Editors’ Introduction

This is the eleventh issue of Tolkien Studies, the first refereed journal solely devoted to the scholarly study of the works of J.R.R. Tolkien. As editors, our goal is to publish excellent scholarship on Tolkien as well as to gather useful research information, reviews, notes, documents, and bibliographical material.

All articles have been subject to anonymous, external review as well as receiving a positive judgment by the Editors. In the cases of articles by individuals associated with the journal in any way, each article had to receive at least two positive evaluations from two different outside reviewers. Reviewer comments were anonymously conveyed to the authors of the articles. The Editors agreed to be bound by the recommendations of the outside referees. Although they are solicited and edited by the editors, book reviews represent the judgments of the individual reviewers, not Tolkien Studies.

With this volume, Tolkien Studies bids farewell to Hilary Attfield, who is retiring as managing editor of West Virginia University Press. Since the founding of the journal well over a decade ago, Hilary has shaped every aspect of Tolkien Studies, from physical appearance of the volumes, to content and style, to communication among contributors, editors, and the press. Not only has she corrected innumerable errors and beautifully designed and laid out each volume, but she has also shown infinite patience, both with the growing pains of a new journal and the new challenges posed by its evolution over time. Tolkien Studies would not be what it is without Hilary’s work. We will miss her very much indeed, and we wish her well in her future endeavors.

Michael D. C. Drout

Verlyn Flieger

David Bratman

Notes on Submissions

Tolkien Studies seeks works of scholarly quality and depth. Substantial essays and shorter “Notes and Documents” pieces are both welcome.

Submissions should be double-spaced throughout and use parenthetical citations in the Author-page or Author-keyword-page form. A Works Cited page and other formatting issues should conform to the MLA Style Manual and Guide to Scholarly Publishing, 3rd ed. This is a change in policy from previous issues. All citations to Tolkien’s works should follow the “Conventions and Abbreviations” of Tolkien Studies.