There’s just one week left until PulpFest 2021 begins. PulpFest is the summertime destination for fans and collectors of popular fiction — both old and new — and related materials. It seeks to honor the pulps by drawing attention to the many ways these throwaway magazines have inspired writers, artists, film directors, game designers, and other creators over the years.
PulpFest 2021 will begin on Thursday, August 19. The dealers’ room will be open to registered sellers to set up their displays from 12 to 5 PM. Early registration for all convention attendees will take place from 1 to 5 PM outside the dealers’ room at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Pittsburgh – Cranberry in Mars, Pennsylvania. Early-bird shopping will also be from 1 to 5 PM on August 19 for PulpFest members who will be staying at the DoubleTree or for those who elect to purchase an early-bird membership. Our full slate of programming for Thursday evening will get underway at 7:10 PM.
If you have not yet booked a room for your stay, please call 1-800-222-8733 to reach the DoubleTree. Although the convention rate is no longer available, there may be a few vacancies at the hotel.
Conveniently located at the intersection of three major roadways, the DoubleTree boasts a world-class restaurant in an open air setting. There are many other restaurants nearby — some within walking distance — suitable for a variety of tastes. The more adventurous can discover plenty of dining, shopping, and nightlife just a short drive away in downtown Pittsburgh. The DoubleTree also offers a 24-hour fitness center, indoor and outdoor swimming pools, and a sauna.
You’ll find a map to the hotel and the surrounding area on the PulpFest website or click here.
Thanks so much to everyone who has reserved a room at our host hotel. By staying at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Pittsburgh – Cranberry, you’ve helped to ensure the convention’s success.
The Summer 2021 edition of PulpFest will celebrate the anniversaries of two trend-setting Street & Smith rough-paper magazines. Both LOVE STORY and THE SHADOW MAGAZINE played significant roles in the evolution of American popular culture and genre fiction. PulpFest 2021 will have panels and presentations on these topics and more. We hope you’ll join us for “Love in the Shadows.”
We’ll also be hosting ERBFest 2021 at this year’s PulpFest. Thanks to the efforts of Henry G. Franke III, Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc., and the PulpFest organizing committee, there will be a summer convention for fans of Edgar Rice Burroughs and his work. Check out our programming page for more information on our Burroughs presentations. There is no extra cost to attend our ERBFest activities.
Start planning to attend PulpFest 2021 at the “pop culture center of the universe” in Barsoom . . . that is . . . Mars, Pennsylvania. You can do so by clicking the Registration button on our home page.
Our advance registrations end at 10 PM on Sunday, August 15. So what are you waiting for?
For your convenience, you’ll find below the complete schedule for the entire convention. You can also click here to link to our 2021 mobile schedule. To learn more about a particular programming event, click on its title link. We look forward to seeing you in a week.
According to the DoubleTree’s website, masks are optional for guests and DoubleTree Team Members who are fully vaccinated. The hotel follows Hilton’s brand standard and asks those who are not vaccinated to please wear a mask indoors and practice social distancing.
With the delta variant taking off around the United States, the CDC recommends that everyone, vaccinated or not, should wear masks in indoor public settings in areas with “substantial” or “high” virus transmission. Currently, the counties of Allegheny and Butler — where the DoubleTree is located — are in these categories.
To keep up to date with Pennsylvania’s coronavirus numbers, click here.
If you are exhibiting any symptoms associated with COVID-19, please stay at home. You should not attend PulpFest or ERBFest. Isolate and avoid contact with others, rest, and drink fluids. If your symptoms worsen, call your health care provider.
PULPFEST 2021 SCHEDULE
Thursday, August 19
Dealers’ Room
12:00 – 5:00 PM — Dealers’ Room Set-Up
1:00 – 5:00 PM — Member Registration & Early-Bird Shopping for PulpFest Members Staying at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Pittsburgh – Cranberry
Hotel Lounge
5:00 PM – 7:00 PM — Pizza at PulpFest (Sponsored by Our Generous PulpFest Dealers)
Evening Programming
7:10 – 7:15 PM — Welcome to PulpFest (Chairman Jack Cullers)
7:15 – 8:05 PM — ERBFest 2021 — The Amazing, Thrilling, and Fantastic Edgar Rice Burroughs (Henry G. Franke III)
8:10 – 9:00 PM — Shadow Artists — Inside and Out (Chet Williamson, for David Saunders)
9:05 – 9:55 PM — Love on the Racks (Michelle Nolan)
10:00 – 10:50 PM — The Shadow — Multimedia Hero (Jim Beard)
11:15 PM – 1:00 AM — The Shadow on the Silver Screen I — The Shadow Detective Stories Short Feature A BURGLAR TO THE RESCUE and THE SHADOW STRIKES starring Rod La Rocque
Friday, August 20
Dealers’ Room
9:00 AM – 10:00 AM — Early Registration and Dealers’ Room Set-Up
10:00 AM – 4:45 PM — Dealers’ Room Open to All PulpFest Members
Author Readings
1:00 – 1:25 PM — Christopher Paul Carey
1:30 – 1:55 PM — Craig McDonald
2:00 – 2:25 PM — Wayne Carey
2:30 – 2:55 PM — Darrell Schweitzer
Afternoon Programming
3:00 – 3:30 PM — ERBFest 2021 — Edgar Rice Burroughs’ Unfinished Tales — Mars, Venus, Poloda, and Tarzan’s Africa (Henry G. Franke)
3:35 – 3:55 PM — ERBFest 2021 — Beyond the Farthest Star: A Classic Science Fiction Novel Restored (Christopher Paul Carey & Cathy Mann Willibanks, with Henry G. Franke III moderating)
4:00 – 4:45 PM — ERBFest 2021 — The News from Tarzana: Thrilling Updates from Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc. (Christopher Paul Carey & Cathy Mann Willibanks)
Hotel Lounge
5:00 PM – 7:00 PM — Dinner at the DoubleTree (all PulpFest members are welcome)
Evening Programming
7:00 – 7:30 PM — Annual PulpFest Business Meeting (all are welcome)
7:35 – 7:50 PM — 2021 Munsey Award Presentation (presented by William Lampkin)
7:55 – 8:45 PM — The Queen and Her Court — Great Women Pulp Editors (Laurie Powers)
8:50 – 9:40 PM — Selling the Shadow (Dwight Fuhro & Chris Kalb, with William Lampkin moderating)
9:45 – 10:35 PM — The Weird Tales of Margaret Brundage (Doug Ellis)
10:40 – 11:10 PM — Jen Lightfoot and Her Mad Auto Dash (Jennifer DiGiacomo)
11:15 PM – 1:00 AM — The Shadow on the Silver Screen II — The Shadow Detective Stories Short Feature HOUSE OF MYSTERY and INTERNATIONAL CRIME starring Rod La Rocque
Saturday, August 21
Dealers’ Room
10:00 AM – 4:45 PM — Dealers’ Room Open to All PulpFest Members
Author Readings
1:00 – 1:25 PM — Christopher Ryan
1:30 – 1:55 PM — Jonathan Weischel
2:00 – 2:25 PM — Evan Witmer
2:30 – 2:55 PM — William Patrick Maynard
Afternoon Programming
3:00 – 3:50 PM — The Wild Adventures of Will Murray — A PulpFest Profile (an interview with Laurie Powers and William Patrick Maynard)
4:00 – 4:45 PM — In the Shadow of Houdini (Tim King)
3:45 – 4:45 PM — PulpFest Member Auction Preview (in auction set-up rooms)
Evening Programming
7:00 – 7:50 PM — Eva Lynd — Countess, Actress, Covergirl (Bob Deis & Wyatt Doyle moderating)
7:55 – 8:45 PM — Walter B. Gibson and His Shadows (Will Murray and Jim Steranko, with Ed Hulse moderating)
8:50 – 9:20 PM — ERBFest 2021 — Introducing Pulp’s Legacy of Adventure to a Younger Generation (Daniel Egitto, Victoria Wang, Daniel Zhu, and others, with Madeleine “Mac” Gagné moderating)
9:30 – 10:45 PM — PulpFest Member Auction
11:15 PM – 1:00 AM — The Shadow on the Silver Screen III — The Shadow Detective Stories Short Feature THE CIRCUS SHOW-UP and THE INVISIBLE AVENGER starring Richard Derr
11:00 PM – ?? — ERBFest 2021 — A Barsoomian Bull Session (Hosted by Henry G. Franke III)
Sunday, August 22
Dealers’ Room
9:00 AM – 2:00 PM — Dealers’ Room Open for Dealer Tear-Down and Last Minute Shopping
If you wish to access our schedule via your tablet or mobile device, please click here.
Please note that the schedule above is subject to change. To learn more about each presentation, click on the link that is embedded in each title.
Although Modest Stein is primarily remembered for the hundreds of covers that he painted for Street & Smith’s LOVE STORY MAGAZINE — such as the July 17, 1937 number, featured above — the artist was already well known to pulp magazine readers by the time LOVE STORY was launched in 1921.
In 1910, Stein began to paint covers for ALL-STORY WEEKLY, THE ARGOSY, THE CAVALIER, and PEOPLE’S FAVORITE MAGAZINE. For the next decade, Stein sold about one cover a month to Munsey or Street & Smith, along with interior art contributions to various pulps.
Stein’s covers often illustrated stories by leading authors such as H. Bedford-Jones, Max Brand, Edgar Rice Burroughs — including the April 14, 1914 cover painting for ALL-STORY WEEKLY, illustrating the opening segment of “At the Earth’s Core” — William Wallace Cook, George Allan England, Edgar Franklin, Zane Grey, Fred Jackson, George C. Jenks, A. Merritt, Clarence Mulford, William Macleod Raine, and others.
