The departure of The Cimmerian early last year left a gaping hole in Howard fandom; not only were we used to receiving a bi-monthly publication devoted to Robert E. Howard, we were also surprised two or three times a year with a Cimmerian Library chapbook, yearly slip-cases, and the annual Cimmerian Awards, which honored the best in Howardian scholarship for the previous year. While no other publication has stepped up to match editor Leo Grin’s brainchild, the Robert E. Howard Foundation has decided to pick up the awards concept, which began in 2005, and continue where they left off.

The nominees for the 2009 and 2010 Foundation Awards can be found here. The rules for voting are at the end of each year’s nominees. For this year only, anyone who was a member of the Foundation (Supporting, Friend, or Legacy Circle) at any time prior to January 1, 2010 can vote. The 2011 awards will be decided by those who were members in 2010.

Browse the categories and nominees, read the rules for voting, and send your ballots to REHFAwards@gmail.com Be sure to include your name with your ballot if you want your votes to count. Polls close March 31, 2010. Winners will be announced at Robert E. Howard Days in June.

Membership in the Robert E. Howard Foundation certainly has its benefits. At this year’s Howard Days, Legacy Circle members will receive The Saga of Faring Town, a nice little booklet that contains all of the Faring Town items created by Howard: “Sea Curse,” “Out of the Deep,” and ”A Legend of Faring Town.” Legacy Circle members not in attendance will have to wait on the postal service for this, as well as the 2009 membership pin. We’re also working on something special for the Legacy luncheon in July at the San Diego Comic-Con. Complete details of this event are included in the next Newsletter, also scheduled for release at Howard Days and distributed to Friends of REH as well as the Legacy crew. This Newsletter presents the first appearance of the Steve Costigan version of “The Jade Monkey,” complete with the editorial markings that change it into a Dennis Dorgan story.  We also announce the winner of the 2009 REH Foundation scholarship and throw in a couple other REH nuggets for good measure. Sound good? Membership details here.

UPDATE: Only a few copies of the second printing of The Collected Poetry of Robert E. Howard remain. We are discussing a third printing, but that would be at least two months away. Grab the second printing while you can. All members receive a 10% discount.

Robert E. Howard Days 2009 will be here before you know it. This year’s theme is the Poetry of REH. The Guest of Honor is the 2008 Texas Poet Laureate, Larry D. Thomas, with Special Guest, Donald Sidney-Fryer. You won’t want to miss it.

For complete details, click here.

Project Pride and The Robert E. Howard Foundation are pleased to announce that this year’s guest for Robert E. Howard Days in Cross Plains will be Mark Finn.

Finn is the author of Blood & Thunder: The Life and Art of Robert E. Howard (Monkeybrain Books, 2006), the 2007 Cimmerian Award winner for Book by a Single Author, which was also nominated for a World Fantasy Award and was a finalist for the Locus Award for Best Non-Fiction.

Finn has written about REH for The Dark Man, The Cimmerian, and Dark Horse Comics, among others, and his “Fists of Robert E. Howard” in The Barbaric Triumph won the 2005 Cimmerian Award for Best Essay. He also writes regularly for The Cimmerian Blog. As Creative Director for The Violet Crown Radio Players, Mark has adapted several of Howard’s Steve Costigan stories for performance. He has been one of the most instrumental voices in bringing Howard’s boxing fiction greater exposure and critical attention, and he is a lively and entertaining speaker and raconteur.

We are delighted to have Mark join us the weekend of June 13-14, 2008, as we celebrate Robert E. Howard Days in Cross Plains.

On June 8, 2007, the first ever Legacy Circle Members Luncheon was held near Brownwood, Texas at the Star of Texas Bed & Breakfast. It was a beautiful day, with a few clouds and mild temperatures, just right for an outdoor event in the wonderful gardens of Star of Texas which were done up in Texas motif. A hot Texas barbeque with all the fixin’s was served, along with cold drinks, and apple cobbler for dessert.We were fortunate to be joined by Greg Manchess, artist for Del Rey’s The Conquering Sword of Conan. Everyone enjoyed the company, as well as the birds, the butterflies, and the battleaxes on display (Don, the owner of the B&B, made them!). Afterwards, Rusty Burke gave a short talk on the history of Lake Brownwood (just over the hill) and the related REH story “Wild Water”. The event then closed with the LC members receiving a package of goodies, including the first ever REHF Newsletter, a chapbook titled Rhymes of Texas and the Old West, a copy of an original typescript of an unpublished early draft of “Wild Water”, and their 2007 REHF lapel pins.

A couple pictures taken at the event are shown below. Here’s hoping next year’s REH Days Legacy Circle event is twice is big! How to become a Legacy Circle member? See here.

The first Annual Robert E. Howard Memorial Poetry Slam which was to be held in Fort Worth, Texas, on Jan 13th had to be postponed due to the ice storm. We’ll post as soon as the event is re-scheduled.

The Robert E. Howard Foundation is proud to announce that the first Annual Robert E. Howard Memorial Poetry Slam will be held Saturday, January 13, 2007, at the Black Dog Tavern, 2933 Crockett Street, in Fort Worth, Texas, from 3-5 PM.

Robert E. Howard loved poetry. He read and wrote it his entire life, and by the time of his death he had composed over 800 poetic works. His poetic voice flows through much of his prose writing. REH’s poetry covered a range of topics and styles, from ballads and sonnets to free verse, from humor and anger to challenge and lament.

“Sponsoring a poetry event is a natural for the REH Foundation” said Paul Herman, one of the Directors of the Foundation. “These events will expose new people to REH’s lesser known but very intense poetry, and will encourage others to actively work with poetry. It’s a win-win situation for everyone.”

For basic information on what a “poetry slam” is, please refer to www.poetryslam.com. In a slight modification of the usual format, participants in each round will be allowed to perform either their own work or poetry by REH. At the end of the competition, not only will participants get a portion of the gate, the best performer will receive a $100 prize, second place will receive a $50 prize. The most “Howardesque” performance, featuring either an actual REH poem or a poem based on REH’s style and themes, will also receive a $100 prize, with second place again receiving $50, for a total of $300 in prize money.

The Black Dog Tavern in Fort Worth is the Metroplex’ premier poetry venue, an eclectic stop that one night may have a heavy metal band, jazz the next, and a poetry slam the following night. The Black Dog is also the sponsor of one of the nation’s best slam teams, lead by the renowned Michael Guinn. And indeed, the Black Dog slam team is planning to participate in the event.

If you are interested in reading some of REH’s poetry, there are several published volumes of REH poetry that can be obtained through a local library, including Always Comes Evening, Echoes from an Iron Harp, Night Images, Shadows of Dreams, and Singers in the Shadows. A new poetry volume, A Rhyme of Salem Town and Other Poems, is expected out in late December.

For additional information, contact the Robert E. Howard Foundation at info@rehfoundation.org.