Xenite.Org News

Parma Endorion selected for best Tolkien fan sites article

December 01, 2001 at 02:44:43

Yahoo! Internet Life is asking online Tolkien fans to vote for the best Tolkien Web sites through the end of December 2001. One of Xenite.Org's Tolkien sites has been nominated.

Parma Endorion: Essays On Middle-earth has long been acknowledged as one of the Web's leading collections of Tolkien essays. Launched by Xenite.Org founder Michael Martinez in late 1996, within a year Parma Endorion had garnered a world-wide audience which included many teachers, librarians, and students. Many graduate-level students included the site in their research papers.

The essays cover a broad selection of topics, from the history and geography of Arda to how Middle-earth weddings were planned, to what Elves do in Aman all day, and the wonders of Middle-earth. The Web site was revised and content updated in 1998. A third edition, to be released as an eBook and featuring artwork by some of the Web's best fan artists, is currently in preparation.

Michael Martinez writes a regular column on Tolkien and Middle-earth for Suite101.Com and he is the author of Visualizing Middle-earth, a highly acclaimed collection of essays from Suite101 and other Web sites (updated for the book). Martinez inaugurated Dragoncon's highly successful Tolkien and Middle-earth fan track in the summer of 2000, serving as the track director for that year and 2001.

To see the full list of categories and nominated sites, and to vote for your favorites in each category, check out Yahoo! Internet Life's The Great Lord of the Rings on the Net Contest. Parma Endorion is listed in the last category, "Best Site For Serious Tolkien Fans". Voting concludes around January 1, 2002.