Articles written by: Valdis

Valdís is a classic nerd, with many geeky interests, but her life-long love of Tolkien rules them all. She was completely hooked the first time that she read The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings at age 8. Since then, she has read the books at least once a year, and delves into Middle-earth at every opportunity with a fervor that would make any dwarf proud. She also deeply loves Peter Jackson’s films, and defends them staunchly when need arises. When reality forces her out of Middle-earth, Valdís is a university professor, a wife, mother of two daughters, and servant to two cats.

Happy Birthday to Our Own Myla Malinalda!

Our very own Myla Malinalda is celebrating a birthday today! Myla is an indispensable part of the Middle-earth News team. She writes many news stories, covers special events such as New York Comic Con and […]

Happy Birthday, Luke Evans!

Luke Evans, known best to fans of The Hobbit films as the staunch Bard of Lake-town, celebrates his 36th birthday today! The only child of Yvonne and David Evans, Luke was born on April 15, […]

April Fools: Peter Jackson Slated to Direct ‘The Silmarillion’ for HBO!

In an exclusive interview with Middle-earth News, Kiwi director Sir Peter Jackson revealed that he will be returning to Middle-earth as early as 2016 as production begins on Tolkien’s timeless epic, The Silmarillion. HBO has […]

Congratulations to the Winner of our Tolkien Reading Day Giveaway!

We were amazed by the HUGE amount of participation from all of you in our Tolkien Reading Day t-shirt giveaway, in partnership with our friends at Shirts.com. Nearly 250 of you posted your favorite Tolkien […]

EXCLUSIVE Interview: Jed Brophy, Part 3

Middle-earth News reporters Amanda Capley and Valdis Longbeard had the honor of interviewing fan favorite Jed Brophy during Dragon Con 2014. We shared the first two parts of that interview over the last two weeks […]

Happy Birthday, Lee Pace!

March 25 is a very important date to fans of Middle-earth: the anniversary of the destruction of the One Ring, the downfall of Sauron and Barad-dûr, Tolkien Reading Day… and the birthday of Lee Pace, […]

Celebrating Friendship for Tolkien Reading Day

Today is Tolkien Reading Day! The Tolkien Society started the tradition of Tolkien Reading Day in 2003, encouraging fans to celebrate Tolkien’s life and work by reading their favorite passages from Tolkien’s books. The date […]

Roads Go Ever On: Middle-earth News in the Next Age

A full season has already passed – winter or summer, depending on your hemisphere of residence – since The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies opened for most of the world. In that time, […]

T-shirt Giveaway for Tolkien Reading Day!

Tolkien Reading Day is celebrated on March 25 each year. Organized by the Tolkien Society in 2003, Tolkien Reading Day is an opportunity for fans to promote the life and works of J. R. R. […]

EXCLUSIVE Interview: Jed Brophy, Part 2

Last week, we shared the first part of our exclusive interview with actor Jed Brophy (Nori) during Dragon Con 2014. Here is the second part of the conversation with Jed and reporters Amanda Capley and […]