PulpFest’s host hotel — the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Pittsburgh – Cranberry — is nineteen miles north of the city of Pittsburgh. It’s conveniently located at the intersection of Interstate 79, the Pennsylvania Turnpike, and State Route 19 in the town of Mars, Pennsylvania.
No one is quite certain how Mars, PA got its name. It may be named after Judge Samuel Marshall or the Red Planet itself. Regardless, the high school sports teams are the Fightin’ Planets, and the official borough stationary has flying saucers and little green Martians on it. Although we’re not certain that you’ll spot an invader from outer space while visiting, you will find a flying saucer, displayed in a small park located in the center of town. Weighing 3000 pounds, it’s not going anywhere soon.
About eighty years before a resident of Mars put together a couple of oil tanks and turned them into the town landmark, a 35-year-old former cowboy, cavalryman, gold miner, shopkeeper, railroad policeman, efficiency expert, and failed businessman began writing a novel. Upon completing the first half of his story, he mailed the unfinished manuscript to the Frank A. Munsey Company. Not long thereafter, Thomas Newell Metcalf — editor of THE ALL-STORY — asked for more. Encouraged by Metcalf’s response, the would-be writer finished the novel and sold it. “Today, that story is acclaimed by scholars as the turning point of 20th-century science fiction, and new editions of it continue to be published each year throughout the world.”
Serialized in six parts — beginning with the February 1912 number of THE ALL-STORY — the novel was called “Under the Moons of Mars.” Hiding behind the name of Norman Bean, the author was Edgar Rice Burroughs. He would go on to become one of the best-selling writers of the early 20th century.
PulpFest is very proud to host an informal convening of Norman Bean fans this summer — the 2021 ERBFest. It certainly seems appropriate that on the 110th anniversary of the writing of “Under the Moons of Mars,” that Beans’ fans might celebrate the occasion in the small Pennsylvania town called Mars. Of course, Bean fans know the name of the town is really Barsoom.
On Saturday, August 21, PulpFest and ERBFest 2021 invite you to the spacious and comfortable lounge area of the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Pittsburgh – Cranberry for “A Barsoomian Bull Session.” It will be hosted by Henry G. Franke III, editor of The Burroughs Bibliophiles, the nonprofit literary society devoted to the life and works of Edgar Rice Burroughs. Beginning at 11 PM, it will be a fun way to top off the final day of programming at this year’s PulpFest and ERBFest 2021.
The general public is welcome to attend our programming events. To learn more about our programming schedule, please click the Programming button at the top of this page.
For those who also want to enjoy our dealers’ room, you can join PulpFest by clicking the Registration button at the top of this page. And don’t forget to book a room at the DoubleTree. They’re going fast!
If you’re not familiar with the Martian language, the Red Planet’s true name is Barsoom. Its nearest neighbor is called Jasoom, the planet that we call Earth.
The photograph of Barsoom’s Valles Marineris hemisphere, from July 9, 2013, is actually a mosaic comprising 102 Viking Orbiter images. At the center of the image is the Valles Marineris canyon system, over 2,000 kilometers long and up to 8 kilometers deep.
Of course, if we were to get close to the surface of the Red Planet, it would, no doubt, look more like J. Allen St. John’s illustration for “Black Pirates of Barsoom,” painted for the June 1941 issue of Ziff-Davis’ AMAZING STORIES.
“That’s bulls@%t,” you say? Then you’ll fit right in at the ERBFest’s “Barsoomian Bull Session,” taking place on Saturday, August 21, beginning at 11:30 PM.
And don’t forget about the other ERBFest presentations taking place at PulpFest 2021 — “The Amazing, Thrilling, and Fantastic Edgar Rice Burroughs” on Thursday, August 19, at 7:15 PM; “Edgar Rice Burroughs’ Unfinished Tales — Mars, Venus, Poloda, and Tarzan’s Africa” on Friday, August 20, at 3 PM; “Beyond the Farthest Star: A Science Fiction Classic Restored” on Friday, August 20, at 3:35 PM; “The News from Tarzana: Thrilling Updates from Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc.” on Friday, August 20, at 4 PM; and and “Introducing Pulp’s Legacy of Adventure to a Younger Generation” on Saturday, August 21 at 10:55 PM.
Trademarks John Carter®, John Carter of Mars®, Dejah Thoris®, Tars Tarkas®, Carthoris™, Woola™, White Ape™, A Princess of Mars®, Gods of Mars®, Warlord of Mars®, Barsoom®, Edgar Rice Burroughs®, ERB Authorized Library™, and others owned by Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc. Associated logos, characters, names, and the distinctive likenesses thereof are trademarks or registered trademarks of Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc. Used by Permission.
