The newsletter opens with a cover feature about a Christmas card from Robert E. Howard, sent to Clark Ashton Smith on December 30, 1933. It details the publication journey of Howard’s first Conan story, “The Phoenix on the Sword,” emphasizing its origins as a rewrite of an unpublished Kull story, “By This Axe I Rule!”.
03
Jul
Jul
The Robert E. Howard Foundation Newsletter Number 1, volume 17 – Spring 2023. Contains the typescript of The Iron Shadows in the Moon (part 2 of 2). It also contains a typescript of a letter to Tevis Clyde Smith, circa March 1930. The letter contains 4 poems (‘The Autumn of the World’, ‘A Tribute to the Sportsmanship of the Fans’, ‘Aw Come On and Fight’ and ‘The Songe of the Sage’.
In the news and event section, we get a report from the 2023 Robert E. Howard Foundation Awards. And finally Paul Herman’s story about Howard’s writing desk and how he acquired it.
25
Feb
Feb
The Robert E. Howard Foundation Newsletter Number 4, volume 16 – Winter 2022/23. Contains the typescript of The Iron Shadows in the Moon (part 1 of 2). It also contains the draft A and draft B of The Hyborian Age. The cover is of another Jenkins Gent which was sold to Jason Germany, and two letters to Wilfred B. Talman that recently appeared. One of the letters can be viewed here.
It also has a first appearance of “List of Hyborian Names, Places, and Locations”.
25
Feb
Feb
Fantasy Fiction #3 (Fantasy Magazine #1 was retitled Fantasy Fiction from the second issue on. There were 4 issues total. This issue contains THE FROST GIANT’S DAUGHTER, reviced by L Sprague de Camp.
12
Feb
Feb
The Mighty Barbarians: Great Sword and Sorcery Heroes is a 1969 anthology of fantasy short stories in the sword and sorcery subgenre, edited by Hans Stefan Santesson. This is the first publication. It was later followed up by the subsequent Lancer anthology The Mighty Swordsmen. It has been translated into Dutch. Robert M. Price edited a later-day homage to both anthologies called The Mighty Warriors (2018).
The anthology contains A WITCH SHALL BE BORN.
31
Dec
Dec
Blood of the Serpent is a Conan pastiche written by S. M. Stirling. The book also contains Robert E. Howard’s original story Red Nails.
As sword for hire for a mercenary troop, Conan finds himself in Sukhmet, a filthy backwater town south of the River Styx considered “the arse-end of Stygia.” Serving in the company known as Zarallo’s Free Companions, he fights alongside soldiers of fortune from Zingara, Koth, Shem, and other lands—a hard-handed band of killers loyal to anyone who pays them well.
11
Dec
Dec
Whispers Volume 2 Number 2/3, June 1975. Contains a letter from Howard to Wilfred Blanch Talman written circa September 1931. The letter starts like this: “Dear Mr. Talman:
Thank you very much for the letter you wrote to Street & Smith.” It’s numbered #175 and can be found in The Collected Letters of Robert E. Howard Volume 2 as well.
Also there is some color artwork on pp. 66 & 67, courtesy of Donald Grant, published here before appearing in “The Tower of the Elephant” by Robert E. Howard that Grant published later in 1975.
09
Dec
Dec
The last in a series of 5 books. Meticulously restored text by renowned Howard scholar Paul Herman. This book includes material from the Wildside Press volumes “Black Hounds Of Death” and “A Thunder of Trumpets”. It contains several poems.
09
Dec
Dec
Volume 4 in a series of 5 books. Meticulously restored text by renowned Howard scholar Paul Herman. This book includes material from the Wildside Press volume “Hours of the Dragon”.
09
Dec
Dec
Volume 3 in a series of 5 books. Meticulously restored text by renowned Howard scholar Paul Herman. This book includes material from the Wildside Press volumes “Gardens of Fear” and “Beyond the Black River.”
This book also contains THE CHALLENGE FROM BEYOND which is a round-robin (collaboration) 1935 horror short story written by Howard Phillips Lovecraft, Frank Belknap Long, Robert E. Howard, C. L. Moore, and Abraham Merritt. It was published in Fantasy Magazine and is part of the Cthulhu Mythos.