We are proud to announce to official nominees for this year’s REH Foundation Awards, honoring the top contributions from the previous year in Howard scholarship and in the promotion of Howard’s life and works. The top three nominees in each category were selected by the Legacy Circle members of the Foundation from an outstanding pool of eligible candidates and their contributions represent the best of the best. (Categories with more than 3 nominees represent a tie in the nomination voting)
All Premium members of the REH Foundation will be eligible to vote on these nominees to determine this year’s winners. Voting deadline is April 30th! The winners will be announced at a special ceremony at Robert E. Howard Days in Cross Plains on June 8.
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 — AR-I-E’CH and the Spell of Cthulhu: An Informal Guide to R. E. Howard’s Lovecraftian Fiction (Black Stone Press)
FRED BLOSSER – Savage Scrolls: Scholarship from the Hyborian Age (Volume 1) (Pulp Hero Press)
BOBBY DERIE – The Robert E. Howard Bar Guide (Self Published)
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.)
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.)
BILL CAVALIER – “Robert E. Howard and his Influence on Dungeons and Dragons” – Knights of the Dinner Table 236
BOBBY DERIE – “Robert E. Howard’s Weird Detectives” – Occult Detective Quarterly 3
DIERK GUENTHER – “Local Color and Its Underlying Meaning in Robert E. Howard’s Weird Western, Southern Gothic Horror, and Detective Stories” – The Dark Man 8.2
CHARLES HOFFMAN – “’The Shadow Kingdom’ and the Origins of Gothic Horror in Robert E. Howard’s Heroic Fantasy” – Skelos 2
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.)
LEE BREAKIRON – “The Rise of the New Hyborian Legion (2 parts)” – REHEAPA
BOB BYRNE – “Robert E. Howard Wrote a Police Procedural? With Conan?? Crom!!!” – Black Gate
BOBBY DERIE – “Conan and the OAK (5 Parts)” – On An Underwood No. 5
KAREN JOAN KOHOUTEK – “Queen by Fire and Steel and Slaughter: Bêlit’s Hymn” – On An Underwood No. 5
The Venarium — Emerging Scholar
(The following candidates 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 – Contributed essay to On an Underwood No. 5; presented papers at ICFA and Glenn Lord Symposium
NICOLE EMMELHAINZ – Presented paper at ICFA.
DIERK GUENTHER – Contributed article to The Dark Man; presented papers at ICFA and Glenn Lord Symposium
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.)
HOWARD WORKS (Bill Thom)
ON AN UNDERWOOD NO. 5 (Todd Vick)
REH FOUNDATION NEWSLETTER (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)
THE CROMCAST (audio podcast) – Josh Adkins, Luke Dodd, and Jon Larson
HOWARD DAYS 2017 (videos)– Ben Friberg
WEIRD FICTION ROBERT E. HOWARD (video) – Michael Moir
The Black River—Special Achievement
(The following eligible candidates have produced or contributed something special that doesn’t fit into any other category: scholarly presentations, biographical discoveries, etc.)
SCOTT CONNORS, KAREN JOAN KOHOUTEK, JONAS PRIDA, RICK LAI, and JEFFREY SHANKS – For participating in an REH panel at NecronomiCon Providence.
DERRICK HUSSEY – For establishing the Robert E. Howard Fellowship Endowment at the University of Texas.
PATRICE LOUINET and JEFFREY SHANKS – For serving as advisors on the Conan Role Playing Game from Modiphius.
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.)
SIMON BISLEY – Cover art for Conan the Thief RPG book (Modiphius) depicting “Rogues in the House”
GERALD BROM– Cover art for Conan RPG Core Book (Modiphius) depicting “Xuthal of the Dusk”
TIM TRUMAN – Interior art for Vampire Classics (Graphic Classics) depicting “Horror from the Mound”
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)
FRED BLOSSER
CHARLES HOFFMAN
BILLIE RUTH LOVING (posthumous)
Fred Blosser is a longtime critic and commentator on the works of Robert E. Howard, beginning in 1970 with an essay in Glenn Lord’s The Howard Collector. For many fans, his essays in the back of Marvel’s Savage Sword of Conan were their introduction to non-fiction about Howard and his stories. He has authored numerous articles, reviews, and introductions over the years, including contributions to The Howard Collector, Barbarian Scroll, The Howard Review, The Dark Man, The Man from Cross Plains, Two-Gun Bob, and Anniversary: A Tribute to Glenn Lord. Last year he released two books, Ar-I-E’ch and the Spell of Cthulhu: An Informal Guide to Howard’s Lovecraftian Fiction and Savage Scrolls: Scholarship from the Hyborian Age.
For over four decades Charles Hoffman has been one of the leading figures in Howard scholarship, since the publication of his seminal essay “Conan the Existentialist” in 1974 — widely regarded as the first true literary criticism of Howard’s work. With Marc Cerasini, he co-authored Robert E. Howard: Starmont Reader’s Guide and co-edited the initial two issues of Cromlech, the first scholarly journal dedicated to Howard. He has written a number of acclaimed essays on Howard’s work for The Dark Man, Crypt of Cthulhu, The Cimmerian, Skelos, and Spectrum, as well as for for the collections Two-Gun Bob: A Centennial Study of Robert E. Howard, The Barbaric Triumph, and The Robert E. Howard Reader.
For many years Billie Ruth Loving was the head librarian at the Cross Plains Public Library. She was one of the founding members of Project Pride and in 1986 helped welcome fans to the very first Robert E. Howard Days. With the Cross Plains Library she assisted in purchasing the Howard House, then donated it to Project Pride in order to have a museum for fans visiting Cross Plains. Over the years she served as the unofficial caretaker of the house and museum and was the primary local historian on Howard and his life.
Current Members of the Black Circle:
Glenn Lord
Rusty Burke
Don Herron
Novalyne Price Ellis
Bill Cavalier
Dennis McHaney
Damon Sasser
Patrice Louinet
Karl Edward Wagner
Roy Thomas
