The Tolkien Society’s annual Oxonmoot event is due to take place at St Antony’s College, Oxford this weekend with record attendance.
This year will be The Tolkien Society’s 42nd Oxonmoot – taking place from Thursday 10th to Sunday 13th September – and will include talks and panels, friendly discussion, quizzes, an art exhibition, a masquerade, and a party including a traditional ceilidh! The weekend concludes, as always, with Enyalie, a ceremony of remembrance at Tolkien’s grave in Wolvercote Cemetery on Sunday morning. This year’s Oxonmoot takes place in the run up to the anniversary of the 60th anniversary of The Lord of the Rings. The Return of the King was first published on the 20th October 1955 and has become one of the world’s most popular books: The Lord of the Rings has been translated into over 50 languages and estimates put sales at over 150 million copies worldwide.
Founded in 1969 by Vera Chapman, The Tolkien Society is an educational charity and literary society with the aim of promoting the life and works with J.R.R. Tolkien. Tolkien himself supported the organisation and gave it his seal of approval by agreeing to become The Tolkien Society’s President. On Tolkien’s death the family recommended he stay as President, so, to this day, he remains The Tolkien Society’s Honorary President in perpetuo. The Society has over a thousand members and hosts events up and down the country every week.
Shaun Gunner, Chairman of The Tolkien Society, said: “Oxonmoot always takes place in September to coincide with the birthdays of Bilbo and Frodo, but this year we have a record number of attendees coming to St Antony’s College to enjoy the longest-running Tolkien event in the world.” He added, “Oxonmoot has been going for over 40 years and provides an excellent opportunity for hundreds of fans from around the world to come together for a weekend of fun and fellowship in Oxford, a location so important to Tolkien.”
