A full season has already passed – winter or summer, depending on your hemisphere of residence – since The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies opened for most of the world. In that time, a number of our readers have asked us about what Middle-earth News will do now that The Hobbit films are complete, and with them the era of Middle-earth on film, at least for the foreseeable future. As we prepare to celebrate Tolkien Reading Day^[1] on March 25, it felt like the right time to respond to those questions. In short: Middle-earth News will go on, much as it always has done. We aren’t going anywhere.

Tolkien’s works, and the fans that love them, existed many decades before Peter Jackson’s films, and will endure beyond the films and their eventual boxed sets. Middle-earth News has always been about reporting on ALL things Tolkien. There will be much less movie news going forward, but we will keep up with DVD/Blu-ray releases and new projects that the actors, creative team, and crew are involved in. We will also continue to cover art and literature news, cons and other events, gaming news, and general Tolkien fandom news.

We have many things planned for the rest of 2015. Here is a sampling, to whet your appetite!

• Tolkien Reading Day Celebration. Special stories and social media content, and an extra special T-shirt giveaway with Fun.com^[2]!
• The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies Live Tweet event – early May. You can watch BOTFA along with us and join in the conversation on Twitter.
• Middle-earth Virtual Camp – June – July.We can’t quite send you to camp in Middle-earth, but we’ll do our best to help you imagine that you’re there, with fun Middle-earth themed activities.
• Tolkien Week (week containing September 22), Hobbit Day (September 22) and Feast Week (September 22 – 29). The end of September is a glorious time for Tolkien fans, and Middle-earth News joins in the celebrations each year.
• 6-week Middle-earth Movie Marathon – November – December. We had a great time last year with our 5-week Middle-earth Movie Marathon^[3], with live tweet events each week. Now we will be able to watch all SIX films and tweet with you while we watch!
• New article series and essays. Watch for new content coming soon!
• New opportunities for you to share your fandom with us on social media.We want you to show your fan colors! Follow us on our social feeds on Facebook^[4], Twitter^[5], Instagram^[6], Google+^[7], Google+ Community^[8], YouTube^[9], Pinterest^[10], and Tumblr^[11] and get in on the action!

The Tolkien fandom is not sailing into the West. We are all on an adventure that will go on. When we turn toward home, it will be the road to Middle-earth that carries us there. As usual, the Professor says it best.

Roads go ever ever on,Over rock and under tree,By caves where never sun has shone,By streams that never find the sea;Over snow by winter sown,And through the merry flowers of June,Over grass and over stone,And under mountains in the moon.

Roads go ever ever onUnder cloud and under star,Yet feet that wandering have goneTurn at last to home afar.Eyes that fire and sword have seenAnd horror in the halls of stoneLook at last on meadows greenAnd trees and hills they long have known.

— J. R. R. Tolkien, ‘The Hobbit’

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Author: Valdis^[12] Valdís is a classic nerd, with many geeky interests, but her life-long love of Tolkien rules them all. She was completely hooked the first time that she read The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings at age 8. Since then, she has read the books at least once a year, and delves into Middle-earth at every opportunity with a fervor that would make any dwarf proud. She also deeply loves Peter Jackson’s films, and defends them staunchly when need arises. When reality forces her out of Middle-earth, Valdís is a university professor, a wife, mother of two daughters, and servant to two cats.

References

1. ^{^} Tolkien Reading Day, The Tolkien Society (www.tolkiensociety.org)
2. ^{^} Fun.com (www.fun.com)
3. ^{^} Join Our 5-Week Middle-earth Movie Marathon! Middle-earth News (middleearthnews.com)
4. ^{^} Middle-earth News on Facebook (www.facebook.com)
5. ^{^} Middle-earth News on Twitter (twitter.com)
6. ^{^} Middle-earth News on Instagram (instagram.com)
7. ^{^} Middle-earth News on Google+ (plus.google.com)
8. ^{^} Middle-earth News Google+ Community (plus.google.com)
9. ^{^} Middle-earth News YouTube Channel (www.youtube.com)
10. ^{^} Middle-earth News on Pinterest (pinterest.com)
11. ^{^} Middle-earth news tumblr (middleearthnews.tumblr.com)
12. ^{^} Posts by Valdis (middleearthnews.com)