Originally published on JRR Tolkien Examiner on 11/1/09.

The Festival in the Shire, a conference, exhibition and fair celebrating the works of J.R.R. Tolkien, will be held in Machynlleth, Wales on August 13-15, 2010.

The event will cater to both serious Tolkien fans and the general public by hosting three separate events.

A three day conference, “Welsh influences on the works of J.R.R. Tolkien,” will feature a number of speakers, such as leading Tolkien scholar Tom Shippey, formerly of Saint Louis University, and author of The Road to Middle-earth; plus Jane Chance, Douglas Anderson, Colin Duriez, John Garth, and Verlyn Flieger; and Dimitra Fimi of Cardiff University, author of Tolkien, Race and Cultural History: From Fairies to Hobbits, to speak on Tolkien’s use of Cymraeg, the Welsh language. Tolkien based the sound, and some grammar, of his Sindarin language on Welsh.

An exhibition will showcase original art and rare first editions of Tolkien’s books. Artists including Roger Garland, Ted Nasmith, Jef Murray, Peter Pracownik and Ruth Lacon are scheduled to attend.

And finally, a fair intended for the general public will offer arts & crafts and food, featuring local vendors. Machynlleth (“mack-in-seth”) is a market town in the County of Powys, with a population of 2,147.