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H.P. Lovecraft's works were never renewed. Which was a requirement prior to the Sonny Bono Act.
This means Lovecraft's works should now be in the public domain.
With that in mind, sites like Complete works of H.P. Lovecraft have started making his works available.
The lack of action by Arkham Press seems to further justify the belief that the works have moved into the PD.
The flaw in all of this is that the above statements refer to English and Canadian copyright law (Were H.P. Lovecraft's works are PD). I'm not really sure about the US copyright law, which we all know sucks.
update:
This seems to make a very strong legal argument that the bulk of H.P.'s works are indeed PD.
Which may be why Arkham House hasn't sued anyone.
Another list of H.P.'s works which are ready to read (and not in the ever suspicious PDF format).
Onea kisses you on the lips gently.
Audio?
If in fact his works are PD, would that mean that we are free to do our own audio (say podcast) readings of his stuff? Or are those rights perhaps still tied up in legalese?
I think you should be able
I think you should be able to.
Having said that, I'm not a lwayer.
The good news is, as long as you aren't trying to sell it, the worse that will happen is a ceasee and desist letter.
Clear as Mud
So in other words nothing officially has been declared but the assumption (with good reason) is his works are Public Domain. However, it might be possible that men in suits will track us down and ask us to pay?
Possible, but highly
Possible, but highly unlikely.
Just don't distribute, and you can live happily in the grey area for a very long time. :)