Artist Alan Lee will be the guest speaker at the Tolkien Society’s Annual Dinner on Saturday 9 April 2016.
The Annual Dinner takes place during the Springmoot and AGM weekend, held this year at the Middletons Hotel in York between Friday 8 April and Sunday 10 April 2016.
Alan Lee joins a long line of distinguished guests of honour, including Priscilla Tolkien, Humphrey Carpenter, and Tom Shippey.
Many members will fondly remember his over-subscribed talks at Tolkien 2005, and they will no doubt attest that his decades of experience in bringing Middle-earth to life will be a real treat for attendees.
About the Speaker
Alan Lee was born and raised in London, and studied graphic art and design at the Ealing School of Art. Having first read The Lord of the Rings aged 17, Middle-earth has had a profound impact on his professional career.
He came to prominence among the Tolkien community when commissioned by HarperCollins to illustrate a special edition of The Lord of the Rings to mark the centenary of Tolkien’s birth in 1992. In addition to calendars and a sketchbook, he illustrated an edition of The Hobbit in 1997 and The Children of Húrin a decade later.
His work caught the attention of director Peter Jackson, and in 1997 he was persuaded to move to New Zealand as the pre-production for the film adaptation of The Lord of the Rings started in earnest. Together with fellow Tolkien illustrator John Howe, he became a lead conceptual artist for the project and went on to win the Academy Award for Best Art Direction in 2004. He later went back to New Zealand to work on The Hobbit films, and has recently returned to England.
Bookings
The semi-formal Annual Dinner begins with a drinks reception, giving attendees the chance to meet Alan. Following dessert, the winners of The Tolkien Society Awards will be announced and then Alan will deliver his talk.
Meals cost £26, drinks reception tickets £7. Click here for more details.
Bookings for the Annual Dinner are now closed.
