July is nearly over, so it’s time to turn our thoughts to Dragon Con 2018! Once again, I will be covering the con for Middle-earth News. Hope to see many of you there!
To get things rolling, our good friend (and Dragon Con Tolkien content guru) Jim Wert has written a preview of all the goodies in store for Tolkien fans in Atlanta this Labor Day weekend.
— Valdís Longbeard
Guest Contributor: Jim Wert
Just when one might have been fearing a bit of a lull, all of a sudden we’re in the thick of a Tolkien fandom renaissance: yet another new book in August, a Tolkien biopic wrapping principle photography last December, a world class exhibit in Oxford’s Bodleian Library, and a $1 billion, 5-year mini-series in the works at Amazon. So, as the Dragon Con High Fantasy Track enters its second year, it’s only fitting that, once again, the worlds of the Professor and Middle-earth will see solid representation. With all the usual caveats that anything is subject to change, here’s what’s coming up this Labor Day in Atlanta.
Tolkien fandom celebrity guests for Dragon Con 2018: Evangeline Lilly, John Noble, Dean O’Gorman, Craig Parker.
- Celebrity Guests! While 2017 may have been a bit of a disappointment, Middle-earth denizens are back in force on the Dragon Con stages this year. Announced attendees include John Noble (Denethor), Craig Parker (Haldir), and Dean O’Gorman (Fili). And while she won’t be at the Con long enough for us to claim a dedicated Tauriel panel, Evangeline Lilly will be attending on Sunday and Monday, and should be accessible in the Hall of Fame for a chat and/or autograph. And you never know. Late-breaking announcements are always possible! We’re still finalizing the number of Tolkien-centered panels when these guests will be available; probably at least two.
BREAKING NEWS: Graham McTavish, our very own Dwalin, will be attending Dragon Con 2018!
JUST ANNOUNCED! Graham McTavish will join in on the Dragon Con 2018 fun!
- “They’re Taking the Hobbits to Amazon!” Transitions in the Tolkien Estate, a giant acquisition of rights by Amazon as they make their own play for the “next Game of Thrones”, a $1 billion, five-year mini-series, rumored to focus at least initially on the book-bridging life of Young Aragorn — all of this has the rumors flying, hopes (and/or anxieties) rising, and excitement brewing. Our friends and staffers at the OneRing.net, Greendragon and Deej, will be bringing the latest news and speculations to what’s sure to be a packed house.
- Bree! We’ll be back again for our traditional kick-off party on Friday night, this year with a pub-oriented theme. Two bands! Dancing! Singing elves! Our annual costume contest! Celebrity hosts (we hope)! There’s no better way to start your Dragon Con experience than with another “night to remember!”
- Elf Choir! We had such a great turnout last year that we’ve secured a bigger room for our Sindarin songsters this year. Not only will they be learning some new songs, they’ll once again be part of the Bree festivities. And rumor has it that the strolling Elven Choir will still be wandering the host hotel halls again, presumably in search of the Grey Havens.
Jim Wert and Constance Wagner at Dragon Con 2017. Photo credit: Valdis Longebeard.
- Scholarly panels! One of real distinctions of our Tolkien fandom is the kind of deep thinking that so many bring to the table. This year, the High Fantasy track will be diving into panel discussions that include:
- “Valar-ous” Women — featuring Constance Wagner and Valdís Longbeard, we’ll explore some of the deepest roots of the Tolkien legendarium, the Valar. And we’ll pay particular attention to the “big three” Queens: Varda/Elbereth, Yavanna and Nienna, and each of their marks and roles on Middle-earth
- The Rise and Fall of Denethor — with John Noble back at Dragon Con this year, what better excuse do we need to dive into one of the most morally complex, tragic figures in the Tolkien legendarium? Hero? Villain? Political realist? Fake news victim? We’ll try to cover it all!
- The Inklings — their legacy and fellowship. We promised last year that we’d bring back this deferred panel, focusing on the informal, incredible fellowship and impact of the Oxford writing community that saw the birth of so many works that we love, through familiar authors like Tolkien and C.S. Lewis, to less familiar figures such as Charles WIlliams and Owen Barfield.
- Beowulf and Its Influence on High Fantasy — this seminal work has captured the imagination and scholarly attention of many authors of modern myth and fantasy, including JRRT; this broad reaching panel will include one of our resident Tolkien scholars, Alicia Fox-Lenz, along with others, as they examine how this work continues to resonate
- Religion and High Fantasy — another general panel discussion which will inevitably include perspectives embedded in Tolkien’s works, while also considering the role, and larger questions surfaced through religion that many Fantasy authors incorporate into their works.
- Hobbit Drinking Songs! The Brobdingnagian Bards are back with their unique, rollicking take on what a truly great evening down at the Green Dragon would sound like. Get there early!
- An Hour with Peter Beagle! One of the legends of fantasy and science fiction, Peter Beagle not only wrote his most famous The Last Unicorn, but also the screenplay for Ralph Bakshi’s 1978 Lord of the Rings (not to mention a particularly iconic episode of Star Trek: TNG); we’ll have a chance to hear more about his iconic work and inspirations
- Tolkien Fan Wars! We Tolkienistas are nothing if not passionate. We’ll assemble a panel and invite friendly and hopefully fun debate on a range of topics where we tend to love to disagree. Balrog wings. Elf ears. Book vs. movie. The real hero. And more!
- Dragon Con Parade and Photo Ops! Once again, we’ll have a Middle-earth contingent gathering on Saturday morning for the annual parade down Peachtree Street. We’ll also have another photo shoot opportunity where many Middle-earth cosplayers will gather en masse. You can find dedicated pages for these events on Facebook (“2018 Dragoncon Parade: Tolkien Cosplayers,” and “Tolkien’s Middle-earth Dragon*Con 2018 Photoshoot”).
- David Thorn Wenzel Returning to Dragon Con is artist David Wenzel, best known for his graphic novel version of The Hobbit. The second edition of The Kingdom of the Dwarfs is set to release right about the time of Dragon Con. Maybe we can catch a peek at an advance copy!
Artist David Thorn Wenzel will return to Dragon Con 2018. Photo credit: Valdis Longbeard.
