PulpFest 2020 is still over three months away. The coronavirus lockdown is impacting many of the great conventions we normally would look forward to attending come June.
For now, pulp con history still looks to be made when you attend the very first Pulp Fiction Convention on June 14 at the Doubletree by Hilton Cleveland-Westlake. It’s being organized by Jeff Harper, a longtime comic book convention promoter and friend and supporter of PulpFest. Forty dealers will gather from 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM alongside special guests: Edgar-nominated historical mystery author Craig McDonald; new pulp writers Charles F. Millhouse, S. T. Hoover, and Faryl Hoover; Flinch! Books author/publishers John Bruening and Jim Beard, and vintage pulp continuation authors William Patrick Maynard and Jim Fix. Check out Jeff’s webpage for more information. In the event, circumstances dictate a cancellation; you can be certain Jeff will re-schedule as he has with other shows earlier this year.
Unfortunately, the 2020 Edgar Rice Burroughs Dum-Dum planned for the weekend of June 24 – 28 has been cancelled. Roger and Sheila Herzog had planned to host guests Burroughs Bibliophile Jim Goodwin, Edgar Rice Burroughs Books’ Jim Gerlach, and the good folks at Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc. at the Embassy Suites by Hilton in San Antonio, Texas. Attendees were to receive a copy of “The Terrible Tenderfoot” (the pulp version of ERB’s THE DEPUTY SHERRIFF OF COMANCHE COUNTY), take part in tours of The Alamo, and sail away on a river barge tour of San Antonio. Regrettably, concerns over the Coronavirus have caused the cancellation of the 2020 Dum-Dum. Refunds of registrations will be processed shortly. If you have further questions, please contact the burroughsbibliophiles@gmail.com.
We would be remiss if we did not mention at this time the passing of George T. McWhorter, the retired Curator of the Edgar Rice Burroughs Collection at the University of Louisville. McWhorter passed away on April 25, 2020 at the age of 89. Please visit the Reminiscences Page on the ERBzine website for more on this giant from the world of Burroughs fandom.
Hopefully, life has reverted to normal enough that we can enjoy PulpFest 2020 — the destination for fans and collectors of genre fiction — both old and new — pop art and illustration, and much more. This year’s PulpFest will begin on Thursday, August 6, and run through Sunday, August 9. Join the convention at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Pittsburgh – Cranberry, just north of Pennsylvania’s “Steel City” of Pittsburgh. PulpFest will be celebrating “Bradbury, BLACK MASK, and Brundage” at this year’s gathering. Click the Programming button below the PulpFest homepage banner to get a preview of all the great presentations at this year’s event.
To join PulpFest 2020, click the Register button below our homepage banner. To book a room at the DoubleTree by Hilton — the convention’s host hotel — click the Book a Room button, likewise on the PulpFest homepage.
(Usually, we also have great news to share about Robert E. Howard Days, held annually in the author’s hometown of Cross Plains, Texas. This year, unfortunately, all we can say is that the 2020 edition of Robert E. Howard Days has been cancelled.
According to the convention’s homepage, “The uncertainty of the current timelines for the outbreak, the potential risks involved in bringing people from all over the US and other countries, from places with varying rates of infection, to a very small town with limited health care resources, and the need to make a decision now so everyone can adjust their plans, have led the Board of the Robert E. Howard Foundation and our partners at Project Pride to this extremely difficult decision. Ultimately, we had to come down on the side of everyone’s safety.”
So here’s a salute to our friends in Howard Fandom and the fine folks of Cross Plains, Texas. We’ll be here for you when you get ready to mount Robert E. Howard Days in June of 2021.
Although Robert E. Howard wrote about many different characters — Pike Bearfield, Sailor Steve Costigan, Solomon Kane, Kull of Atlantis, Turlogh O’Brien, and others — his most famous is Conan.
Howard’s inspired character was introduced to readers in the story “The Phoenix on the Sword.” Published in the December 1932 issue of WEIRD TALES, it was quickly followed the next month by “The Scarlet Citadel.” By the time of his death in 1936, Howard had completed twenty-one stories of the Cimmerian. WEIRD TALES would publish seventeen of them, including “The People of the Black Circle,” serialized over three monthly issues. The initial segment — published in the September 1934 number — would garner a cover illustration by Margaret Brundage.
On Friday evening, August 7, we hope you’ll join PulpFest as we welcome award-winning writer and publisher Doug Ellis for “The Weird Tales of Margaret Brundage.” It’s part of the convention’s celebration of the 120th anniversary of the birth of this great female pulp artist.
Please join us for “Bradbury, BLACK MASK, and Brundage” at PulpFest 2020. We’ll be at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Pittsburgh – Cranberry in Mars, Pennsylvania from August 6 – 8.)
