Tolkien Society Seminar 2007: Sydney, Australia

"Tolkien Down Under - The Art and Science of Magic in Middle-earth"

The 2007 Seminar in Sydney took place on Saturday 25th August at the NSW Writers' Centre. At the end of the afternoon there was a panel discussion session followed by a group trip for a meal, and on the Sunday a harbour tour cruise of Sydney harbour.

The day's papers were:

• "The Magic of Proper Names in Tolkien"- R. Harland
• "Love: The Real Magic in The Lord of the Rings" - S. Michaels and B. Holdsworth
• "Beyond Words: The Return of the King and the Pleasures of the Text" - S. Turnbull
• "Magic and the Major Icons"- T. Scribner
• "Sound and Element: Feminine Magic in J. R. R. Tolkien's The Silmarillion"- E. McKenna
• "Tolkien's Word Magic: growing up as an Australian fan, the power of Tolkien's writing, and an illustrated tour of his England"- C. Dart-Thornton
• "Letting the Cat out of the Bag: Tolkien's dream-theory"- P. Wilkin
• "Escape and Consolation: The Importance of the Happy Ending in Fantasy Fiction"- K. Forsyth

At present the papers are being collected for a forthcoming proceedings booklet in the Peter Roe series.