J.R.R. Tolkien once wrote: “I wisely started with a map, and made the story fit.” The Maps of Middle-earth presents four of Tolkien’s iconic maps, reimagined and newly updated for this edition by acclaimed Tolkien artist, John Howe, and richly decorated with scenes from the books:Middle-earth, a breath-taking panorama of all the locations from Hobbiton to Mordor that feature in The Lord of the Rings;Wilderland, a charming evocation of the realm to which Bilbo journeyed ‘there and back again’ in The Hobbit;Beleriand, a lyrical portrayal of the ancient landscape of the First Age, where the great tales of The Silmarillion took place;Númenor, an exclusive reproduction of the legendary island described in Unfinished Tales, which was sunk beneath the waves in the Second Age of Middle-earth.The maps are accompanied by an authoritative text written by Brian Sibley, which tells the stories behind The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings and The Silmarillion, and gives accounts of how the original maps came into being. Filled with illustrations by John Howe, many of which appear here for the first time, the book also features gazetteers of all the names on each of the four maps. They provide revealing insights into the significant role each place-name played in the stories, including those of Númenor, the island-kingdom once inhabited by Elendil and his sons, Isildur and Anárion, ancestors of Aragorn, that was sunk in a cataclysmic storm following the treacherous deeds of Sauron, as told in Of the Rings of Power in The Silmarillion. Read more

Fingerprint! Pocket Classics are perfect pocket-sized editions with complete original content. Convenient to carry, priced right, and ideal for gifting and collecting, each classic with its vibrant cover and flap jacket offers an ultimate reading experience. It’s the Sahara Desert, and a pilot has crashed his plane. When suddenly a young boy—with golden hair and a loveable laugh, and who claims to have fallen to Earth—appears before him and asks him to draw a sheep, what does he do? He draws it! Thus begins this poetic and sublime adventure, an enchanting fable, The Little Prince, which encloses in its heart the teachings of love, loss, loneliness, and friendship. Read more

Now in audiobook for the first time ever! Read by Simon Jones, the original “Arthur Dent,” and written by number one New York Times best-selling author Neil Gaiman, Don’t Panic is the definitive chronicle of all things Hitchhiker! First published in 1986 and updated several times since, Don’t Panic is in an in-depth exploration of Douglas Adams’s cultural phenomenon The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy - from its beginnings as a UK radio series, to its expansion into a wildly popular book trilogy, and onto incarnations in various media including stage, records, film, computer games, and even, um, tea towels. Don’t Panic was the first book by internationally best-selling author Neil Gaiman, written early in his writing career when he worked as a freelance journalist in his native England. Voiced by renowned actor Simon Jones - “Arthur Dent” himself - and with a new introduction written and read by Neil Gaiman, Don’t Panic: Douglas Adams & The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy audio edition is the ultimate version of this beloved work. Supplemental enhancement PDF accompanies the audiobook. PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio. Read more

Karen Wynn Fonstad's THE ATLAS OF MIDDLE-EARTH is an essential volume that will enchant all Tolkien fans. Here is the definitive guide to the geography of Middle-earth, from its founding in the Elder Days through the Third Age, including the journeys of Bilbo, Frodo, and the Fellowship of the Ring. Authentic and updated -- nearly one third of the maps are new, and the text is fully revised -- the atlas illuminates the enchanted world created in THE SILMARILLION, THE HOBBIT, and THE LORD OF THE RINGS.Hundreds of two-color maps and diagrams survey the journeys of the principal characters day by day -- including all the battles and key locations of the First, Second, and Third Ages. Plans and descriptions of castles, buildings, and distinctive landforms are given, along with thematic maps describing the climate, vegetation, languages, and population distribution of Middle-earth throughout its history. An extensive appendix and an index help readers correlate the maps with Tolkien's novels. Read more

At long last, millions of Dune fans can now hear the unpublished chapters and scenes from Dune and Dune Messiah. The Road to Dune also includes the original correspondence between Frank Herbert and famed editor John W. Campbell, Jr.; excerpts from Herbert's correspondence during his years-long struggle to get his innovative work published; and the article, "They Stopped the Moving Sands", Herbert's original inspiration for Dune. The Road to Dune features newly discovered papers and manuscripts and also "Spice Planet", an original 60,000 word short novel by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson, based on a detailed outline left by Frank Herbert. The Road to Dune is a treasure trove of essays, articles, and fiction that every Dune fan will want to add to their collection. Read more

A comprehensive, illustrated guide to the history, lands, and inhabitants of Middle-earth.The fantasy world of J. R. R. Tolkien’s Middle-earth contains a rich assortment of people, cities, and creatures—as well as a deep, intertwined history that spans thousands of years. In this beautifully illustrated, leather-bound volume, best-selling author and Tolkien scholar David Day presents four decades of research and writing on the lands and inhabitants Middle-earth. Sections of this A-to-Z dictionary are devoted to discussion of the battles, history, beasts, and heroes of Tolkien’s stories, and are accompanied by black-and-white illustrations. This comprehensive volume on Tolkien’s world also includes an appendix of three primary legends that served as sources for Tolkien’s creations—the Volsunga saga, the Nibelungenlied, and Richard Wagner’s Ring Cycle—and more than 200 black-and-white illustrations.This work is unofficial and is not authorized by the Tolkien Estate or HarperCollins Publishers.   Read more

A brilliant investigation into the motivations and methods behind the actions of Hogwarts's renowned Headmaster!Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts, is one of the most recognizable and mysterious figures in the Harry Potter series. As an unscrupulous beetle-like journalist once said, he's "a biographer's dream." Is he omniscient or limited? Is he benevolent or malevolent? What really drove him in the last years of an extraordinary life?Dumbledore dives between the lines of the Harry Potter books to create a portrait of the controversial Headmaster. We find Dumbledore's hand in every seeming coincidence and consider the impossible decisions he had to make. This in-depth examination from author Irvin Khaytman casts the events of the Harry Potter series in a whole new light, resolving fans' questions that linger to this day. Read more

The comprehensive collection of letters spanning the adult life of one of the world’s greatest storytellers, now revised and expanded to include more than 150 previously unseen letters, with revealing new insights into The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion.J.R.R. Tolkien, creator of the languages and history of Middle-earth as recorded in The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings and The Silmarillion, was one of the most prolific letter-writers of the last century. Over the years he wrote a mass of letters—to his publishers, to members of his family, to friends, and to “fans” of his books—which often reveal the inner workings of his mind, and which record the history of composition of his works and his reaction to subsequent events.A selection from Tolkien’s correspondence, collected and edited by Tolkien’s official biographer, Humphrey Carpenter, and assisted by Christopher Tolkien, was published in 1981. It presented, in Tolkien’s own words, a highly detailed portrait of the man in his many aspects: storyteller, scholar, Catholic, parent, friend, and observer of the world around him.In this revised and expanded edition of The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien, it has been possible to go back to the editors’ original typescripts and notes, restoring more than 150 letters that were excised purely to achieve what was then deemed a “publishable length,” and present the book as originally intended.Enthusiasts for his writings will find much that is new, for the letters not only include fresh information about Middle-earth, such as Tolkien’s own plot summary of the entirety of The Lord of the Rings and a vision for publishing his “Tales of the Three Ages,” but also many insights into the man and his world. In addition, this new selection will entertain anyone who appreciates the art of letter-writing, of which J.R.R. Tolkien was a master. Read more

With Christopher Tolkien as your guide, take a tour through this colorful gallery of enchanting art by J.R.R. Tolkien, as published originally in the first groundbreaking Tolkien Calendars of the 1970s.This collection of pictures, with a text by Christopher Tolkien, now reissued after almost thirty years, confirms J.R.R. Tolkien’s considerable talent as an artist. It provides fascinating insight into his visual conception of many of the places and events familiar to readers of The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion.Examples of his art range from delicate watercolors depicting Rivendell, the Forest of Lothlorien, Smaug, and Old Man Willow, to drawings and sketches of Moria Gate and Minas Tirith. Together they form a comprehensive collection of Tolkien’s own illustrations for his most popular books.Also included are many of his beautiful designs showing patterns of flowers and trees, friezes, tapestries, and heraldic devices associated with the world of Middle-earth. In their variety and scope, they provide abundant visual evidence of the richness of his imagination.This enchanting gallery was personally selected by Christopher Tolkien who, through detailed notes on the sources for each picture, provides unique insight into the artistic vision of his father, J.R.R. Tolkien Read more

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What is "the one great thing to love on earth", according to J. R. R. Tolkien, the author of The Lord of the Rings? The Eucharist! Tolkien made sure his one great love was woven throughout his books. It's easy to find if you know where to look. In Smith's new book, find Tolkien's hidden Eucharist!The Lord of the Rings can't be fully understood without understanding its hidden Eucharistic significance. What's more, perhaps: J. R. R. Tolkien can't be fully understood apart from his Catholic identity and his devotion to the Eucharist. Are you ready to read Lord of the Rings like you never have before? Read more

This must-have collection covers the lands and inhabitants of Middle-earth.The fantasy world of J. R. R. Tolkien’s Middle-earth contains a rich assortment of people, cities, powers, and creatures—as well as a deep, intertwined history that spans thousands of years. In these specially designed volumes, best-selling author and Tolkien scholar David Day presents four decades of research and writing on the lands and inhabitants of Middle-earth. A must-have guide to the Tolkien world, this collection includes seven individual books and provides an A-to-Z dictionary of the vernacular, an atlas describing the various terra firma, an exploration of the Rings of Power, histories of battles, dark powers, heroes, and the Hobbits that started it all. More than 200 black-and-white and full-color illustrations make the pages a joy to behold as you learn all you’ll need to know about Tolkien’s fantasy realm.This set includes the following titles:An Atlas of Tolkien The Battles of Tolkien The Dark Powers of Tolkien A Dictionary of Tolkien The Heroes of Tolkien The Hobbits of Tolkien The Ring Legends of TolkienThis work is unofficial and is not authorized by the Tolkien Estate or HarperCollins Publishers. Read more

The third part of The History of The Lord of the Rings, J.R.R. Tolkien's The War Of The Ring is an enthralling account of the writing of the Book of the Century, which contains many additional scenes and includes the unpublished Epilogue in its entirety.The War of the Ring takes up the story of The Lord of the Rings with the Battle of Helm’s Deep and the drowning of Isengard by the Ents, continues with the journey of Frodo, Sam and Gollum to the Pass of Cirith Ungol, describes the war in Gondor, and ends with the parley between Gandalf and the ambassador of the Dark Lord before the Black Gate of Mordor.The book is illustrated with plans and drawings of the changing conceptions of Orthanc, Dunharrow, Minas Tirith and the tunnels of Shelob’s Lair. Read more

The Book of Lost Tales: Part One is the first of a two-volume set that contains the early myths and legends which led to the writing of J.R.R. Tolkien’s epic tale of war, The Silmarillion.The Book of Lost Tales was the first major work of imagination by J.R.R. Tolkien, begun in 1916-17 when he was twenty-five years old and left incomplete several years later. It stands at the beginning of the entire conception of Middle-earth and Valinor, for these tales were the first form of the myths and legends that came to be called The Silmarillion. Embedded in English legend, they are set in the narrative frame of a great westward voyage over the Ocean by a mariner named Eriol (or Ælfwine) to Tol Eressea, the Lonely Isle, where elves dwelt; from him they learned their true history, the Lost Tales of Elfinesse.In these Tales are found the earliest accounts and original ideas of Gods and Elves, Dwarves, Balrogs, and Orcs; of the Silmarils and the Two Trees of Valinor; of Nargothrond and Gondolin; of the geography and cosmology of Middle-earth.Part One contains the tales of The Music of the Ainur, The Building of Valinor, The Chaining of Melko, The Coming of the Elves, and The Flight of the Noldoli, among others. Each tale is followed by a short essay by Christopher Tolkien, the author's son and literary executor. Read more

The second part of The History of The Lord of the Rings, an enthralling account of the writing of the Book of the Century which contains many additional scenes and includes the unpublished Epilogue in its entirety.The Treason of Isengard continues the account of the creation of The Lord of the Rings started in the earlier volume, The Return of the Shadow.It races the great expansion of the tale into new lands and peoples south and east of the Misty Mountains: the emerence of Lothlorien, of Ents, of the Riders of Rohan, and of Saruman the White in the fortress of Isengard.In brief outlines and pencilled drafts dashed down on scraps of paper are seen the first entry of Galadriel, the earliest ideas of the history of Gondor, and the original meeting of Aragorn and Eowyn, its significance destined to be wholly transformed.The book also contains a full account of the original map which was to be the basis of the emerging geography of Middle-earth. Read more

An inspiring look at the creative processC.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien, and the Inklings met each week to read and discuss each other's work-in-progress, offering both encouragement and blistering critique. How did these conversations shape the books they were writing? How does creative collaboration enhance individual talent? And what can we learn from their example?Featuring full-page illustrations by James A. Owen, Bandersnatch offers an inside look at the Inklings of Oxford, and a seat at their table at the Eagle and Child pub. It shows how encouragement and criticism made all the difference in The Lord of the Rings, The Chronicles of Narnia, and dozens of other books written by the members of their circle. You'll learn what made these writers tick, and more: inspired by their example, you'll discover how collaboration can help your own creative process and lead to genius breakthroughs in whatever work you do. Read more

“Uniquely qualified to explicate Tolkien’s worldview,” this journey into the roots of the Lord of the Rings is a classic in its own right (Salon.com).From beloved epic fantasy classic to record-breaking cinematic success, J.R.R. Tolkien's story of four brave hobbits has enraptured the hearts and minds of generations. Now, readers can go deeper into this enchanting lore with a revised edition of Tom Shippey's classic exploration of Middle-earth.   From meditations on Tolkien's inspiration to analyses of the influences of his professional background, The Road to Middle-earth takes a closer look at the novels that made Tolkien a legend. Shippey also illuminates Tolkien's more difficult works set in the same world, including The Silmarillion, Unfinished Tales, and the myth cycle, and examines the remarkable twelve-volume History of Middle-earth, written by J.R.R.'s son Christopher Tolkien.   At once a celebration of a beloved classic and a revealing literary study, The Road to Middle-earth is required reading for fantasy fans and English literature scholars alike. Read more

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Writing advice tends to be full of 'rules' and 'tips' which are either too broad to be helpful or outright wrong. With over 35,000 copies sold, On Writing and Worldbuilding: Volume Idiscusses specific and applicable ideas for your writing, from effective methods of delivering exposition and foreshadowing, to how communication, commerce, and control play into the fall of an empire. Volume II, a sequel with a host of new topics, released in December 2021.On WritingProloguesThe First ChapterThe Exposition ProblemForeshadowingVillain MotivationHero-Villain RelationshipsFinal BattlesThe Chosen OneHard Magic SystemsSoft Magic SystemsMagic Systems and StorytellingOn WorldbuildingPolytheistic ReligionsHidden Magical WorldsHow Empires RiseHow Empires WorkHow Empires FallExclusive ContentHow I Plan a Novel Read more