Who, if anyone, currently holds the rights to CAS's Averoigne stories?

Thanks.

The rights to the Averoigne stories, as well as all material by CAS, is now and has always been held by CASiana Literary Enterprises (being the estate of CAS) in conjunction with Arkham House publishers who have published all of these stories (as well as nearly all of Smith's creative output) and continue to hold these rights. I personally hold the copyright to "The Averoigne Chronicles" which is currently in production by Grant Publishers, INC.,and includes all of the stories related to Averoigne.
Hope this helps,
-Ron

Thanks very much for the information.

Another question, if I may: were one to be interested in obtaining a license to produce work relating to Averoigne, would one approach Arkham House (as representatives of CASiana) to do so?

Thanks.

It depends on what you have in mind. If you're interested in creating new material related to Averoigne, then you should discuss this with CASiana and obtain their permission. (I don't think this should be much of a problem) On the other hand, if you want to reprint any material by CAS then you'll have to deal with Arkham, and that will be much more difficult as well as expensive.

Good luck,
-Ron

What about derivative works based on Averoigne, such as, for example, a gazetteer of the province and its locales? Would that be CASiana's domain or Arkham's?

thanks again,

I think you would be pretty safe with most derivative works such as role playing games, etc. Arkham House wouldn't need to be involved at all, but it would be a good idea to mention your idea to the estate. I'm relatively certain they would have no problem with a project of this sort, and your own position would be more secure with their permission.
Keep us posted as things develop.
-Ron

I am pleased to hear you think this an unproblematic endeavor, at least on the permission front. I am hopeful the CAS Estate will look kindly on my project. Of course, the question remains: what is the best way to approach them about this? I presume a formal letter notifying them of my intentions would be acceptable, but, as this is my first time undertaking something like this, I am uncertain.

As always, your insights are much appreciated.