The nominees for the 2025 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.

• Martinez, Rodolfo; La Era Hibórea de Robert E. Howard 
• Tetro, Michele; Conan il barbaro – Dai racconti di Robert E. Howard al film di John Milius

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.

• Blosser, Fred; Exploring the Worlds of Robert E. Howard: 2024 Supplement
• Guarriello, Pietro, editor; Zothique #17

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.

• Calabrese, Fabio; “H. P. Lovecraft & Robert E. Howard: Letteratura fantastica e visione del mondo” by Fabio Calabrese
• Holmes, Morgan; two-part series titled, “Robert E. Howard’s Prehistoric Beasts.” Castalia House blog. Part 1, published August 25, 2024; Part 2, published September 8, 2024
• Patavini, Emilio, curator; “REH & The Eyrie: Le lettere di R. E. Howard a Weird Tales”
• Romeo, Gary; “Robert E. Howard’s Father, Dr. Isaac Howard”
• Shanks, Jeff; “A Gunslinger in the Wild East – The Adventures of El Borak”; “Mistress of Death – The Legend of Dark Agnes”; “Conrad and Kirowan – Explorers of Eldritch Horror and Delvers into the Dark Arts”, Conan Battle of the Black Stone #1-3

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.

• Darlage, Vincent; various articles on www.spraguedecampfan.wordpress.com: Akivasha: “I am the woman, who never died.”; Thoth-amon: A Review and a Character Study; The Book of Skelos
• Pekov, Ondřej; Bachelor Thesis: Literary Comparison of Beowulf and R.E. Howard’s Conan the Barbarian
• Vaughan, Michael K; The Robert E. Howard Show, Michael K. Vaughan YouTube Channel
• Yergert, Dan; THE CONAN CHRONOLOGY

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.

• Curley, Shawn; Official Conan the Barbarian  Podcast
• Gismervik, Stale;  The World of Robert E. Howard
• Romeo, Gary; Spraguedecampfan, blog.
• Thom, Bill; www.HowardWorks.com
• Todd, Evan; Stygian Dogs YouTube Channel
• Vaughan, Michael K.;  The Robert E Howard Show, Michael K. Vaughan YouTube Channel

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.

• Castro, V.; “Bêlit: Shipwrecked”
• Hocking, John C.; Conan and the Living Plague, published in Conan: City of the Dead
• John, Matthew; “Madness on the Mound,” Savage Sword of Conan #6
• Jones, Howard Andrew; Shadow of the Smoking Mountain
• Lanier, Thomas; In the Valley of Katari
• Lovegrove, James; Conan: Cult of the Obsidian Moon, and “El Borak; The Siege of Lamakan”
• Shrewsbury, Steven L.; “Bran Mak Morn: Red Waves of Slaughter”
• Stackpole, Michael A.; “Belit: Bone Whispers”
• Tanzer, Molly; “Jirel and the Mirror of Truth”, New Edge Sword & Sorcery Magazine
• Waltz, Jason M (ed); Neither Beg, Nor Yield
• Lovegrove, James; Conan: Cult of the Obsidian Moon, and “El Borak; The Siege of Lamakan”

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.

• Baerald, Francesca; Thurian Age Map, Conan the Barbarian Comic #9, Titan
• Cavalier, Bill; 2024 Howard Days poster art; Cover art for The Collected Letters of Novalyne Price Pt.1, cover art for for “The People of the Dark” booklet from the REH Foundation Press.
• HorrorBabble (Ian Gordon) for its Youtube recitals of “King of the Forgotten People” by Robert E. Howard and “”The Dwellers Under the Tombs” by Robert E. Howard
• Marz, Ron,  Mike Perkins, Richard Starkings & Tyler Smith ; “Black Oasis”, The Savage Sword of Conan #4, Titan Comics
• Wheatley, Mark; REH Press Book Covers
• Zircher, Patrick; ‘Master of the Hunt, Parts 1 to 3′ (The Savage Sword of Conan, Issues #1-3)
• Jim Zub, Jonas Scharf and Joao Canola for the ‘Battle of the Black Stone’ series (issues 1-4)
• Jim Zub and Richard Pace for ‘Conan: Leaving the Garden’ (The Savage Sword of Conan, Issue #2)
• Jim Zub, Doug Braithwaite and Diego Rodriguez for ‘Frozen Faith’, (‘Conan the Barbarian’ Issue #14-17).

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.

• Jones, Howard Andrew; For his career promoting and writing and editing Sword and Sorcery
• Louinet, Patrice, and Oliver, Will; for finding new REH letters

[Thanks to Cat Eldridge for the story.]