At 2:30 PM on Friday, August 5, please join PulpFest’s William Patrick Maynard and a quintet of today’s best writers of genre fiction to discuss 21st-century pulp in this rousing panel! Christopher Paul Carey, Ron Chandler, Noir Hayes, Craig McDonald, and Will Murray comprise the stellar lineup sharing their views on writing pulp fiction today.
The Director of Publishing for Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc., Christopher Paul Carey is also among the most accomplished of the stable of licensed authors in The Wild Adventures of Edgar Rice Burroughs series. He is also the authorized continuation chronicler of Philip Jose Farmer’s Khokarsa series that bridges the works of Edgar Rice Burroughs and H. Rider Haggard. Carey has authored the novels Swords Against the Moon Men, Blood of Ancient Opar, Hadon — King of Opar, Exiles of Kho, and The Song of Kwasin. He is also an accomplished editor, comic book writer, essayist, and author of short fiction.
Ron Chandler’s nature-inspired stories deal with a variety of subject matters — frequently champion underdogs — and are multi-cultural and family-oriented. His short fiction and poetry have been published in over 30 literary magazines. His books include Battle to Save the Bay, 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.
Noir Hayes has been writing stories for as long as she can remember. From writing short stories about getting her haircut to writing lengthy dystopian novels, her worlds and characters are her escape. They tell the stories she is unable to tell and say the things she cannot. They are part of something bigger and more impactful. Noir is just the person writing it down. Noir made her debut in 2020 with the gritty Razor Blades and the apocalyptic Without Cessation. Her latest work is a sequel to her first novel, Razor’s Edge.
Author of the Edgar-nominated Hector Lassiter historical crime series, Craig McDonald is an award-winning novelist, journalist, and editor. The Hector 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.
It is arguable if a man who has penned so many introductions needs one of his own, but Will Murray’s many accomplishments and the esteem in which he is held by his peers demand recognition. Will Murray is the legendary author, historian, and comic book writer who continues to set the bar for everyone else in the field. The official continuation author of Doc Savage, Murray has also been licensed to continue the adventures of Tarzan, The Shadow, The Spider, and King Kong. A tireless researcher of pulp and comics history, Murray has written extensively for both Marvel and DC Comics and co-created Squirrel Girl with the late Steve Ditko. Recipient of numerous industry awards for his scholarship, his fiction has also been recognized with Pulp Ark and Pulp Factory Awards. A Lamont Award recipient in 1979, Will Murray is just as vital 40 years later as he has ever been.
One lucky attendee of our “Bringing the Pulps to the 21st Century — The Writers” panel will go home with a hardcover copy of Tarzan and the Forest of Stone, a brand-new standalone novella by critically acclaimed author Jeffrey J. Mariotte. Newly released by Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc., this exciting tale is set directly after the events of Edgar Rice Burroughs’ classic novel Tarzan and the Lion Man. You need to be in attendance at our panel to win. Many thanks to Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc. for their generous donation of our door prize.
And don’t forget about the rest of our great programming line-up. We’ll be celebrating “A Half-Century of Pulp Cons,” in recognition of our golden anniversary; 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; the ninetieth anniversary of Popular Publications’ “Dime” line of pulp magazines, particularly Dime Western and Dime Mystery; and much more at PulpFest 50.
The general public is welcome to attend our 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.
William Patrick Maynard is the licensed continuation author for the Sax Rohmer Literary Estate. His short fiction has been published in anthologies by Airship 27, Bold Venture Press, Black Coat Press, Flinch Books, MX Books, Riviere Blanche, and Titan Books. He has authored over 250 articles for numerous magazines and websites. He has contributed Blu-ray commentary tracks and produced bonus features for releases by MGM, Shout Factory, Kino Lorber, and The Serial Squadron. Bill is on the editorial board of The Battered Silicon Dispatch Box and is a member of the PulpFest Organizing Committee where he serves as Assistant Director of Marketing and Afternoon Programming Director. He resides in Northeast Ohio.
Will Murray’s latest pulp-inspired novel is The Spider: Scourge of the Scorpion. It features a number of Popular Publications characters, including The Spider, The Scorpion, and The Skull-Killer. Published in 2022 by Adventures in Bronze, it features front cover art by Gary Carbon.
Douglas Klauba painted the cover art for our door prize, Tarzan and the Forest of Stone, written by Jeffrey J. Mariotte and published by Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc. in 2022.
Our featured image for this post is a photograph of an Underwood Portable typewriter from 1931. Writers believed to have used Underwoods — which “established the stereotype of a typewriter until the introduction of the IBM Selectric” — include Ray Bradbury, William S. Burroughs, Raymond Chandler, Daphne DuMaurier, Arthur Conan Doyle, William Faulkner, Erle Stanley Gardner, Robert A. Heinlein, Ernest Hemingway, Robert E. Howard, Sinclair Lewis, Henry Miller, Damon Runyon, Carl Sandburg, Upton Sinclair, James Thurber, and Orson Welles.
