Robert E. Howard Readers discussion
Members' Area
>
Robert E Howard Days 2021
date
newest »
newest »
I'll be headed out that way, and as in past years I've got a book to giveaway for attendees.
awesome, Michael! I look forward to meeting in person. hope you and your son enjoy a great drive.
I look forward to meeting you as well.
Look forward to seeing you again Bobby. I love your books.
If you've never been, Robert E. Howard Days is an annual (except for last year, because of the pandemic) festival held in Cross Plains, Texas, Robert E. Howard's hometown and the site of the Robert E. Howard House & Museum, which is maintained by a local organization called Project Pride. It's a time for fans from across the country (and in non-pandemic times, across the world) to gather and celebrate, learn, and share about Howard's life and fiction. The Robert E. Howard Foundation is there with books, the house is open to the public and with docents on duty, there are panels where Howard scholars talk about different aspects of his life & work & what came after, the folks from Cabinet (who own the Howard literary estate) are on hand to talk about upcoming developments with the TV series, games, and other properties, and most of all, we just enjoy the fellowship of being with fellow fantasy fans, nerding out about minutiae, and having a beer at the pavilion only a few feet away from where Howard himself sipped his own beer, nearly a century ago now.This year's theme is “Celebrating 51 Years of REH in Comics,” and the guest of honor was Roy Thomas. I rolled into town on Thursday - there isn't much happening Thursday except the fish fry in town, so I spent a few hours hanging out at the pavilion, chatting with whomever showed up, and handing out copies of the book I was giving away this year: Strange Stories of Robert E. Howard & Co.
Friday morning I arrived bright and early, to help the Foundation set up their tent, and I bought a copy of the new edition of the Collected Letters of Robert E. Howard - the previous edition has been sold out, and they're still working on getting a uniform series of print-on-demand paperbacks out, but there have been delays because of the pandemic and life. Still, always nice to see the Foundation books on hand. Jason Waltz of the Rogue Blades Foundation showed up too - he had published the book Robert E. Howard Changed My Life with essays from lots of different folks on how Howard had touched them, from Michael Moorcock and Charles Saunders to Howard scholars like Rusty Burke and Patrice Louinet - who just the other year got his doctorate from the Sorbonne focusing on Robert E. Howard in English literature.
There were a lot of people here this year, many of them showing up for the first time. Many old friends couldn't make it, some because they feared the pandemic (in truth, most folks around town didn't wear masks), others for work or personal reasons. I wish Todd Vick had been there to sell & sign a few copies of his new biography of REH, Renegades & Rogues, but he couldn't make it.
The bus tour started at 9:15; Rusty Burke narrated as they drove all around the surrounding towns to see what was left of Robert E. Howard's time. Many folks wander into town where the Post Office offers a special Howard Days cancellation stamp (designed by Becky Cloonan this year), or go to the public library to view some of the original Robert E. Howard manuscripts on display.
Noon was a hotdog lunch, and in Texas it starts to get hot! We were in the 90s for most of the three days I was there, with humidity creeping up, and you have to be careful to keep hydrated and out of the sun - although thankfully the mosquitoes & other insects were not so bad yet.
At 12:45, the new historical market was presented in front of the Howard House - this is something that's been in the works for years, but the end result is impressive. For those who think of historical markers as small plaques stuck on poles or the sides of buildings, this is a massive bronze slab on a brick-and-concrete base, and some of Howard's relatives were there to help with the unveiling.
The first panels were in the afternoon, and the subject was Robert E. Howard in the Comics. Notable quests were Roy Thomas and Fred Blosser, who had done so much work on the Marvel comics and Cross Plains Comics, Patrice Louinet who was series editor on the Glenat line of adaptations in France, and Jay Zetterberg of Cabinet to discuss the transition of the license from Marvel to Dark Horse and back to Marvel.
After that were the Robert E. Howard Foundation Awards - because we didn't have Howard Days last year, these involved awards for works produced in both 2019 and 2020. Notable recipients include the Crom awards for Patrice Louinet and Dierk Guenther - who both received their PhDs for Howard studies - and REH Foundation stalwart Paul Herman was initiated into the Black Circle, for those who have spent over twenty years of dedicated excellence in promoting Robert E. Howard and his work.
I was pleased to receive the Atlantean award (best book) for my essay collection Weird Talers: Essays on Robert E. Howard & Others.
Many folks lined up for the first autograph session with Roy Thomas, who was, I have to say, wonderful and friendly with everybody.
In between events, we all tend to head back to the pavilion, wander around town, or hit up the gift shop in the House for t-shirts, books, and other goodies. But around 5:30 we made our way to the banquet and the silent auction...
The banquet is another Howard Days tradition; there's limited seating so you have to sign up in advance, and the entree is chicken-fried steak. Most of the initial interest is on the silent auction - Howard fans donate material to Project Pride, and before dinner is served we rotate among the goodies, writing our bids on slips of paper.
After dinner comes the speeches; these are usually fairly short, but also traditional. Thanks to everyone that made Howard Days possible, the presentation of a small scholarship to a local Cross Plains student, some opening remarks...and then Roy Thomas took the stand.
The ultimate insiders view on how Conan (and Robert E. Howard in general) came to Marvel comics, how Thomas & Barry Windsor-Smith and others brought him to the page - more detail than just the panel.
Dinner was served late, so ran late. The last few minutes of the silent auction were fairly tense - as they tend to be. Some of the items up for grabs were a copy of Keep on the Light, the first hardback publication of "Worms of the Earth"; a set of Conan comics bound in four lovely hardbacks; a hand-illustrated map of the Hyborian age; the original art for the 2021 Howard Days poster; four beer bottles with custom REH labels; and innumerable paperbacks, comics, fanzines, etc. Very little wasn't sold!
At ten, a few of us gathered at the Ice House for the "Fists of the Ice House" special - Mark Finn, who is one of the maestros of the Foundation's four-volume collection of Howard's boxing fiction, told everyone about how Howard had boxed on this very spot, then read excerpts from his top ten Howard boxing stories. His voices have to be heard to be believed.
Saturday started out cooler and a bit overcast. The pavilion and house saw less traffic that early in the morning; Rusty Burke was taking folks on a walking tour of Cross Plains before the heat of the day was on us, and at 11AM Roy Thomas gave an extended interview, followed by another signing. There was a break for lunch and then the Cabinet folks showed up to talk about the things that are in the works: the television series is still in production, and they're working on getting a new line of original books set in Howard's world to publication, and Marvel continues to chug along with their comics, both Conan the Barbarian and Savage Avengers.
Rusty came back to the house in the afternoon to give a tour of the House and grounds - showing where the cellar was (excavated back in 2019!), where the garage might have been, etc. They really put him to work this year! Dealers had set up on the shadier side of the pavilion and were selling Conan comics, original artwork, Frazetta artbooks and the like. There was an impromptu flurry of autograph signing since a number of the folks who had essays in Robert E. Howard Changed My Life were in attendance.
At 5PM (or maybe a little earlier) was the barbecue - again, another tradition. Brisket & beans & coleslaw, on paper plates, everyone shooing away flies and finding a space to eat. You never know you might end up elbow-to-elbow with Roy Thomas or one of the Cromcast guys.
The heat was getting to me, but I stayed on until the Poetry Reading. This is another Howard Days tradition; as the sun sets we gather around the front of the house and his poem "Cimmeria" is read stanza by stanza, translated into and read in as many languages as we can get away with. After that, individuals can read other Howard poems out loud, and many do like to share their favorites with an appreciative audience.
The heat and long days were riding on me after that, though. As the sun slants, it pours into the pavilion in a last dying burst of light, burning the skin and blinding the eye, many folks moving into the shade. The dealers had mostly packed up at that point, and I'd given away my last book. So I said my goodbyes...and that was Howard Days 2021.
Terrific recap Bobby, informative and personable.
Hi Bobby,Did the guys from Cabinet reveal anything about the Netflix series like names of people involved?
Also, are the two remaining volumes of the letters out now or only the first one? Do you think there are that many differences with the first edition?
Thanks for the recap! The Cromcast have juste released their audio recording of the Comics panel.
And congratulations on your well deserved award. Your book of essays is terrific. I had read them all online but bought the book anyway.
Mathieu wrote: "Hi Bobby,Did the guys from Cabinet reveal anything about the Netflix series like names of people involved?
Also, are the two remaining volumes of the letters out now or only the first one? Do you think there are that many differences with the first edition?"
I didn't catch any names, but then I might have missed it, I was more focused on the Titan books announcement. My experience with Netflix shows is I'll believe they're happening when we see actors in costume on the set between takes and not before.
Only the first volume of the new COLLECTED LETTERS has been released. This includes all the letters & drafts found since the first edition came out, plus photos, corrections, and a new index by John Bullard which is integral to each volume (i.e. no separate index like the one I made!) It's very well done.
Mathieu wrote: And congratulations on your well deserved award. Your book of essays is terrific. I had read them all online but bought the book anyway.
Thank you! If it makes you feel any better, the book standardizes the citations, fixes some errors, and the essay "Robert E. Howard in Mexico" wasn't published anywhere else before.
My only 2 cents I will add is that the "Letters Vol 1" is in Hardcover and will be unlimited so this version is not numbered. Also, I 100% agree with Bobby about the TV shows, etc. I will believe it when I see it. For example they said that they had 3 scripts written for Sony by a Hollywood writer that is a huge REH fan. These scripts were for an El Borak TV show, but Sony sat on it for 2-3 years and they bought it back. Unfortunately the scripts can't be used as Sony was involved with that.
Also, I highly recommend the "Robert E Howard Changed My Life" edited by Jason Waltz. Bobby contributed to it as well. I am about half way through it and love it.
I am waiting for my “Robert E. Howard Changed my Life” book, but Amazon says it’ll be in July only. I am up here in Canada. I thought the Letters book was part of the POD series because of the cover by Wheatly. It’s great that it’s a hardcover. I will order mine as soon as it’s available on the website.
By the way, any of you have “Pictures in the Fire” which doesn’t look like the rest of the Foundation books? Does the new book follow that new direction? I liked the pitch black glossy look better.
Mathieu wrote: "I am waiting for my “Robert E. Howard Changed my Life” book, but Amazon says it’ll be in July only. I am up here in Canada. I thought the Letters book was part of the POD series because of the co..."
If I understand correctly, I believe the Letters book is considered white glossy and looks beautiful even without the dust jacket which has artwork by Mark Wheatly. Hope this answers your question. I'm not that up on that stuff. Not sure what POD series stands for.
The Robert E Howard Changed My Life book is also available on kindle which I got as well. Not sure about Canada.
POD means Print on Demand, which is usually a soft-cover.
Thank you for the update, Bobby! Congrats on your award; it is well deserved.
Vincent wrote: "POD means Print on Demand, which is usually a soft-cover."Oh thanks duh! I should have known that!
Vincent wrote: "POD means Print on Demand, which is usually a soft-cover."From what Paul Herman said that is the plan for all of the REH Foundation books once they are sold out in the numbered editions. He found more material in Glenn Lord's collections which sounded like they were not really well organized. This will add extra material for the books and they will be sold POD.
How much new material is in the updated Letters?
There are 40 index pages created by Bobby and John Bullard. 9 pages of photos. 364 pages of letters 1923-29.I still have my books in storage so I can't really compare.
Bobby can probably answer in great detail.
It appears to contain everything from the first edition including introductions and notes.
The new 3-volume set includes all the drafts and additional letters that have been found (including the ones that were in the index & addenda and a few more), photographs, and an integral index in each volume by John Bullard (he used my index as a basis, but did all the hard work himself and should get the credit for it). So the 2nd edition has everything in the 1st edition and then some; and it should be the new standard going forward.
Attached is the poem "Cimmeria" written by REH. Here it is read in 6 different languages at the poetry reading Saturday evening, June 12, 2021 on the porch of REH Home/Museum. This poem was almost lost but was found in a letter to Emil Petaja, an author and fan of REH.
See the story behind it in "Weird Talers" by Bobby Derie.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ZNnN...
I just realised the Letters books probably contain the letters sent to HPL? I am currently reading “A Means to Freedom“. They must make for a good part of the volumes, maybe a third of it all?
Mathieu wrote: "I just realised the Letters books probably contain the letters sent to HPL? I am currently reading “A Means to Freedom“. They must make for a good part of the volumes, maybe a third of it all?"Yes all of the REH to HPL letters are in the 3 Volumes but not the letters from Lovecraft.
A post in Robert E Howard Readers Facebook page showing the New Letters Vol 1 book:https://www.facebook.com/WheatleyMark...
https://www.lulu.com/shop/herbert-c-k...
My oldest son is accompanying me (first time since 2011). The longer and more leisurely drive will afford me more opportunity for some "scouting" around. I plan to get there in time for all of the panels both days for the first time. I look forward to seeing Roy Thomas and I am bringing an oversized coffee table book he wrote: "Conan, the Ultimate Guide to the World's Most Savage Barbarian" .
https://www.amazon.com/Conan-Ultimate...
I am super excited about this year!