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Oxonmoot speakers announced – full programme

The Tolkien Society is pleased to confirm the speakers at this year’s Oxonmoot. Over a dozen speakers will be speaking at this year’s event on topics ranging from Worcestershire to George Allen and Unwin, from Tolkien art to the Silmarils and Terry Pratchett.

Oxonmoot takes place over a weekend close to the 22nd September – the birthday of Frodo and Bilbo – and this year will be held on from Thursday 21st September to Sunday 24th September. On the afternoon of the Thursday there will be a tour of Oxford, followed by a pub quiz in the evening. On the Friday evening there will be a masquerade and a banquet, and on the Saturday evening we will be holding a party in honour of Frodo and Bilbo.

However, the bulk of the schedule of Oxonmoot is the daytime talks and papers. These take place all day Friday and all day Saturday and offer engaging and intellectual insights into the life and works of J.R.R. Tolkien. As an educational charity, The Tolkien Society’s objective is to “educate the public in, and promote research into, the life and works of Professor John Ronald Reuel Tolkien CBE.

The speakers confirmed for this year’s Oxonmoot are:

  • “Tolkien in Old Worcestershire” by Bob Blackham
  • “Book of Ishness: emergence of Tolkien creativity” by Denis Bridoux
  • “History and Sources of the Land of the Dead that Live” by Giovanni Carmine Costabile
  • “George Allen and Unwin – A history” by Andrew Ferguson
  • “Could Hobbits be Welsh?” by Michael Flowers
  • “Invented Languages: Elvish practitioners of the secret vice” by Andrew Higgins
  • “Tolkien not for the faint ‘arted” by Jay Johnstone
  • “King under the mountain- iterations of evil in The Hobbit” by Randal McDonald
  • “Evil 101: dimensions of wickedness in Middle Earth” by Julia Pineau
  • “Bilbo as Motivational director” by D.R. Ransdell
  • “Alan Lee the official Tolkien Illustrator” by Sultana Raza
  • “Show and Tell of Tolkien Memorabilia” by Alan Reynolds
  • “Tolkien Art Show” by Len Sanford
  • “The Silmarils and the Koh-i-noor” by Murray Smith
  • “Tolkien the Great Smith: Advanced materials in the legendarium” by Sabin Sulzer
  • “Tolkien’s Lost Poem” by René van Rossenberg
  • “Terry Pratchett’s debt to Tolkien” by Jessica Yates

Bookings are still open for this year’s Oxonmoot. To attend, go to our bookings page.

About the Author: Shaun Gunner
Shaun is the Chair of The Tolkien Society. First elected in 2013, Shaun has overseen the Society's expansion from 600 to 3,500 members. Shaun regularly speaks about adaptations of Tolkien's works and the future of Tolkien scholarship whilst passionately believing the Society needs to reach out to new audiences. In his spare time he can be found playing video games and Lego, or on Twitter. He chaired another charity, Mankind, and is a local councillor.