Prof. Dimitra Fimi

Submitted today! Following a few years of rigorous peer-review and working with my co-editor @lukebshelton.bsky.social and many Tolkienists! - 44 chapters - 46 Tolkien scholars globally - over 280K words overall Still tons of work to do as proofs arrive, but feels like a moment to celebrate. ☺️

My Inaugural Professorial Lecture at @glasgow.ac.uk has been announced: “A kind of elvish craft”: In conversation with Prof. Tolkien Myth, folklore, fairy-story, fantasy + the traditions behind the stories we tell. 9 Nov, 5pm. Book here: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/critical-s... @uofgartshums.bsky.social

Why can’t the Borrowers live in a doll’s house? A teacup is the size of a mixing bowl. The stove looks lovely but doesn’t work. The lamps give no light. My new essay on scale, status and beautiful things: dimitrafimi.substack.com/p/why-cant-t...

Tolkien based the Elves’ title “Fair Folk” on the Welsh Tylwyth Teg, “the Beautiful Kindred”. My new “slow” Lord of the Rings re-read explores Gildor’s company, myth, fairylore and Tolkien’s Welsh imagination. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 🧝🏻‍♀️ Free opening; full essay for subscribers: dimitrafimi.substack.com/p/the-slow-l...

A few glimpses from yesterday’s visit to Benmore Botanic Garden, close to Dunoon. Autumn colours, impressive giant redwoods, a Victorian fernery and so much more. 🍂

I spoke with John Pienaar on Times Radio about #Tolkien’s forthcoming Westminster Abbey memorial, Tolkien’s literary standing, the quality of his prose, fantasy and allegory, and adaptations as interpretations. Interview at 1:56:46. Free sign-in required: www.thetimes.com/radio/show/2...

I ended up speaking to John Pienaar about this on Times Radio this evening - will post a link if/when available!

Wonderful #Tolkien news! Westminster Abbey has announced that J.R.R. Tolkien will be honoured with a memorial in Poets' Corner. I've known about this project for some years + was privileged to be consulted during its development. Great to see it made public! www.westminster-abbey.org/abbey-news/a...

Gruffalo Granny first impressions: a really clever, funny, scary, heartwarming, impeccably rhymed story, and a wonderful tribute to storytelling and to the idea of stories existing in dialogue with other stories. Long live the Gruffalo! (And the little brown mouse, naturally.)

At human scale, Mr Wuffles is an ordinary house cat. From beneath the radiator, Mr Wuffles belongs to a monster narrative. New essay on scale, visual storytelling and material culture in David Wiesner’s Mr Wuffles!: dimitrafimi.substack.com/p/mr-wuffles... 🐈‍⬛ 👽 🐜

Why are Brambly Hedge illustrations so irresistible? In my latest Miniature Fantasies essay, I explore mice, miniature worlds, dolls’ houses, cross-sections, and the pleasure of seeing hidden worlds opened up before us. dimitrafimi.substack.com/p/inside-bra...

What can tiny people learn from fairy tales, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, and Gulliver’s Travels? In Terry Pratchett’s Nome Trilogy, quite a lot. New Miniature Fantasies essay: dimitrafimi.substack.com/p/terry-prat... @uofgfantasy.bsky.social

Did #Tolkien originally imagine the One Ring being swallowed by a fish? This week’s “slow” LotR Re-read explores an international folklore motif, early Lord of the Rings drafts, and a very strange fish. dimitrafimi.substack.com/p/the-slow-l... @tolkiensociety.org @uofgfantasy.bsky.social

Joined “A kind of elvish craft” recently and not sure where to begin? I’ve made a Tolkien route through the open archive: Bilbo, Gandalf, hobbit talk, Sam Gamgee, the Ring, and the opening chapters of The Lord of the Rings. Archive open until 7 September. dimitrafimi.substack.com/p/a-route-th...

There were so many swallows at Doune Castle, flying all around the walls and in and out of the Great Hall. I managed to get this slow mo video - you’ll miss their lovely twittering (slow mo messes up sound) but you can see their elegant flying! #birding #BirdsSeenIn2026

We visited Doune Castle today, a 14th-century stronghold close to Stirling and a location for: - Ivanhoe - Monty Python and the Holy Grail - Game of Thrones (Winterfell) - Outlander (Castle Leoch) Beautifully looked after by Historic Scotland and worth every penny of the very affordable tickets! 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 🏰

Are the Borrowers:🪲 insects? 🧚 fairies? 🐭 mice? Or something else entirely? My latest Miniature Fantasies essay explores how Mary Norton invites us to classify the Borrowers... and why every category fails. 🔗 dimitrafimi.substack.com/p/the-borrow...

What kind of object is the Ring? In the latest instalment of my “slow” Lord of the Rings re-read, I explore gold, inscriptions, posy rings, and the material power of Tolkien's most dangerous artefact. dimitrafimi.substack.com/p/the-slow-l... @uofgfantasy.bsky.social @tolkiensociety.org

Impromptu trip to Aberfoyle today to pay our respects to Scotland’s first folklorist, the Reverend Robert Kirk, author of The Secret Commonwealth of Elves, Fauns & Fairies. Then we climbed up Doon Hill to find the Fairy Tree (some believe it’s an entrance to Faërie, where Kirk is still) 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

Always worth photographing the University of Glasgow‘s magnificent gothic tower and spire - especially as I’ve just got out of a meeting right here and the sun is shining!

Wonderful post on a childhood favorite of mine 👇🏻

What exactly is Thumbelina? A female Tom Thumb? A flower-fairy? Or something else altogether? In my latest essay I explore various critical readings before focusing on what her tiny size and intriguing ending can tell us about the history of miniature fantasy dimitrafimi.substack.com/p/thumbelina...

Gremlins existed long before the 1984 film. WWII RAF pilots blamed them for mechanical failures, accidents, and crashed aircraft. Here's a free preview of my new subscriber lecture on Roald Dahl's The Gremlins and the folklore of tiny saboteurs. open.substack.com/pub/dimitraf...

Today it’s Alice’s Day, commemorating the “golden” afternoon on 4 July 1862 when Lewis Carrol (Charles Dodgson) first told the story of Alice’s fantastical adventures to Lorina, Alice, and Edith Liddell. Art by: John Tenniel, Salvador Dalí, Tove Jansson, and Helen Oxenbury. @uofgfantasy.bsky.social

Gandalf knows the Ring is dangerous and still refuses to take it from Bilbo by force. Instead, he chooses to wait. That kind of restraint is difficult - and it turns out to be crucial. 👉 open.substack.com/pub/dimitraf...

Always lovely to wear my robes for graduation, and especially today, seeing two of my own PhD students receiving their doctorate degrees! One thesis on Tolkien, by Dr Tom Emanuel (@realtomemanuel.bsky.social), the other on Tamora Pierce, by Dr Grace Worm!

Why does Gandalf behave less like a wizard in his confrontation with Bilbo—and more like a parent? That’s the starting point for my latest piece on The Lord of the Rings. The opening is free to read if you’d like to take a look: 👉 open.substack.com/pub/dimitraf...

I’ve been quietly writing not 1, but 2 books - and reshaping my Substack to make it possible. One will be on miniature fantasies, the other is the reason for my “slow” re-read of The #LordoftheRings. The full archive is open to all as I begin a new weekly series: open.substack.com/pub/dimitraf...

J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone was published 29 years ago today! Here are some of the various editions and covers over the years. Particularly thinking about the 3rd one right now as I’m writing something… ✨🪄🚂⚡️

Today I’ve been working on my conference paper for next week, on gremlins! Here’s my title slide! (P.S. if you’re coming to our conference, do find me and say hello! Details here: www.gla.ac.uk/schools/crit...) @uofgfantasy.bsky.social @uofgartshums.bsky.social

Happy birthday to Chris Van Allsburg who is turning 77 today! Among his many picturebooks I’m thinking today of the Caldecott-Medal-winning Jumanji (1981) and the way it works as a tricksy intrusion fantasy. Beware of board games found abandoned in parks… 🦏 🦁 🐵 🐍

“Excuse me, but I'm very hungry. Do you think I could have tea with you?” 🐯 🐅 ☕️ 🫖 The Tiger Who Came to Tea, by Judith Kerr, born #OTD in 1923 (she would have been 103 years old today!)

My “slow” #LotR re-read continues with a piece on Sam Gamgee: his willingness to consider folklore as a genuine source of the numinous and his desire for Faërie resonate strongly with Tolkien’s own reflections in “On Fairy-stories”. dimitrafimi.substack.com/p/the-slow-l... @tolkiensociety.org

Great to see this new CFP from the Tolkien Society: www.tolkiensociety.org/events/semin... Deadline for proposals: 31st July 2026 @tolkiensociety.org

Buff-tailed bumble bee on allium blossom 🐝

Briar rose bud about to open, foxgloves blossoming, and yellow daylilies at their prime

It’s my birthday today, so, in true hobbit fashion, here’s my present to my readers: a new piece on “hobbit talk”, dialects, non-standard English, and “rustic” vs. “gentlehobbits”! dimitrafimi.substack.com/p/the-slow-l... Cover art by the amazing @miriamellis.bsky.social

As I continue my “slow” re-read of The Lord of the Rings I’m pausing to contemplate how Tolkien sets up the anxious times before the War of the Ring erupts, including movement of peoples driven by fear. dimitrafimi.substack.com/p/the-slow-l...

As I continue my “slow” re-read of The Lord of the Rings, I’m contemplating Tolkien's retconning of a crucial scene in The Hobbit, and the ways its implications show up in the first LotR chapter and shape Bilbo’s character. dimitrafimi.substack.com/p/the-slow-l... @uofgfantasy.bsky.social

Following the same peacock butterfly across different flowers

A really interesting new article on Tolkien, Gustavo Adolfo Bécquer, and the Romantic imagination by Mariana Rios and Andoni Cossio. Such comparative approaches are really valuable - we need more of this! dc.swosu.edu/mythlore/vol...