The Return of the Ring

A Gathering of Friends

Celebrating Tolkien in 2012

Loughborough University, 16^th–20^th August 2012

Progress Report 1 is now ready to download.

Welcome to The Return of the Ring

After the success of Tolkien 2005 we received many requests for a similar conference. The combination of academic, fandom and creative streams begs for more than a few days, and after all it takes some time and effort to drink the pub dry (ask anyone who went to 2005)! We are pleased to announce The Return of the Ring, Celebrating Tolkien in 2012.

Join us at Loughborough University, Leicestershire just after the 2012 Olympics to renew our fellowship, make new friends, and celebrate the legacy of The Professor. In addition to presentations on all aspects of Tolkien’s creation we will host a dealer’s room and an art exhibit. There will be special events planned for young Hobbits, and the ever-popular tours. The evenings will feature a variety of entertainments, including an Opening Ceremony, a Costume Masquerade, and a Ceilidh. Of course no meeting of Tolkien aficionados is complete without a banquet, and this one will be no exception.

A number of special guests have been invited to join us, and we will let you know as we receive their confirmations. To date we look forward to welcoming note authors Tom Shippey and Brian Sibley, with more announcements expected soon.

Loughborough University offers comfortable, affordable accommodations, and ease of access via public transportation, minimizing environmental impact. As extra transport is added to the system to support the Olympics, there will be ample and reasonably priced options for visitors from across the globe. Did we mention that Loughborough is known for its warm welcome, and has provided us with a flexible arrangement for function rooms? In fact, there is no reason to delay - plan to join us now by completing the booking form. Take full advantage NOW while early registration discounts are still in effect.

Help wanted

Would you like to help make this the best conference yet? Although we have an energetic group of volunteers we can still use a few more hands as 2012 approaches. Most meetings occur via the internet, and we welcome any help you can give. There are a few posts that have become vacant recently as people find the inevitable fork in the road along the way. Can you help? We would love to welcome you to our fellowship!

Conference links

We are planning on including a variety of different activities. (more info)

We have a number of people involved in organising things so far. (more info)

Would you like to help us (either on the committee in advance or at the event), or submit a paper; do you have any professional services that you think we might find useful? (Volunteer to help us to run the conference).

A map showing Loughborough University.