PulpFest is a top venue for writers and publishers to roll out their newest titles. Following are some of the new books that will be featured at our 50th summertime convention.
In addition to being one of the world’s largest pulp dealers, Adventure House is a very active publisher of pulp reprints and pulp replicas. In addition to having a wide selection of vintage pulp magazines, John and Maureen Gunnison will have recent issues of High Adventure and various titles in their pulp replica line, including Spicy Adventure, Spicy Detective, Spicy Mystery, and others.
Age of Aces Books is a publisher of pulp fiction treasures with a keen eye for design. At this year’s PulpFest, Chris and David Kalb will be releasing two thrilling collections from the tattered pages of the air war pulps: Donald E. Keyhoe’s Devildog Squadron: The Crimson Fog — their first collection featuring a squadron of 27 of the maddest Marines on the Western Front — and Robert J. Hogan’s The Adventures of Smoke Wade, Volume III — collecting the character’s final adventures from the pages of Battle Birds and Dare-Devil Aces.
PulpFest is happy to welcome back Rob Davis and Ron Fortier of Airship 27 after an absence of several years. Founded in 2004, Airship 27 publishes brand new adventures of classic heroes with over 127 titles in their catalog. They’ll have copies of some of their latest books, including the Doc Savage-inspired The Adventures of Doc Atlas, the eighth volume of Mystery Men (& Women), and Domino Lady, Volume 4, their popular anthology series.
Wayne Carey is a prolific author of adventure fiction, supernatural and political thrillers, science fiction, detective fiction, and more. He’s a regular contributor to the steampunk anthology Cogs in Time and will have copies of his latest science fiction novels, Erin: Speaker of the Mihn’d and Yokai, as well as other work. Wayne has also written several stories continuing the adventures of H. Rider Haggard’s adventurer and explorer, Allan Quatermain.
Please welcome indie writer Ron Chandler back to PulpFest. Visiting Mars from the state of Maryland, Ron writes adventure and nature fiction. His books include Battle to Save the Bay, Closing the Book on Santa Claus & Other Holiday Stories, D is for Dudley & Other Nature Tales, Ghost Riders of Cumberland Gap, Incredible Beaver-Chewed Walking Sticks & Other Nature Tales, and Neptune’s Garden and Other Adventures.
Mike Chomko, Books — one of the leading purveyors of pulp reprint books and periodicals since the 1990s — will be representing Stark House Press at this year’s PulpFest. He’ll have Killer, a crime thriller written by Robert Silverberg and originally published as “Passion Killer” in 1965; A Ticket to Hell & Hell Can Wait, a pair of noir thrillers written by the “King of the Paperbacks,” Harry Whittington; W. R. Burnett’s High Sierra & The Asphalt Jungle, two crime novels made into classic films; three men’s adventure collections written by science fiction great Barry Malzberg, and a great deal more.
Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc. will be represented by Director of Publishing, Christopher Paul Carey, and Vice President of Operations, Cathy Mann Wilbanks. Founded in 1923 by author Edgar Rice Burroughs to manage the rights to his literary works, the company continues to be owned by the Burroughs’ family and remains based in Tarzana, California. Chris and Cathy will have copies of the latest volumes in the Edgar Rice Burroughs Authorized Library™ and the Edgar Rice Burroughs Universe™, including award-winning author Jeffrey J. Mariotte’s Tarzan and the Forest of Stone. They’re also hoping to have copies of Mahars of Pellucidar and Red Axe of Pellucidar, both written by John Eric Holmes. This will be the first time Mahars has been offered in a hardcover edition, as well as the very first time Red Axe has been released in an authorized, professionally published edition.
Although ERB Books won’t physically be at PulpFest 50, the publisher will be with us in spirit. During PulpFest 50, they’ll be offering a 25% discount on the standard first edition of Robert B. Zeuchner’s Edgar Rice Burroughs: The Bibliography. A finalist for the 2018 National Indie Excellence Award, Dr. Zeuschner book features over 600 images — with more than 500 in color — and is “the definitive account of everything published by Edgar Rice Burroughs.” Limited to 900 copies, the book retails for $100, plus shipping. During PulpFest 50, ERB Books will be offering a 25% discount on the volume. To receive the discount, simply place your order online from August 1 – 7 and use the promo code PF25. PulpFest 50 will also be raffling off a copy of the book on Saturday evening, August 6.
Please welcome Jim Dyer of Fenham Publishing back to PulpFest. Jim is the grandson of C. M. Eddy, Jr., perhaps best known for his gruesome work, “The Loved Dead,” published in the May – July 1924 issue of WEIRD TALES. Jim will be selling a collection of thirteen tales of classic horror, mystery, supernatural and fantasy, written by his grandfather. He’ll also have In the Gray of the Dusk: A Collection of Typewritten Treasures, collecting the prose and poetry of his grandmother, Muriel E. Eddy. This volume is comprised of eight short stories and four poems that are a combination of mystery and the macabre, fantasy and the supernatural. Muriel’s tales will conjure up visions and imagery to captivate your imagination.
PulpFest is very pleased to welcome back David and Daniel Ritter of First Fandom Experience to our 50th summertime convention. First Fandom Experience is a collaborative publishing project that aims to honor, preserve, and bring to life the experience of the pioneering fans who defined, drove, and grew science fiction in the 1930s and beyond. At PulpFest 50, First Fandom Experience will have copies of the latest volume in their series, The Visual History of Science Fiction Fandom. The book covers 1940, one of the most pivotal years in the evolution of science fiction fandom. They’ll also have copies of The Visual History of Science Fiction Fandom, Volume One: THE 1930s, The Earliest Bradbury, and Roy V. Hunt, A Retrospective.
Flinch! Books was founded in 2015 by two Ohio-based writers living on the shores of Lake Erie. Since their initial foray into the world of independent publishing — Something Strange is Going On!: New Tales From the Fletcher Hanks Universe — co-publishers Jim Beard and John C. Bruening have followed with five other wide-ranging anthologies, as well as editions of their own work. Their latest book is an anthology of sword-and-sorcery tales, Blood on the Blade: Ten Tales of Slashing Swords and Sinister Sorcery. They’ll also be carrying books published under Jim Beard’s Becky Books imprint as well as John C. Bruening’s pulp-inspired series, The Midnight Guardian.
Martin Grams is an American pop culture historian who has written extensively on radio, television, and films. He’ll be debuting two new books at PulpFest 50: The Radio Adventures of Sax Rohmer’s Fu Manchu — a must-have reference book for fans of Fu Manchu and old-time radio — and Sergeant Preston of the Yukon — a novel inspired by the long-running radio program. Martin will have four other books new to PulpFest, including his Pulitzer Prize-nominated The Lone Ranger: The Early Years, 1933-1937, co-written with Terry Salomonson. To learn more about Martin and his books, please visit MartinGrams.biz.
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. The book’s sequel, Razor’s Edge, is darker, more immersive, and more rewarding for the returning reader. 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 loves creating worlds and characters bigger than herself and sharing her art with the world. This will be her second trip to PulpFest.
So what are you waiting for? Book a room for three nights and register now for PulpFest 50. And don’t forget about FarmerCon XVII — the convention for fans of Philip José Farmer and his work — also taking place at the same location. That’s two great conventions for the price of one, only at the DoubleTree by Hilton Pittsburgh — Cranberry in Mars, Pennsylvania.
Kenneth Grant is a writer and popular culture enthusiast who has volunteered to help the PulpFest organizing committee. He is looking forward to writing more for our website and The Pulpster.
Our featured image is excerpted from Norman Saunders’ front cover art for the August 1950 issue of 15 Mystery Stories, published by Popular Publications. It was the last of the many titles used on the publisher’s Dime Mystery Magazine. Beginning as Dime Mystery Book Magazine with its December 1932 number, the pulp lost “Book” from its title with its October 1933 issue. With the November 1944 number, Dime Mystery Magazine was combined with 10 Story Mystery and the pulp gained this subtitle through its December 1949 issue. It became 15 Mystery Stories with its February 1950 number, and retained this title to its end, five issues later. The final number of the Popular Publications pulp was dated October 1950. Through its various title changes, the magazine ran for 159 issues.
We’ll be saluting Dime Mystery Magazine and Popular Publications’ line of “Dime” pulps at PulpFest 50. We hope you’ll join us from August 4 – 7 at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Pittsburgh – Cranberry in Mars, Pennsylvania. You can become a member of the convention by clicking the Registration button on the PulpFest website. You can reserve a room by calling 800.222.8733 or 724.776.6900.
