This blog gladly welcomes guest bloggers. Contact Gary at [email protected]
For Robert E. Howard fans: https://www.facebook.com/groups/rehreaders and Robert E. Howard: The Father of Sword and Sorcery | Facebook are the best places for interesting discussions. Please join and participate.
Also join the L. Sprague de Camp Fan Group on Facebook. Great place to discuss and learn new things.
Like Lin Carter? No better place than https://www.facebook.com/groups/lincarter Join and enjoy the best Lin Carter group.
2026
Rick McCollum was nominated for a REH Foundation Award for his essay, “Conquest Comics: An Insider’s Look,” that appeared on this blog.
2025
The spraguedecampfan blog was once again designated as one of the “40 Best Pulp Novel” blogs.
See the full list at: https://bloggers.feedspot.com/pulp_novel_blogs/
2025
The spraguedecampfan blog was nominated for THREE awards from the Robert E. Howard Foundation:
The Hyrkanian Award for Outstanding Achievement, Essay: “Robert E. Howard’s Father, Dr. Isaac Howard.”
The Black Lotus Award for Outstanding Achievement, Web-based Content.
The Venarium Award for Outstanding Achievement, Emerging Scholar: Vincent Darlage was nominated for his great contributions starting in 2024.
2024
The spraguedecampfan blog has been selected by a panelist as one of the Top 45 Pulp Novel Blogs on the web.
See https://books.feedspot.com/pulp_novel_blogs/ for the full list.
Lot of great blogs are listed here.
2024
The spraguedecampfan blog won The Black Lotus Award for Outstanding Achievement, Web-based given by The Robert E. Howard Foundation.
The award only lists the man that pays WordPress but big thanks go to regular contributors: Brian Kunde and Phil Sawyer.
Special thanks to guest blogger: Frank Coffman who was nominated for the Hyrkanian Award for his essay “Robert E. Howard’s Use of Verse in ‘Men of Shadows’” that first appeared on this blog.
And further thanks to: Cliff Hamrick, Gary Grossman, Dr. Vincent Darlage, and Dr. Sean Manning for their great contributions here as well.
2023
spraguedecampfan was one of three blogs nominated for the Black Lotus Award given annually by the Robert E. Howard Foundation. Believe it, for a blog named spraguedecampfan to even be nominated for this award is quite an accomplishment…
Bloggers:
Gary Romeo became a Conan the Barbarian fan due to the Marvel Comics. He quickly grabbed the Lancer Books and became a lifelong fan of Robert E. Howard and L. Sprague de Camp. He has been a member of REH United Press Association since 1999. He has been published in The Cimmerian, REH: Two Gun Raconteur, and The Dark Man. A more detailed list is available at https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?125724
Brian Kunde‘s gateways to fantasy were early introductions to The Fellowship of the Ring and Tarzan comics. It was all downhill from there. Lin Carter’s Tolkien: A Look Behind “The Lord of the Rings” first put him on L. Sprague de Camp’s trail, which took him to Howard and Conan as well — but for him, de Camp’s the main event. He waited until middle age to edge into fandom. More of Brian’s writings can be found at https://web.stanford.edu/~bkunde/
In April 1974, Phil Sawyer, at age 18 found L Sprague de Camp’s address in Amra magazine. Phil wrote Sprague a letter and when Sprague responded a great friendship and correspondence began. Phil eventually began to visit the de Camps every fall. The de Camps had Phil attend several conventions with them as bodyguard and gofer. In the 1978 edition of Hand of Zei Sprague dedicated the book to Phil. Phil went to Easter Island with Sprague in April 1994. In August 1994 Sprague was the Best Man at Phil’s wedding. Phil still loves reading and still misses the de Camps. Sprague lives on in his writings which Phil rereads constantly.
Vincent Darlage currently works as an accountant in Indiana. He discovered REH in 1983 when he was 13 years old. He wrote sixteen supplements to Mongoose’s Conan the Roleplaying Game and small bits here and there in Monolith’s game. He is one of the moderators of the Robert E. Howard Readers group on Goodreads. (https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/6417-robert-e-howard-readers) He invites everyone to join in the REH discussions!
Frank Coffman is about to release his fourth large poetry collection: WHAT THE NIGHT BRINGS. His third collection, ECLIPSE OF THE MOON, has been nominated for The Elgin Award from the Science Fiction & Fantasy Poetry Association. Frank’s “writer” page is: https://www.frankcoffman-writer.net/ Also check out Mind’s Eye Publications: https://www.mindseyepublications.com/
Cliff Hamrick, as well as being a counselor in private practice, is also an author. Follow this link (https://www.amazon.com/stores/Cliff-Hamrick/author/B081X9QZLC) to view his books that are available from Amazon.com.
Steve Replogle is a public-school teacher from Denver, Colorado. Steve is married to a Jungian psychoanalyst, and they share two grown kids and two grandchildren. His discovery of Lancer’s Conan of Cimmeria was one of the most profound and influential moments in his reading life. Other favorite authors include Sprague de Camp, Fritz Leiber, Ursula K. Le Guin, and Tanith Lee.
Gary Grossmann is a retiree who has been a fan of the Conan books and stories for over 40 years. He has nothing against the pastiches (John Roberts Maddox’s and Robert Jordan’s are his favorites) but has always been interested in researching and creating a Conan Chronology of only Howard’s work. He is also known as a major fan of the comic book satire of the barbarian genre, Sergio Aragones’ Groo the Wanderer.
Sean Manning grew up on the west coast of Canada, moved to Calgary to write a master’s thesis on the revolt of Cyrus the Younger (2013), and moved to Austria where he was awarded a PhD in November 2018 at the Universität Innsbruck for his work on the Achaemenid empire. As of 2023 he is an affiliated researcher with the Department of Greek and Roman Studies at the University of Victoria. More of Dr. Manning’s writings can be found at www.bookandsword.com
Mark Kirby is primarily known to Robert E. Howard fans as Von Kalmbach or Vonk over at The Swords of Robert E. Howard Forum. This is a great discussion board. Check it out!
Bill “Indy” Cavalier is a legend in Howard fandom. He presides over the Howard Days celebration in Cross Plains as “the friendly REHupan.” Indy has written many articles about Robert E. Howard over several decades.;
Stephen Servello is a longtime Lin Carter fan. He edited and compiled Apostle of Letters: A Critical Evaluation of the Works of Lin Carter, WildCat Books, 2006.
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