Even though the next issue of The Pulpster won’t be released until August 2022, we’re already working on it.
At the top of the to-do list is filling out the lineup for the issue. That means turning to you for articles.
The themes for this year’s PulpFest are “A Half-Century of Pulp Cons” and “Action for a Dime!”
For the last fifty years, PulpFest has celebrated mystery, adventure, science fiction, and much more. We’ll be celebrating our golden anniversary in August at PulpFest 50.
PulpFest 50 will also honor the centennial of Fiction House, the pulp magazine and comic book publisher that gave us Action Stories, Fight Comics, Jumbo Comics, Jungle Stories, Lariat Story Magazine, North-West Romances, Planet Stories, Rangers Comics, Sheena, Queen of the Jungle, Wings, and many other classic titles.
Additionally, our fiftieth summertime PulpFest will salute the ninetieth anniversary of Popular Publications’ “Dime” line of pulp magazines, particularly Dime Western and Dime Mystery. Both magazines debuted in 1932 and played a significant role in the evolution of popular fiction.
We’re always happy to have articles related to our PulpFest themes, but we don’t limit contributions to those topics. We generally have a variety of articles in each issue, including essays related to the men and women who wrote, illustrated, edited, and published the pulps. Others are magazine histories or essays on the pulp collecting hobby itself.
There are two routes you can take to help us out:
• Do you have an idea for an article that you would like to write for The Pulpster? Please let us know.
• Do you have an idea for an article that you would like to read in The Pulpster, but not necessarily write? Let us know that, too. We will try to recruit someone to write it.
If you have an idea, drop editor William Lampkin an email at bill@pulpfest.com. The sooner he hears from you, the better. He has to plan space for articles and start collecting artwork and illustrations.
If you’d like to advertise in The Pulpster, please write to the magazine’s publisher Mike Chomko at mike@pulpfest.com. He can provide pricing and print specifications. If you’d like a cover spot, they sell quickly. The back cover has already been reserved.
And of course, please register for PulpFest 50 to ensure you get a copy of next year’s issue. If you’re not able to attend PulpFest in 2022, consider registering as a supporting member. Your free copy of the issue will be mailed to you following the convention.
All members of PulpFest — including supporting members — receive a free copy of The Pulpster as part of their membership.
We look forward to hearing from you and hope to see you at our fiftieth PulpFest. It’s scheduled for August 4 – 7 at the beautiful DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Pittsburgh – Cranberry in Mars, Pennsylvania.
The art for the preliminary cover of The Pulpster #31 was originally painted by Allen Anderson to illustrate Poul Anderson’s “Sargasso of Lost Starships.” It was used on the cover of the January 1952 issue of Planet Stories, the science fiction pulp that was published by Fiction House.
If you’re interested in back issues of The Pulpster, we still have copies of our last two issues available for sale. To make it easy for you to buy them, we have an order page for your purchase. You can also click The Pulpster button on our website to learn how to place your order.
To learn more about The Pulpster #29, please click here. For information on the contents found in The Pulpster #30, please click here. All other issues are out of print.
The Pulpster is also available through Mike Chomko Books or Bud’s Art Books. It’s available in the United Kingdom from Cold Tonnage Books.
A writer/editor and publication designer, Bill Lampkin runs ThePulp.Net — which he created in 1996 — and also writes the Yellowed Perils blog. A resident of Florida, he has designed The Pulpster — the PulpFest program book — since 2008 and served as its designer/editor since 2013. Bill serves as PulpFest’s director of advertising and manages the convention’s website. In 2018, he was honored with the Munsey Award.
