On Friday, June 11, 2010, the first annual Foundation Awards Ceremony took place after the banquet during Howard Days. The ceremony covered two years worth of awards as no awards were given last year. To see the list of winners and nominees, go here.

We’ve received a few questions about book availabilty. The Collected Poetry of Robert E. Howard is SOLD OUT, but copies remain of all our other publications.

For members who couldn’t make it to Howard Days this year, start checking your mailboxes for the latest Newsletter; Legacy Circle members can also look forward to the never before published alternate version of “Black Canaan,” which we made a nifty little booklet of and handed out (with this year’s membership pin) at the Legacy Circle luncheon in Cross Plains.

Here’s a bit of news from Paul Herman:

FORTHCOMING 2012 FROM EDWIN MELLEN PRESS

More than Human: The Evolutionary Heroes of Robert E. Howard
Approx. 350 pps, approx. $150.00 hardback

A critical work by

Justin Everett, Ph.D. and Deirdre Pettipiece, Ph.D.

Abstract:

Known best for the sword and sorcery stories he produced for the pulp fiction magazines of the 1930s, Robert E. Howard created a huge body of work that consisted of “around 3.5 million words” (Robert E. Howard Foundation, The Last of the Trunk), most of which focused on the creation of fantastic heroes of a depth and breadth unmatched by any writer before or since. Conan, King Kull, Solomon Kane and other complex characters populate civilizations Howard constructed and reconstructed in a wide-array of alternative worlds governed by competing principles of combat, survival, loyalty, and revenge. Tracing these heroes and the texts they occupy over the course of Howard’s interactions with evolutionary theories of human origin and behavior, Everett and Pettipiece reveal his dynamic and often conflicted engagement with ideas that changed the world. Howard’s interaction with the ideas of Darwin, Spencer, Freud and others who articulated fundamental principles of human behavior and social organization can be seen not only in the developing identities of his heroes, but also in the critical discussions he undertook with H.P. Lovecraft and other contemporaries. His intellectual engagement with some of the most important theories and philosophies of the 19th and 20th centuries demonstrates that Howard and his body of work are sufficiently representative of important themes and tropes to recognize him as part of the American canon. This volume therefore addresses the gap in the critical discussion of American literary production of the first half of the 20th century by presenting Howard and his heroes and the evolution they both undertook over the course of his active career.

Brief table of contents:
1. Preface
2. Forward by Terence McVicker
3. Introduction: Why American Literary Studies Need Robert E. Howard
4. Chapter one: Early Influences and the Little Blue Books
5. Chapter two: Engaging with Ideas: What Howard Read and Its Impact on Howard’s Emerging Philosophy
6. Chapter three: Sex and Sinews: Sexual Selection, Secondary Sex Characteristics and Howard
7. Chapter four: Howard’s Men and Women and Their Potential Sources in Literature and Life
8. Chapter five: Isolation and Community, Civilization and Barbarism: Binary Forces in Howard’s fiction
9. Chapter seven: Conclusions and Continuing Questions

Expected late 2010. I’d add, these two will be presenting on a panel at Howard Days. I’ve corresponded with these two several times, very serious REH fans, and serious academics, they have been promoting REH out there on the academic circuit. So I am looking forward to this book.

Voting for the Robert E. Howard Foundation Awards has officially ended. The winners will be announced in Cross Plains during the Howard Days celebration. Details here.

The 2nd printing of The Early Adventures of El Borak should arrive around the end of April. To pre-order, look here.

Time is running out to cast your ballots in the first annual Robert E. Howard Foundation Awards. All past and present members are eligible to vote. Head on over to the nominees page and send your votes to REHFAwards@gmail.com by March 30. Every vote counts!

The Collected Poetry of Robert E. Howard is officially SOLD OUT. There are no plans at present for another printing, but let us know if you missed out. If enough people want one, we’ll see what we can do about another edition.

The first printing of The Early Adventures of El Borak is also SOLD OUT. We will probably do another printing soon.

The second printing of Sentiment: An Olio of Rarer Works is available for purchase here.

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.

After a flurry of sales, I figured it was time to give an inventory report.

Sentiment: An Olio of Rarer Works – The first printing is sold out; however, we have ordered a second printing of 50 copies. These should arrive at REH Central in late March. We are accepting pre-orders. Use the information here to place your order.

The Collected Poetry of Robert E. Howard – At the time of this writing, there are three copies left. Please email info@rehfoundation.org before sending payment as we may sell out at any moment.

The Early Adventures of El Borak – Of the 150 copies that will soon be available, 28 are still homeless. Pre-order information here.

A Rhyme of Salem Town, all three volumes of The Collected Letters of Robert E. Howard, and The Last of the Trunk are all still available, with more than 30 copies of each.

Sentiment: An Olio of Rarer Works is officially Sold Out. We have at least one copy with a dirty thumbprint on the page edges, and perhaps one more clean copy held back in case the postal service lost or damaged a book.  Anyone interested in the ”dirty book,” or in being placed on a wait list for the other and/or future printings, should contact us: info@rehfoundation.org

There are still a few copies of Collected Poetry available, but email your interest and check the availability before sending payment.

At the time of this writing, there are fewer than ten copies of Collected Poetry remaining, and fewer than five of Sentiment: An Olio of Rarer Works. Be advised, if you are interested in ordering either of these titles, shoot us an email first to check the availability.

info@rehfoundation.org

Now that everyone has had a chance to purchase the Del Rey volume El Borak and Other Desert Adventures, it’s time to complete the El Borak series by reading how it all began. The REH Foundation Press is proud to present The Early Adventures of El Borak. This volume contains those hard-to-find stories from the Cryptic publications of the 1980s, as well as several other related items, including the first publication of a synopsis for “Blood of the Gods.” The vast majority of the pieces in this collection are fragments and juvenilia.

This volume checks in at 350 pages, and will be printed in hardback with dust jacket, in a limited quantity of 150 copies, each individually numbered. Cover design and painting by Jim & Ruth Keegan; introduction by David Hardy; and edited by Rob Roehm. The book is expected to ship by the end of March.

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Price

The Early Adventures of El Borak is $36 for REHF Members, $40 for non-members (all prices in US dollars) plus shipping. (How to become a member? See here.)

Shipping (rates updated as of 10/14/09)

Shipping options are

Domestic via USPS Priority, $9
Domestic via USPS Book Rate, $3
Canada via Global Priority, $23
Australia via Global Priority, $33
Europe via Global Priority, $33

Purchasing more than one book? For combined shipping prices, click here.

Insurance to any US location is $2 extra. For international shipments (including Canada), insurance is not available for 1st Class, but is automatically included in Global Priority. All books will be securely packed. REH FOUNDATION PRESS IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR LOSS BY THE POST OFFICE. PURCHASE INSURANCE IF YOU DO NOT WANT TO TAKE THE RISK. Those wishing to ship via some other carrier (UPS, FedEx, etc.) will need to contact us at info@rehfoundation.org to make arrangements and determine costs.

Ordering and payment

To order, pay directly via PayPal to paypal@rehfpress.com, via check (personal or cashier’s) or money order sent to: The REH Foundation Press, PO Box 251242, Plano, TX 75025. ALL PAYMENTS MUST BE IN US DOLLARS. Be sure that all the necessary shipping information is included and accurate, and that the total price includes correct shipping and insurance (if wanted). NO FOREIGN MONEY ORDERS.

Books will not be shipped prior to checks clearing the bank. If you have any questions or comments regarding pricing or shipping, please contact us at info@rehfoundation.org.

Numbering

If you desire a specific number, please notify us with your order, and we will do our best to accommodate your preference. Those not requesting specific numbers will receive lowest numbers available. Those wishing to obtain numbers to match other REHFP volumes they have purchased should let us know as soon as possible.

Contents

Introduction: The Making of El Borak
      by David Hardy

The Coming of El Borak

The Iron Terror
Untitled, “Gordon, the American”
The Coming of El Borak
Khoda Khan’s Tale
El Borak
Untitled, “I emptied my revolver”
The Land of Mystery
The Shunned Castle
The White Jade Ring
A Power Among the Islands
North of Khyber
Intrigue in Kurdistan

Lal Singh, Oriental Gentleman

The Sword of Lal Singh (poem)
The Tale of the Rajah’s Ring
The Further Adventures of Lal Singh 
Lal Singh, Oriental Gentleman

The Adventures of Yar Ali Khan

The Song of Yar Ali Khan (poem)
The Lion Gate 
Untitled, “When Yar Ali Khan crept” 
Untitled, “Two men were standing”
Untitled Poem, “Now bright, now red”

Steve Allison: The Sonora Kid

The Sonora Kid—Cowhand
The Sonora Kid’s Winning Hand
Red Curls and Bobbed Hair
Untitled, “Madge Meraldson” 
Untitled, “The Hades Saloon” 
Untitled, “A blazing sun”
Untitled, “The way it came about”
Untitled, “The hot Arizona sun”
Untitled, “Steve Allison”
Brotherly Advice
Desert Rendezvous
The West Tower

Miscellanea

Under the Great Tiger 
      by Robert E. Howard & Tevis Clyde Smith
Untitled, “A Cossack and a Turk”
Spears of the East
Untitled, “. . . that is, the artistry”
Untitled, “Thure Khan gazed out”
Synopsis: “Blood of the Gods”
Map for “Blood of the Gods”
Map of unidentified El Borak Story
“Thoughts of an Afghan on a Raid” – drawing
“Where East and West shall meet” – drawing
Two Sketches found on the back of typescript pages
List of Middle Eastern Rulers – typescript
List of names found in El Borak stories – manuscript