterstones for example: Illustrated Hardback (Standard Edition) Published: Oct. 1 ISBN: 9780008387952 Illustrated Hardback (Special Slipcased Deluxe Edition) Published: Oct. 1 ISBN: 9780008387969 Once more info is revealed (cover art, synopsis reflecting these editions, and possibly size dimensions) I'll relay the info here. Two parting thoughts: 1) it can be assumed that the 20...