Official Oloris Publishing Press Release:
Oloris Publishing collaborates with Emil Johansson to make his work available as posters. Lord of the Rings Project, commonly shortened LotrProject, is a creative web project dedicated to the works of J.R.R. Tolkien. It is perhaps best known for the extensive and ever updating genealogy, the historical timeline of Middle-earth and the statistics of the population of Middle- earth.
LotrProject was published in January 2012 by Emil Johansson with the genealogy as the only feature. It quickly gained a lot of attention which spurred the development of the site. Since then the project has expanded to become a creative outlet for Johansson and now features several interactive Tolkien related projects.
Johansson, a Chemical Engineering student currently living in Gothenburg, Sweden, first read the Lord of the Rings in 2000. To satisfy his need to know more about Tolkien’s legendarium, he went on to read the Silmarillion. While trying to keep track of the many characters, he started doodling on a piece of paper – and the Lord of the Rings Project was born.
Johansson’s work has captured the attention of such publications and news outlets as Smithsonian Magazine, WIRED, CNN GEEKOUT, TIME Magazine US Edition, The Guardian, The Huffington Post, NPR, TheOneRing.Net, and Middle-earth Network. Johansson was honored to make a presentation on his project at TEDxGoteborg in October 2012 – only ten months after the publishing of his site!
Oloris Publishing is excited to be working with Johansson by making some of his work available as posters. As extensive and serious an undertaking the LotrProject has been, there is also a humorous side. Flow charts, Venn Diagrams, and other data visualizations portray elements of Tolkien’s world with fun and wit. Three of the posters will be of the more academic nature, but one will reflect the less serious side.
The posters that will be available first are:
- “Timeline of the Elves” is a rather ambitious part of the project that traces the lineage of Vanyar, Noldor, and Teleri all the way through The Return of the King. Johansson’s chemical engineering is evidenced in the color coded time lines that make the people and events much easier to follow.
- “Timeline of the One Ring” is elegant in its simplicity, but don’t be fooled – a lot of information is included but the presentation is such that it is easy on the eyes as well as easy to understand. It covers the complete history of the Ring from the time it was forged in S.A. 1600 to its unmaking in T.A. 3019 and includes the seven Ring Bearers.
Two more posters will be released on March 9:
- “Character Mentions in The Hobbit” contains the most intensive information of the four posters. A detailed study of the frequency of mentions of characters in the book, it also includes a colored bar graph that reflects the sentiment of each page.
- “Gandalf’s Gear” examines the Grey Wizard’s essential gear which apparently includes, among other things, a pocket comb, extra pipes, and a book on how to speak Moth. The secret power source of Gandalf’s staff is revealed.
“LotrProject has become a way for me to explore both Middle-Earth and my own creativity. Through this project I have developed a deep passion for visualizing Middle-earth in new ways, both entertaining and informational. I am so thankful for the opportunity to share my creations as posters.” ~ Emil Johansson, LotrProject
“If you love this legendarium, it’s hard not to be a fan of the work Emil is doing at LotrProject. At Oloris, we admire his work very much and we are thrilled to be able to help him bring these incredible posters to fans.” ~ Lara Sookoo, Publisher at Oloris Publishing
Oloris Publishing is an independent publishing house dedicated to publishing exceptional works of fiction and non-fiction that will deeply engage readers across a variety of genres. To learn more, visit olorispublishing.com or follow Oloris Publishing on Facebook and Twitter.
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