The Pulpster celebrates several notable anniversaries in 2024.
As our cover illustrates, we’ve got a package of articles on the Spicy pulps, which hit newsstands — or, maybe, slid under the counters — 90 years ago. Ed Hulse looks at ashcan editions that Culture Publications used to lock up its titles; Alfred Jan re-examines Spicy Mystery Stories; and Willard E. Hawkins shows what the editors were looking for in stories written for the Spicys.
A hundred years ago, the first hardback edition of The Land That Time Forgot was released. You’ll find two articles about Edgar Rice Burroughs’ fantastic adventure, which appear in connection with PulpFest’s partner con, ERBFest: Henry G. Franke III’s overview of the trilogy, and Jess Terrell’s dissection of one of ERB’s stranger creatures.
Two years ago marked the 100th anniversary of the founding of Fiction House, and the 2022 issue of The Pulpster included the first of Michael Chomko’s epic three-part history of the pulp and comic-book publisher. “The Home for Action” wraps up in this issue. And William Lampkin has a sidebar that looks at Thurman T. Scott’s side business.
You’ll also find the most extensive history of the Canadian pulps to date (by Tony Davis), and articles on Secret Agent X (by Will Murray), Frederick Nebel (by John C. Bruening), and “The Maltese Falcon” (by Kurt Brokaw), plus a fun speculation by Murray about why pulps may be so rare.
And, as always, we’ll remember those in pulpdom whom we’ve lost recently in Tony Davis’ latest installment of “Final Chapters.”
A longstanding tradition cherished by attendees of summer pulp cons, The Pulpster #33 will be released at PulpFest 2024. Every member of PulpFest — including supporting members — will receive a complimentary copy of The Pulpster. It should be available for order on the Pulpster website, and through select booksellers, a bit after that.
PulpFest 2024 begins on Thursday, August 1, and runs through Sunday, August 4 at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Pittsburgh – Cranberry. We’ll be celebrating “Spice, Spies, Shaw, and More” at the convention.
You can learn how to join PulpFest 2024 by clicking the registration button found on our website. As FarmerCon XIX and ERBFest 2024 are both part of PulpFest, there is no extra cost to attend them. That’s three conventions for the price of one!
The cover art for The Pulpster #33 was adapted by William Lampkin from H. J. Ward’s cover for the August 1940 of Spicy Mystery. In addition to editing and designing The Pulpster, Bill Lampkin runs ThePulp.Net and also writes the Yellowed Perils blog. He’s also the founder of the Facebook group Southern Pulpsters. A member of the PulpFest organizing committee, serving as the convention’s advertising director and webmaster, Bill won the Munsey Award in 2018.
Following the convention, a limited number of copies of our program book will be available for purchase through Mike Chomko, Books. Please write to Mike — who also serves as the marketing and programming director for PulpFest — at mike@pulpfest.com or 2217 W. Fairview St., Allentown, PA 18104-6542 to reserve your copy. Mike also has a few copies of our back issues available. Click here to learn more about these issues.
For questions about submissions to The Pulpster or comments about the issue, please write to Bill Lampkin at bill@pulpfest.com. For any questions about advertising in future issues of The Pulpster, back issues, or ordering copies of The Pulpster, please write to Mike Chomko at mike@pulpfest.com.
