For the last fifty years, PulpFest has celebrated mystery, adventure, science fiction, and much more. The pulp magazines of the early twentieth century — cheaply-priced all-fiction magazines printed on pulpwood paper — were the vessel where the hardboiled detective, science fiction, and sword and sorcery genres developed and flourished. The pulps gave us Buck Rogers, Conan the Barbarian, Cthulhu, Doc Savage, Hopalong Cassidy, John Carter of Mars, Sam Spade, The Shadow, Solomon Kane, Tarzan, Zorro, and many other pop culture icons.
But PulpFest is not just about celebrating the past. Pulp magazines had a profound effect on popular culture across the globe. Their stories and art have reverberated through a wide variety of media — comic books, movies, paperbacks, genre fiction, television, men’s adventure magazines, radio drama, video, anime, manga, and role-playing games. And their influence continues today.
We hope you’ll join PulpFest 50 as we not only celebrate “A Half-Century of Pulp Cons,” the centennial of pulp magazine and comic book publisher Fiction House, and the ninetieth anniversary of Popular Publications’ “Dime” line of pulp magazines but also the writers, artists, and publishers of contemporary genre fiction.
Our salute to 2022’s “Children of the Pulps” continues on Friday evening, August 5, at 10:30 PM. PulpFest 50 will welcome Meteor House to the convention’s stage for the latest news from this fantasy and science fiction publisher.
Established in 2010, Meteor House publishes authorized limited edition novellas written by contemporary authors that are set in the worlds of Philip José Farmer; original science fiction and fantasy novels and novellas; high-end limited edition hardcovers of Farmer’s classic works; and The Worlds of Philip José Farmer anthology series.
It may have been a couple of years since Meteor House has been at PulpFest, but Mike Croteau, Win Scott Eckert, and Paul Spiteri have not been idle in that time. Join them — and moderator Keith Howell — as they discuss some of the tremendous books that have come off their presses over the last few years. These include two fantastic further installments to Philip José Farmer’s Secrets of the Nine series — the rip-roaring It’s Always Darkest, by Frank Schildiner, and the long-anticipated, and warmly welcomed, The Monster on Hold by Farmer and Win Scott Eckert.
They will also be showcasing the two books that Meteor House will be debuting this year: Ironcastle, Philip José Farmer’s translation and retelling of the classic French adventure tale by J.-H. Rosy with, for the first time, the full image of Roy G. Krenkel’s breathtaking cover art (a detail of which is shown at the top of this article); and The Stone God Awakens, Farmer’s far-future adventure story set in a world inhabited by a multitude of sentient beings. Pictured above is Charles Berlin’s cover art for the new edition. The book will also feature interior art by the artist.
Please join PulpFest 50 as we welcome Keith, Mike, Paul, and Win to the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Pittsburgh – Cranberry in Mars, Pennsylvania for the latest updates from Meteor House and the worlds of Philip José Farmer. Their talk is part of our fine line-up of programming at this year’s PulpFest and FarmerCon XVII.
The general public is welcome to attend our evening programming events. To learn more about our schedule, please click the Programming button at the top of this page.
If you would like to register as a dealer at this year’s PulpFest, we’ve run out of tables. Please contact Jack Cullers ASAP to be added to our waiting list. You can reach him at jassways@woh.rr.com or jack@pulpfest.com.
To enjoy our dealers’ room, click the Registration button at the top of this page to join PulpFest. And don’t forget to book a room at the DoubleTree by Hilton Pittsburgh — Cranberry in Mars, Pennsylvania. They’re going fast! So don’t wait! Remember, you must book your room by 11:59 PM on Tuesday, July 12, to get the special convention rate.
Leslie Silberberg is a writer and popular culture enthusiast who has volunteered to help the PulpFest organizing committee. She is looking forward to writing more for our website and The Pulpster.
Other recent Meteor House releases include A Rough Knight for the Queen, Farmer’s biography of the famous Victorian explorer and protagonist in his Riverworld series, Sir Richard Francis Burton; Up from the Bottomless Pit, a high-octane adventure story imagining a major oil spill off the coast of Los Angeles; and The Man Who Met Tarzan, a comprehensive collection of Farmer’s writings and investigations on the jungle lord which culminated in Farmer actually interviewing the elusive peer.
