The nominees for the 2024 Robert E. Howard Awards have been announced by the Robert E. Howard Foundation.

SCHOLARSHIP AWARDS

THE ATLANTEAN—OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT, BOOK

Requirements: Nonfiction work (print or digital), minimum 50,000 words, substantively devoted to the life and/or work of Robert E. Howard, published in the last calendar year.

Considerations: Reprinted works without significant revisions are not eligible. Award goes to the author or authors.

• Steven Jones, THE WEIRD TALES BOYS (PS Publishing)

THE VALUSIAN—OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT, BOOK (ANTHOLOGY/COLLECTION)

Requirements: Nonfiction anthology or collection of essays (print or digital), nonfiction, minimum 50,000 words, substantively devoted to the life and/or work of Robert E. Howard, published in the last calendar year.

Considerations: Reprinted works without significant revisions are not eligible. Award goes to the editor or editors.

• Bob Byrne & Jason M. Waltz (eds.) – Hither Came Conan (Rogue Blades Foundation)
• Charles Hoffman, BEYOND THE BLACK STRANGER AND OTHERS: NEW ESSAYS ON ROBERT E. HOWARD AND H. P. LOVECRAFT
• Dennis McHaney, ROBERT E. HOWARD IN THE PULPS 

THE HYRKANIAN—OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT, ESSAY

Requirements: Scholarly Nonfiction essays (print or digital), no minimum word count, substantively focused on the life and/or work of Robert E. Howard, published in the last calendar year.

Considerations: Short blog posts, news, interviews, reviews, trip reports, and other minor works are not considered. The award goes to the author or authors.

• Frank Coffman, “Robert E. Howard’s Use of Verse in ‘Men of Shadows’”
• Phillip Emery, “The Problem of Tuzun Thune,” THE DARK MAN Vol. 13, No. 1
• Dierk Günther, “Rise of the Barbarians: Robert E. Howard’s Barbarian Heroes and Their Predecessors in Literature,” THE DARK MAN Vol. 13, No. 1 and “Bran Mak Morn’s Downfall” in The Dark Man – Journal of Robert E. Howard and Pulp Studies 13/2 (November 2023)
• Will Oliver, “The Personal and Literary Influence of Jack London’s THE STAR ROVER on Robert E. Howard,” THE DARK MAN Vol. 13, No. 2
• Thomas Schwaiger, “The Contemporary Writer and Their Suicide Chapter Two-Gun Bob on the Pyre: Robert E. Howard’s Suicide in the Context of His Life and Work” 

THE VENARIUM—EMERGING SCHOLAR

Requirements: Candidates must have recently begun making significant contributions to Howard scholarship through publications and/or presentations over the past few years.

Considerations: Previous winners are not eligible. Award goes to the individual.

• Laura A. Shubert, “The Shadow King of Fantasy: Robert E. Howard” – Master’s Thesis, Texas A&M University-Central Texas

ART AWARDS

THE BLACK LOTUS—OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT, WEB-BASED

Requirements: Web-based content (i.e. digital magazine, journals, websites, blogs, podcasts, audiovisual/multimedia presentations, internet sites, etc.), substantively focused on the life and/or work of Robert E. Howard, new content must have been published in the last calendar year.

Considerations: Non-static social media like Facebook and Twitter would not be eligible. Award goes to site owner/administrator.

• The Eldritch Archives, “Analysing Robert E. Howard’s Writing Style Using Statistics and Natural Language Processing,”
• Ståle Gismervik: The World of Robert E. Howard website and associated articles, interviews, and resources hosted there.
• Gary Romeo, https://spraguedecampfan.wordpress.com/
• The Texas Center YouTube Channel, Robert E. Howard Days 2023 Videos

THE COSTIGAN—LITERARY ACHIEVEMENT

Awarded for original creative writing that carries on the spirit and tradition of Robert E. Howard, to better recognize and celebrate his influence on future generations of writers.

Requirements: Fiction (i.e. short fiction, novels, comic books, etc.), in the spirit and tradition of Robert E. Howard, published in the last calendar year.

Considerations: Work must be substantial and original in content; translations and adaptations will not be considered. Award goes to the individual writer or writing team.

• Brian D. Anderson – Conan The Child 
• Howard Andrew Jones – THE CITY OF MARBLE AND BLOOD
• Stephen Graham Jones – Conan Lord of the Mount 
• Scott Oden – THE DOOM OF ODIN: A NOVEL 
• Conan the Barbarian (Titan 2023): Jim Zub, Roberto De La Torre, Dean White and Richard Starkings

THE RANKIN—ARTISTIC ACHIEVEMENT

Requirements: Visual media (painting, comics art & covers, film, etc.), directly related to the depiction of Robert E. Howard’s life, characters, or fictional worlds; published in the last calendar year.

Considerations: Work must be substantial and original in content. Award goes to the individual artist.

• Francesca Baerald, Conan the Barbarian #1 (Titan Comics, 2023), Cover G – Wraparound Hyborian Age Map 
• Raúlo Cáceres, PASIÓN Y ACERO Inspirado en la obra de Robert E. Howard (Isla de Nabumbu, 2023)
• EdCarl Evans: Cover for Velhoe Oeste Selvagum (Editora Clock Tower/Brasil)
• Jean-Luc Masbou, Conan le Cimmérien – Le Maraudeur noir (Glenat)
• Mike Mignola, Conan the Barbarian #1 (Titan Comics, 2023), Cover E
• Roberto De la Torre and José Villarrubia, Conan the Barbarian (Titan Comics, 2023)

THE BLACK RIVER—SPECIAL ACHIEVEMENT

Requirements: Candidates will have produced or contributed something special that doesn’t fit into any other category, e.g. scholarly presentations, biographical discoveries, etc.

• Josh Adkins, Jon Larson, and Luke E. Dodd – 10 Years of the Cromcast Podcast https://thecromcast.blogspot.com/ For creating and running a podcast on discussing Robert E. Howard, Sword and Sorcery, and Fantasy for 10 years. Recording and publishing on-line events at several Howard Days.
• Denilson Cararetto (Publisher/Editor “Editora Clock Tower Brasil) for promoting and publishing REH in Brasil with excellent editions publishing REH in Brasil with excellent editions

[Thanks to Bobby Derie for the story.]