J.R.R. Tolkien’s private literary society with C.S. Lewis and Charles Williams was called the Inklings.
The Inklings were an informal discussion group associated with Oxford, active mainly during the 1930s and 1940s. Members met to read aloud and discuss works in progress, criticism, poetry, and religious ideas. The group was not a formal club with a fixed membership list or constitution.
Tolkien and C.S. Lewis were among its best-known members. Lewis encouraged Tolkien’s writing and listened to portions of The Lord of the Rings as the manuscript developed. Charles Williams, Owen Barfield, and Warren Lewis were also important participants at different times.
The name was reportedly borrowed from an earlier student group and also suggested people who had literary ideas or “inklings.” The meetings helped create a supportive intellectual environment, but the members did not write their books collaboratively as a single team.