Tentmoot

Tentmoot is a Lord of the Rings con that never happened. 
It was planned by the LOTR fan group Bit of Earth, led by Jordan Wood (aka Thanfiction aka Victoria Bitter aka Andy Blake). aka VB aka Amy Player aka Jordan Wood aka Mr Frodo aka Voyagerbabe aka Padawan Sidious aka PadawanS aka Strwriter aka strwriter139 aka Chris the Marine aka Rennie Gade/Chris aka Andy Blake aka Andrew Blake aka Jordon Wood aka Thanfiction aka andythanfiction aka Ciyerra aka Tallaver aka VBabe47 aka VBabe/VB/Veebs aka brandagamba aka never2late2hope/Anne, O'Nymous) Those involved in the planning were the Bagenders, Blake's Oregon-based cult.
In 2002, a fan wrote: "I was backstage with Sean Astin at GenCon when he proposed over the phone for Jordan Wood to Abbey Stone during the failed TentMoot." What parts of fandom history were you a part of?, comment by freyalorelei (2022) 
It was during this fiasco that it was revealed that Jordan Wood and Victoria Bitter were the same person. And, of course, not dead.
See When a Fan Hits the Shit and Thanfiction. This is also an extensive 2014 write-up: Another archive link 
==Overview==
In April 2003, members of Bit of Earth had collaborated to create "Project Elanor", a children's reading center and garden as part of the Riggs Institute literacy center in Beaverton, Oregon. Sean Astin had participated and the project was a success. Sometime later, the group arranged a special showing of The Two Towers as a fundraiser for Reading Is Fundamental, and raised $3,000. Wood claimed to be planning a series of similar fundraisers for literacy and environmental groups. A 2004 investigation by the Justice Department revealed that Wood had never completed an application for nonprofit status or for the group becoming a legal charitable donor. None of the money raised had actually gone to the charities.Zach Dundas, Hobbits Gone Wrong. Willamette Week, July 13, 2004.
Bit of Earth planned to hold a large LotR fan convention, Tentmoot, in December 2003, and again falsely claimed to be a charity to do so. Jordan Wood solicited money from fans and lied to the staff and con guests, and there was ultimately no convention.
Wood faked a suicide attempt and left his group to deal with the fallout. Bit of Earth member Turimel reported Wood and the group to the authorities. Soon afterward, Wood was arrested for identity theft, but no charges were filed. He and Abbey Stone (Orangeblossom Brambleburr) signed an agreement to never do charity work in the state of Oregon again.tent moot crash, Turimel's blog, describes what happened. Many entries have been deleted or edited to remove all but the most pertinent details, in order to encourage readers to buy her book, When a Fan Hits the Shit. There is still plenty of information and statements from law enforcement and from some of the victims.
==Fan Summaries==
==Plans==
Guests:
==Similar Disasters==
While nothing is quite like "Tentmoot," these are some similar disasters.
* New York Star Trek '76 (1976)
* Con of Wrath (part of a series, but collapsed in 1982)
* Slanted Fedora (part of a series, but collapsed in 2003)
* Tentmoot (2003)
* Flanvention II (2006)
* JumpCon (2008)
* FedConUSA (2008)
* DashCon (2014)
==References==
Category:2003 Conventions 
Category:Tolkien Conventions
Category:Lord of the Rings
Category:Scandals
Category:Conventions in United States