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HarperCollins to publish new edition of The Silmarillion illustrated by Tolkien
HarperCollins is releasing a brand-new edition of The Silmarillion, illustrated with paintings and drawings by J R R Tolkien for the first time since the original publication in 1977.
HarperCollins holds world rights in all languages for the works of Tolkien and the new edition of The Silmarillion will be published in October 2022, and subsequently in translation around the world.
Tolkien first started working on the stories that would become The Silmarillion during the First World War. However, it was only after The Lord of the Rings trilogy had been published that he returned to it. After his death it fell to his son and literary executor Christopher Tolkien to complete the work and publish it in 1977.
Tolkien would often illustrate particular moments from his writing, however they remained merely a personal pleasure during his lifetime.
Chris Smith, deputy publishing director, said: “The art that complemented and enhanced these tales would only be seen in fragments over the following years, in calendars or in academic works, and it was not until the record-breaking exhibitions of 2018 that a new global audience would finally be able to appreciate J R R Tolkien’s extraordinary artistic achievement.
“This overwhelmingly positive response resulted in the first ever edition of The Lord of the Rings illustrated by its author, which proved hugely popular with readers around the world, and it is with great pleasure that we are now able to accompany this with an edition of The Silmarillion, at last presented with a wonderful selection of J R R Tolkien’s paintings, drawings and designs that capture the beauty and drama of the First and Second Ages of Middle-earth.”
The Hobbit was first published in 1937 and The Lord of the Rings in 1954–5. They have been translated into more than 70 languages, collectively selling more than 150 million copies worldwide, according to the publisher. HarperCollins said The Silmarillion sold more than one million copies in its first year of publication and has gone on to be translated into almost 40 languages.
