Frequently Asked Questions

[chestnut_pod]

Event Overview

What is Tolkien Ekphrasis Week?

• TEW is a week-long submission-based event, a fandom fest where participants respond to themed prompts. Thematically, it celebrates the practice of ekphrasis, the description or interpretation of one piece of art in a different medium.

How does it work?

• This DW and the Tumblr blog will post prompts ahead of the submission deadline to inspire participants to create fanworks. Creators will submit their works to the AO3 collection on a specific due date, and works will then be revealed day by day, according to theme. Part one of the prompt is mandatory; this is the type of art you will be interpreting in your fanworks. The other parts of the prompt will be optional, for added inspiration if desired, such as suggestions around medium, genre, or theme.
  
• Example prompt: "Day 4. Art form: Metalwork. Formal prompt (writing): Epistolary format. Formal prompt (visual art): Mixed media. Thematic prompt: Trade and cross-cultural connection."
  
• For this prompt, participants would be required to create a fanwork about metalwork, but do not have to make their fic epistolary or their art mixed-media if they do not want to. If you do not finish your fic or artwork about metalwork before the deadline, that's fine! Amnesty posting day will be on Day 8 and every day thereafter until the beginning of the the next year's creation period.

Eligibility

What kind of content is eligible?

• All forms of fanwork in the list below are eligible as long as they fulfill the mandatory Art Form content prompts. Fanworks that do not meet specific Art Form prompts, but deal with other forms of art, may be posted on Posting Amnesty Day.
  
• This challenge is open to all characters, genres, and ratings.
  
• TEW works must have a clear link to Tolkien’s fictional worlds. Films (including fan films), books, video games, TV shows, and Tolkien's poetry are all welcome.

What kinds of fanworks are eligible for Tolkien Ekphrasis Week?

• You must make or compile the fan work yourself -- so, AMVs and moodboards are okay, but not direct outputs from doll-maker games or an unedited bunch of screenshots, for example, and no AI.
  
• Prose
  
• Poetry
  
• Scripts
  
• Song lyrics that you wrote
  
• Dance, filmed and embedded as a movie or as notation
  
• Music (both sheet music and/or performed music embedded in the post)
  
• Podfic (the fic being recorded must meet the appropriate day's mandatory theme)
  
• Collage and mixed media
  
• Cosplay (as long as the final result can be photographed and embedded as an image)
  
• Drawn and painted 2D artworks both digital and traditional
  
• Comics
  
• Moodboards
  
• Digital manips
  
• Zines
  
• Sculpture
  
• Vids and AMVs
  
• Ceramics
  
• Textile art (felting, crochet, knitting, dress patterns, clothes, etc.), as long as the final piece can be photographed and embedded as an image
  
• Other crafts (as long as the final piece can be photographed and embedded as an image)
  
  If you have another idea for a fanwork or you aren’t sure if your idea would qualify, please submit an ask at the Tumblr blog.

Can I make art featuring original characters?

• Yes, 100 percent!

Can my fanwork depict an AU?

• Close-canon AUs, such as canon divergences, are very welcome. Since the idea is to celebrate specific material realities of Tolkien's worlds, AUs in truly alternate universes (a galaxy far far away, the Federation, etc.) are not permitted.

Are crossovers allowed?

• Crossovers between Tolkien canons are permitted – for example, Gimli describing the masterpieces of Khazad-dûm to Mahtan, or Roverandom performing an interpretive dance about Sam and Frodo. Crossovers with works outside Tolkien’s canon – for example, Merlin singing a song of Arthur to Fëanor, or Nerdanel sculpting a bust of Luke Skywalker – are not permitted. Fusions, like popular Daemon AUs, Sentinel/Guide AUs, etc, are also not permitted, because the gray area is too hard to moderate. (If in doubt, ask in the comments or at the Tumblr blog.)

What about RPF?

• RPF is not permitted, since the event focuses on Tolkien's works, not the man himself, or Dominic Monaghan. Fanworks that are clearly inspired by actors' appearances are just fine, though!

Does my art have to be representative?

• Not at all! Abstract art is more than welcome.

Can I make something based on the Amazon TV show?

• Yes.

Can I make an explicit fanwork?

• Yes.

What about fanworks featuring ~problematic~ content?

• This is impossible to define or enforce, and an attitude I consider stifling to creativity, and I'm not going to try. Insofar as possible, please tag your works appropriately when you post to the DW community or AO3 when applicable, or use Choose Not To Warn. I reserve the right to moderate as I see fit to maintain a welcoming and inclusive atmosphere.

Do I have to sign up?

• Nope! Just turn in your piece(s) to the AO3 collection by the deadline.

Are there length limits or similar?

• No, your fanworks can be as long or short as you want, or as detailed or sketchy as you want.

Must fanworks be created specifically for the event?

• They must be previously unpublished, but if you've had a beautiful but never-seen painting of the Elessar or a drabble about Himring's columns sitting around in your drafts folder for five years, go ahead and post it!

Posting

Where shall I post my fanworks to be included in TEW?

• The AO3 Collection, tagged with "TEW DAY X"
  
• This Dreamwidth, tagged with "Day X"
  
• Tumblr, tagged "Tolkien Ekphrasis Week" and "TEW Day X"

Can TEW host my png file/movie/podfic/etc.?

• No, you must host and post your fanworks yourself. Mediafire, Google Drive, or Jinjurly's Podfic Archive are good free hosting options.

What information is required when I post?

• What day/prompt you are responding to.
  
• Your username
  
• The fanwork or a link to it
  
• Fandom title (e.g. The Lord of the Rings)
  
• Rating
  
• Any applicable warnings or a Choose Not to Warn

I didn't finish my fanwork in time -- can I still post it?

• If you don't submit your work by the submission deadline, then you can wait for Posting Amnesty Day (Day 8), or any day thereafter until the start of the next round of TEW the following year.
  
• You can keep making whatever fanwork you were inspired to make and post it whenever you like at this comm and to the AO3 collection. However, the TEW Tumblr may or may not reblog it after that date, and it may or may not be included in summary posts.

Can I delete my fanworks after posting?

• You can delete your fanworks from the AO3 Collection and this DW comm. Tumblr will not permit you to fully delete a post if it has been reblogged, though you can delete the post you made on your own Tumblr.
  
• Orphaning your work or adding it to AO3's anonymous collection will remove your name from AO3-posted works.
  
• Links and attributions may persist in round-up posts, Tumblr reblogs, etc, even if you delete your works from AO3 or Tumblr. These will likely not be edited to remove deleted works.

Do you have questions not answered here? Go to TEW's Tumblr blog and submit an ask there, or ask in the comments below.

Comments

[hhimring]

I find myself confused about when the AO3 collection will be open or closed for posting.
The FAQ seems to say both that the collection will be open until 9 June and then close but also that the collection will be open from 1 June for a year?
Is what is meant that the collection will close on 9 June for reveals and then re-open on 17 June and stay open for the rest of a year after that?

[chestnut_pod]

Ah, you're right! I'm sorry, that was a draft mix-up.

What it meant to say was that people can keep posting until the collection finally closes after a year, but I can't guarantee that it will be reblogged/listed in round-up posts/ etc. I've gone in and edited -- is it clearer now?

[hhimring]

Thank you!
Yes, it is clear now!