Memorial and honorific tributes to Howard Andrew Jones have flooded in since Aug/Sept. 2024 when he was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer. He passed on January 16th, 2025.
During this, I captured a key moments & experiences:
- August 2024 at Gen Con right before HAJ was diagnosed and I was blessed with rooming with him and helping him battle what he thought was a serious, but lesser, ailment. This epic and haunting convention was full of impactful events, many shared with Sean CW Korsgaard, Jason Ray Carney and Matt John.
- October 23rd, 2024, the infamous Day of Might, with the broadcasting of the Go Fund Me campaign for HAJ's family
- January 2025: My latest contribution for the Science Fiction Writers of America Memorial Post, joined by John O'Neill, myself, Sean CW Korsgaard, and Martha Wells, was posted last week. My excerpt below:
Author S.E. Lindberg says of Jones, “Howard’s Skull’s persona resonated since it was the antithesis of him. Whereas the villainous champion of the titular magazine spitefully called his readers ‘mortal dogs’ and regularly ‘immolated’ his interns, the man behind the mask was known to be overly gracious, coaching aspiring, mature, and professional writers in myriad conventions, editing, blogs… for decades! He mentored tirelessly even as his body failed. A week before he was diagnosed with terminal cancer, he improvised a personalized ‘Hey Jude’ song at Gen Con Writers Symposium to inspire me on the piano beside the green room, and the lyrics motivate/haunt me continuously. How did he exude so much vitality?
His Hanuvar character embodies Howard more accurately, a veteran striving to save his shattered family and reunite his community (refreshing compared to the flood of immoral, vengeful protagonists available). Howard could strike a friendship up in minutes, and combined with his passion for storytelling, [this] makes him one to be remembered as much as for his heroes as for his own heroism. Howard was the quintessential role model. I imagine him inspiring us now in our time of mourning: ‘Behold, mortal readers, do your morning stretches, carry on, and realize the stories inside you. Swords together!’”
I have been grateful to HAJ for many years, from being a fan of his S&S blogs and appearances at World Con 2010, to meeting him at Gen Con and having him coach me into volunteering at the Writers Symposium ~2017 (which grew into me chairing it in 2023), for bridging the connection to John ONeill to edit for Black Gate online magazine (~2019), and for being able to intern for his magazine Tales From the Magician's Skull as acquisition editor and for being a social media intern for the Skull (~2022).
The outpouring of memorials speaks to HAJ's character and influence. Each instance, even the shorter obituaries, amplifies his life and reveals nuances. Below I list several so I, and anyone visiting here, can learn more about the man we miss. (ie did you know he was a TV cameraman once? He created the official Walk Through Guides for Castlevania game?)
I am missing tribute links to many who have expressed wonderful memories somewhere (i.e., Greg Mele, Scott Oden, James Enge, John C Hocking, Mark Rigney, CSE Cooney ....). As I track those down I'll add them here.
- John ONeill (Black Gate): Howard Andrew Jones, July 19, 1968 – January 16, 2025
- Jason Ray Carney: Howard Andrew Jones, a Mentee’s Perspective
- Bob Byrne An Important Life – Howard Andrew Jones (1968 – 2025)
- Brian Murphy: Rest in peace, Howard Andrew Jones
- Joseph Goodman (Skull publisher) A Tribute to Howard Andrew Jones
- Sean CW Korsgaard This is one of the hardest things I've had to write in my career. Howard Andrew Jones is dead
- Matt John - Devastated to learn my friend, Howard Andrew Jones, has passed.
- Deuce Richardson (DMR) Howard Andrew Jones Has Fought His Last Battle
- Locus: Howard Andrew Jones (1968-2025
- SWFA: In Memoriam: Howard Andrew Jones
- Vanessa Armstrong Author Howard Andrew Jones Passes Away at Age 56
- Michael Grossberg Acclaimed fantasy writer and Prometheus finalist Howard Andrew Jones, R.I.P.
- Paizo (Pathfinder) Paizo Remembers Howard Andrew Jones
- Morgan Holmes Remembering Howard A. Jones
- Keith West RIP, Howard Andrew Jones
