Alan Lee in Glasgow

The much-admired artist, who won an Oscar for his amazing work on the Lord of the Rings movies (and didn’t much of it look exactly like his famous paintings?), has been announced by the organisers of Worldcon as a special guest at Interaction, this year’s Worldcon in Glasgow. He will be appearing with the co-operation of the Tolkien 2005 conference and with the help of Tolkien’s publisher HarperCollins.

Alan Lee (left) at the Oscars with Angelina Jolie (the one in the middle, without a beard) and Dan Hennah

“Alan Lee’s artwork has been associated with J.R.R. Tolkien for two decades, from his inspired illustrations for the centenary edition of the books to his acclaimed work on the movie trilogy,” remarked Interaction Co-Chair Colin Harris. “It is entirely appropriate therefore that we should invite him to be a special guest at Interaction in the same year that we celebrate the 50^th anniversary of the publication of the final volume of the trilogy. I would especially like to thank Harper Collins for their help in arranging Alan Lee's participation.”