The following posts cover the planning and organization of PulpFest 2012, held at the Hyatt Regency Columbus in downtown Columbus, Ohio, from August 9 – 12, 2012. However, we’ve left out posts about “housekeeping chores,” such as registering for the convention, solicitations for Pulpster advertising, and the like.
PulpFest Has a New Home
Nov. 7, 2011 — The PulpFest organizing committee is delighted to announce that next year’s convention will be held at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in downtown Columbus, Ohio — a bigger and better venue for a con that has been growing by ten percent per year since its start in 2009. PulpFest 2012 will begin on Thursday evening, August 9, and run through Sunday, August 12.
PulpFest chairman Jack Cullers has spent the last three months scouting hotels to find one better equipped to host our steadily growing conference. The committee explored moving to other cities, including Akron, Cincinnati, Cleveland, and Pittsburgh, before deciding to remain in Columbus, where PulpFest has drawn a substantial number of new members to our community.
Although PulpFest enjoyed a good working relationship with the Ramada Plaza, the hotel’s shortcomings had outgrown its advantages. We think the Hyatt will be a much better fit. The downtown area is ideal for out-of-town attendees lacking rental cars; the hotel sits in the middle of the active Arena District and is just a few minutes’ walk from the trendy Short North Arts District. Shops and restaurants abound right outside the hotel’s entrance. Ohio State University is nearby, and various tourist attractions are easily accessible, offering numerous entertainment options for PulpFest members accompanied by their families.
In the weeks and months ahead, we’ll share more information about the Hyatt Regency and our plans for PulpFest 2012, including more on our celebration of “100 Years of John Carter.”
William Lampkin adapted J. Allen St. John’s original cover art for the March 1941 issue of Amazing Stories, illustrating Edgar Rice Burroughs’ “The City of Mummies.” The artwork is courtesy of the Korshak Collection and Vanguard Productions, publishers of The Paintings of J. Allen St. John.
Rest in Peace, Rusty Hevelin
Dec. 27, 2011 – We bid adieu to James “Rusty” Hevelin with heavy hearts. This pillar of the pulp community passed away on Tuesday, December 27. Active in science fiction fandom since the 1930s, Rusty was for many years the guiding light behind Pulpcon. This convention helped to keep the memory of the pulps alive through the closing decades of the twentieth century and forward into the 21st. PulpFest has now been entrusted with this task.
A veteran of the Second World War who served as a Marine in the South Pacific, Rusty was a member of science fiction’s First Fandom. Known as a huckster, collector, and toastmaster, he received the Lamont Award for his longtime service to the pulp community and science fiction’s Big Heart Award in 1986. He received the Sam Moskowitz Archive Award for excellence in science fiction collecting in 2003.
PulpFest was extremely fortunate to have Rusty attend the 2011 convention when he helped the pulp community celebrate its fortieth annual summer pulp con. At next year’s convention, PulpFest will honor him with a special tribute during our evening programming.
Another Giant Passes
Jan. 2, 2012 – Glenn Lord passed away on December 31, at the age of eighty. The leading proponent of Robert E. Howard’s work, Glenn worked tirelessly and selflessly for decades to ensure the author got his due. He was the guest of honor at Pulpcon 36 in 2007.
If you have ever enjoyed any of Robert E. Howard’s creations – Conan, Kull, Solomon Kane, or any of the countless other characters that Howard brought to life – you owe a debt of gratitude to the late Glenn Lord. Further testimonials about this giant of pulp and Howard fandom were published on the REH: Two-Gun Raconteur blog. May he rest in peace.
Springing into Pulps
April 7, 2012 – In two weeks, the pulp con season begins with the second edition of PulpArk. Running April 20 – 22, it will be held in Batesville, Arkansas, nestled in the beautiful Ozark Mountains. PulpArk is not only the only southern-based pulp convention, but also the leading convention for the “new pulp” genre, fiction inspired by the pulps of yore.
One week later, the Windy City Pulp and Paper Convention will take place in the Chicago suburb of Lombard, IL. Celebrating Edgar Rice Burroughs and the 100th anniversary of Tarzan of the Apes, the convention will run from April 27 – 29th at the Westin Lombard Yorktown Center. The convention will host an extensive film program and a pulp-related art show. Windy City is a must for the pulp fan.
North of the border, Toronto will host the 16th annual Fantastic Pulps Show & Sale. This one-day, pulp-specific show will take place on Saturday, May 5, at the Lillian H. Smith branch of the Toronto Public Library, 239 College Street, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Cinevent 44 will host 170 tables of movie-related collectibles such as posters, lobby cards, stills, pressbooks, DVDs, and 16 mm films, and feature an extensive schedule of classic sound and silent films and one of the country’s largest live auctions of vintage posters. It will take place May 25 – 28 at the Ramada Plaza Hotel and Conference Center, the former home of PulpFest.
Sponsored by the Robert E. Howard Foundation, the Robert E. Howard United Press Association, and Project Pride, the annual Robert E. Howard Days is scheduled for June 8 – 9 in Cross Plains, Texas. The ultimate gathering for Howard fans, it will feature tours, panels, auctions, films, speeches, readings, rare collectibles, and great Howardian fellowship. This year, the convention will celebrate Conan’s eightieth birthday. Essayist Charles Hoffmann will be the guest of honor.
Closing out the spring will be one of the first pulp and paperback shows. The 41st Classicon will take place on Saturday, June 9, in Lansing, MI. It will feature 35 tables and thousands of collectible pulp magazines, digests, and paperbacks for sale or trade, plus pin-ups, original artwork, and other pop culture material.
These events are just a prelude to PulpFest 2012, the summertime destination for fans and collectors of vintage popular fiction and related materials. Register today.
The poster for the Windy City Pulp & Paper Convention 12 was based on Clinton Petee’s cover for the April 1912 number of The All-Story, which featured Edgar Rice Burroughs’ novel, “Tarzan of the Apes,” published complete in the issue.
PulpFest to Auction Tonik Collection
June 25, 2012 – Albert Tonik, a long-time fan, scholar, and collector of pulp magazines and related pop-culture artifacts, has decided to sell his holdings and has chosen PulpFest as the most appropriate venue. As a result, most lots offered at this year’s Saturday-night auction will be choice items from Al’s huge collection of hardcovers, paperbacks, pulps, dime novels, comic books, fanzines, and especially scarce, desirable reference books.
One of the last remaining PulpFest members who actually bought pulps off the newsstands, Al discovered pulp fandom decades ago and began collecting anew the rough-paper magazines he loved as a boy. But his activity didn’t stop there: Al was determined to research the lives and careers of pulp writers, artists, editors, and publishers.
He assiduously tracked down and contacted surviving pulp-industry veterans, corresponding with many and meeting some face to face. More than a few considered him a friend and granted him unlimited access to their files for his research.
Over several decades, Al researched aspects of pulp history that had been covered sketchily, if at all. He unearthed long-buried records — letters, ledgers, invoices, inter-office memos — that enabled him to identify the works of pulp writers who had worked under pseudonyms, to determine how much they had been paid for their labors, where and when their stories had been reprinted (if at all), and so on.
In the course of his research — which he came to enjoy as much if not more than reading the actual pulps themselves — Al amassed a huge library of reference works that facilitated cross-referencing and added to the wealth of knowledge he uncovered through his friendships with veteran pulpsters.
Al loved sharing his knowledge. As an early member of the Pulp Era Amateur Press Society (also known as PEAPS), he became well known for his contributions entitled “Ramblings of a Perambulating Pulp Fan.” He transcribed interviews, compiled exhaustive bibliographies, and wrote fact-filled articles for such popular fanzines as Echoes, Pulp Vault, The Pulp Collector, Purple Prose, and Blood ‘n’ Thunder. Al never wrote a pulp-history book himself, but he supplied hard-to-find information to more than a dozen tomes penned by his friends and fellow pulp fans.
Although Al remains in relatively good physical condition for his 87 years, he has decided it’s time to dispose of the collection he has spent so long compiling. He wants to share this treasure trove of material with his fellow hobbyists and, to that end, has asked PulpFest to auction it.
Over the years, Al has been one of the hobby’s most generous participants. He has given us a great deal — including his friendship — and we’re pleased to have a role in giving something back in addition to finding good homes for the books and magazines he has treasured for so many years.
This auction is yet another reason to be excited about PulpFest 2012, which is almost certain to be the best yet!
The Envelope Please …
July 14, 2012 – The PulpFest Organizing Committee is pleased to announce that pulp fans nominated eleven individuals for the 2012 Munsey Award. The following nominees will be forwarded to a committee made up of all the living Lamont and Munsey Award winners, who will select the person to receive the 2012 Munsey Award: Camille Cazedessus, Randy Cox, Jack & Sally Cullers, Ron Hanna, Steve Miller, Matt Moring, Curt Phillips, Laurie Powers, Garyn Roberts, George Vanderburgh, and Dan Zimmer.
The recipient of the 2012 Munsey Award, a limited edition print (pictured here) designed by artist and pulp enthusiast David Saunders, will be announced on August 11th as part of the Saturday evening programming, open to all PulpFest 2012 registrants. Dan Zimmer of The Illustrated Press published the print.
PulpFest 2012 Dealers
July 17, 2012 – Every great pulp con centers on its dealers’ room, and this year, PulpFest will spread its wings. Our ballroom at the Hyatt Regency will add several thousand square feet to what the convention has been accustomed to in the past. Expect wider aisles and an enlarged sellers’ working area.
This year, PulpFest will be hosting about fifty sellers of pulp magazines and related materials, vintage paperbacks, digests, men’s adventure and true crime magazines, first edition hardcovers, series books, dime novels, original art, Big Little Books, Golden and Silver Age comic books, and other pop culture items. We’ll have over a hundred tables of material.
Rafael DeSoto Painting to be Sold at Auction
July 24, 2012 – About a month back, PulpFest 2012 was very proud to announce that we’d be selling longtime fan, scholar, and collector Al Tonik’s substantial collection of pulps, paperbacks, hardcovers, dime novels, comic books, fanzines, and, particularly, reference books.
As we began to catalog Al’s vast holdings, it became increasingly apparent that we would have difficulty getting through everything in time for this year’s convention.
Given Al Tonik’s standing in the pulp community, we wanted to do justice to his collection. With that in mind, PulpFest has decided to take a couple of years to work through the Tonik archives. Therefore, only a portion – still rather substantial – will be put up for bid at our 2012 Saturday Night Auction.
To thank the PulpFest members for their patience, Al has decided to sell one of his most prized possessions – a recreation of the November 1934 front cover art to The Phantom Detective, painted by the original artist, Rafael DeSoto.
According to David Saunders, Al Tonik personally commissioned DeSoto to recreate a classic pulp cover. “I had to think long and hard to pick the ONE image that I would most like to have!” Albert chose the November 1934 cover for The Phantom Detective. This would have been sometime around 1978-1981, when Rafael DeSoto painted cover recreations for a number of pulp fans and art dealers.
Al’s DeSoto painting is a gem. It will go up for sale on Saturday, August 11, at PulpFest 2012. Register now for a chance to bid on this fabulous piece of pulp memorabilia.
PulpFest Book Launch
July 26, 2012 – In the 1970s, Philip José Farmer wrote two adventure novels set in a lost empire deep in the heart of Africa: Hadon of Ancient Opar and Flight to Opar. Subterranean Press reprinted both novels earlier this year in Gods of Opar: Tales of Lost Khokarsa, an omnibus volume that joined the first two novels in the series with their long-awaited conclusion, The Song of Kwasin, co-authored by Farmer and Christopher Paul Carey.
Meteor House is proud to announce the publication of Exiles of Kho, a brand-new 30,000-word novella set in the world of Farmer’s Khokarsa series and written by Christopher Paul Carey.
Chris was licensed by the Philip José Farmer Family Trust to pen Exiles, an official prequel set 800 years before the main series. It tells the story of the priestess-heroine Lupoeth as she confronts deadly beasts, savage Neanderthals, conspiring enemies, even Sahhindar, the god of Time and bronze, in her attempt to found a new colony in the hinterlands of the ancient African empire of Khokarsa.
At 11 AM on Friday, August 10, Christopher Paul Carey will sign the entire run of the limited-edition Exiles of Kho at PulpFest/FarmerCon. Mike Hoffman created the cover and interior art for Exiles of Kho.
NASA & PulpFest and Mars
Aug. 7, 2012 – Early on August 6, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration joined PulpFest 2012 in celebrating the hundredth anniversary of the initial publication of Edgar Rice Burroughs’ classic adventure story, “Under the Moons of Mars.” At 1:32 AM, Eastern Time, NASA landed its exploration rover, Curiosity, on the red planet.
The one-ton, six-wheeled laboratory Curiosity is expected to revolutionize our understanding of Mars, as it attempts to gather evidence that the planet is or was capable of fostering life, probably in microbial form. The spacecraft is also expected to pave the way for important leaps in deep-space exploration, including bringing Martian rock or soil back to Earth for detailed analysis and, eventually, human exploration.
Burroughs’ novel, better known under its book title, A Princess of Mars, was originally published in six monthly parts, beginning in February 1912. It first appeared in the Munsey pulp magazine, The All-Story. On Friday evening, August 10, PulpFest will celebrate the story’s one-hundredth anniversary with a panel entitled “Barsoom and Beyond: Mars in the Pulps.”
Will Curiosity discover evidence of long-gone Martian princesses, the sacred River Iss, four-armed green Martian Tharks, and giant white apes? Only time will tell.
But for four days, beginning on Thursday evening at 6 PM and running through Sunday afternoon, August 12, you’ll be able to explore the fantastic imaginings of Edgar Rice Burroughs and much more by joining PulpFest in downtown Columbus, Ohio.
Frank E. Schoonover created the dust jacket art for the 1st edition of A Princess of Mars, published by A. C. McClurg & Co. in 1917.
From August 9 – 11, 2012, several posts cover the trip to PulpFest 2012 and what awaits you day by day. Afterward, the following report appeared.
And the Winner Is …
Aug. 11, 2012 — Matt Moring has been named the winner of the 2012 Munsey Award. Nominated by the general pulp community, Matt was selected by a panel consisting of all the living Lamont and Munsey Award winners. The award is a fine art print by Dan Zimmer of a painting by David Saunders. It is presented annually to a deserving person who has given of himself or herself for the betterment of the pulp community.
In relatively few years, Matt’s Altus Press has published many rare pulp stories, as well as non-fiction books on the characters and history of the pulps. To date, he has published all of Kendell Foster Crossen’s Green Lama stories, half of the adventures of Secret Agent X, Les Savage’s Senorita Scorpion stories, Fred Nebel’s Tough Dick Donahue private eye adventures, and collections of lesser-known characters such as Johnston McCulley’s The Man in Purple, Paul Ernst’s Seekay, and Lester Dent’s The Blond Adder.
His Dime Detective Companion is a superb reference to one of the leading detective magazines of the pulp era, while Rick Lai’s The Revised Complete Chronology of Bronze dissects Doc Savage’s adventures. The thirtieth anniversary issue of Echoes, one of the best pulp history fanzines of all time, was recently issued.
With Will Murray, Matt revived the Doc Savage series, publishing new stories featuring “The Man of Bronze” after a twenty-year absence. The Altus Press website is also an excellent reference source featuring links to The Pulp Superhero Index and The Echoes Index. Such energy needs to be recognized and rewarded. Matt Moring and others like him are the future of the pulp collecting hobby.
The voting for the 2012 Munsey Award actually ended in a tie. The other selected individual, David J. Cullers, better known as Jack Cullers, is the chairman of the PulpFest committee. Jack has worked quietly and tirelessly for the pulp community for decades. A longtime volunteer for several pulp conventions, Jack has ferried guests of honor to and from airports and made sure they had a friendly face to dine with. He has stuffed and addressed envelopes, arranged for advertising, organized auctions, and done many other behind-the-scenes tasks, selflessly and without seeking accolades. Time and again, he has welcomed newcomers to the hobby, even inviting them to his home for dinner during their earliest pulp conventions. He has offered space at his dealer tables for down-on-their-luck pulpsters unable to attend conventions.
As PulpFest chairman, Jack has worked to ensure convention guests, dealers, presenters, and attendees are treated fairly and respectfully, helping everyone feel welcome and comfortable. Of course, Jack could not have done it without the support of his wife, Sally, herself a longtime pulp con volunteer who often helps with registrations and auctions. His children and friends have also lent a hand. At convention, the “Cullers Clan” is hard at work, making sure things run as smoothly as possible.
Not wishing to diminish Matt Moring’s “day in the sun,” Jack asked that his name be withdrawn from consideration. However, the remaining members of the PulpFest committee felt it was well past time to recognize Jack and Sally Cullers’ devotion to the pulp community.
With this in mind, the Lamont and Munsey Award committee decided to issue a second award, the Rusty Hevelin Service Award, designed to recognize individuals within the pulp community who have worked long and hard for it with little thought for individual recognition. It is meant to reward especially good works and is thus reserved only for those individuals who are most deserving. No one is more deserving than Jack and Sally Cullers, who have labored long and hard for our small community of pulp lovers.
Congratulations to Matt Moring, the 2012 winner of the Munsey Award, and to Jack and Sally Cullers, the 2012 winners of the Rusty Hevelin Service Award. All three individuals deserve these honors.
Falling Leaves and Pulp Cons
Oct. 6, 2012 – The 24th annual NYC Collectible Paperback & Pulp Fiction Expo will be held on Sunday, October 14th at the Holiday Inn, 440 West 57th Street in New York City. Sponsored by Gary Lovisi’s Gryphon Books, this show always features a long guest list.
Doc Con 2012 will be held in Glendale, Arizona, from October 19 – 21 at Comfort Suites University of Phoenix Stadium. Enthusiasts from around the country will be at this convention dedicated to Lester Dent’s Doc Savage.
Rich Harvey’s Pulp AdventureCon will take place Saturday, November 10, from 10 AM until 5 PM. This one-day show is a very enjoyable event, held once a year at the Ramada Inn in Bordentown, just off Exit 7 of the New Jersey Turnpike.
On November 17, Ray Walsh will be holding the 42nd Classicon at the University Quality Inn in Lansing, Michigan. It is one of the longest-running pulp and paperback gatherings in the country.
On the second Saturday of each and every month, the Gotham Pulp Collectors Club meets to talk about pulps and pulp collecting at the Hudson Park Library in Manhattan.
Please continue to visit the PulpFest website regularly for exciting news about pulps and next year’s convention.
Many Thanks for Your Help
Nov. 15, 2012 – Thanksgiving will soon be celebrated here in the United States. So now is the perfect time for the PulpFest Organizing Committee to thank the people and organizations whose invaluable assistance helped to make PulpFest 2012 a tremendous success. We could not have done it without you:
Our all-volunteer front desk staff – Maura Childers, Sam Childers, Aaron Cullers, Jack Cullers, Sally Cullers, and Samantha Cullers; our panelists, presenters, and auctioneers – Jim Beard, Rusty Burke, Christopher Paul Carey, REHupa editor Bill Cavalier, Win Scott Eckert, Ron Fortier, Henry G. Franke, III, Greg Gick, John Gunnison, Stephen Haffner, Ron Hanna, Don Herron, Ed Hulse, Jim and Ruth Keegan, Damon Keen, director of Last Flight, Rick Lai, Brian Leno, William Patrick Maynard, Will Murray, guest-of-honor Mike Resnick, Garyn Roberts, Joe Saine, David Saunders, Mark Schultz, Dr. Art Sippo, Paul Spiteri, Duane Spurlock, Gail Sussman and Albert Tonik, and Anthony Tollin; our behind-the-scenes help, Mike Chomko, Peter Chomko, Mike Croteau of FarmerCon, Ohio State’s Eric Johnson, Chris Kalb, Lohr McKinstry, Michael Neno, Bruce Rosenberger Rick and Renee Thomas, Barry Traylor, Chuck Welch, Dan Zimmer, and the staff of the Hyatt Regency Columbus.
The Organizing Committee would also like to thank the people who helped to create The Pulpster #21: Tony Davis and Bill Lampkin, Monte Herridge, Morgan Holmes, Don Hutchison, David Rajchel, Don Ramlow, Mike Resnick, George Vanderburgh, Kez Wilson, John Wooley, and the magazine’s sponsors – Age of Aces, Jeff Canja, Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc., Andy Fish and TheGreenGhost.Us, The Korshak Collection, Meteor House, Murania Press, The Pulp Factory, Damon Sasser, Radio Archives (who also provided the door prizes for PulpFest 2012), the “Take Me Back to Barsoom!” Facebook Group, Lance Thingmaker, Titan Books, Vanguard Press, and the Windy City Pulp and Paper Convention.
Many thanks as well to the nominators and Lamont Award and Munsey Award winners who helped select this year’s Munsey winner, Matt Moring, as well as the winners of the first Rusty Hevelin Service Award, Jack and Sally Cullers. Congratulations to our three award winners and all the nominees for our 2012 awards.
Finally, thanks to all of the conventions, book and paper fairs, bookstores, 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 2012. Your encouragement and support made our convention a great success. We hope to see you all back next summer along with a good many newcomers for PulpFest 2013. Details will follow in the coming months.
Please subscribe to our PulpFest email list through the small gray box found along the right side of our home page. You’ll also find information on our Facebook page and through our Twitter account.
If you’d like to volunteer to help with PulpFest 2013, please email Mike Chomko, Jack Cullers, Ed Hulse, or Barry Traylor.
Many thanks to Laurie Powers of Laurie’s Wild West for providing the cover scan for the November 20, 1921 issue of The Popular Magazine, published by Street & Smith.
Our featured image is excerpted from J. Allen St. John’s original cover art for the March 1941 issue of Amazing Stories, illustrating Edgar Rice Burroughs’ “The City of Mummies.” The artwork is courtesy of the Korshak Collection and Vanguard Productions, publishers of The Paintings of J. Allen St. John.
