PulpFest 2010 took place at the Ramada Plaza Hotel and Conference Center from July 29 through August 1, 2010. With a membership roster of 394, it was the best-attended summer pulp con in years.
In the following pages (and our other 2010 posts), you’ll read several convention reports from sources such as Laurie’s Wild West and Mystery*File. You’ll also be able to read many of the posts that were released on the convention’s website in the time leading up to the 2010 convention. In them, you’ll learn about the wide-ranging programming of the second PulpFest, the way the convention was promoted, and much, much more.
Below is a behind-the-scenes look at the creation of PulpFest 2010, told through the posts that originally appeared on the convention’s home page during 2009 and 2010. They began just a few weeks after the inaugural PulpFest, when the organizing committee started planning, arranging, and promoting the 2010 convention.
Mark Your Calendars…
PulpFest 2010 continues the proud tradition of a summer pulp con, now in its 39th year. A new and improved version of the venerable convention catering to fans and collectors of vintage popular fiction, join us Friday, July 30 – Sunday, August 1 at the Ramada Plaza Hotel and Convention Center in Columbus, Ohio.
For our PulpFest 2010 flyer, Chris Kalb adapted Walter Baumhofer’s cover for Doc Savage Magazine, dated July 1933, and illustrating Lester Dent’s “Pirate of the Pacific.” An excerpt from Baumhofer’s cover also serves as our featured image.
Coming Attractions
Although PulpFest 2010 is nearly nine months away, a pulp con could very well be coming to your hometown. The first two Saturdays of November will feature three pulp-related shows, scattered across the United States.
Classicon 36 will be held in Lansing, Michigan, on November 7, 2009. Ray Walsh’s long-running show features pulps, paperbacks, comics, calendars, pin-ups, original artwork, and more, spread across 35 dealer tables.
In Bordentown, New Jersey, just off Exit 7 of the Jersey Turnpike, you’ll find about three dozen tables filled with rare pulp magazines, vintage paperbacks, pulp reprints, and movie collectibles. Rich Harvey has been putting on this one-day show for about ten years, and it’s a blast. For more details about Pulp Adventurecon, visit the Bold Venture Press website.
The twelfth edition of Doc Con will be held in Chandler, Arizona. This small convention, held annually on the second Saturday of November, attracts fans from around the country for a weekend of Doc Savage events, discussions, and camaraderie. This year’s Doc Con will celebrate the 75th anniversary of Pat Savage, the man of bronze’s beautiful cousin.
Back east in the Big Apple, the Gotham Pulp Collectors Club holds its regular meeting on the second Saturday of each month at the Hudson Park Library in Manhattan. Visit their website for further details.
These events are just the icing on the cake. Plenty of book and pulp-related events are happening all over the place. Maybe you’ll find one right in your own backyard.
Happy Pulp Year!
The new year gets off to a rousing start in April with the tenth Windy City Pulp and Paper Convention. Help celebrate Adventure magazine’s 100th anniversary by attending this Chicago pulp con, April 23-25, 2010. During a break in the action at the Westin Lombard, where the convention is held, PulpFest’s Ed Hulse will briefly talk about our plans for this summer’s Amazing pulp con.
If you’re north of the border on Saturday, May 8, stop by the Lillian H. Smith branch of the Toronto Public Library for the 14th edition of Canada’s premier pulp event, the Fantastic Pulps Show & Sale. This small but pulp-specific event always features lots of great stuff for collectors and the curious alike.
Also held at the Ramada Plaza Hotel and Conference Center – the PulpFest 2010 hotel – Cinevent 42 will be Memorial Day weekend, May 28-31. In addition to 170 tables of movie-related collectibles such as posters, lobby cards, stills, pressbooks, DVDs, and 16 mm films, Cinevent features an extensive schedule of sound and silent films and a two-day auction of Hollywood movie posters.
Check your ammo and saddle up your horse and head for Cross Plains, Texas, for the 2010 Robert E. Howard Days. This year’s programming will focus on Howard illustrators. Jim and Ruth Keegan will be the guests of honor. This year’s Howard Days will happen June 11-12.
Just a few days before summer begins, Classicon 37 will take place at the University Quality Inn in Lansing, Michigan, just off US 127 at exit 78. 35 tables and thousands of collectible vintage pulp magazines, digests, and paperbacks will be available for sale or trade, along with pin-ups, original artwork, and other pop culture material. Please visit the Curious Book Shop for further information.
Of course, all these events are preludes to PulpFest, summertime’s great pulp con. Why not register today?
For the 2010 Fantastic Pulps Show & Sale flyer, Neil Mechem adapted Rudolph Belarski’s cover for the September 1944 Thrilling Detective, published by Standard Magazines.
Munsey Award Nominees
The PulpFest Organizing Committee is proud to announce that sixteen members of the general pulp community have been nominated for the 2010 Munsey Award. Pulp fans selected the nominees over the last several months. Their names will now be forwarded to a committee made up of all the living Lamont Award winners and last year’s Munsey winner, Bill Thom. This committee will select the recipient of the 2010 Munsey.
The Munsey Award, named after the man who invented the pulp magazine, was created in 2009 by talented artist David Saunders. It is an art print, limited to 36 copies, published by Dan Zimmer of The Illustrated Press.
The sixteen nominees include Michael Chomko, Gene Christie, Bill Contento, John DeWalt, Ron Fortier, Ron Hanna, Don Herron, Chris Kalb, Steve Miller, Laurie Powers, Garyn Roberts, Mike Taylor, Anthony Tollin, George Vanderburgh, Howard Wright, and Dan Zimmer.
The recipient of the 2010 Munsey Award will be announced on July 31 as part of the Saturday evening programming schedule, open to all PulpFest 2010 registrants.
Many thanks to all who participated in the nominating process.
The Dealers’ Room is Full
As of June 16, the PulpFest dealers’ room is totally sold out. Any dealer registrations received after Tuesday, June 22, 2010, will be placed on a waiting list in case of last-minute cancellations.
Visitors to this year’s show can look forward to seeing material for sale on 100 tables spread across our expanded exhibit space at the Ramada Plaza. PulpFest’s exhibitors offer a wide variety of material. In addition to original pulp magazines, attendees can purchase hardcovers and paperbacks, new fiction written in the pulp tradition, and other collectibles related to American popular culture of the pulp era.
Rare and particularly desirable books can cost hundreds or even thousands of dollars, but our dealers also offer many inexpensive items. Collectors on a tight budget can still find lots of appealing items at PulpFest, and newcomers to the hobby will be surprised by how many vintage magazines they can buy at affordable prices. Those looking to sample pulp fiction without investing much in collectibles can choose from dozens of newly published reprint volumes in trade-paperback format. In short, PulpFest’s dealers’ room offers something for everybody!
Hot Off the Presses
As he has for the last nineteen years, Tony Davis has put together another dynamite issue of The Pulpster. The official magazine and program guide for PulpFest 2010, the new issue is 44 pages long and, for the first time in its long history, features a color cover.
Like this year’s PulpFest, The Pulpster#19 focuses on the 90th anniversary of Black Mask. With that in mind, Bruce Stirling has contributed a detailed analysis of the origins of hard-boiled crime fiction in “Whatever Happened to Three Gun Terry?”, illustrated by Kenney Mencher.
Former editor of Singing Guns magazine, Dave Fox, sets his sights on Frederick Faust with “Max Brand and Western Story Magazine: Year One,” another ninety-year anniversary in 2010, and PulpFest guest of honor Bill Nolan covers both anniversaries with “Spade, Destry and Dr. Kildare.”
But there’s plenty more: Don Hutchison looks at author David Goodis, John Locke presents an overview of Avenger writer Paul Ernst’s career, and Wayne Leighton discusses L. Ron Hubbard and Theodore Sturgeon. Pulpster designer Bill Lampkin also lends a hand with “The Lost Doc Savage Movie,” illustrated by Francesco Francavilla, while longtime pulp historian Nick Carr answers “10 Pulp Questions I’ve Been Asked.” The issue also includes a reprint of a Frederick C. Painton article from the April 1936 Writer’s Digest, plus editorial content.
Except for “Sunday Only” attendees, all members – including supporting members – of PulpFest 2010 will receive a complimentary copy of The Pulpster #19.
For The Pulpster #20, William Lampkin adapted H. C. Murphy’s cover for the September 1929 issue of Black Mask.
The PulpFest 2010 Hospitality Suite
Haffner Press will be sponsoring the PulpFest hospitality suite on Friday, July 31. The suite will be renamed “The Otherness Lounge” to honor the release of Haffner’s Detour to Otherness, a collection featuring some of the best fiction from Henry Kuttner and C. L. Moore, two greats of the pulp era.
Saturday night’s hospitality suite will be sponsored by The Robert E. Howard Foundation, an organization that works to foster understanding of the life and works of Robert E. Howard through its publishing efforts, support of Robert E. Howard Days, and other methods.
PulpFest 2010 Dealers
Many thanks to the following exhibitors in our expanded dealers’ room at the Ramada Plaza Hotel and Convention Center for making PulpFest 2010, one of the best pulp conventions in years.
Adventure House
Age of Aces
Airship 27
Art Hackathorn
Barry Traylor
Battered Silicon Dispatch Box
Bill Maynard
Black Dog Books
Bob Flowers
Brian Earl Brown
Chris Foss
Curious Book Shop (Ray Walsh)
Dark Star Books (Gary Diedriech)
Dave Kurzman
David Saunders
Dearly Departed Books
Dearly Departed Books
Dennis Harford
Don Hutchison
Doug Ellis and Deb Fulton
Dwight Fuhro
Ed Hulse
Ed Lancaster
Fantasy Illustrated
(
David Smith)
Gary Shaheen
Girasol Collectables (Neil & Leigh Mechem)
Gordon Huber
G. Warlock Vance
Haffner Press
Harold and Honey Forman
Hooked on Books (Wayne and Deb Keil)
Howling Wolf’s Lost Pulp Classics
Jack Cullers
Jack Juka
Jim & Walter Albert
John Hauser, Pulps & Comics
John McMahan
Jon Wehler
Josh Petrie
Keith Dilbone
Main Street Music (David L. Schmidt)
Mark Halegua
Mark Hickman
Martin Grams, Jr.
Midway Books (Tom Stransky & Bob Jackson)
Mike Chomko, Books
Modern Age Books (Jeff Canja)
Nick Certo
Off-Trail Publications (John Locke)
Paul Herman
Peter Chapman
Phil Nelson
R & B Enterprises
Randy Vanderbeek
Reel Art (Cory Glaberson)
Richard Clear
Rick Hall
Sanctum Books (Anthony Tollin)
Scott Hartshorn
Steven Spilger
Steve Young
Thomas Martin
Tim’s Books (Tim Paxton)
Tom Skemp
Walker Martin
Wild Cat Books (Ron Hanna)
Yammering Magpie (Peter & Pam Marchionna)
PulpFest in the News
Over the last several months, the PulpFest organizing committee has promoted the convention through a wide variety of media providers, including Internet newsgroups such as Pulpmags, TheREHcomicsgroup, and WesternPulps; the popular social networking site Facebook; and event calendars such as UpcomingCons.com and experienceColumbus.com.
However, thanks to the efforts of a variety of people, particularly Mark Trost of F.I. L.M. Archives, PulpFest has received a good deal of publicity in the news media.
PulpFest committee members Jack Cullers and Ed Hulse, as well as Ohio State professor Eric Johnson, were interviewed for a three-page article entitled “Amazing Tales in Columbus” that ran in the July 2010 issue of Ohio Magazine, a glossy periodical devoted to promoting travel opportunities in Ohio. Additionally, PulpFest was featured in an article in the June 23, 2010 issue of ThisWeek, a community newspaper serving central Ohio.
Following several posts that covered the trip to PulpFest 2010 and what awaited you day by day, the following report appeared.
And the Winner Is …
On Saturday, July 31, bookseller Mike Chomko was named the winner of the 2010 Munsey Award. Nominated by members of the general pulp community, Mike was selected by a committee consisting of the 25 living Lamont Award winners and last year’s Munsey winner, Bill Thom. The award is a fine art print created by David Saunders and published by Dan Zimmer.
Mike has been involved in the pulp hobby for over twenty years, writing his first article for Echoes in the late eighties. In 1995, he launched the pulp fanzine Purple Prose that ran for seventeen issues and published many highly regarded articles about the pulps, including “The Steeger Papers,” the start of a pulp history penned by Popular Publications’ Harry Steeger. He has volunteered at many pulp conventions over the years and is a leading distributor of pulp-related publications. With Jack Cullers, Ed Hulse, and Barry Traylor, Mike is one of PulpFest’s organizers.
Mike thanked his family and everyone who helped and mentored him throughout his years in the pulp community, especially Jack Cullers, Barry Traylor, and fellow Munsey nominee John DeWalt.
PulpFest 2010 Nears 400!
Accolades for the 2010 edition of PulpFest have been pouring in from all over the Internet. With 394 registrations, the convention neared four hundred members, and its panels and presentations were well received. And where else can you go to see thousands of pulp magazines?
The reporting began on Friday, July 30, when Laurie Powers began a three-part post to her Internet blog, Laurie’s Wild West. A highly regarded writer, Laurie is also the granddaughter of Paul S. Powers, one of the original pulpsters and the author of many stories originally published by Street & Smith’s Wild West Weekly.
Laurie’s report was soon followed by longtime pulp fan and collector Walker Martin, who logged onto the Yahoo newsgroup Pulpmags and offered his view of PulpFest 2010. Walker’s post is also available on Steve Lewis’ Mystery*File.
For those who enjoy the work of Robert E. Howard, the creator of Conan, Morgan Holmes has posted a convention report at the REHupa website, the blog for the members of the Robert E. Howard United Press Association. For a Howardian look at PulpFest 2010, please visit the association’s site.
For those who prefer a more visual presentation, plenty of pictures from this year’s convention are available. Adirondack reporter Lohr McKinstry has about a dozen photos posted on Flickr, Yahoo’s public photography archive. And Brian Earl Brown, the official editor of the Pulp Era Amateur Press Society and publisher of BEB Books, has over forty pictures there as well.
Finally, if you belong to Pulpmags, the Yahoo newsgroup devoted to discussing the history of pulp magazines, David Lee Smith has posted more than 180 photos from this year’s con.
Planning is already underway for PulpFest 2011, which will hopefully be even bigger and better than this year’s event. See you next summer!
Many Thanks
The PulpFest Organizing Committee would like to thank the following people whose invaluable assistance helped to make PulpFest 2010 a tremendous success:
Our front desk staff: Maura Childers, Aaron Cullers, Jack Cullers, Sally Cullers, Samantha Cullers, and Sam Childers. Also, John Gunnison, Chris Kalb, Michael Neno, David Saunders, Mark Trost, Dan Zimmer, plus Jason and Sunni Brock, Brian Earl Brown, Rusty Burke, Stephen Haffner, Rick Hall, Morgan Holmes, Steve Lewis, Lohr McKinstry, Walker Martin, Laurie Powers, Rick and Renee Thomas (who baked that great PulpFest cake), David Lee Smith, Steve Haynes of Cinevent, John Bruening of Ohio Magazine, Vineetha Thomas and Diane Share of Experience Columbus, and Meri Lynne Stumbo, Beth Sweet, and the rest of the staff at the Ramada Plaza Hotel and Convention Center. A special thank you to Martin Grams for his eleventh-hour technical assistance in setting up the Thursday-night movie screening.
The Organizing Committee would also like to thank all of the folks who helped to create The Pulpster #19:
Tony Davis and Bill Lampkin, plus Wooda Carr, Mike Chomko, Peter Chomko, Dave Fox, Fracesco Francavilla, Don Hutchison, Rex Layton, John Locke, Neil Mechem, Kenney Mencher, William F. Nolan, Bruce Stirling, and the magazine’s sponsors – Bear Manor Media, Black Dog Books, Golden Age Comics, Granton City Press, Malice Domestic, Mike Chomko Books, Origins Game Fair, PageTurner Editions, The Pulp Factory, Pulp Ts, and the Windy City Pulp & Paper Convention.
And many thanks to all of the presenters who informed and entertained everyone who attended our programming events:
John DeWalt, Martin Grams, John Gunnison, Stephen Haffner, Ed Hulse, Don Hutchison, Will Murray, Francis Nevins, our Guest of Honor, William F. Nolan, Laurie Powers, Tom Roberts, Anthony Tollin, David Walker, John Wooley, auction organizers Barry Traylor and Mike Chomko, plus Maura Childers, Sam Childers, Aaron Cullers, Jack Cullers, Sally Cullers, and Sam Cullers, and finally, to the nominators and Lamont Award and Munsey Award winners who helped to select the winner of this year’s winner, Mike Chomko.
Finally, thanks to all the conventions, book shows, websites, magazines, newspapers, and other media outlets that helped to promote our show, as well as the dealers, attending members, and supporting members of PulpFest 2010. Your encouragement and support made our convention a great success. We hope to see you all back in the summer of 2011, along with many newcomers, for PulpFest 2011.
Chris Kalb adapted this PulpFest 2011 flyer from George Rozen’s cover art for the January 15, 1933 issue of The Shadow Magazine, illustrating Walter B. Gibson’s “The Creeping Death.”
