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Zen Cho to Deliver the 2025 Tolkien Lecture

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We are thrilled to announce that the 2025 J.R.R. Tolkien Lecture on Fantasy Literature will be delivered by Zen Cho! 

The lecture will take place on Monday 19 May at 6:00 pm, in the Pichette Auditorium, Pembroke College, Oxford.

Tickets will be released on Wednesday 19 March at 12:00 pm. 

The lecture is free to the public, but tickets are required for entry.

For those unable to attend, the lecture will be recorded and available to view afterwards on our YouTube channel. We are generously supported by Pembroke College, the Pembroke Pink Grant, and the Kadas Family Charitable Foundation.

About the Speaker

Zen Cho was born and raised in Malaysia, and lives in the UK. She writes fantasy and romance. Her titles include the Sorcerer to the Crown historical fantasy novels and Malaysian contemporary fantasy Black Water Sister, as well as the Lambda Award-nominated novella The Order of the Pure Moon Reflected in Water, and a short story collection, Spirits Abroad. Her newest novels, The Friend Zone Experiment and Behind Frenemy Lines, are contemporary romances set among London’s East and Southeast Asian community.

Zen is a winner of the Hugo, Crawford and British Fantasy Awards and the LA Times Ray Bradbury Prize, as well as a finalist for the World Fantasy, Ignyte, Locus, Astounding, Kitschies and Diverse Book Awards. Her short fiction has been translated into French, Spanish, Italian, Finnish, Chinese and Japanese. She has spoken at literary festivals and conventions, taught creative writing and appeared on radio, and was once a model in a campaign for a global luxury make-up brand, chosen specifically for her accomplishments rather than her looks.

When she isn’t writing, Zen works as a lawyer. She enjoys cooking and baking, reading, gossip and travel.

Photo © Ilona Denton.

‘Hand Grenade Pins: On Libraries and the Fantastic’ – Neil Gaiman Lecture Recording and Photos

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The annual J.R.R. Tolkien Lecture on Fantasy Literature seeks to promote the study of fantasy literature by making access to its lectures available to audiences from around the world. 

On June 12th 2024, Neil Gaiman delivered the 2024 Tolkien Lecture, highlighting the power of libraries and fantasy and drawing attention to the life and work of Nicholas Stuart Gray.

“Fiction … heals us, by letting us feel things we didn’t experience, see through others’ eyes when the only eyes we have are our own. It tells us there are options, it gives us friends. It gives us memories of places we have never been, and that never were. It makes the bullied, brave; and the impossible, possible.”

If you missed the lecture or simply want to relive the magic again, the recording is now on our YouTube channel!

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We are immensely grateful to the Pembroke Pink Grant Scheme, the Kadas Foundation, and of course, the support of lecture attendees over the past 11 years. In addition, many thanks to the events, catering, and communications teams at Pembroke College.

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Please note, this lecture took place in June 2024, prior to more recent developments regarding the speaker.

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Videography by Gregory Jenkins

Photography by Gabriel Schenk and Seda Öztürk

Tickets for 2024 Tolkien Lecture by Neil Gaiman

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Tickets are now available for the 2024 Tolkien Lecture by Neil Gaiman! Visit Eventbrite to secure your spot! https://tinyurl.com/2024tolkienlecture 

Tickets to the lecture are free of charge. However, if you are able, please consider purchasing a ticket for £10 which will help us cover the costs of running the lecture this year and in the future. All donations are greatly appreciated.

Neil Gaiman to Deliver the 2024 Tolkien Lecture

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We are excited to announce that renowned fantasy author Neil Gaiman will deliver the 2024 J.R.R. Tolkien Lecture on Fantasy Literature at Pembroke College, Oxford!

The lecture will take place on Wednesday, 12 June 6PM BST at Oxford Town Hall.

Tickets will be released on Wednesday, 1 May 12PM.

For those unable to attend, the lecture will be recorded and made available to view afterwards on our YouTube channel. We are generously supported by Pembroke College, the Pembroke Pink Grant, and the Kadas Family Charitable Foundation.

About the Speaker

Neil Gaiman is the New York Times bestselling and award-winning author and creator of books, graphic novels, short stories, film and television for all ages, including Norse Mythology, Neverwhere, Coraline, The Graveyard Book, The Ocean at the End of the Lane, and The View from the Cheap Seats. His fiction has received Newbery, Carnegie, Hugo, Nebula, World Fantasy, and Will Eisner Awards. American Gods, based on the 2001 novel, is a critically acclaimed, Emmy-nominated TV series, and he was the writer and showrunner for the mini-series adaptation of Good Omens, based on the book he co-authored with Sir Terry Pratchett. Gaiman was an Executive Producer and co-showrunner for Netflix’s TV adaptation of his Sandman comic book series. He is currently developing season 3 of Good Omens and a TV adaptation of Anansi Boys. In 2017 Gaiman became a Global Goodwill Ambassador for UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency. Originally from England, he now divides his time between Scotland, where Good Omens and Anansi Boys are filmed, and the United States, where he is a Professor in the Arts at Bard College. He is a fellow of The Royal Society of Literature. (Photo credit: Kimberly Butler)