Online Conference: Afterlives of World Building — The Legacy of Robert E. Howard
An online conference titled “Afterlives of World Building: The Legacy of Robert E. Howard” will take place on Saturday, June 20, 2026. The event is sponsored by The Dark Man: The Journal of Robert E. Howard and Pulp Studies, and will include pre-recorded interviews, two scholarly panels, and a keynote address by Sara Frazetta. Registration is required to receive the Zoom link and password.
The conference is connected with the relaunch and new editorial direction of The Dark Man, now hosted through East Texas A&M University. The journal is devoted to the academic study of Robert E. Howard’s literary legacy, along with the literary, historical, and print-culture contexts surrounding his work.
Event details
Event: Afterlives of World Building: The Legacy of Robert E. Howard
Date: Saturday, June 20, 2026
Format: Online conference via Zoom
Sponsor: The Dark Man: The Journal of Robert E. Howard and Pulp Studies
Registration: Required in order to receive the Zoom link and password
Conference page: Official conference page and registration link
Note: Benjamin Garstad has mentioned that the interviews, panels, and keynote are planned to be made available on YouTube afterward.
Program
Two pre-recorded interviews will be available to conference participants:
| Interview | Interviewer |
|---|---|
| Arlene Stephenson | Hailey Sitar |
| Rusty Burke | Emily Pickering |
First Panel
10:00–11:30 MST
“Forging Sword and Sorcery: Scholarly approaches to REH”
Moderator: Rhys Lomas
Panelists:
- Laura Shubert
- Jonas Prida
- Brian Murphy
- Jeff Shanks
First Intermission
11:30–12:00 MST
Chat open for discussion. Moderators TBA.
Second Panel
12:00–1:30 MST
“Pulp to Paperback to Podcast: The legacy of REH”
Moderator: Alberto Tadeo
Panelists:
- Elisabeth Wheatley
- Jim Zub
- Charles Gramlich
Second Intermission
1:30–2:00 MST
Chat open for discussion. Moderators TBA.
Keynote Address
2:00–3:30 MST
Keynote speaker: Sara Frazetta
Introduced and moderated by LeeLa Haynes.
About The Dark Man
The Dark Man: The Journal of Robert E. Howard and Pulp Studies is described as a peer-reviewed scholarly journal devoted to Robert E. Howard’s literary legacy and the broader literary-historical and print-culture contexts around his work. Its scope includes full-length articles, critical notes, commentaries, bibliographies, reviews, and scholarship concerning Howard’s life, times, works, and related subjects such as Weird Tales, H. P. Lovecraft, and pulp fiction aesthetics.
The current editorial board lists Rusty Burke as Founding Editor, Luke Dodd as Editor Emeritus, Hunter Hayes as Executive Editor, and Benjamin Garstad and Tracy Henley as Editors.
You can register and find more information at the official conference page.