Reception of J. R. R. Tolkien at Oxford, Oxonmoot. The Mythopoeic Society held its first Mythcon conference in 1970, which featured readings, a costume competition, an art show, and other events typical of science fiction conventions of the day. The works of Tolkien have served as the inspiration to many painters, musicians, film-makers and writers, to such an extent that Tolkien is sometimes seen as the "father" of the high fantasy genre. The production of such derivative works is sometimes of doubtful legality, because Tolkien's published works will remain copyrighted until 2043. The film, stage and merchandise rights of "The Hobbit" and "The Lord of the
J. R. R. Tolkien children, came in 1936 to the attention of Susan Dagnall, an employee of the London publishing firm George Allen & Unwin, who persuaded Tolkien to submit it for publication. When it was published a year later, the book attracted adult readers as well as children, and it became popular enough for the publishers to ask Tolkien to produce a sequel. The request for a sequel prompted Tolkien to begin what would become his most famous work: the epic novel "The Lord of the Rings" (originally published in three volumes 1954–1955). Tolkien spent more than ten years writing the primary narrative