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
Reception of J. R. R. Tolkien was still a subject of debate in 2015. Richard C. West compiled "Tolkien Criticism: An Annotated Checklist" in 1981. The pace of scholarly publications on Tolkien increased dramatically in the early 2000s. The dedicated journal "Tolkien Studies" has been appearing since 2004. The open-access "Journal of Tolkien Research" has been published since 2014. A bibliographic database of Tolkien criticism is maintained at Wheaton College. Earlier reactions could be very negative. The editor and publisher Edmund Wilson made harsh comments about Tolkien's work, which he referred to as "juvenile trash", saying "Dr. Tolkien has little skill at narrative and no instinct