As they do every year, a number of publishers have chosen to roll out new titles at PulpFest 2017. Altus Press, Murania Press, and Stark House Press will be premiering reprints of classics from the past, while Airship 27 and Meteor House will offer new work inspired by the great fiction of the past. We’ll also have two new authors selling their books at PulpFest — Shaun Perkins and Joab Stieglitz. And since PulpFest will be hosting our annual New Fictioneer readings, expect to meet some of the creators of today’s pulp fiction at the convention. Click the programming for 2017 link on our home page to learn more about this year’s readings.
Age of Aces Books is a publisher of lost pulp fiction treasures with a keen eye for design. At this year’s PulpFest, Chris and David Kalb will be releasing two thrilling collections of stories from the tattered pages of the air war pulps: Donald E. Keyhoe’s CAPTAIN PHILIP STRANGE: STRANGE HELL — their sixth collection to feature the ace pilot and so-called “Brain-Devil” of G-2 Intelligence — and Harold F. Cruickshank’s ACE OF DEVILS — the second volume in the series that originally ran in Popular Publications’ DARE-DEVIL ACES.
“New Pulp” fans will see a number of new and recent books at PulpFest 2017, courtesy of Ron Fortier and Rob Davis of Airship 27 Productions. They’ll have copies of the second volume of THE RUBY FILES, another book in Nancy Hansen’s popular pirate series, recounting the adventures of Jezebel Johnston, and a brand new novel by Fred Adams, Jr., THE EYE OF QUANG CHI. Additionally, please remember to join Ron Fortier on Saturday afternoon, July 29, for our annual “new pulp” panel, featuring Ron and five of the premier writers of new pulp fiction.
As he does every year, Mike Chomko will be premiering the latest books from one of the most active publishers of pulp reprints, Altus Press. Thanks to an arrangement with Altus publisher Matt Moring, Mike will be offering the latest volumes of Robert Sidney Bowen’s Dusty Ayres, Frederick C. Davis’ Moon Man, Robert J. Hogan’s Wu Fang, and Donald E. Keyhoe’s Doctor Yen Sin. There’s also a chance that he’ll have the third issue of the revived BLACK MASK available at the convention. Mike Chomko, Books has been one of the leading purveyors of pulp reprint books and periodicals since the early nineties. Look for his tables at the entrance to the PulpFest 2017 dealers’ room and say “hello” to the convention’s marketing and programming director.
Jim Beard and John Bruening of Flinch Books, publishers of “in-your-face pulp-style adventure fiction,” will be on hand with their latest prose anthology, RESTLESS: AN ANTHOLOGY OF MUMMY HORROR. They’ll also have copies of John’s popular full-length novel,THE MIDNIGHT GUARDIAN: HOUR OF DARKNESS. Jim will be offering a wide selection of his own fiction work, including SAUCY ROBOT TALES — an anthology he co-edited with Nicholas Ahlhelm — and PLANET OF THE APES: TALES FROM THE FORBIDDEN ZONE, co-edited by Jim and Rich Handley for Titan Books.
Be sure to keep your eyes and ears peeled throughout the weekend, because the Flinch team will be sharing information about their next title, scheduled for release in the fall of 2017.
Meteor House, a publisher of science fiction and fantasy that specializes in works set in the worlds created by Philip José Farmer as well as original science fiction and fantasy novels and novellas, will have a trio of new books at PulpFest. Heidi Ruby Miller’s MAN OF WAR follows the continuing adventures of Roger Two Hawks, World War II pilot and “gate” traveler. Meteor House will also have THE BEST OF FARMERPHILE, a collection of rare fiction and nonfiction by Philip José Farmer, as well as articles and appreciations written by Farmer’s fans and his fellow science fiction authors, from critiques of his work to stories of personal encounters, and everything between. FARMERPHILE was a quarterly fanzine that ran fifteen issues from July 2005 to January 2009. Last of all, the publisher will be launching their third Meteor House Chapbook, Frank Schildiner’s WATCH YOUR BACK, MR. MINAMOTO.
Mike Croteau and many of his authors will be on hand at the convention for their annual book-signing party. We’ll be announcing further details during the convention. And don’t forget about the FarmerCon XII presentations on Friday, July 28, including a pair of readings by Win Scott Eckert, author of the Sherlock Holmes chapbook, THE ADVENTURE OF THE FALLEN STONE, and other works. Check out the programming for 2017 link on our home page to learn more.
Ed Hulse of Murania Press will be offering the second volume of BLOOD ’N’ THUNDER PRESENTS at this year’s PulpFest. THE PENNY-A-WORD BRIGADE: PULP FICTIONEERS EXPLAIN THEIR CRAFT is a behind-the-scenes look at the world of pulp writing. Ed also hopes to have two new entries in his “Classic Pulp Reprints” series. George Bronson-Howard’s THE RETURN OF YORKE NORROY and Francis Lynde’s TYPHOSIS TAKES A HAND originally appeared in the pages of Street & Smith’s THE POPULAR MAGAZINE.
The director of the Rural Oklahoma Museum of Poetry, Shaun Perkins is one of two writers appearing for the first time as a PulpFest dealer. A Perry Mason and vintage crime fiction enthusiast, Shaun writes detective stories in verse. Featuring fictional bookstore owner Perry Cassidy, Shaun’s tales are based on mysteries found by her protagonist in the written marginalia of old books. You can learn more about Shaun Perkins’ work at https://rompoetry.com/the-book-with/.
In the business of reprinting some of the best mysteries and supernatural fiction of the past 100 years, Stark House Press hopes to have several new titles ready for PulpFest 2017. You’ll find W. R. Burnett’s THE GOLDSEEKERS, a novel about a group of adventurers taking part in the Alaskan gold rush. It is reminiscent of B. Traven’s THE TREASURE OF THE SIERRA MADRE. Arnold Hano’s THE LAST NOTCH is a vintage noir western from the maverick editor of Lion Books. VIRGIN CAY & A NIGHT OUT — two thrillers set in the Florida Keys — is the work of Basil Heatter. Timothy J. Lockhart’s SMITH is the story of a tough as nails killer, a secret operative and tough fighter, while Rick Ollerman’s HARDBOILED, NOIR AND GOLD MEDALS is a collection of essays on crime fiction writers from the fifties through the nineties. Finally, JOHN SILENCE — PHYSICIAN EXTRAORDINARY & THE WAVE — both written by the terrific Algernon Blackwood — may also be appearing in time for the convention. Mike Chomko, Books will be representing Stark House at PulpFest.
Lastly, Joab Stieglitz is also making his debut as a PulpFest dealer. He is an avid tabletop role-playing game player and game master of the horror, espionage, fantasy, and science fiction genres. Joab is the author of Cthulhu-oriented pulp adventures and writes a blog at Rantings of a Wandering Mind ~ The Writing Blog of Joab Stieglitz. He will be selling copies of his UTGARDA TRILOGY— a pulp adventure set in the 1920s — at this year’s PulpFest. Please be sure to welcome him.
We’d also like to mention that Heartwood Auctions will be offering a large new collection of pulp magazines to share at this year’s PulpFest. This collection spans a variety of genres including superhero titles such as FLASH GORDON, THE SHADOW, THE WHISPERER and a copy of the first issue of DOC SAVAGE. Also included are several LONE RANGER and other scarce pulps. They’ll also be bringing large runs of titles such as G-8 AND HIS BATTY ACES and DUSTY AYRES, as well as a wide variety of detective pulps including DETECTIVE STORY, THRILLING DETECTIVE, HOLLYWOOD DETECTIVE, and BLACK HOOD DETECTIVE. Many of these pulps are rare, and most are in mid to high grade. Heartwood is thrilled at the opportunity to share these new items with PulpFesters before anyone else!
These are just a few of the great publications that you’ll find in the PulpFest 2017 dealers’ room. So what are you waiting for? Book a room for three nights and register now for “Summer’s AMAZING Pulp Con.” If you would like to book a room at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Pittsburgh – Cranberry — just north of Pennsylvania’s “Steel City,” please call 1-800-222-8733. Be sure to mention PulpFest in order to receive any convention special deals that may still be available.
(Not only will the publishers exhibiting at PulpFest 2017 be offering great writing, they’ll have some great art to share. The talented Jerome Rozen — who not only worked for the pulps, but also for the slick magazine and advertising industries — painted the cover art for “The Case of the Suicide Tomb.” Written by Robert J. Hogan, the story originally appeared in the December 1935 issue of THE MYSTERIOUS WU FANG, published by Popular Publications. Running for seven issues, the pulp featured one of the great “psychos of the pulps.”
In 2009, Chris Kalb designed the first PulpFest website. Since then, he’s helped us time and again. This year, he’s been nominated for the 2017 Munsey Award. We wish him the best of luck. Along with his brother David, Chris is the publisher of Age of Aces books. He’s also the company’s art director, the person who comes up with all the great covers featured on each of their books, including one of their latest entries, Donald E. Keyhoe’s STRANGE HELL.
RESTLESS: AN ANTHOLOGY OF MUMMY HORROR, with cover art by Shannon Hall, is just one of the many fine new books that you’ll find at PulpFest 2017. It’s published by Flinch Books, a small press offering some of the best material to be inspired by the pulp fiction of the past.
Mark Wheatley painted the cover for Heidi Ruby Miller’s MAN OF WAR, debuting at the Meteor House tables at this year’s PulpFest and FarmerCon. The story is based on the work of Grand Master of Science Fiction Philip José Farmer.
THE MISSING MEDIUM by Joab Stieglitz — with cover art by Lee Pfenninger — is the middle book in the author’s UTGARDA TRILOGY. Available in paperback and ebook, Joab’s series is a pulp adventure set in the 1920s. It concerns a group of college friends who dabbled in the occult and released a malign presence on the world.)
