Approve or Disapprove: What 8 famous authors think of fanfiction

The Lord of the Rings author J.R.R. Tolkien did not want his work tampered with

Disclaimer: Never doubt that if I can sneak J.R.R. Tolkien onto a list, I will. Whether Tolkien himself ever voiced his opinions about non-commercial fanfiction, I don’t know. These are his feelings towards people editing his works and fans who proposed writing their own The Lord of the Rings sequels. The Tolkien Estate, however, clearly states that no fanfiction is authorized, and I somehow feel they are echoing what Tolkien’s feelings on the subject would’ve been.

The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings trilogy were era-defining works of fantasy literature, no ifs, ands or buts. Those who know anything about the man behind these works will know that he took his creations very seriously. His convictions to accuracy were so strong that even altered words riled him.

Galley-proofs of the first The Lord of the Rings volume were sent to Tolkien in July 1953. In an August 1953 letter to his son Christopher, Tolkien expressed his irritation that the compositors, whom he deemed rude, had edited his spelling and grammar at their own discretion. They had altered “dwarves to dwarfs; elvish to elfish; further to farther; and worst of all, elven – to elfin.”

How dare they! Naturally, Tolkien expressed his annoyance in a letter to his publishers, Allen & Unwin, which “produced a grovel.”

So when fans requested to write and publish their own sequels to The Lord of the Rings, you can imagine how it went. Tolkien received proposed sequel details from a reader who wished to write a continuation of Tolkien’s opus, and the author sent the “impertinent contribution to my troubles” on to Joy Hill of Allen & Unwin. In the December 1966 letter to his publisher, Tolkien questioned the legalities of the situation and could scarcely disguise his vitriol towards the request.

“I suppose that since one cannot claim property in inventing proper names, that there is no legal obstacle to this young ass publishing his sequel, if he could find any publisher, either respectable or disreputable, who would accept such tripe,” he wrote. He asked his publisher to write a formal reply to the gentleman on his behalf. You see, prior to this, he had received a similar request from a young woman, and when he rejected it, her response was bitter.

Today, the Tolkien Estate is very clear on its fanfiction stance: adaptation or embellishment is most definitely not permitted. In answer to a query on the website’s FAQ section about whether it’s possible to write stories set in Middle-earth, they state:

"We understand only too well the fascination and enjoyment that the world of Middle-earth can bring, but the fact remains that this is an imaginary world, created by the author on his own terms and in his own right. So, however tempting, to publish this type of fan-fiction for personal or commercial purposes, even online, is absolutely not authorized."

Different opinions, all of them valid. Whatever your personal thoughts are on fanfiction, when it comes to writing it, I think it’s important to take the respective creator’s views into account. Happy writing, don’t get sued.

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