Robert E. Howard Days Info Brochure

Here's a little item that can be found at rest stops in central Texas. Every time we look it over again, it gets our blood up about Howard Days! We'll be posting more of the complete scheduling soon, along with periodic detailed vignettes to help with your Howard Days enjoyment, but in the meantime...

Michael Scott Myers is 2016 Guest of Honor

Robert E. Howard Days is proud to announce that our 2016 Guest of Honor is Michael Scott Myers, the screenwriter for The Whole Wide World.

Howard fans and movie buffs alike know that this 1996 movie is Mr. Myers adaptation of Novalyne Price Ellis' memoir novel, One Who Walked Alone, an account of the time she spent with Robert E. Howard in Cross Plains. The Whole Wide World, starring Vincent D'Onofrio and Renee Zellweger, premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 1996 and won the Seattle Film Festival award later that same year. Mr. Myers was later nominated for an Independent Spirit Award for best first screenplay (along with Zellweger for Best Actress) and won the 1997 Lone Star Award (for films shot in Texas) for best screenplay.

What some people do not know is that Michael Scott Myers is a former student of Novalyne Price Ellis when she taught in Lafayette, Louisiana. With this year being the 20th anniversary of TWWW and the 30th anniversary of Mrs. Ellis novel, Mr. Myers is double qualified to be the Howard Days Guest of Honor!

In addition to LOWDOWN, a short film which won first prize at the Ft. Worth Film Festival in 1998 and the River Run Film Festival in 1999, Myers completed four other screenplay adaptations - TO THE BRIGHT AND SHINING SUN by James Lee Burke, BLOOD TEST by Edward DeAngelo for CBS, COME AND GO MOLLY SNOW for Oprah Winfrey's Harpo Productions and FINE LINES by Simon Beckett. His most recent project is THE BLACK MASS OF BROTHER SPRINGER, adapted from the novel by Charles Willeford.

Michael currently lives back in Lafayette and is the creator and curator of the Cane Fire Film Series which runs monthly at the Acadiana Center for the Arts.

While at Howard Days this year, we'll have a screening of The Whole Wide World with additional commentary by the movie's screenwriter. Michael will also tell of his time spent with Novalyne Price Ellis and he will be the keynote speaker at the Friday Celebration Banquet.

Happy Birthday, Two-Gun Bob Howard!

January 22nd marks the 110th birthday of The One and Only Robert E. Howard! Everybody blaze your pistolas and brandish your Bowies in his honor! And a little nip of your favorite beverage certainly is in order, too.

For some time, there was a discrepancy in Howard's birthdate. While Howard himself always celebrated it on the 22nd, on the birth registrar for Palo Pinto County where he was born, the date is listed as January 24th. We mostly figured that there was a two day delay in filing the paperwork (hey, it was 1906!) and the hard core Howard Heads have always used January 22nd.

Last year at Howard Days, REH's distant Howard cousins brought in (among other things like a tattered copy of a Jenkins' Gent from Bear Creek) the Howard Family Bible. Sure enough, Bob's birthday is listed as January 22, 1906. Score for the hard core!

Neat little surprises like this are always showing up at Howard Days. Along with all the great activities already planned, we're hoping something like this might intice you to come to Texas this June and join the fellowship for Ol' Two-Gun. We'll be looking for you!

Happy Birthday, Bob Howard!

Thanks for the photo go out to Todd Vick and his blog, On an Underwood No. 5.

Robert E. Howard Days 2016 is June 10th & 11th

Welcome back to the official Robert E. Howard Days website! As the cold winds of January blow, what better way to get warm than thinking about Howard Days in Cross Plains in June? We're starting to sweat already!

One thing we aren't sweating is the great line-up and all the activities we have planned for the 2016 version of The Best Two Days in Howard Fandom! This year we've got a pile of anniversaries to celebrate, so the "theme" for Howard Days is...wait for it...Anniversaries!

Looking at our spiffy new logo banner at the top of this page will give you an idea of three of the anniversaries we'll be celebrating. But here's a list of them all:

• 110 years since Howard's birth
• 80 years since his death
• 70 years since the publication of Skull Face and Others from Arkham House
• 50 years since the publication of Conan the Adventurer from Lancer Books
• 40 years since the publication of The Last Celt by Glenn Lord from Don Grant Books
• 40 years since the first appearance of Damon Sasser's Two-Gun Raconteur magazine
• 30 years since the very first Robert E. Howard Days
• 30 years since the publication of One Who Walked Alone by Novalyne Price Ellis
• 20 years since the film The Whole Wide World
• 10 years since the creation of the Robert E. Howard Foundation

Quite an impressive list - each anniversary has major significance in Howard Fandom. Howard Days can only give you a small taste of each anniversary, but we're hoping you can join us in Cross Plains in June to partake in the celebration and fellowship involved with every Howard Days.

We're proud to announce that the Guest of Honor for Howard Days 2016 is Michael Scott Myers, the screenwriter for the movie The Whole Wide World. Michael's importance as our GOH is double good for all of us, as he was also a student of Novalyne Price Ellis. Here's hoping you'll be amongst us to hear not only Michael's revelations about TWWW but also his reminisces of Novalyne and her magnificent memoir of her relationship with Robert E. Howard.

All of the usual activities connected with Howard Days are in place: the Robert E. Howard Museum and Gift Shop are open to all, the adjacent Alla Ray Morris Pavilion is availble for the Swap Meet, extemporaneous activities and a couple of genuine Texas cook-outs, the Bus Tour of Cross Plains and surrounding environs, a special Postal Cancellation souvenir, the Celebration Banquet and Silent Auction, interesting panels on Howard and related topics, the Robert E. Howard Foundation Awards - all this plus much more that we can't think of right now! We'll be posting detailed information over the course of the next month.

One of several special events that will happen this year is a showing of the movie The Whole Wide World, with commentary from Michael Scott Myers.

We're in the process of firming up the scheduling for Howard Days - but it's never too early to start to plan on joining us in Cross Plains in June. Hey, air fares are cheap(er) right now and gas is at a 20 year low so you've got no excuse this year! Y'all come!

Needless to say, keep this website and the Howard Days Facebook page bookmarked and check back frequently for all the information you'll need for a fantastic Howard Days!

Howard Days is Next Week!

NEXT WEEK IS HOWARD DAYS!!!

Project Pride and Cross Plains are in the process of putting a final shine on both the town and the Robert E. Howard Museum. And there's still time for you to plan to attend!

If you're planning on coming down (or up) for all the festivities but still have not pre-registered for the Friday night Banquet, please do so right away. Project Pride needs a close head count so they know how many dinners to have ready. You certainly don't want to miss the great Texas chow or the bidding at the Silent Auction!

So, if you've procrastinated until now - there's still time. Banquet seats are $15.00 per person and you can still send it to Project Pride, POB 534, Cross Plains, TX 76443 or you can Pay Pal it to ProjPride@yahoo.com.

Howard Days is host to all things Howard! Panels, discussions, tours, awards, special guests, cookouts, an auction, a swap meet, a gift shop full of Howard stuff - all this and more can be found June 12-13 at the Robert E. Howard Museum in Cross Plains. Of course, even winning one of these coveted REH Foundation Awards can't compare to the Howard Fellowship you will find there.

Hope you see y'all there!

It Won't Be Long Now!

With a little over two weeks to go, it's time to make your checklist for Robert E. Howard Days

If you haven't already done so, it's not too late to send Howard items to the Silent Auction at the Friday night Banquet, c/o Project Pride, POB 534, Cross Plains, TX 76443. Or, if you're running a little late it would be ok to bring those items right to the House either on Thursday June 11 (when the House will be open 2-4) or Friday June 12th before noon.

Packing for Howard Days is pretty easy as the weather in Texas in June is nice & warm so plan accordingly. Don't forget to include sunscreen and bug spray - word has it the wet weather Cross Plains has experienced lately will bring the mosquitoes out in full force!

You could also throw in an extra Howard item or two to sell at the Swap Meet at the Pavilion. Skelos Press will have this nifty item available for the first time at Howard Days. We saw one of the originals at Windy City Pulp Con going for $3,750! Jeff Shanks promises this neat facsimile won't be quite that pricey!

STOP THE PRESSES! HOLD ONTO YOUR FEDORAS!

While the two-day schedule has remained pretty much the same, we do have one exciting change to mention. On Saturday afternoon the 2:30 "What's Up with REH?" panel has been scratched so that we may bring you an Interview with Brad and Jeff Howard, great grandsons of Dr. Howard's brother, David Terrell Howard! Well known Howard scholar and detective Patrice Louinet will be talking with Jeff and Brad about their fascinating family history. More surprises will ensue from this panel, so be sure to be there.

Of course, there will be other special neat things happening this year at Howard Days - someone unexpected always show up! For so many of us, Howard Days is a great place to re-establish old friendships and make many new ones. There's plenty of room in Texas, so if you're still on the fence, come to Cross Plains and see why Howard Days is The Best Two Days in Howard Fandom!

Six Weeks until Howard Days!

With six weeks to go until Howard Days happens (!) we'd like to ask for your help. Project Pride is the Cross Plains civic organization that does all the work in setting up The Best Two Days in Howard Fandom and they are strictly an all-volunteer group of folks! Consequently, funds are always tight and the maintenance of the Robert E. Howard Museum is an ongoing project for them.

One of their biggest fund-raisers is the Silent Auction held at the Friday night Banquet at Howard Days. All types of REH items are offered on-site at this auction: books, comics, magazines and fanzines, t-shirts, metal, glass and wood 3-d art (see the photo), original artwork and many other items directly related to Ol' Two-Gun Bob Howard.

Project Pride relies on the donations of the many generous fans of REH to help with this auction, so we're asking that you please check over your "Howard stuff" and send along any duplicates or any REH item that you know would help Project Pride further the Legacy of Robert E. Howard. You can mail your items to: Project Pride, POB 534, Cross Plains, Texas 76443.

And, of course, it's still not too late to make plans to come to Cross Plains and enjoy the fellowship of Howard fans from (literally) all over the world. We've got great guests and panels and many activities that can make being a fan of REH even more enjoyable. (Check the schedule in a previous post here or at www.rehupa.com). 

Hope to see you there!

And thanks for your support!