Only Seven Weeks Until Howard Days!

Thanks to our friend and long time Howard Days attendee Jason Hardy for the nifty poster artwork!

We're getting down to crunch time for Howard Days! Only seven weeks until we'll be basking in the heat, err... glow (and hiding in the shade) of the Robert E. Howard Museum in Cross Plains, Texas! June 13 & 14, to be exact, but you can come early!

The schedule is in place (look under the EVENTS tab) and Project Pride is ready to welcome REH fans from all over the world. It's time to double-check your list and look over your plans for heading to Cross Plains to enjoy The Best Two (and a Half) Days in Howard Fandom!

Reservations are still available for the Friday Night Celebration Banquet (and Silent Auction) but they are going fast! You don't want to be left out! For only $25.00 you can enjoy a Texas feast, hear Guest of Honor Mark Wheatley and enjoy the company of hundreds of fellow fans. And remember, this is the only real cost of the entire weekend - everything else at the Museum and Pavilion & Grounds, is presented with no charge. (Of course, you will need cash for the Gift Shop, Dealer's area and food trucks, but that goes without saying!) PayPal to ProjPride@yahoo.com.

Speaking of the Silent Auction: now's the time to look through your Howard and related collections and find items to donate to the Silent Auction. Held in conjunction with the Celebration Banquet, the Silent Auction raises funds for the year-around upkeep of the Robert E. Howard Museum. 100% of the proceeds from this Auction go directly to Museum maintenance, so your items will benefit Project Pride's fine work 100%!

You can send your auction donations directly to Project Pride, or bring them to the Museum on Thursday or Friday before the Banquet. Please mail your donations to: Project Pride, POB 534, Cross Plains, TX 76443 Attn.: Silent Auction.

Howard Days also has a Dealer's Area Friday and Saturday in the yard surrounding the Pavilion. You may purchase a table for $25.00 for the whole weekend (and bring your own, if needed) and set up with your REH and related merchandise. We ask that the majority of your items are directly related to REH. PayPal to ProjPride@yahoo.com.

We'll have more updates and reminders coming soon, so stay tuned. We'll be expecting to see your smiling faces in Texas real soon now! Y'all come!

Howard Days is Two Months Away!

 With only two months to go, plans for Howard Days in Cross Plains, Texas, are coming along quite nicely But along with our plans, we hope you are making yours to join us at the Robert E. Howard Museum on June 12-13-14 for The Best Two Days in Howard Fandom.

2025 finds us at the 100th anniversary of Bob Howard becoming a professional writer. His "Spear and Fang" tale appeared in the July issue of Weird Tales, launching a career that still resonates after a century!

Project Pride of Cross Plains, the Robert E. Foundation and members of the Robert E. Howard United Press Association are looking forward to hosting hundreds of visitors from all over the world to share Fellowship and celebrate the Legacy of a true American original, Robert E. Howard.

All of the "regular stuff" at Howard Days remains in place for your enjoyment. The Howard Museum will be open all day on Friday and Saturday (plus a few hours on Thursday!) Bus, Walking and Grounds tours will be held, a number of entertaining panels are presented on a variety of Howard-related topics, the Friday night Celebration Banquet and Silent Auction are a highlight, original REH typescripts, Weird Tales magazines and an ever-growing Howard collection are on display at the Cross Plains Library. The Museum has a well-stocked inventory of Howard books and t-shirts and souvenirs and the REH Foundation Press will provide the latest in Howard publishing. The Cross Plains Review will host fans to a historical glimpse of 1930's newspaper office where REH briefly worked, and the Cross Plains branch of the U.S. Post Office provides a nifty HD souvenir with a unique Howard Days cancellation stamp.

Speaking of which, the HD 2025 Guest of Honor, Mark Wheatley, has created some magnificent artwork for this year's cancellation. Check it out:

Mark is also presenting an exclusive Solomon Kane print available only at the Howard Museum, with all proceeds going to Project Pride:

For those of you saddling your pintos for the dusty trail-ride to Texas. don't forget to register soon for the Friday night Celebration Banquet, held at the Cross Plains Community Center. Seating is limited and we're told the Banquet is nearly half sold right now! So, you'll be wanting to get your $25.00 per person reservation to the fine folks at Project Pride right quick! Mail your checks to: Project Pride, POB 534, Cross Plains, TX 76443 Attn: Banquet Reservation or PayPal your fee to ProjPride@yahoo.com. See you at the Banquet Hall!

We've just about got the panels all set and will be posting the entire schedule in the EVENTS section of this page. Our theme this year of 100 Years of Robert E. Howard will provide some pretty interesting topics for discussion.

And, as always, the highlight of Robert E. Howard Days is the fellowship and camaraderie of Howard fans from all over, meeting up at his house to honor his life and legacy and revel in all the marvelous words he left us. If you have been to this place once or a dozen times, there's nothing like "yakkin' about Ol' Two-Gun" with like-minded people, just outside the room where he conjured his wonderful tales that have brought us all together.

Hope to see you in a couple of months. Y'all come!

The 2025 Howard Days Official Poster

Here's the first look at the official poster for Howard Days 2025.

"Indy" Bill Cavalier said he had some fun with this one, the 8th in the series of posters that he has donated to promote REH Days. Copies of this poster will be available at Howard Days, both in the Museum Gift Shop and at the REH Foundation Press table. 100% of the money received from this $5 item goes directly to Project Pride of Cross Plains and the Museum. And the original of this poster will be available in the Silent Auction at the Friday night Banquet.

Discerning aficionados of All Things Howard may notice a familiarity about the reference used for the graphic of the two cave men from Spear and Fang (Howard's first published story in Weird Tales). Here's the reference, showing a snarling Bob Howard menacing his fellow cos-playing friend Tevis Clyde Smith.

Howard Days is happening June 13th & 14th (with festivities happening earlier on the 12th) at the Robert E. Howard Museum in Cross Plains. All the info you need is found here at this site, so make your plans now to be there for The Best Two Days in Howard Fandom!

Y'all come!

 

Howard Days News!

 As the Spring season has GOT to be out there somewhere, it's time to turn our thoughts to the warmth of Howard Days! In less than four months we'll all be basking in the sun in Cross Plains, Texas, enjoying fun and fellowship as we celebrate the Legacy of Robert E. Howard! If you haven't already, make plans now to join us at the Robert E. Howard Museum on June 13th & 14th for The Best Two Days in Howard Fandom!

In the meantime, we're in the process of setting up the panel schedule and prepping all the activities. The theme this year is 100 Years of Robert E. Howard!, as 1925 was the first professional publication of a Bob Howard story. "Spear and Fang" made its appearance in the July 1925 issue of Weird Tales magazine and launched his career.

For those of you wanting to get a jump on the fun, registrations are now open for the Friday Night Celebration Banquet. Project Pride is happy to announce that this year the cost will remain the same $25.00 as previous. Please note that this money gets you a seat at the Banquet as well as helps to cover the cost of the Friday donuts & coffee, Hot Dog Lunch, snacks & drinks in the Pavilion, decorations, programs, promotional costs and extra utilities. All the programming activities & tours are presented at no additional cost!

So, reserve your seat today via PayPal at Projpride@yahoo.com or send a check or M.O. to Project Pride, Howard Days Pre-registration, POB 534, Cross Plains, TX 76443. This is always a sell-out, so please register before June 1st.

And, we're changing up the Saturday meal. This year, Project Pride will be bringing in FOOD TRUCKS to the back yard for our late afternoon dinner. You will be able to choose between at least four cuisines (as of now, it's BBQ, Tacos, Pizza & Ice Cream); you pay for your own and enjoy dining in the Pavilion or yard. This way we can help even more local small Cross Plains businesses and enjoy a choice of some great food!

But wait! There's more! The Windy City Pulp & Paperback Convention is happening April 4-6 in Lombard, Illinois, where they are kicking off the 100 Years of Bob Howard festivities! Windy City is one of the best Pulp Cons in the country and will celebrate Ol' Two-Gun with dealers, auctions and a REH panel. 

So, great things on the horizon to celebrate and honor the Legacy of Ol' Two-Gun Bob Howard, a true Texan and American original! Hope to see you there! Y'all come!

Howard Days Exclusive Art Print

 As we continue to work on programming for this year's event, our Guest of Honor Mark Wheatley tells us this;

"I just finished this new painting, illustrating Robert E. Howard's poem, Solomon Kane's Homecoming. This will be available as an exclusive, signed, art print in full benefit of the Cross Plains Project Pride for Robert E. Howard Days."

So, another reason to rein your horse towards Cross Plains for Howard Days on June 13th & 14th!

Check out Mark's Facebook page plus his website: MarkWheatleyGallery.com

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BOB!

It's time once again to blaze those pistolas and brandish those Bowies and wish Bob Howard a Happy Birthday! January 22nd, 1906 marks the beginning of Robert E. Howard and here in 2025 we celebrate the 119th anniversary of his birth!

We've got a Solomon Kane cake here all ready to to help us celebrate. Wish we had some of Ben Friberg's ice cream to go along with it - it would certainly keep well in light of the current January deep freeze we're undergoing!

Some of us enjoy a time-honored tradition and like to raise a glass of a preferred beverage and toast Ol' Two-Gun while reading some of his writings on his birthday. As 2025 is the 100th anniversary of his first published story, around here we're going with Spear and Fang.

And think about honoring the Legacy of REH even more with a trip to Robert E. Howard Days, June 13th & 14th. There will be more cake as we celebrate 100 Years of Robert E. Howard being a professional writer. And the ice cream will taste better then too!

Happy birthday, Bob Howard! Thanks for all the words.

Mark Wheatley is the Howard Days 2025 Guest of Honor

The Robert E. Howard Foundation is pleased to announce that artist Mark Wheatley has been chosen as Guest of Honor for Robert E. Howard Days 2025.

One of Mark’s current projects is creating cover paintings for the Ultimate Edition series of Robert E. Howard books from the REH Foundation Press. When this ongoing project is completed, there will be 22 Robert E. Howard books with Mark Wheatley covers!

Please join us at Howard Days in Cross Plains, Texas, on June 13th & 14th and meet Mark Wheatley.

Mark Wheatley is an Overstreet Hall of Fame inductee and has been awarded the Eisner, Inkpot, Speakeasy, Mucker, Gem, Golden Lion, Robert E. Howard Foundation Award for Outstanding Achievement, and nominations for the Harvey and the Ignatz. His work has been featured at The Norman Rockwell Museum, Toledo Museum of Art, Huntington Art Museum, Fitchburg Art Museum, James A. Michener Art Museum and the Library of Congress. He has designed for Lady Gaga, The Black Eyed Peas, ABC’s Beauty and the Beast, and Square Roots, as well as Super Clyde, The Millers and 2 Broke Girls on CBS. His most recent projects include the theatrical poster for REBEL MOON, NUCLEUS X, Songs of Giants, Doctor Cthulittle, Tarzan and the Dark Heart of Time, Swords Against the Moon Men, PIRATES OF VENUS, THE VISUAL HISTORY OF SCIENCE FICTION FANDOM, THE MONSTER ON HOLD and covers for the Ultimate Edition series of Robert E. Howard books. Past creations include Return of The Human, Ez Street, Lone Justice, Mars, Black Hood, Prince Nightmare, Hammer of The Gods, Frankenstein Mobster, Blood of The Innocent,and Skultar. His interpretations of established characters such as Tarzan, Baron Munchausen, Jonny Quest, Dr. Strange, The Flash, Captain Action, Argus, The Spider,and Stargate Atlantis have brought them to life for a new generation of readers. He has written for TV, illustrated books, designed cutting-edge role-playing games, hosted a weekly radio program, and was an early innovator of the on-line daily comic strip form.