Although PulpFest is well known for its excellent programming — and rightfully so . . . click the “2016 schedule” button just below our banner on our home page to see all of the great programming we have lined up for 2016 — it is also lauded for its very substantial dealers’ room. Beginning on Thursday, July 21, the Battelle South exhibition hall on the third floor of the Greater Columbus Convention Center will house collectible pulp magazines and digests, vintage paperbacks, first edition hardcovers and series books, original art, B-movies and serials, collectible comic books, and more. And remember: for those members staying at the Hyatt-Regency Columbus, you’ll be able to partake in free, early-bird shopping on Thursday evening from 6 to 9 PM. For those staying elsewhere, early-bird shopping privileges will cost $10 if you pay by July 1. After that date, early-bird privileges will be available for an additional $25 (if prepaid) or $30 (at the door).
In addition to Thursday’s early-bird hours, the PulpFest dealers’ room will be open from 10 AM to 4:45 PM on July 22 – 23 and from 10 AM to 2 PM on Sunday, July 24. Note that buying and selling opportunities on Sunday may be limited as dealers pack up for their trip home.
Who will be selling at PulpFest 2016? For the next two days, we’ll be profiling some of our dealers, telling you a little bit about each of them so you get to know them a little better. Away we go . . .
JOHN McMAHAN sells collectibles on ebay as mybckpages. He comes to us from Oklahoma, where he has long been active as a fan and dealer. At PulpFest 2016, he’ll be selling pulps, books, comics, original art, movie posters, and more. John will also have copies of HARD-BOILED CHRISTMAS STORIES, the anthology he edited with 2006 Lamont Award winner John Wooley.
Collecting since the early days of pulp fandom, legend has it that WALKER MARTIN has owned practically every pulp at least once! A resident of New Jersey, he’ll be selling a variety of pulp magazines, DVD’S, original artwork, and one-of-a-kind canceled checks from the files of Munsey and Popular Publications. Walker contributes a regular column on pulp collecting to Steve Lewis’ Mystery*File blog.
Dr. Fu Manchu was “…the yellow peril incarnate in one man…” and WILLIAM PATRICK MAYNARD is the author of the first authorized Fu Manchu thrillers in nearly thirty years. He will be selling and signing copies of THE TERROR OF FU MANCHU and THE DESTINY OF FU MANCHU. Bill will also have Sax Rohmer and other Yellow Peril books for sale (including Robert E. Howard) and a variety of hard-boiled fiction available.
FarmerCon returns to PulpFest for its sixth straight year and METEOR HOUSE will be releasing its newest titles at the convention. Pick up your copies of BLOOD OF ANCIENT OPAR, DAYWORLD: A HOLE IN WEDNESDAY, PHILEAS FOGG AND THE HEART OF OSRA, and the two-volume CROSSOVERS EXPANDED. We’ll be announcing when the annual Meteor House book-signing party will take place during our regular dealers’ room hours. MICHAEL CROTEAU will also be selling items from Philip José Farmer’s estate and works by FarmerCon attendees.
In addition to the latest issue of his award-winning fanzine, BLOOD ‘N’ THUNDER, ED HULSE will have several new titles from the MURANIA PRESS book line at the convention, including his own “groundbreaking history of American cliffhanger serials of the silent-movie era,” HANDSOME HEROES AND VICIOUS VILLAINS. Ed will, most likely, also be selling his usual smattering of pulp magazines.
The author of over sixty novels and assorted books, WILL MURRAY will be selling copies of “The All-New Wild Adventures of Doc Savage,” including the recently published, GLARE OF THE GORGON. He’ll also be debuting the first volume in the new “The Wild Adventures of King Kong,” a novel that features Tarzan of the Apes. Expect to see some of Will’s non-fiction books, as well. Of course, he’ll be glad to sign your purchases.
PHIL NELSON and his daughter HOLLY are from Waverly, Ohio. They will be bringing an assortment of ADVENTURE and ARGOSY. This very personable dealer will also have vintage paperbacks, comic books, and a variety of other collectibles. He’s a fan of NORTH-WEST STORIES and detective fiction.
Please welcome back California’s LAURIE POWERS, creator of the Laurie’s Wild West blog. She will be selling copies of HIDDEN GHOSTS, PULP WRITER: TWENTY YEARS IN THE AMERICAN GRUB STREET, RIDING THE PULP TRAIL, all books written by her grandfather, pulp author Paul S. Powers, as well as books and ephemera from her grandfather’s estate. Laurie is currently writing a biography of Daisy Bacon, editor of LOVE STORY MAGAZINE. She is also one of this year’s nominees for the annual Munsey Award.
GARYN and VIRGINIA ROBERTS from northern Wisconsin will be offering a variety of pulp-related publications. They’ll have science-fiction and mysteries in both hardcover and paperback. They’ll also have pulps, pulp reprint, pulp studies and more. Garyn is the winner of our 2013 Munsey Award.
Please welcome KENT PEASLEY of ROSEWOOD BOOKS to PulpFest. This first-time seller at our convention hails from Houston, Texas and exhibits regularly at book fairs in the Lone Star State. Kent will be offering Ace science fiction doubles, first edition crime and noir novels, vintage copies of AMAZING STORIES, and more at his tables. We’re hoping this will be the first of many PulpFests for Kent and Rosewood Books.
If you are a dealer or collector who would like to sell at PulpFest, please click the “Register for 2016” button just below the banner at the top of our home page or email convention chairperson Jack Cullers at jack@pulpfest.com for further information about selling at the convention.
As of June 21, the Hyatt Regency Columbus had a small number of rooms available for July 21 through July 23. Their PulpFest rate ends tonight. Please see our post “There Are Rooms at the Hyatt!”
At www.columbusconventions.com/thearea.php, you’ll find a list of area hotels courtesy of the Greater Columbus Convention Center. Alternately, you can search for a room at tripadvisor or a similar website to find a hotel near the convention. Thanks so much to everyone who has reserved a room at our host hotel. By staying at the Hyatt Regency, you’ve helped to ensure the convention’s success.
We’ll be profiling more of our 2016 PulpFest dealers for one more day. Please come back tomorrow.
(This year, PulpFest will pay tribute to a century of the specialized pulp fiction magazine. Originated in the fall of 1915 when Street & Smith introduced DETECTIVE STORY MAGAZINE to the reading public, the first single-genre fiction pulp set the stage for other magazines to specialize, including Street & Smith’s own LOVE STORY MAGAZINE. Introduced in 1921, LOVE STORY eventually achieved a circulation of 600,000 copies an issue, a record that would never be broken by any other pulp magazine. Pictured here is the May 29, 1937 issue, featuring cover art by Modest Stein.
To learn more about LOVE STORY MAGAZINE and the romance genre, please join PulpFest on Friday evening, July 22, when Laurie Powers will discuss “A Century of the Specialty Pulp — LOVE STORY MAGAZINE and the Romance Pulp Phenomenon,” part of the convention’s salute to the specialized pulp magazine.
Stop at John McMahan’s tables and pick-up a copy of the anthology he co-edited with John Wooley, HARD-BOILED CHRISTMAS STORIES. It features cover art by PulpFest presenter David Saunders. On Friday, July 22, David will discuss “The Artists of THE ARGOSY — 120 Years of Sensational Pulp Artists” during our evening programming.
Meteor House will be releasing four new books at PulpFest 2016, including Josh Reynolds’ PHILEAS FOGG AND THE HEART OF OSRA, chronicling the further exploits of Jules Verne’s most iconic hero. The cover art is by Amar Djouad.
“From the concrete canyons of Manhattan to the coal fields of Illinois, Doc Savage tracks a phantom fiend the likes of which he has never before hunted. Or is he the one being hunted?” Will Murray’s GLARE OF THE GORGON features cover art by Joe DeVito.)
