PulpFest 2014 may still be over eight months away, but it’s not too early to start working on an article for the next number of The Pulpster. As you know, PulpFest will be celebrating the 75th anniversary of science fiction’s Golden Age, when fantastic fiction “grew up.” Startling Stories, Unknown, Famous Fantastic Mysteries, Planet Stories, and similar magazines debuted in 1939. The year also witnessed the first World Science Fiction Convention.
PulpFest 2014 will also be saluting the shudder pulps of 1934. Although the weird-menace tale came into being in the latter months of 1933, it wasn’t until the following year that the genre blossomed with the advent of Popular Publications’ Terror Tales and Horror Stories, as well as Spicy Mystery Stories.
The Pulpster is the award-winning program book of “Summer’s Great Pulp Con.” A longstanding tradition cherished by attendees of PulpFest, this highly collectible and informative magazine has been around for over twenty years. First edited by Lamont Award winner Tony Davis, The Pulpster now has Bill Lampkin at the helm. Bill also runs The Pulp.Net, which he created in 1996, and writes the Yellowed Perils blog.
Although The Pulpster is actively seeking articles about science fiction and fantasy and the great magazines of 1939, as well as explorations of the weird-menace story and the shudder pulps, it’s not limited to those themes alone. If you have an interesting, pulp-related article or idea (preferably never-before-published in print or online), Bill would love to hear from you. Unfortunately, he can’t pay you, but you will receive a free copy of the issue in which your contribution appears. The submission deadline is April 30, 2014.
Articles should be submitted in a plain text or Word document (no PDFs please). Artwork and illustrations should be PNG, JPG, TIF, EPS or PSD formats. Articles and artwork can be emailed to bill@pulpfest.com or mailed to The Pulpster, c/o Bill Lampkin, P. O. Box 12741, Tallahassee, FL 32317. If you have any questions about the magazine’s editorial content, please feel free to contact Bill.
If you would like to advertise in The Pulpster, please write to Mike Chomko at mike@pulpfest.com. More information on advertising can be found on the Program Book page of our website, where you’ll also find information about back issues.
H. W. Scott’s cover to the March 1939 issue of Unknown illustrates the first issue’s lead story, “Sinister Barrier,” written by Eric Frank Russell.
