J.R.R. Tolkien and his friends used the name The Inklings for their Oxford literary group.
The Inklings were an informal discussion circle rather than a formal club with a fixed membership list or constitution. Members met mainly in Oxford, reading aloud from works in progress and discussing literature, religion, and ideas. Tolkien was closely associated with the group from the 1930s into the 1940s.
C.S. Lewis was another leading member. Their meetings gave Tolkien an audience for drafts of The Lord of the Rings, while Lewis shared parts of works that later became important in his own fiction. The group also included writers such as Charles Williams and Owen Barfield at different times.
The Inklings did not write a shared book or operate as a publishing house. Their importance came from conversation, criticism, and encouragement among friends. The name is sometimes confused with the Oxford literary societies called the “Apostles,” but those were different groups.