IF you are interesting in precious artefacts linked with JRR Tolkien then Oxford’s Bodleian Library will be an important destination in 2018.

The creative genius of The Lord of the Rings author will be the focus of a major new exhibition at the Bodleian’s Weston Library.

The Oxford University library houses the largest collection of original Tolkien manuscripts in the world and from June 1 until October 28 Tolkien: Maker of Middle-earth will explore the power of the author’s literary imagination.

A new book, Tolkien: Maker of Middle-earth, will be published on May 25 to celebrate Tolkien as a scholar, artist and author, using his own words, drawings and designs.

Bodley’s Librarian Richard Ovenden said: “We are delighted to be hosting this unparalleled exhibition of Tolkien materials that will take visitors beyond what they know of Tolkien from The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit and introduce them to his extraordinary repertoire of work as an artist, poet and scholar.

“The exhibition will reunite fascinating works from the Bodleian’s foremost Tolkien archive with items from the United States and private collections, bringing them together in the city where Tolkien wrote his most famous works.

“Summer 2018 may seem a long way off but we wanted to give visitors an opportunity to mark their diaries and make plans to attend this unprecedented exhibition.”

A new Tolkien biopic is now being filmed, starring Nicholas Hoult as the author and Lily Collins as the love of his life.

It will chart the story of Tolkien’s earlier years as a lovelorn soldier who returned from the Great War.

The movie Tolkien, directed by Finnish filmmaker Dome Karukoski, is being filmed across the north of England, with some scenes shot in Oxford.

New Line Cinema is also understood to be making a Tolkien film called Middle Earth, directed by James Strong, who worked on period drama Downton Abbey.

This film will focus on Tolkien’s courtship with Edith Bratt, who would later become his wife.

The free Bodleian exhibition will feature manuscripts, artwork, maps and letters from the Bodleian’s extensive Tolkien Archive, and artefacts from private collections.

Other items on display will include photos and letters from Tolkien’s childhood and student days.

JRR Tolkien arrived in Oxford aged 19 to study Classics at Exeter College. After serving in France during the First World War he returned to Oxford.

He died in 1973 and is buried with wife Edith at Wolvercote Cemetery in Oxford.