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Hello and welcome to my website. I am Dimitra Fimi, Professor of Fantasy and Children’s Literature, and specialist on J.R.R. Tolkien and fantasy literature. Here you will find more information about my books, essays and articles, talks and lectures, and media appearances and contributions.

Click here for extra resources and reading suggestions for my course “The World of J.R.R. Tolkien” at Audible, via The Great Courses.

6 March 2023

Celtic Seminar recording

Last week I gave a paper for the Celtic Seminar series (co-organised by the University of Oxford and the the Centre for Advanced Welsh and Celtic Studies (CAWCS), Aberystwyth) on “Magic writing: Representations of the Og(h)am script in contemporary fantasy”. The recorded talk is available here.

23 February 2023

New book out

Imagining the Celtic Past in Modern Fantasy (part of the Perspectives on Fantasy series with Bloomsbury Academic), co-edited by me and Alistair J.P. Sims, has just been published today. The full Table of Contents can be accessed here.

17 January 2023

Inaugural Annual Tolkien Lecture video released

In May 2022 I delivered the Inaugural Annual Tolkien Lecture at the University of Birmingham, titled: ‘“I hold the key”: J. R. R. Tolkien through interviews and reminiscences’. The lecture was recorded and how now been released here.

6 October 2022

Book Review

My review of Robert Stuart’s Tolkien, Race, and Racism in Middle-Earth has been published in the Journal of Tolkien Research and can be accessed here.

3 October 2022

New book cover release

The cover of the collection Imagining the Celtic Past in Modern Fantasy, which I’ve co-edited with Alistair Sims, has just been released. The book will be out in February 2023 and is part of the Perspectives on Fantasy series I co-edit with Brian Attebery and Matthew Sangster at Bloomsbury.

22 September 2022

TLS Podcast

Following my TLS review of Amazon Prime’s Rings of Power, I was interviewed on the TLS podcast about the series, and was happy to share further thoughts. You can access the podcast here.

21 September 2022

TLS Review

My review of the first few episodes of Amazon Prime’s The Rings of Power has just appeared on the Times Literary Supplement (print copy and online).

2 September 2022

Guardian article

I am quoted in this Guardian piece, alongside other colleagues from Tolkien scholarship: “Trouble harfoot? Amazon’s Lord of the Rings epic divides Tolkien fans

24 August 2022

GQ Magazine article

I am quoted in this GQ Magazine article alongside Ralph Bakshi: “Why Were Rock Stars So Into The Lord of the Rings?

12 August 2022

Journal Article published

My article on Upton Sinclair’s forgotten children’s fantasy novel The Gnomobile has been published Open Access in the journal Children’s Literature in Education. You can read it here.

11 August 2022


The World of J.R.R. Tolkien released

My Audible original course (via The Great Courses) “The World of J.R.R. Tolkien” has been released! 10 lectures on Tolkien’s mythological, philosophical, cultural and linguistic sources and resonances. Extra resources and reading suggestions here.

4 August 2022

Essay on Chatterton, Tolkien, and Eco

Very pleased to have released (with permission) my 2016 essay on Thomas Chatterton, J.R.R. Tolkien, and Umberto Eco (focusing on writing the Middle Ages as an act of worldbuilding) on my website. Link here.

27 May 2022

Inaugural Annual Tolkien Lecture

I was delighted to deliver the Inaugural Annual Tolkien Lecture at the University of Birmingham, titled: ‘“I hold the key”: J. R. R. Tolkien through interviews and reminiscences’. More information here.

10 February 2022

Vanity Fairy Exclusive on Amazon’s Lord of the Rings

A new Vanity Fairy exlusive article, in which I am quoted, reveals a lot about the new Amazon Prime Lord of the Rings storylines, casting, production, and much more.

25 February 2022

New Article for The Conversation

New article, co-authored with Mariana Rios Maldonado: “Lord of the Rings: debunking the backlash against non-white actors in Amazon’s new adaption

17 December 2021

Naked Scientists interview

I was interviewed by Sally Le Page for the Naked Scientists Christmas episode. She asked me: “Why are Santa’s elves small?”. You can listen here!

9 November 2021

New Tolkien book

New publication: Επιδράσεις της Αρχαίας Ελληνικής Γραμματείας στο Έργο του Τζ.Ρ.Ρ. Τόλκιν (Echoes of Ancient Greek Literature in the Work of J.R.R. Tolkien). Further details here and here.

5 November 2021

Alice Through the Looking-Glass Panel

Panel discussion on “Alice, Quo Vadis? Beyond the Looking-Glass”, alongside Steve Folan, Charlie Lovett, and Dr Franziska Kohlt, chaired by Brian Sibley. Closing session of Through the Looking-Glass: A sesquicentenary
celebration
conference.

14 September 2021

Listen to the Universe

Listen to the Universe has been published! This pop-up book, co-authored by Dr Mariela Masso Reid and me, and illustrated by Oliver Dean, was produced via a GCRF-funded project. Find out more here.

17 June 2021

A Journey to Narnia

You can watch here a celebration of Katherine Langrish’s new book From Spare Oom to War Drobe, hosted by me and Dr Robert Maslen, via the Centre for Fantasy and the Fantastic.

27 April 2021

Strixhaven lecture

Strixhaven lecture online with Dr Matthew Sangster on “Fantasy, Magical Education, Knowledge, and Power”. Available to watch here.

11 April 2021

Tolkien Society Award

Absolutely delighted (and still in a bit of a shock!) to have been awarded the Tolkien Society Outstanding Contribution Award!

29 March 2021

New video: The Gnomobile paper

My ICFA 2021 paper on an obscure children’s fantasy novel, Upton Sinclair’s The Gnomobile, is now available to watch here.

27 March 2021

TheOneRing.net Panel

I was interviewed by TheOneRing.net’s Clifford Broadway (host of TORn Tuesday) and Cathy Udovch (TORn special events coordinator), alongside Luke Shelton and Mariana Rios Maldonado on Tolkien, evil, and how the Second Age may come to our screens via The Lord of the Rings on Prime. Watch here.

4 February 2021

New book series launched

Professor Brian Attebery, Dr Matthew Sangster and I are co-editors of the newly launched Bloomsbury Academic series: Perspectives on Fantasy.

21 December 2020

New video: A Merry Tolkien Christmas!

A Merry Tolkien Christmas from me! A short video about the connections between the classic Christmas poem “A Visit from St Nicholas” and Tolkien’s fairy creature Tinfang Warble. Watch it here.

1 December 2020

Journal Special Issue

The special issue of the journal Fastitocalon I co-edited with Prof Thomas Honegger and Dr Allan Turner on “Fantastic Languages – The Language of the Fantastic” is now out! See here for further information and here list of articles!

19 November 2020

Celebrating the Centenary of ‘A Voyage to Arcturus’

You can watch here a celebration of 100 years since the publication of Scottish SFF cult classic A Voyage to Arcturus, by David Lindsay. I was delighted to chair this event, with guest speakers Douglas A. Anderson, Prof Robert Davis, and Nina Allan.

18 September 2020

Keynote Lecture

Keynote lecture for Oxonmoot 2021, commemorating the 40th anniversary of Unfinished Tales. Title: “Tolkien’s Unfinished Tales at 40:
Traffics and Discoveries, Actions and Reactions, Limits and Renewals”. Watch it here.

16 September 2020

Launching the Centre for Fantasy and the Fantastic

I am delighted to have chaired the public event that launched the Centre for Fantasy and the Fantastic at the University of Glasgow, of which I am Co-Director. You can watch the launch event here and you can see a short video about the Centre here.

25 August 2020

Leaf by Niggle – post-show Q&A

I was delighted to take part in the post-show Q&A with Richard Medrington, after another wonderful performance of Tolkien’s “Leaf by Niggle”, in support of Puppet State Theatre.

14 July 2020

Tiny Treasures Exhibition on Flickr

Last July, I curated an exhibition of miniature books titled: “Tiny Treasures: Miniature Books from Scotland and Beyond”., held at Special Collections, University of Glasgow. You can now view all the amazing exhibits complete with curatorial notes here.

8 July 2020

A Secret Vice out in paperback

A Secret Vice: Tolkien on Invented Languages, by J.R.R. Tolkien, edited by me and Dr Andrew Higgins, has now been released on paperback, with a few corrections!

3 January 2020

Tolkien Experience Podcast

It was a pleasure to be the very first guest on the Tolkien Experience Podcast! You can listen here.

1 November 2019

TLS Review

Review of Ebony Elizabeth Thomas’s The Dark Fantastic for the TLS: “Dark others: Black girls and fantasy fiction”. Read the review here: https://www.the-tls.co.uk/articles/dark-others/

7-9 October 2019

Keynote Lecture

Keynote for 5th International Multidisciplinary Congress Phi 2019: “Intelligence, Creativity and Fantasy”. Watch the keynote here.

10 July 2019

Tiny Alice Project and Miniature Book Exhibition

Launch of Tiny Alice project and Miniature Book Exhibition I curated at the University of Glasgow. More about the project and exhibition here.

1-4 July 2019

Tolkien at IMC Leeds 2019

Organizing paper sessions and a round table panel on J.R.R. Tolkien at the International Medieval Congress at Leeds. Roundup here.

17 May 2019

TLS Review

Review of the Tolkien biopic for the TLS: “Linguistics, mythology and tea: J. R. R. Tolkien’s early life”. Read the review here.

6 December 2018

New article

New article published for The Conversation: “Was Tolkien really racist?”. Read the article here.

11-13 September 2018

Lecture at Oxford

Lecture on Fairy-tales for the Oxford Fantasy Literature Summer School.

20-22 July 2018

Summer Course

Course for Tŷ Newydd (the National Writing Centre of Wales) on ‘(Re)telling traditional narratives: myth, legend, fairy tale’, alongside Catherine Fisher.

2-5 July 2018

Timeline Heading

Organizing paper sessions and a round table panel on J.R.R. Tolkien at the International Medieval Congress at Leeds. Roundup here.

23 June 2018

Public Lecture

Public lecture for the Story Museum and Royal Entomological Society exhibition “Insects Through the Looking Glass” titled: ‘Wings, Antennae, and Stings: Tolkien’s Creepy Crawlies’.

5 June 2018

Tolkien Exhibition Panel

Panel discussion on “Mythopoeia: Myth-creation and Middle-earth” for the Bodleian Library’s “Tolkien: Maker of Middle-earth” exhibition, alongside Professor Dame Marina Warner, Professor Verlyn Flieger, and moderated by Professor Carolyne Larrington.

24 May 2018

Seminar

Seminar for the Centre for Myth Studies (University of Essex), Myth Reading Group: ‘“The Battle of the Trees”: from medieval Welsh legend to modern fantasy’.

10-13 May 2018

Tolkien at Kalamazoo 2018

Paper for Tolkien sessions at the International Congress on Medieval Studies, Kalamazoo, Michigan: ‘“Queer” Border, “Hidden Kingdom”: Perceptions of Wales in J.R.R. Tolkien’s Work’

26-27 April 2018

Keynote Lecture

Keynote for GIFCon (Glasgow International Fantasy Conversations) 2018: ‘In the blood and in the landscape: escaping (into) the “Celtic” past in contemporary children’s fantasy’

22 April 2018

Tolkien Society Award

My essay “‘Tears are the very wine of blessedness’: joyful sorrow in J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings, published in Death and Immortality in Middle-earth, won the Tolkien Society Award 2018 for Best Article. Read more here.

13 March 2018

Review

review of Celtic Myth in Contemporary Children’s Fantasy by Professor Brian Attebery in International Research in Children’s Literature (IRCL) described the book as: “a clear, substantial, and original contribution to fantasy studies”. Read the review here.

7 March 2018

New article

New journal article published: ‘Language as Communication vs. Language as Art: J.R.R. Tolkien and Early 20th-Century Radical Linguistic Experimentation’, Journal of Tolkien Research, 5(1), pp. 1-28. Available here.

24 January 2018

New article

New article published for The Conversation: “Ursula K Le Guin’s strong female voice challenged the norms of a male-dominated genre”. Read more (and the article) here.

21 December 2017

New article

New article published for the The Conversation, titled: “J.R.R. Tolkien’s Christmas letters to his children bring echoes of Middle-earth to the North Pole”. Read more (and the article) here.

13 November 2017

Wales Book of the Year Awards

I was delighted to announce the Wales Book of the Year 2017 winner at a ceremony in Cardiff. It was an honour to be one of three judges for the English entries. Many congratulations to the winners of each category, and to the overall winner, Alys Conran, for her novel Pigeon. Photo courtesy of Camera Sion and Literature Wales. Read more here.

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