The PulpFest organizing committee wishes everyone a happy Thanksgiving. Wherever you find yourself this week, we sincerely hope you’ll be able to enjoy the company of friends and family and join in a good meal. But don’t overeat like H. R. McBride’s boy seems to have done in his cover for Bernarr Macfadden’s Liberty.
Macfadden was the publisher of Ghost Stories, a magazine that he debuted on May 23, 1926. Some years later, in 1931, he’d buy Liberty, a weekly magazine that competed with The Saturday Evening Post.
In the coming months at pulpfest.com, we’ll explore Ghost Stories and Amazing Stories, both celebrating their centennials in the coming year. We’ll also discuss Doc Con, Farmercon, and Shadow Con; Burroughs artist Robert K. Abbett; our terrific dealers’ room and superb programming; next year’s ERBCon, and more.
To keep informed about PulpFest 2026, please bookmark our homepage and like us on Facebook. You can also follow us on Instagram or X/Twitter. And don’t forget to sign up for the PulpFest e-letter — focusing on the “behind-the-scenes” planning for next summer’s convention — by clicking here. Just give us your name and email address and click the “submit” button.
While you’re at it, you may as well subscribe to our YouTube channel and enjoy the great videos that Craig McDonald has been producing for the last few years.
Scheduled for July 30 – August 2 at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Pittsburgh – Cranberry in Mars, Pennsylvania, PulpFest 2026 will be here before you know it. Remember, your PulpFest membership also makes you a member of Doc Con 2026, Farmercon XX, and the first Shadow Con, a new mini-convention celebrating the “Master of Darkness.” That’s four conventions for the price of one! You can’t beat that deal!
We’ve already lined up a lot of great presentations, plus appearances by contemporary creators inspired by the pulp fiction and art of the early twentieth century. PulpFest 2026 will be the 54th convening of summer’s pulp con.
This Black Friday, surprise yourself with an early Christmas present and register for next summer’s pulp con. Click here and you’re on your way! And don’t forget to book a room at the DoubleTree! They go fast!
Our featured image is excerpted from Sidney Riesenberg’s cover for the November 29, 1930 issue of Western Story Magazine, published by Street & Smith. It was the first western-specific pulp magazine.
Our lead image is the November 26, 1932 issue of Bernarr Macfadden’s Liberty, featuring cover art by H. R. McBride, an artist who grew up in Mansfield, Ohio, before becoming a leading cover artist for Liberty and Collier’s, as well as a story illustrator for Cosmopolitan, Good Housekeeping, The Saturday Evening Post, and other top publications.
For more holiday fun, visit the PulpFest YouTube Channel to catch our latest video by award-winning novelist, journalist, and editor Craig McDonald, “PulpFest Wishes You A Happy Thanksgiving!“
Please be sure to subscribe to our YouTube Channel to catch all of our videos.
Derek Starr is a writer and popular culture enthusiast who began contributing to our website in 2022. He particularly enjoys the Fiction House pulps. One of his favorites is Planet Stories, the publisher’s legendary science fiction pulp. He’s also a fan of their air pulps and Action Stories. He also has a soft spot for historical fiction.
