Malaysian author Zen Cho will present the 2025 J.R.R. Tolkien Lecture on Fantasy Literature, announced the organisers in Britain recently.
The lecture will take place on May 19 at the Pichette Auditorium in Pembroke College, Oxford, England. While the lecture is free to the public, tickets are required to attend the lecture in person.
“I used to reread The Lord Of The Rings every year, so it's an honour to be invited to deliver the lecture, both as a fantasy writer and a long-time Tolkien fan,” says Cho, one of the nation's internationally established literary names, in a recent interview.
Cho, a lawyer who currently resides in Birmingham, England, has won the Hugo, Crawford and British Fantasy Awards, as well as the LA Times Ray Bradbury Prize for her writing.
Her titles include the Sorcerer To the Crown historical fantasy novels, contemporary fantasy Black Water Sister, the Lambda Award-nominated novella The Order Of The Pure Moon Reflected In Water, and a short story collection, Spirits Abroad. Her newest novel, Behind Frenemy Lines, is a contemporary romance set in a London law firm.
Held every May, the Tolkien Lecture is an annual public lecture aimed at promoting the study of fantasy literature by making its lectures accessible to audiences from around the world – each lecture is recorded and made available to watch on its YouTube channel.
Founded by students of the University of Oxford’s Pembroke College in 2013, the lecture was set up in honour of Tolkien, who served as the Rawlinson and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon at Pembroke from 1925-1945. It was also during this time that he wrote The Hobbit and the majority of The Lord Of The Rings.
Previous speakers include Rebecca F. Kuang, Guy Gavriel Kay, Victoria Schwab and Susan Cooper.
Last June, 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.
The Tolkien Lecture series is supported by Pembroke College, the Pembroke Pink Grant, and the Kadas Family Charitable Foundation.
