A wondrous anthology of fantasy and horror commemorating the First World Fantasy Convention held in 1975 in Providence, Rhode Island--the birthplace of H. P. Lovecraft, master of the macabre.
Here are the winners of the first "Howard Awards" (busts of the venerable Lovecraft himself)--the top honor to be bestowed for excellence in the field of the fantastic, be it short stories, novels, collections, non-fiction, art, or publishing.
Included in this collection is the work of such masters as Robert Bloch, Patricia A. McKillip, and Robert Aickman; British writer Karl Edward Wagner, artist Lee Brown Coye, and Manly Wade Wellman. As well as panel discussions, winners' acceptance speeches, even a mini-treatise, "Toward a Greater Appreciation of H. P. Lovecraft." All overseen and hosted by a winning toastmaster, cartoonist and author Gahan Wilson.
Table of Contents:
- Introduction - (1977) - essay by Gahan Wilson
- The Convention - (1977) - essay by Kirby McCauley
- About the Fantasy Awards - (1977) - essay by David G. Hartwell
- The Awards - (1977) - essay by Gahan Wilson
- The Bat Is My Brother - (1944) - short story by Robert Bloch
- Beetles - (1938) - short story by Robert Bloch
- Acceptance Speech - (1977) - essay by Robert Bloch
- About Robert Bloch - (1977) - essay by uncredited
- The Forgotten Beasts of Eld (Excerpt) - (1974) - short fiction by Patricia A. McKillip
- An Essay - (1977) - essay by Robert Aickman
- Pages from a Young Girl's Journal - (1973) - novelette by Robert Aickman
- The Events at Poroth Farm - (1972) - novella by T. E. D. Klein
- A Father's Tale - (1974) - novelette by Sterling E. Lanier
- Sticks - (1974) - novelette by Karl Edward Wagner
- Come Into My Parlor - (1949) - short story by Manly Wade Wellman
- Fearful Rock - (1939) - novella by Manly Wade Wellman
- About Manly Wade Wellman - (1977) - essay by uncredited
- The Ballantines - (1977) - essay by uncredited
- Lee Brown Coye // An Appreciation - (1974) - essay by Gahan Wilson
- The Bait - (1973) - short story by Fritz Leiber
- The Vampire in America - (1973) - essay by Manly Wade Wellman
- The Shortest Way - (1974) - short story by David Drake
- From "Chips and Shavings" - (1963) - essay by Lee Brown Coye
- The Soft Wall - (1974) - short story by Dennis Etchison
- Toward a Greater Appreciation of H. P. Lovecraft: The Analytical Approach - (1973) - essay by Dirk W. Mosig
- Cradle Song for an Abandoned Werewolf - (1973) - poem by H. Warner Munn
- The Abandoned Boudoir - (1974) - poem by Joseph Payne Brennan
- Guillotine - (1970) - poem by Walter Shedlofsky
- The Farmhouse - (1971) - short story by David A. Riley