PulpFest is not only lauded for its excellent programming but also its very substantial dealers’ room.
Beginning on Thursday, August 19, the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Pittsburgh – Cranberry will be home to thousands of collectible pulp magazines and digests, vintage paperbacks, first edition hardcovers and series books, original art, B-movies and serials, collectible comic books, and much more.
What dealers are we expecting at PulpFest 2021? For the next five days, we’ll be profiling our dealers, telling you a little bit about each of them so you get to know them . . .
NOIR HAYES is a self-published, independent writer. Her first novel, RAZOR BLADES, has been called “a violent version of THE OUTSIDERS and FIGHT CLUB, but with fewer rules. WITHOUT CESSATION — published in late 2020 — concerns a washed-up romance novelist. It’s remindful of the Christopher Nolan film, INCEPTION, with its “book-within a book” style. A resident of western Pennsylvania, Noir recently appeared at Jeff Harper’s inaugural Pulp Fiction Convention in Westlake, Ohio. She loves creating worlds and characters bigger than herself, sharing her art with the world. She looks forward to meeting new people at PulpFest.
RICHARD MELI, BRYCE KING, & AMANDA PEEBLES will be representing HEARTWOOD BOOKS & ART at this year’s PulpFest. Richard is a member of the ABAA with more than twenty-five years of experience in buying and selling vintage pulps, first editions, magazines, paperbacks, and other collectibles. Heartwood has more than 100,000 items available for sale, including the Robert Weinberg collection of rare pulps, digests, paperbacks, and related ephemera, the Napa Valley collection of men’s adventure magazines, the Barry Levin collection, world-class Edgar Rice Burroughs material, and one-of-a-kind WEIRD TALES, Clark Ashton-Smith, and H. P. Lovecraft gems.
PAUL HERMAN is a Connecticut dealer and collector who exhibits at many pulp and paperback conventions. He offers a wide variety of materials including pulps, paperbacks, and vintage digests. He is very strong in the mystery and detective fields, turning up many scarce items. Be sure to drop by Paul’s tables for a top-notch deal on some of the best collectibles around.
DOUG SIMMS — who also runs HEROES AND GAMES, a comic book and collectible games store located at the Greater Columbus Convention Center — will be returning as a dealer at PulpFest 2021. According to Doug, PulpFest is “Always one of my favorite cons to attend!” He will have long runs of all our favorite pulp heroes in the paperback format, Golden, Silver, and Bronze age comics, pulp-related games, and much more.
MARK HICKMAN, an Ohio dealer, will be offering a variety of science-fiction magazines and hero pulps, as well as comic books and original artwork from the pulps, comics, digests, and paperbacks. Mark will also be selling copies of THE COLLECTED PULP ERA, a two-volume set reprinting the complete run of his father Lynn Hickman’s classic fanzine. Both volumes are very highly recommended.
2018 Munsey Award winner WILLIAM LAMPKIN is the advertising director for PulpFest as well as the editor and designer of THE PULPSTER, the convention’s award-winning program book. Bill will have a tempting selection of pulp fanzines and other collectibles for sale at his table. Bill will also be part of our “Selling the Shadow” presentation on Friday, August 20.
We’d like to welcome JAN KOENIG to her first PulpFest. Recently retired from The University of Cincinnati Foundation, Jan will be selling copies of her science fiction novel THE FATE OF THE ANDROMEDA III. It has been compared to the Murray Leinster classic, “First Contact.” She will also have hand-woven inkle loom belts on hand at her table.
Author of the Edgar-nominated “Hector Lassiter” historical crime series, CRAIG MCDONALD is an award-winning novelist, journalist, and editor. The “Lassiter” series chronicles the exploits of a fictional BLACK MASK author and his encounters with such notable figures as Ernest Hemingway, Orson Welles, Ian Fleming, and Lester Dent. McDonald’s internationally acclaimed works have found a global audience and have also been adapted in graphic novel format. His works have been published by Simon & Schuster and Macmillan Press. You can meet Craig in our dealers’ room or at our New Fictioneers readings on Friday, August 20. Check out our programming schedule to learn more.
We’d like to welcome BOB MCGEENEY and MARGE LOPRESTI of LOMAR BOOKS AND BAGS to their first PulpFest as dealers. Bob currently serves as the Official Editor of the Edgar Rice Burroughs Amateur Press Association (ERBapa). He specializes in ERB, vintage science fiction paperbacks, pulps, and big little books. Marge specializes in children’s books. Together, they have been collector-dealers for over thirty years. Visit them at PulpFest, find a treasure, and introduce yourself to Bob and Marge.
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 2021, John will be selling pulps, books, comics, original art, movie posters, and more. He will also have copies of HARD-BOILED CHRISTMAS STORIES, the anthology he edited with 2006 Lamont Award winner JOHN WOOLEY. Check out our profile of the latter by reading “PulpFest Profile: Seven Senses of John Wooley” on our website.
PETER MACUGA will be selling at PulpFest for the third time. He will be bringing many boxes of pulps and books to sell, including early issues of ASTOUNDING STORIES, up through the late 1940s. Peter will also have collectible hardcovers from Gnome Press and other publishers.
From Buffalo, New York, BILL MANN returns as a dealer to PulpFest. One of the founders and a former editor at Age of Aces Books, Bill will be selling a variety of aviation pulps and books.
TOM MARTIN has been a longtime collector of pulps, digests, vintage paperbacks, golden age comics, and many related items. Located in southwestern Ohio, Tom has attended many pulp conventions since the late 1970s, sometimes as a collector and other times as a dealer. He will be offering a diverse selection of items from all areas of our collecting interests, including a few surprises that are rarely offered. Be sure to visit his display at PulpFest 2021.
If you are a dealer or collector who would like to sell at PulpFest, please click the “Registration” button just below the banner at the top of our home page. You can also email convention chairperson Jack Cullers at jack@pulpfest.com for further information about selling at the convention.
If you still need 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 or 724-776-6900. Be sure to mention PulpFest.
We’ll be profiling more of our PulpFest 2021 dealers through Friday, August 6. Please visit our site tomorrow for our fourth segment.
Designed by PulpFest’s artistic director, William Lampkin, our PulpFest 2021 postcard features the work of artist Modest Stein. It was adapted from the artist’s cover painting for LOVE STORY MAGAZINE for May 23, 1931. Although we’re not 100% certain, we don’t think Noir Hayes’ “washed-up romance novelist” appears in the issue.
Dealer Paul Herman’s favorite genre is the detective field and DIME DETECTIVE was one of the best. Pictured here is the May 1932 number, featuring cover art by William Reusswig.
Although it’s not likely that you’ll find a copy of the October 1912 issue of THE ALL-STORY at Bob McGeeney’s and Marge Lopresti’s table, you will find other Burroughs collectibles. That particular issue of THE ALL-STORY featured Edgar Rice Burroughs’ novel “Tarzan of the Apes,” published in its entirety. Clinton Pettee — who illustrated many of the Munsey magazines as well as the pulp, SHORT STORIES — painted the front cover art for the magazine.
Founder and former Age of Aces editor Bill Mann will be selling aviation pulps such as FLYING ACES. It was the longtime home of Captain Philip Strange, who “was so terrifyingly effective as the Allies’ top agent that the Germans were offering a king’s ransom for his death.” Pictured here is the November 1934 number of the Ace Magazines pulp, one of its bedsheet issues. The cover art is by Paul J. Bissell. The artist also created covers for Ace’s SKY BIRDS.
