The Robert E. Howard Foundation’s Legacy Circle members have selected the nominees for the 2020 and 2021 REH Foundation Awards, honoring the top contributions in Howard scholarship and in the promotion of Howard’s life and works from the past two years.

Foundation members have until May 16 to vote on the winners, which will be announced at Robert E. Howard Days in Cross Plains on June 11.

2020 REHF Awards Shortlist

THE ATLANTEAN — Outstanding Achievement, Book (non-anthology/collection)
(Books may be print or digital, must be a minimum of 50,000 words, and must be substantively devoted to the life and/or work of REH. Reprinted works without significant revisions are not eligible.)

• Fred Blosser. Silken Swords: An Informal Guide to the Women in the Fiction of Robert E. Howard (Pulp Hero Press)
• Bobby Derie. Weird Talers: Essays on Robert E. Howard and Others (Hippocampus Press)
• Dierk Günther. History in Robert E. Howards Fantastic Stories: From an Age Undreamed of to the Era of the Old West and Texas Frontier (Hiroshima University Library/Book Repository / September 2019) —  LINK

THE VALUSIAN — Outstanding Achievement, Book (anthology/collection)
(Books may be print or digital, must be a minimum of 50,000 words, and must be substantively devoted to the life and/or work of REH. Reprinted works without significant revisions are not eligible.)

• Arellano, Francisco and Javier Martín Lalanda (trans.). Canciones De Un Juglar Loco (La Biblioteca del Laberinto)
• Vandermeer, Jeff and Vandermeer, Ann (eds.). The Big Book of Classic Fantasy (Knopf Doubleday)
• Wheatley, Mark (ed.). Songs of Giants: the Poetry of Pulp (Insight Studios)

THE HYRKANIAN—Outstanding Achievement, Essay (Print)
(Essays must have made their first public published appearance in the previous calendar year and be substantive scholarly essays on the life and/or work of REH. Short pieces, interviews, reviews, trip reports, and other minor works do not count.)(Tie)

• Bobby Derie. “Robert E Howard, H. P. Lovecraft, and the Great War” (The Dark Man Vol.10, issue 2)
• Nicole Emmelhainz-Carney. “By This Pen I Rule: Robert E. Howard as Gatekeeper in the Development of Weird Fiction” (The Dark Man Vol.10, issue 1)
• Dierk Günther. “Faces of Kane: Exploring the Identity of Robert E. Howard’s Puritan Swordsman” (The Dark Man Vol.10, issue 1)
• Karen Joan Kohoutek. “No Refuge in Idealism: Illusion Meets reality in ‘Xuthal of the Dusk’” (The Dark Man Vol.10, issue 1)

THE CIMMERIAN—Outstanding Achievement, Essay (Online)
(Essays must have made their first public published appearance in the previous calendar year and be substantive scholarly essays on the life and/or work of REH. Short blog posts, speeches, reviews, trip reports, and other minor works do not count.)

• Bob Byrne. editor of the “Hither Came Conan” series on BlackGate.com — LINK
• Tim Dedopulos. “The Life and Death of Robert E. Howard” series — LINK
• David C. Smith. “Robert E. Howard as a Writer of Consequence” — LINK

THE STYGIAN—Outstanding Achievement, Website or Periodical
(Eligible candidates are limited to print or digital magazines, journals, blogs, or internet sites with substantive material that is primarily devoted to scholarship on the life and works of Robert E. Howard. Websites must have been updated with new content at least once in the previous calendar year. Print periodicals must have had an issue published in the previous calendar year. Non-static social media like Facebook and Twitter would not be eligible.)

• BlackGate.com (Managing editor: Howard Andrew Jones) – https://blackgate.com
• The Dark Man: Journal of Robert E. Howard and Pulp Studies (Editors: Jaron Carney and Nicole Emmelhainz) – https://https://www.thedarkmanjournal.org/
• Howard History (Editor: Rob Roehm) – https://howardhistory.com

THE BLACK LOTUS – Outstanding Achievement, Multimedia
(Eligible candidates have produced a multimedia or audio/visual work or series of works, such as videos, documentaries, podcasts, animation, etc. related to the life and work of REH)

• Ben Friberg – Howard Days 2019 Videos – LINK
• The Cromcast – LINK
• Mountain Man: Adventures of Breckinridge Elkins, Director: Stanislav Roud — LINK

THE RANKIN — 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.)

• Etienne Le Roux, artist for Conan Le Cimmerien – La Citadelle Ecarlate (Glenat 2019)
• Sana Takeda, cover artist for Age of Conan: Bêlit #1-5 (Marvel, 2019)
• Mark Wheatley, artist for Songs of Giants: The Poetry of Pulp

2021 REHF Awards

THE ATLANTEAN — Outstanding Achievement, Book (non-anthology/collection)
(Books may be print or digital, must be a minimum of 50,000 words, and must be substantively devoted to the life and/or work of REH. Reprinted works without significant revisions are not eligible.)

• Fred Blosser. The Annotated Guide to Robert E. Howard’s Weird Fantasy (Pulp Hero Press)

• Charles Hoffman and Marc Cerasini. Robert E. Howard: A Closer Look (Hippocampus Press)
• Brian Murphy. Flame and Crimson: A History of Sword-and-Sorcery (Pulp Hero Press)

THE VALUSIAN — Outstanding Achievement, Book (anthology/collection)
(Books may be print or digital, must be a minimum of 50,000 words, and must be substantively devoted to the life and/or work of REH. Reprinted works without significant revisions are not eligible.)

• Ted Abrams & Elizabeth Nee (editors). The Rattle of Bones (Clover Press)
• Frank Festa (editor/publisher). Der Mythos des Cthulhu: Erzählungen (Festa Verlag)
• Scott Lee (editor). The Cthulhu Stories of Robert E. Howard (Word Fire Press)

THE HYRKANIAN—Outstanding Achievement, Essay (Print)
(Essays must have made their first public published appearance in the previous calendar year and be substantive scholarly essays on the life and/or work of REH. Short pieces, interviews, reviews, trip reports, and other minor works do not count.)

• Karen Joan Kohoutek. “More Than Meets the Eye: The Women Protagonists of the Conan Stories” (The Dark Man 11.1)
• Ralph Norris. “The Coming of Kull” (The Dark Man 11.1)
• Willard M Oliver. “Robert E. Howard and Jack London’s Martin Eden: Analyzing the Influence of Martin Eden on Howard and his Semi-Autobiography” (The Dark Man 11.1)

THE CIMMERIAN—Outstanding Achievement, Essay (Online)
(Essays must have made their first public published appearance in the previous calendar year and be substantive scholarly essays on the life and/or work of REH. Short blog posts, speeches, reviews, trip reports, and other minor works do not count.)

• John Bullard. “Beyond the Black River”: Is It Really “Beyond the Brazos River”? (Adventures Fantastic. 3 Part Serial) Beginning with: LINK
• Jason Ray Carney. “1932, The Year of Conan: Sword and Sorcery and Historical Pessimism” (DMR Books, 26 Oct 2020), LINK
• Bobby Derie. Unspeakable! The Secret History of Nameless Cults (On An Underwood #5, 31 May 2020) LINK

THE STYGIAN—Outstanding Achievement, Website or Periodical
(Eligible candidates are limited to print or digital magazines, journals, blogs, or internet sites with substantive material that is primarily devoted to scholarship on the life and works of Robert E. Howard. Websites must have been updated with new content at least once in the previous calendar year. Print periodicals must have had an issue published in the previous calendar year. Non-static social media like Facebook and Twitter would not be eligible.)(Tie)

• The Dark Man: Journal of Robert E. Howard and Pulp Studies (Editors: Jaron Carney and Nicole Emmelhainz) – https://www.thedarkmanjournal.org/
• Howard History (Editor: Rob Roehm) – https://howardhistory.com
• REH World (Editor: Stale Gismervik) – https://reh.world
• The Robert E. Howard Foundation Newsletter (Editor: Lee Breakiron)

 THE BLACK LOTUS – Outstanding Achievement, Multimedia
(Eligible candidates have produced a multimedia or audio/visual work or series of works, such as videos, documentaries, podcasts, animation, etc. related to the life and work of REH)

• Ben Friberg. “Tour of Robert E Howard Home”, – LINK
• The Cromcast – LINK
• Rusty Burke, Nicole Emmelhainz-Carney. “The Origins of TDM: Interview with the Founding Editor Rusty Burke.” The Pavilion Blog. LINK

THE RANKIN — 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.)(Tie)

• Gess, artist for Conan Le Cimmerien – Les Mangeurs D’Hommes De Zamboula (Glenat 2020)
• E.M. Gist, cover artist for Conan the Barbarian #13-17 (Marvel, 2020)
• Park Jae Kwang, artist for Conan Le Cimmerien – Le Peuple Du Circle Noir (Glenat 2020)
• Andrew C. Robinson, cover artist for King-Size Conan (Marvel, 2020)

SPECIAL AWARDS SECTION

THE VENARIUM — Emerging Scholar-due to 2 of the nominees being nominated for both years, we have decided to put both years’ lists together to help lessen the splitting of votes or electing the same person twice. Please vote for 1 person in each year, hopefully not the same person.

2020 THE VENARIUM — Emerging Scholar
(Candidates will have recently begun making significant contributions to Howard scholarship through publications and/or presentations over the past few years. Previous winners are not eligible.)

• Jason Ray Carney
• Nicole Emmelhainz-Carney
• Howard Andrew Jones

2021 THE VENARIUM — Emerging Scholar
(Candidates will have recently begun making significant contributions to Howard scholarship through publications and/or presentations over the past few years. Previous winners are not eligible.)

• Jason Ray Carney
• Nicole Emmelhainz-Carney
• John Bullard

BLACK CIRCLE AWARD – Lifetime Achievement
(Individuals who have made significant and long-lasting contributions to REH scholarship, publishing, or the promotion of Howard’s life and works. Eligible candidates must have been publicly involved in Howard-related activities for a minimum of two decades. Sixty percent of the vote is required for induction into the Black Circle)

Nominees:

• Fred Blosser has been involved with Robert E. Howard’s properties for almost fifty years. As a writer for Marvel comics from the 1970s to 1990s, Fred not only scripted the adventures of Conan and other Howard characters, but authored a number of nonfiction articles and essays exploring the history of Howard’s stories and his fictional worlds. Over the last few years, Fred has continued to contribute to Howard studies with works like The Annotated Guide to Robert E. Howard’s Weird Fantasy.
• Paul Herman became closely associated with Robert E. Howard’s literary agent Glenn Lord, and an active member of Howard fandom. Paul created his own small press and published many collections of Howard’s stories. Much of the behind-the-scenes work of insuring the preservation of Glenn Lord’s collection of Robert E. Howard manuscripts and letters, and the formation of the Robert E. Howard Foundation and its associated press are due to Paul’s hard work.
• Arlene Stephenson is the President of Project Pride, and has been involved with Robert E. Howard’s legacy in Cross Plains for over twenty years. Her guidance and hard work have been essential to the preservation of the Robert E. Howard House and Museum, and she helps organize Howard Days and its various activities.
• Steve Tompkins (1960-2009) was a leading scholar of Howard studies, and wrote numerous articles on Howard’s work, introductions to volumes of his stories (notably the Wandering Stareditions, which are the basis of the popular Del Rey paperbacks), and was highly active in Howard fandom; he was the managing editor of the Cimmerian blog at the time of his death. Thousands of Howard fans have been introduced to Robert E. Howard the writer through Tompkin’s introductions, and his critical voice continues to live on.