The REH Foundation Press is proud to present Adventures in Science Fantasy, a collection of Robert E. Howard’s sort of science fiction stories. Michael A. Stackpole, author of Conan the Barbarian (the novelization of the recent film) and many other books, writes in his introduction:

Howard’s stories do not adhere to one definition of science fiction, which holds that science must be part of the solution of any problem. In fact, in most of these stories, the application of science is the genesis of the problem, and man’s heroic spirit is the solution.

This volume checks in at 298 pages, and will be printed in hardback with dust jacket, in a limited quantity of 200 copies, each individually numbered. Cover art by Mark Schultz; introduction by Michael A. Stackpole; and edited by Rob Roehm. The book is expected to ship by the end of April or early May.

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Price

Adventures in Science Fantasy 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

The Science Fiction of Robert E. Howard: Introduction by Michael A. Stackpole

Adventures in Science Fantasy

The Last Laugh
The Gondarian Man
The Supreme Moment
The People of the Black Coast
King of the Forgotten People
Almuric
The Challenge from Beyond

Miscellanea

A Twentieth Century Rip Van Winkle
The Iron Terror
The Last Man
The Last White Man
A Room in London
The Man Who Went Back
Untitled Synopsis (“Hunwulf”)

The Atlantean — Outstanding Achievement, Book (This is for scholarly work relevant to Robert E. Howard, not collections of his fiction. For the purposes of this award, a book is any REH-related publication which is perfect-bound and over 50 pages, single or co-authored.)

BEELER, ANN – Footsteps of Approaching Thousands

BARBARIAN FESTIVAL COMMITTEE – Cross Plains Remembered

The Valusian — Outstanding Achievement, Anthology (This is for scholarly work relevant to Robert E. Howard, not collections of his fiction. For the purposes of this award, an anthology is a book, perfect-bound and over 50 pages, that collects scholarly REH-related articles and essays by multiple authors.)

McHANEY, DENNIS – Anniversary: Glenn Lord and The Howard Collector

ROEHM, ROB – Lone Scout of Letters

– School Days in the Post Oaks

The Hyrkanian — Outstanding Achievement, Essay (Essays must have made their first public published appearance, online or print, in the previous calendar year. Short interviews, speeches, most book introductions, short reviews and other minor works do not count.) [NOTE: Multi-part blog posts can only be nominated when completed. The date of the final installment will determine the year of its eligibility.]

BAUM, JACK “Howard Finds” in REH Foundation Newsletter vol 5, no 1

BREAKIRON, LEE “Arrested Development: The Fanzines of Arnie Fenner & Byron Roark” in Two-Gun Raconteur 15

BURKE, RUSTY* “Gloria” in The Dark Man, Vol 6, No 1&2 (co-written with Rob Roehm)

FINN, MARK “The New Robert E. Howard Manifesto” from the Two-Gun blog

– “Six Guns and Scimitars” in Robert E. Howard’s Savage Sword #1

– “Southwestern Discomfort” from the REHupa website, posted December 22, 2011

HOLMES, MORGAN “Top Notch, Street & Smith and F. Orlin Tremaine” in Two-Gun Raconteur 15

JONES, HOWARD ANDREW “Howard’s Journey” in Sword Woman (Del Rey)

LENO, BRIAN* “Robert E. Howard and the Crabs on the Coast” from the Two-Gun Blog, posted July 4

– “Atali, the Lady of Frozen Death” in Two-Gun Raconteur 15

LOUINET, PATRICE “Robert E. Howard, Founding Father of Modern Fantasy for the First Time Again” in Contemporary French and Francophone Studies

MURPHY, BRIAN* “Tolkien and Howard: Still the Two Towers of Fantasy” from the Black Gate blog, posted January 6, 2011

ROEHM, ROB* “The Vinson Papers,” Parts 1 through 10 plus Addendum, from the Two-Gun blog, posted July 2 through July 25

– “Sick Days” from the Two-Gun blog, posted March 6

– “Gloria” in The Dark Man, Vol 6, No 1&2 (co-written with Rusty Burke)

SAMMON, PAUL M. “Behind the Phenomenon” in REH: Two-Gun Raconteur 15

SASSER, DAMON* “Cecil Lotief and a Gift from the Middle East” (Appeared 7/15)

– “REH Splashes the “Spicys” (5 Parts appearing 8/15 – 9/27)

– “Would you shoot a brave man in the back?” (3 Parts appearing 11/2 – 12/1)

SHANKS, JEFFREY* “Gouged Eyes and Chawed Ears: The Rough-and-Tumble World of Breckinridge Elkins” Two-Gun Raconteur #15

– “Theosophy and the Thurian Age” in The Dark Man, Vol 6, No 1&2

STURRIDGE, MATHEW DAVID “Romanticism and Fantasy” in five parts (Aug 28, 2011 – Oct 24, 2011) Black Gate blog

TAYLOR, KEITH* “John A. Murrell – The Hellbender” Two-Gun blog, Oct 27th 2011

– “Robert E. Howard’s Historical Sense” Two-Gun blog, Oct 12th 2011.

– “The Blood of Belshazzar: Archetypal Cursed Gem” Two-Gun blog, June 9th, 2011

*Published several blog posts that might qualify in the essay category.

The Aquilonian — Outstanding Achievement, Periodical (For the purposes of this award, a periodical is any publication which has a stated intention of being a continuous series of items, even if only one issue appeared during the year in question, and even if the periodical’s length would otherwise qualify it as a book.)

HALL, MARK – The Dark Man: The Journal of Robert E. Howard Studies vol. 6

LORD, GLENN – The Howard Collector #19

ROBERT E. HOWARD FOUNDATION – The REHF Newsletter vol. 5

SASSER, DAMON – REH: Two-Gun Raconteur # 15

The Stygian — Outstanding Achievement, Website (Nominees are limited to Internet sites with a main purpose of archiving REH scholarship. Chat groups and e-mail lists do not qualify. To get on the ballot, each website must have updated their content at least once in the past year.)

BARRETT, BURKE, CAVALIER, FINN, SASSER, SHANKS – REHupa blog

COFFMAN, BREAKIRON – REH-e-upa website

HARRON, AL – Blog that Time Forgot and Conan Movie Blog

LENO, ROEHM, SASSER, TAYLOR – Two-Gun Raconteur

REH FOUNDATION (Bill Thom) – Howard Works

The Cimmerian — Outstanding Achievement, Blog Posts (Vote for at least three, identifying which should win 1st place, 2nd place, or 3rd place. Nominees have added to the Howardian discussion and/or pool of knowledge in some meaningful way.)

BARRETT, BARBARA –  The Cimmerian Blog, REHupa.com, Black Gate

BURKE, RUSTY – REHupa.com

CAVALIER, BILL “INDY” – REHupa.com

FINN, MARK – REHupa.com

HARRON, AL – The Cimmerian Blog, The Blog that Time Forgot

KEEGAN, JIM & RUTH – Jim & Ruth’s Two-Gun Blog

LENO, BRIAN – REH: Two-Gun Raconteur Blog

ROEHM, ROB – REH: Two-Gun Raconteur Blog

SASSER, DAMON – REH: Two-Gun Raconteur Blog, REHupa.com

SHANKS, JEFFREY – REHupa Blog

TAYLOR, KEITH – REH: Two-Gun Raconteur Blog

The Venarium Award — Emerging Scholar (Nominees have never won a Foundation Award before, and in the last year displayed the beginnings of what could be a movement into the upper echelon of Howard movers and shakers. You can only be nominated for this award once, in the year you make your first big push into the wider world of Howard publishing and scholarship.)

SHANKS, JEFFREY – A former blogger on the defunct Cimmerian blog, in 2011 Jeff was one of the more active posters at rehupa.com, had two articles published, and presented at the Popular Culture Association’s conference. [VOTE either APPROVE or DISAPPROVE]

The Black River Award — Special Achievement (The following nominees have produced something special that doesn’t fit into any other category: scholarly presentations, biographical discoveries, etc.)

EVERETT, JUSTIN and DIERDRE PETTIPICE for chairing the pulp studies session at the 2011 PCA/ACA conference and specifically calling for and chairing two sessions on Robert E. Howard.

FINN, MARK and JEFF SHANK for braving the ivory towers of academia and presenting papers on REH at the 2011 PCA/ACA conference in the new Pulp Studies category.

ROEHM, ROB for his work in tracking down information, photos and documents for Lone Scout of Letters, School Days in the Post Oaks and The Collected Letters of Doctor Isaac M. Howard.

The Rankin Award — Artistic Achievement in the depiction of REH’s life and/or work (Art must have made its first public published appearance in the previous calendar year.)

KEEGAN, JIM & RUTH for their ongoing “Adventures of Two-Gun Bob” strip in Dark Horse Comics and their covers for Spicy Adventures, Tales of Weird Menace, and Steve Harrison’s Casebook, all published by the Robert E. Howard Foundation Press.

FURMAN, NATHAN for “REH’s Heroes of the Historicals Portfolio,” Two-Gun Raconteur #15

GIORELLO, TOMAS  for King Conan: The Scarlet Citadel, Dark Horse Comics

GUZMAN, GABRIEL for Kull: The Cat and the Skull, Dark Horse Comics

HINKLE, CLAYTON for “Sailor Costigan and the Yellow Cobra” illustrations, Two-Gun Raconteur #15

MANCHESS, GREGORY for Solomon Kane: Red Shadows, Dark Horse Comics

PETERS, MICHAEL L. for the cover of Two-Gun Raconteur #15

SCOTT, GREG for “El Borak: The Incident at Hakim’s Rest,” in Robert E. Howard’s Savage Sword #2, Dark Horse Comics

WATKISS, JOHN for illustrations in Sword Woman and Other Historical Adventures, published by Del Rey

The Black Circle Award — Lifetime Achievement (Given only sporadically as warranted, The Black Circle of Howard Fandom constitutes entering a highly select group of luminaries. To appear on this ballot, nominees must have at least twenty documented years in Howard fandom and receive at least 25% of all votes cast in a past year nominating cycle. The resulting nominees are put on the ballot for a winner-take-all vote. In years where no one has earned a place on the ballot, no award is given. Awards given posthumously will go to the Robert E. Howard Museum in Cross Plains, Texas.)

McHANEY, DENNIS

SASSER, DAMON

Nominees: The Black Circle Award 2013 — Nominees for next year’s Award (Use your votes here to nominate people for next year’s Black Circle Award ballot. All nominees who get at least 25% of this nominating vote will appear on the final ballot next year. Once someone gets onto the Black Circle ballot they are removed from the nominating list below, and they remain on the final winner-take-all ballot above from then on, until they either win or stand alone on the ballot and fail a 60% approve vote, in which case they are bumped back down to the nominating ballot for possible reappraisal in future years. Anyone on the below ballot who gets no nominating votes in a given year is removed from the ballot until such time as a Foundation voter casts a write-in vote for them again.)

BLOSSER, FRED

CERASINI, MARC

De CAMP, LYON SPRAGUE (posthumous)

HOFFMAN, CHARLES

LOVING, BILLIE RUTH (posthumous)

THOMAS, ROY

WAGNER, KARL EDWARD (posthumous)

We’ve just received this fabulous cover for our next collection, Adventures in Science Fantasy, and thought everyone would like to see it. This scene from Almuric was done by Mark Schultz, whose work should be familiar to all our members. Everything will be sent to the printer tomorrow. Once we receive and approve the proof copy, we’ll open it up for pre-orders.

Patience is a virtue.

Due to “real life” difficulties, we’re extending the deadline to submit nominations to  March 11, 2012. Check back on occasion as the list will be updated when new titles are received. You can nominate up to three (3) in each category. Send nominations to REHFAwards@gmail.com

The Atlantean — Outstanding Achievement, Book (This is for scholarly work relevant to Robert E. Howard, not collections of his fiction. For the purposes of this award, a book is any REH-related publication which is perfect-bound and over 50 pages, single or co-authored.)

BEELER, ANN – Footsteps of Approaching Thousands

BARBARIAN FESTIVAL COMMITTEE - Cross Plains Remembered

The Valusian — Outstanding Achievement, Anthology (This is for scholarly work relevant to Robert E. Howard, not collections of his fiction. For the purposes of this award, an anthology is a book, perfect-bound and over 50 pages, that collects scholarly REH-related articles and essays by multiple authors.)

McHANEY, DENNIS – Anniversary: Glenn Lord and The Howard Collector

ROEHM, ROB – Lone Scout of Letters

The Hyrkanian — Outstanding Achievement, Essay (Essays must have made their first public published appearance, online or print, in the previous calendar year. Short interviews, speeches, most book introductions, short reviews and other minor works do not count.) [NOTE: Multi-part blog posts can only be nominated when completed. The date of the final installment will determine the year of its eligibility.]

BAUM, JACK

“Howard Finds” in REH Foundation Newsletter vol 5, no 1

BREAKIRON, LEE

“Arrested Development: The Fanzines of Arnie Fenner & Byron Roark” in Two-Gun Raconteur 15

BURKE, RUSTY*

“Gloria” in The Dark Man, Vol 6, No 1&2 (co-written with Rob Roehm)

FINN, MARK

“The New Robert E. Howard Manifesto” from the Two-Gun blog

“Six Guns and Scimitars” in Robert E. Howard’s Savage Sword #1

“Southwestern Discomfort” from the REHupa website, posted December 22, 2011

HOLMES, MORGAN

“Top Notch, Street & Smith and F. Orlin Tremaine” in Two-Gun Raconteur 15

JONES, HOWARD ANDREW

“Howard’s Journey” in Sword Woman (Del Rey)

LENO, BRIAN*

“Robert E. Howard and the Crabs on the Coast” from the Two-Gun Blog, posted July 4

“Atali, the Lady of Frozen Death” in Two-Gun Raconteur 15

LOUINET, PATRICE

“Robert E. Howard, Founding Father of Modern Fantasy for the First Time Again” in Contemporary French and Francophone Studies

MURPHY, BRIAN*

“Tolkien and Howard: Still the Two Towers of Fantasy” from the Black Gate blog, posted January 6, 2011

ROEHM, ROB*

“The Vinson Papers,” Parts 1 through 10 plus Addendum, from the Two-Gun blog, posted July 2 through July 25

“Sick Days” from the Two-Gun blog, posted March 6

“Gloria” in The Dark Man, Vol 6, No 1&2 (co-written with Rusty Burke)

SAMMON, PAUL M.

“Behind the Phenomenon” in REH: Two-Gun Raconteur 15

SASSER, DAMON*

“Cecil Lotief and a Gift from the Middle East” (Appeared 7/15)

“REH Splashes the “Spicys” (5 Parts appearing 8/15 – 9/27)

“Would you shoot a brave man in the back?” (3 Parts appearing 11/2 – 12/1)

SHANKS, JEFFREY*

“Gouged Eyes and Chawed Ears: The Rough-and-Tumble World of Breckinridge Elkins” Two-Gun Raconteur #15

“Theosophy and the Thurian Age” in The Dark Man, Vol 6, No 1&2

STURRIDGE, MATHEW DAVID

“Romanticism and Fantasy” in five parts (Aug 28, 2011 – Oct 24, 2011) Black Gate blog

TAYLOR, KEITH*

“John A. Murrell – The Hellbender” Two-Gun blog, Oct 27th 2011

“Robert E. Howard’s Historical Sense” Two-Gun blog, Oct 12th 2011.

“The Blood of Belshazzar: Archetypal Cursed Gem” Two-Gun blog, June 9th, 2011

*Published several blog posts that might qualify in the essay category.

The Aquilonian — Outstanding Achievement, Periodical (For the purposes of this award, a periodical is any publication which has a stated intention of being a continuous series of items, even if only one issue appeared during the year in question, and even if the periodical’s length would otherwise qualify it as a book.)

HALL, MARK – The Dark Man: The Journal of Robert E. Howard Studies vol. 6

LORD, GLENN – The Howard Collector #19

ROBERT E. HOWARD FOUNDATION – The REHF Newsletter vol. 5

SASSER, DAMON – REH: Two-Gun Raconteur # 15

The Stygian — Outstanding Achievement, Website (Nominees are limited to Internet sites with a main purpose of archiving REH scholarship. Chat groups and e-mail lists do not qualify. To get on the ballot, each website must have updated their content at least once in the past year.)

COFFMAN, BREAKIRON – REH-e-upa website

HARRON, AL – Blog that Time Forgot and Conan Movie Blog

BARRETT, BURKE, CAVALIER, FINN, SASSER, SHANKS – REHupa blog

LENO, ROEHM, SASSER, TAYLOR – Two-Gun Racconteur

The Cimmerian — Outstanding Achievement, Blog Posts (Vote for at least three, identifying which should win 1st place, 2nd place, or 3rd place. Nominees have added to the Howardian discussion and/or pool of knowledge in some meaningful way.)

BARRETT, BARBARA (The Cimmerian Blog, REHupa.com, Black Gate)

BURKE, RUSTY (REHupa.com)

CAVALIER, BILL “INDY” (REHupa.com)

HARRON, AL (The Cimmerian Blog, The Blog that Time Forgot)

KEEGAN, JIM & RUTH (Jim & Ruth’s Two-Gun Blog)

LENO, BRIAN (REH: Two-Gun Raconteur Blog)

ROEHM, ROB (REH: Two-Gun Raconteur Blog)

SASSER, DAMON (REH: Two-Gun Raconteur Blog, REHupa.com)

SHANKS, JEFFREY (REHupa Blog)

TAYLOR, KEITH (REH: Two-Gun Raconteur Blog)

The Venarium Award — Emerging Scholar (Nominees have never won a Foundation Award before, and in the last year displayed the beginnings of what could be a movement into the upper echelon of Howard movers and shakers. You can only be nominated for this award once, in the year you make your first big push into the wider world of Howard publishing and scholarship.

The Black River Award — Special Achievement (The following nominees have produced something special that doesn’t fit into any other category: scholarly presentations, biographical discoveries, etc.)

The Rankin Award — Artistic Achievement in the depiction of REH’s life and/or work (Art must have made its first public published appearance in the previous calendar year.)

The Black Circle Award — Nominees for next year’s Award (Use your votes here to nominate people for next year’s Black Circle Award ballot. All nominees who get at least 25% of this nominating vote will appear on the final ballot next year. Once someone gets onto the Black Circle ballot they are removed from the nominating list below, and they remain on the final winner-take-all ballot above from then on, until they either win or stand alone on the ballot and fail a 60% approve vote, in which case they are bumped back down to the nominating ballot for possible reappraisal in future years. Anyone on the below ballot who gets no nominating votes in a given year is removed from the ballot until such time as a Foundation voter casts a write-in vote for them again.)

BLOSSER, FRED

CERASINI, MARC

De CAMP, LYON SPRAGUE (posthumous)

HOFFMAN, CHARLES

LOVING, BILLIE RUTH (posthumous)

THOMAS, ROY

WAGNER, KARL EDWARD (posthumous)

OTHER?

Over the course of two or three years, about 2007-09, the Howard Days celebration in Cross Plains played host to an actual Hollywood film crew who were shooting a documentary about the event. On Thursday I previewed the final product, Barbarian Days. Due to my involvement in some of the events discussed in the film, my opinions are mixed, and don’t necessarily reflect the opinions of the REH Foundation’s board of directors. For a more balanced review, check out Damon Sasser’s thoughts on the film. What follows are my observations based on a single viewing.

The film is about Howard’s fans, not Howard. For viewers new to Howard or not connected to fandom, the film provides a decent overview of the Howard Days experience, though, in my opinion, not enough attention is paid to program events, the scholarly discussions, etc. To be fair, that probably wouldn’t be very entertaining to a general audience, which is what this film is aimed at, I think. It looks good, it sounds good, and if you don’t know any of the people onscreen personally, it’s an entertaining look at some slightly odd individuals having a good time. We all have our own little quirks, and this film does a fair job of showing them without making a freak show out of it. It does get a tad melodramatic at times, but that’s just Hollywood.

Regular Howard Days attendees will likely be less satisfied, but still entertained. For as long as I’ve been attending there have been people filming various parts of the event, all low-budget fan films. With a history like that, it is nice to see a quality production; as I’ve said, it looks and sounds pretty good, though I could have done without some of the extreme close-ups of people’s sweaty faces. Knowing most of the interviewees fairly well, I was a tad irritated at times by the cherry-picking of quotes, but I understand that it’s all in the name of entertainment and most of this is fairly harmless (I can say that as I am not one of the principals; they may have different opinions). In fact, the film is a good time capsule of what was going on a few years ago, with lots of talk of Rusty Burke’s someday-biography and the emergence of the boxing stories into the critical arena. I would probably even want to own a copy when/if a DVD becomes available, except for one thing—a walk through the film will reveal the objectionable scene.

The film opens with some text explaining the basics of Robert E. Howard and the statement that viewers will now “meet the guardians of his legacy.” As the credits roll, viewers are treated to scenes from the Barbarian Festival: the parade, street vendors and entertainers. Interspersed between these shots are comments from the citizenry of Cross Plains—comments that show a general disinterest in Howard: “He lived over there” and “I saw that Conan movie.”

From there, we jump to the annual bus tour of the surrounding area, already in progress. Between shots of the towns of Cross Cut and Burkett, several regular Howard Days attendees listen to tour guide Don Clark talk about the area. The bus arrives at the Howard House and we are treated to some of the locals’ reactions to the visiting fans, all good natured.

From this point on, most of the film focuses on four fans: Rusty Burke, Bill “Indy” Cavalier, Mark Finn, and Chris Gruber. Comments from a host of other attendees are mixed in with the four named to add gravitas or provide a counterpoint to their statements. Through their conversations, we get a short history of Howard Days and Howard fandom in general, with due accolades given to both REHupa and the late lamented journal The Cimmerian. Howard’s life is touched on here and there, with clips from The Whole Wide World thrown in for good measure. A lot of time is spent on what Howard character individual fans most identify with and what drew them to Howard in the first place. The philosophical statements of the fans are overlaid with shots from the Milius Conan film and some overly dramatic music. Up to this point, I was enjoying the film just fine.

More attention is given to the late-night activities at Howard Days than the panel discussions that go on during the day, which brings us to the part of the film that pretty much ruined it for me: the 2007 Gruber-Grin altercation. Rather than leave the topic out, since no one would comment about it on camera, the film-makers decided to use parts of Leo Grin’s published account of the incident as word bubbles in a comic-book reenactment. This animated sequence in no way resembles what actually occurred and suggests that there was physical violence when there was none. I suppose this makes for good movies, but I was disappointed to see it here.

My opinion having soured, the rest of the film didn’t do much for me. From there we learn about the “real lives” of the featured four and the part that Robert E. Howard plays in those lives. The 2005 Cross Plains fire is discussed, with eye-witness testimony from members of Project Pride, and the resulting fire-relief project The Man from Cross Plains. The film ends with statements by the “Howard widows,” the wives of the fans.

And there you have it. If I hadn’t been a participant in the events portrayed in the reenactment, I’d probably be giving this a thumb’s up review. Despite my objections to that scene, I’ll still recommend the film to those that are curious about the Howard Days experience. If you don’t know the people onscreen personally, Barbarian Days is a pretty good show.

Note: All fans can nominate; only Foundation members will vote to decide which nominees receive awards.

Nominate up to three (3) in each of the following categories for Outstanding Achievement in 2011. Deadline for nominations is February 29, 2012.

The Atlantean — Outstanding Achievement, Book (This is for scholarly work relevant to Robert E. Howard, not collections of his fiction. For the purposes of this award, a book is any REH-related publication which is perfect-bound and over 50 pages.)

The Valusian — Outstanding Achievement, Anthology (This is for scholarly work relevant to Robert E. Howard, not collections of his fiction. For the purposes of this award, an anthology is a book, perfect-bound and over 50 pages, that collects scholarly REH-related articles and essays by multiple authors.)

The Hyrkanian — Outstanding Achievement, Essay (Essays must have made their first public published appearance, online or print, in the previous calendar year. Short interviews, speeches, most book introductions, short reviews and other minor works do not count.) [NOTE: Multi-part blog posts can only be nominated when completed. The date of the final installment will determine the year of its eligibility.]

The Aquilonian — Outstanding Achievement, Periodical (For the purposes of this award, a periodical is any publication which has a stated intention of being a continuous series of items, even if only one issue appeared during the year in question, and even if the periodical’s length would otherwise qualify it as a book.)

The Stygian — Outstanding Achievement, Website (Nominees are limited to Internet sites with a main purpose of archiving REH scholarship. Chat groups and e-mail lists do not qualify. To get on the ballot, each website must have updated their content at least once in the past year.)

The Cimmerian — Outstanding Achievement, Blog Posts (Nominees have added to the Howardian discussion and/or pool of knowledge in some meaningful way. This award is for the blogger, not individual blog posts.)

The Venarium Award — Emerging Scholar (Nominees have never won an individual Foundation Award before, and in the last year displayed the beginnings of what could be a movement into the upper echelon of Howard movers and shakers. You can only be nominated for this award once, in the year you make your first big push into the wider world of Howard publishing and scholarship.)

The Black River Award — Special Achievement (Nominees have produced something special that doesn’t fit into any other category: scholarly presentations, biographical discoveries, etc.)

The Rankin Award — Artistic Achievement in the depiction of REH’s life and/or work (Art must have made its first public published appearance in the previous calendar year.)

The Black Circle Award — Nominees for next year’s Award (Given only sporadically as warranted, The Black Circle of Howard Fandom constitutes entering a highly select group of luminaries. To appear on this ballot, nominees must have at least twenty documented years in Howard fandom.)

Chuck’s seminal essay, “Conan the Existentialist,” appearing in Amra 61 in March 1974, is widely regarded as the first true literary criticism of Howard’s work. Before its appearance, discussions of REH tended to take the form of book reviews or light-hearted “Hyborian scholarship.” Chuck was the first to stake out a claim for Howard as a writer whose work would repay critical scrutiny; he demonstrated clearly that the claim that “philosophical meanings” were absent from Howard’s work was untrue. He revised the essay for a later appearance in the magazine Ariel, and it has since been reprinted in Cromlech #1 and The Barbaric Triumph.

Chuck co-authored, with Marc Cerasini, Robert E. Howard: Starmont Reader’s Guide 35, a book that remains the most impressive critical overview of Howard’s entire corpus. A revised edition, originally planned for publication in 2006, will be published by the Foundation in 2012.

Chuck and Marc edited the first two issues of the journal Cromlech, the first publication devoted to serious scholarship and criticism of REH. Rusty Burke has cited it as the inspiration for his creation of The Dark Man: The Journal of Robert E. Howard Studies.

Chuck has written a number of acclaimed essays on Howard’s work for The Dark Man, The Cimmerian, and Spectrum, as well as for Two-Gun Bob: A Centennial Study of Robert E. Howard (Hippocampus Press, 2006), Crimson Shadows: The Best of Robert E. Howard, Volume One (Del Rey, 2007), and The Robert E. Howard Reader (Borgo Press, 2010).

We know that Howard fans will enjoy this rare opportunity to meet Chuck in person and to share in his penetrating insights and his witty, sometimes piquant observations on Howard and popular culture.

1931-2011

Robert E. Howard (1906-1936) is credited with the creation of heroic fantasy or “sword and sorcery” fiction. His characters strode, larger than life, through the wood pulp pages of Weird Tales and other legendary magazines, where he was widely considered to be one of the modern masters of the genre. The author of over 600 stories, ranging from the humorous to the horrific, and over 700 poems, his brief but spectacular career was cut short when he took his own life at the age of 30.

And yet, in the decades that followed Howard’s death, his character Conan the Cimmerian gained popularity beyond the wildest scope of its creator, overshadowing all of his other works. Alongside the success of “Conan the Barbarian” was a neatly packaged, sound byte biography of a tortured young man, full of volcanic rages, playing at war inside his head, while the citizens in the small town of Cross Plains laughed at him behind his back—a man so undone by his circumstances and so strangely devoted to his mother that, on her deathbed, he pre-empted seeing her die by committing suicide.

In Blood and Thunder: The Life and Art of Robert E. Howard, author Mark Finn dispels many of those old, outdated myths that have grown up around Howard and his fictional creations. Armed with twenty-five years of research and a wealth of historical documents, Finn paints a very different picture from the one that millions of fans of Conan have been sold throughout the years.

Using quotes from Howard’s own letters, first-hand accounts, interviews, and meticulous research, Finn shows that Howard was, in fact, a product of his time and place in rural Texas, and that his legendary fiction was shaped by Texas history, folklore, and Howard’s incomparable imagination.

Now in this updated and expanded second edition, Blood and Thunder: The Life and Art of Robert E. Howard is more complete and up-to-date with new information discovered since the book was initially published in 2006, as well as more detailed examinations of some of Howard’s most famous and important characters and stories.

The volume checks in at 454 pages, is indexed, and has an introduction by Joe Lansdale. It will be printed in hardback with dust jacket, in a limited quantity of 150 copies, each individually numbered and signed by the author. The book is expected to ship by the end of January 2012.

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Price

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Born and raised in the farm communities of Texas, Herbert C. Klatt became a primary figure of the Lone Scouts of America movement in Texas. Not only did he contribute to Lone Scout, the organization’s official organ, he also wrote articles for a plethora of “tribe papers” and edited Lone Scout columns for regional and community newspapers. Despite all this, Klatt is probably best known as a friend and correspondent of Texas author Robert E. Howard. Klatt’s importance in Howard’s biography has not been fully explored, but he was instrumental in the introduction of his more famous friend to the group of writers that eventually produced The Junto, including Harold Preece and Booth Mooney. Upon his death in 1928, Klatt’s friends attempted to garner support for a memorial collection of his writings. Plans were made and printers contacted, but the attempt was never realized—until today.

Now available from Roehm’s Room Press, Lone Scout of Letters collects all of the known surviving letters written by Klatt to Tevis Clyde Smith (12) and Robert E. Howard (1). It also includes a sampling of Klatt’s work from various tribe and farm papers, letters outlining the planned memorial collection, and an extensive appendix containing all of the known material written by Truett Vinson, including Lone Scout items, letters, and articles from The Junto.

The material is presented in chronological order, with articles from various publications interspersed between Klatt’s letters and excerpts from other correspondents, including Robert E. Howard and Truett Vinson. The complete text of Howard’s single surviving letter to Klatt is included, as is his letter to Smith eulogizing Klatt, the section from Post Oaks and Sand Roughs that describes Klatt’s visit to Brownwood, and other excerpts from his novel and correspondence.

The collection also features all of the known surviving photographs of Klatt (9 of them), a recently found article by Tevis Clyde Smith from The Junto that mentions Howard, and title and subject indexes, all with introduction and notes by yours truly.

While primarily a collection of material by and about Herbert C. Klatt, Lone Scout of Letters also serves as a resource for the Howard fan and scholar. Besides Klatt’s mentions of Howard in his letters to Smith, the volume provides information about The Junto and its members, as well as the Lone Scouts of America, an organization whose members had an influence on Howard.

This anthology is only available through lulu.com and comes in two editions: hardcover for $25 and paperback for $16. See the preview on the Lulu page for a list of contents.