Happy news: The Tolkien Society Announces my design of the Oxonmoot 2026 logo!

Glory and trumpets, as Sam Gamgee was wont to say! I am so deeply honored to have been chosen to design the 2026 logo for The Tolkien Society's Oxonmoot - an annual event that is cherished around the world. The artwork will be available on the famous Oxonmoot t-shirts attendees love to sport, as well as on other merchandise. You'll be asked if you'd like to order shirts when you register for the event here and there is further information on the event FAQ page here under "Other Burning Questions". I'm so happy to be able to share this news today and sincerely hope my fellow Tolkien readers will enjoy the logo.

About the 2026 Oxonmoot Logo

I was greatly excited when kind members of The Tolkien Society's board wrote earlier this year to invite me to create the logo. In fact, I was particularly enthusiastic in hearing that they had been considering some sort of portraiture for this year's design. As it happened, I had just completed a series of portraits in the style of Regency miniatures of the hobbits we know best for my forthcoming second book, A Shire Walking-Party, which will be brought out later this year by my publisher, Uppsala Books. Perhaps the elves would call this a "more than chance" serendipity!

While considering how to lay out the artwork, it suddenly occurred to me that there are four very useful "Os" in the word "Oxonmoot" - almost like picture frames. And so, you can see Frodo, Sam, Merry, and Pippin nicely featured in the word. The initials of each hobbit are in small letters in the gold frames, and a silvery date completes the logo design.

It was such a pleasure working with Shaun Gunner, Olivia Oddi, and Karl Southern of The Tolkien Society on this design, and I hope it's one that attendees will enjoy wearing and adding to their collections.

About the hobbit portraits

You'll be able to see larger images of each of the portraits in my upcoming book, but for now, I hoped it might be interesting to know a little more about what they represent. They depict each of the four Fellowship hobbits, not at the outset of their adventure, but at the height of their achievements.

Frodo Baggins is seen as he might have looked on his return journey to Rivendell. He is poignantly thin and somewhat pale, and wears Arwen's gift around his neck. I hoped to show him as Gandalf described: "a glass filled with a clear light for eyes to see that can." My feelings about Frodo's self-sacrifice are so strong that I could not paint him looking directly out of the portrait at us. Instead, he looks slightly away, towards the future, which we know will hold out the promise of healing for him far away, as well as the healing of his homeland, thanks to his immense courage.

Sam Gamgee is shown as he might have looked around the time of his first election as Mayor of Michel Delving and the Shire. He is all grown up - a devoted husband and excellent father, and his shining face, I hope, still shows his earnest humility. He is very finely dressed, but I think if you look closely, you'll see that Sam will never be quite as accustomed to elegant hobbit attire as he would be to a simple gardening outfit. I recently shared my idea of Sam's work on the gardens at Bag End, and no matter how famous Sam became, I think his love of the green earth would have served to keep him humble all his life.

Merry Brandybuck is depicted at the time of become the Master of Brandy Hall and of Buckland. He is rich, merry, and respected, and I hope his loyalty and stout-hearted courage are evident in his fine, broad face and bright eyes. I think Brandy Hall would have been utterly magnificent in his day and I hope it is a pleasure to see him in maturity, enjoying the peace he helped to win for his homeland.

Peregrin Took is portrayed at the moment of becoming The Took and Thain, and while he is now a mature and very important hobbit, I don't suppose he ever lost that Tookish spice that makes him so representative of the perilous scrapes one can get into in Fäerie. Can you imagine the fun of a visit to Great Smials in Pippin's day, and the parties and larks that would have surrounded mid-summer festivities?

I've written in the past about how the pre-industrial Shire speaks to my heart and recalls to my mind the bucolic setting we encounter in Jane Austen's novels before Sharkey-like machines wreaked such havoc on England's environment. Georgian/Regency portrait miniatures seem to me like such a good fit for portraying the lovely Fellowship hobbits, to celebrate the many things we love about them and their society.

Thank you for celebrating with me today about this lovely Oxonmoot news!