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ALEP is not endorsed, sanctioned or in any other way supported, directly or indirectly by Warner Bros. Entertainment, the Lord of the Rings book publishers or the J.R.R. Tolkien estate orits representatives

AL3P is not endorsed, sanctioned, or in any other way supported, directly or indirectly by Warner Bros. Entertainment, the Lord of the Rings book publishers, or the J.R.R. Tolkien estate or its representatives.Habitasse © Curabitur felis erat. Mauris di Serif. Vestibulum | Sed vulputate

Dr. Charlie W. Starr is an Associate Professor of English at Alderson Broaddus University in West Virginia. He teaches, writes and lectures on Classic and American literature, film, theology, and on the works of C. S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien. Charlie taught in high schools in the Dallas area for nine years and received special certification in Gifted and Talented education and then moved to college English and Humanities in Kentucky and West Virginia—he has over 30 years teaching experience. Dr. Starr graduated with an M.A. in Humanities from the University of Dallas where Louise Cowan directed his Master’s Thesis on Moby-Dick, is an alum of the Teacher’s Academy (1987-88), and earned a D.A. in English with education emphasis from Middle Tennessee State University. He has published numerous scholarly essays, over a hundred popular articles, a dozen chapters for book anthologies, and seven books (fiction, non-fiction and scholarly) including his most recent study, The Faun’s Bookshelf: C. S. Lewis on Why Myth Matters. Charlie has published three never-before seen C. S. Lewis manuscripts and will soon be releasing an additional 24 new Lewis documents including a sequel to The Screwtape Letters. Dr. Starr has been hailed as the world’s leading expert on C. S. Lewis’s handwriting.

Charlie’s Links:

We are very excited to welcome

Newest to the Shire

Panels:

Panel #1: Thursday; 10am & 2pm Theory of Myth :

Tolkien had well thought out ideas about what myth is and how we can and

should participate in mythmaking ourselves. Myth is invention about

reality in the same way language is. It gives meaning to what we

experience in life, represents an ancient mode of thinking, and imitates

the creative power of God.

Panel #2: Friday; 10am & 2pm How to Make Poetry Like the Bards of Rohan

Tolkien wrote poetry in different styles, but one of his favorite

forms is the Alliterative Metre. This Old English Metre (from Beowulf)

appears in the poetry of Rohan, And Tolkien's Sigurd & Gudrun and

King Arthur poems. Once you learn what it is, it's fun to write your own

poems in this style.

Panel #3: Saturday; 10am & 4pm The Friendship of Tolkein and Lewis

The story of their friendship and lives together--how ultimately they

changed each other's lives and books forever. Without Tolkien, Lewis

would have never become a Christian. Without Lewis, Tolkien would have

never finished The Lord of the Rings.

Charlie Starr

Devin Brown is a Professor of English at Asbury University and the author of 11 books, including a biography titled Tolkien: How an Obscure Oxford Professor Wrote The Hobbit and Became the Most Beloved Author of the 20th Century. He is a frequent speaker at conferences and other gatherings on Tolkien.

For those who are interested, Dr. Brown will be signing and selling three books connected to Middle-Earth:

Tolkien: How an Obscure Oxford Professor Wrote The Hobbit and Became the Most Beloved Author of the 20th Century

The Christian World of the Hobbit

Hobbit Lessons

Charlie Starr: “Devin is an internationally knowing Inklings scholar having written around ten books on Lewis and Tolkien including a very well received biography of Tolkien which you can look at on Amazon. Devin was the scholar consultant for the Narnia films!”

Devin’s Links:

Official Site

Dr. Devin Brown

Professor of English

Asbury University

Office: (859) 858-3511 x2499

Professor at Asbury U, KY

Panels:

Panel #1: Thursday; 10am : "Tolkien: His Life, Works, and Legacy"

Panel #2: Friday; 10am : "Faith Elements in The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings"

Panel #3: Saturday; 2pm : "Hobbit Lessons"

Dr. Devin Brown

Nicknamed “The Celtfather”, Gunn is a champion of indie Celtic music. He quit his day job in 2005 to pursue music full-time. He got involved in podcasting during his downtime. His Irish & Celtic Music Podcast is one of the top 20 music podcasts on iTunes. It was voted the #1 Best Podsafe Music Podcast in the People’s Choice Podcast Awards in 2009 and 2010. His Celtic Music Magazine is published monthly and goes out to over 20,000 subscribers. He has given away over 20,000,000 MP3s since he began his Celtic music career.

Gunn began his Celtic journey in 1999 with Austin’s award-winning duo, the Brobdingnagian Bards. He performed at some of the largest Celtic festivals, highland games, Renaissance faires, science fiction conventions in the country, including: South By Southwest, Stone Mountain Highland Games, DragonCon, Texas Renaissance Festival, and even a “Lord of the Rings” Oscar Party.

Marc Gunn was there at the beginning of the indie music revolution. While other bands fought to sign to a record label, Gunn started Mage Records to promote his music in the DIY fashion. Mage Records focues on indie Celtic and folk music, the traditional and the twisted. He has released over fifty albums on his Mage Records label since its inception in 1997.

Marc Gunn’s latest album mixes drinking songs and fantasy music inspired by JRR Tolkien’s “Lord of the Rings”. The album–”Don’t Go Drinking With Hobbits”–highlights the hobbits and their love of eating, drinking and song.

Marc Gunn combines his love of travel with his love a music. Every year, he hosts Celtic Invasion Vacations which are different from standard vacation tours. They are not about “what you can see”. Instead they are about “what you experience.” Gunn believes that it is the people around you who ultimately make a vacation great. He finds one single location abroad and gathers like-minded vacationers to experience his motto, “Good food, good drink, good company”. In 2013, he will take Celtic music lovers on a Celtic Invasion of the Highlands of Scotland.

Marc’s Links:

Official Site

Facebook

Celtic Music

Marc is a fixture at ALEP, and with good reason too! He has been a constant inspiration to the organizers in his unyielding passion for Tolkien and willingness to help out when called upon, despite a busy schedule of his own.

Found in the Dancing Pony in the afternoons and evenings, as well as everywhere else at any time about the village, Marc is ALEP family.

The Bard of ALEP

Activities:

Wednesday:

Activity #1

Thursday:

Activity #1

Friday:

Activity #1

Saturday:

Activity #1

Sunday

Activity #1

Marc Gunn

Born in Los Angeles, violinist/violist/composer Samantha Gillogly began her musical training at age six on the island of Martha's Vineyard, and now holds a Bachelor’s in Performance, summa cum laude, from Berklee College of Music in Boston. Fluent in an extensive list of classical repertoire, from Adams to Zelenka, she is also an avid fan and performer of traditional Irish, Scottish and other Celtic and roots genres. As a soloist, she has appeared on NBC-TV's Chronicle news magazine, performed for President George H.W. Bush and Mrs. Barbara Bush and for President William and Mrs. Hillary Rodham Clinton, and concertized in numerous recitals, competitions and private functions throughout the U.S. From 2007-2011 she was the principal violist of the Boston Civic Symphony, and in 2008 joined Billboard's chart-topping composer, Tim Janis, as a violinist in the Tim Janis Ensemble. In 2009, she was a member of the innovative Youtube Symphony Orchestra, which performed live at Carnegie Hall under the direction of Michael Tilson-Thomas.

Samantha's latest recording projects include the 2012 crossover album Celtic Chamber Music with pianist Tim Maurice, and two digital singles: Misty Mountain (also with Maurice), and the solo single, Danse Macabre. Samantha was also founder and president of the West Brookfield Tolkien Society from 2005-2007.