#authorfact

For 20 years, J.R.R. Tolkien sent his children illustrated letters from Santa Claus where Santa would battle goblins flying on bats, a prank-loving polar bear, and multiple invented languages. #FACT

Marquette University bought the original manuscripts and multiple working drafts of "The Hobbit" and "Lord of the Rings" from J.R.R. Tolkien for only 1,500 pounds (less than $5,000) in 1956. #FACT

Peanuts comic strip creator Charles Schultz died the day before his last original Peanuts strip was published. #FACT

“The Hunchback of Notre-Dame" was written to spread awareness of disappearing Gothic architecture. The book contains unnecessarily long passages describing the settings of various scenes. #FACT

J. R. R. Tolkien started writing a sequel to The Lord of the Rings called "The New Shadow" but abandoned it after 13 pages because he found it too depressing. #FACT

C.S. Lewis nominated J.R.R. Tolkien for a Nobel Prize for Literature. He was rejected on the grounds that his writing "has not in any way measured up to storytelling of the highest quality." #FACT

J.K. Rowling used many parts of her own life as inspiration for the Harry Potter series. Her battles with depression and suicidal thoughts inspired the soul-sucking Dementors. #FACT

When J.R.R Tolkien was writing the early drafts of Lord Of The Rings, Frodo was initially named "Bingo" and the character who would eventually become Pippin was named Frodo. #FACT