It’s raining pulp conventions this April. Getting things started is the 2023 Edgar Rice Burroughs Chain of Friendship from April 4 to 6 in Palm Springs, California. Hosted by the Los Angeles SubERBs chapter of The Burroughs Bibliophiles, the convention will begin with the formal dedication of the Edgar Rice Burroughs star on the Palm Springs Walk of the Stars, set for 11 a.m. Pacific Time on April 4. Funding for the installation was provided in part by many Burroughs fans and fan organizations, including The Burroughs Bibliophiles.
The official convention hotel is the Hotel Zoso in Palm Springs, while the guest of honor is Tommy Cook. The actor, writer, and producer was featured in two Edgar Rice Burroughs films — the 1941 Republic serial Jungle Girl and Tarzan and the Leopard Woman, released by RKO in 1946. He is one of the last living actors of the Johnny Weissmuller era of Tarzan films.
Click here to learn more about registering for the 2023 ECOF or email the organizing committee at ecof2023@mail.com. You’ll also find information about the convention in The Gridley Wave #484, dated January 2023, and published by The Burroughs Bibliophiles.
On Friday, April 7, 2023, Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc. will be holding an open house at their Tarzana offices from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. as part of their ongoing centennial celebrations.
In 1923, Edgar Rice Burroughs, creator of Tarzan and John Carter of Mars, became the first author to incorporate himself, founding Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc., with its headquarters located on the property of his Tarzana ranch in Southern California’s San Fernando Valley. Today, one hundred years later, the corporation that he established is still owned by his heirs and continues to promote his important legacy the world over, overseeing authorized adaptations of his literary works in film, television, radio, publishing, theatrical stage productions, licensing, and merchandising.
The Tarzana Office Open House is free to the public and will include a commemorative gift (while supplies last), as well as a tour of the historic ranch-style house and grounds where Edgar Rice Burroughs wrote many of his timeless stories. A special presentation will be held at 12:30 p.m. If you wish to attend the open house, just drop a short email to Cathy Wilbanks, Vice President of Operations, at cwilbanks@erburroughs.com for details and directions.
The Windy City Pulp and Paper Convention will be celebrating its 22nd anniversary in 2023. It will be returning to the Westin Lombard Yorktown Center beginning on Friday, April 21. It will run through April 23. The doors will open at 11 AM on Friday, but early-bird shoppers will get the first shot at this year’s deals starting at 9:30 AM. The convention runs until 3 PM on Sunday.
Like PulpFest 2023, Windy City will be celebrating the great pulp heroes that were introduced in 1933. Thanks to the overwhelming success of Street & Smith’s The Shadow Magazine, a veritable explosion of so-called hero pulp magazines occurred. Ninety years ago, The Phantom Detective, Doc Savage Magazine, Nick Carter Magazine, The Lone Eagle, G-8 and His Battle Aces, The Spider, and Pete Rice Magazine were all released to American newsstands.
In addition to a number of presentations, the heroes of 1933 will be the focus of the convention’s 2023 program book, Windy City Pulp Stories. Tom Roberts, the publisher of Black Dog Books and winner of the 2008 Lamont Award, is the annual magazine’s editor.
The popular Windy City Film Festival, organized and emceed by the one and only Ed Hulse of Murania Press, returns in 2023. Material from the Robert Weinberg Estate and a number of other consigners will be the focus of the Friday and Saturday night auctions. Click here to download a copy of this year’s auction catalog. An art show and New Pulp Sunday will round out the convention’s schedule.
To learn more about this year’s Windy City Pulp and Paper Convention check out their homepage or visit the convention’s Facebook page. They’ll be filling in more details — especially auction updates — as the convention approaches. Be sure to bookmark both sites.
The 2023 Howard Days will take place on April 28 – 29, the weekend following Windy City. After two consecutive years of “brain-searing heat” in June, it was decided to try a cooler time to hold the convention. Like PulpFest 2023, the centennial of Weird Tales will be the focus of this year’s Howard Days. The convention’s guest of honor will be John Gregory Betancourt who, with George H. Scithers and Darrell Schweitzer, revived “The Unique Magazine” in the late 1980s. John will talk about his writing and publishing career and his involvement with Weird Tales.
Taking place at the Robert E. Howard Museum in Cross Plains, Texas, the annual gathering of Two-Gun Bob’s fans is sponsored by Project Pride of Cross Plains and the Robert E. Howard Foundation, with help from the members of the Robert E. Howard United Press Association. Visit the Howard Days home page or Facebook site to learn more about this great event. You can also get more information by emailing Bill Cavalier at 2cavaliers@sbcglobal.net or indybillcav@gmail.com.
While you’re at this year’s Windy City, pick up a PulpFest 2023 postcard and one of the convention’s newsletters and registration forms. They’ll be available at the show. Summer’s leading pulp con will take place just outside of Pittsburgh at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Pittsburgh – Cranberry in Mars, Pennsylvania. PulpFest 2023 will begin Thursday, August 3, and run through Sunday afternoon, August 6.
PulpFest 2023 will be celebrating the great pulp heroes, “Chilling Sports,” and a whole lot more. We’ll also be hosting ERBFest 2023 and the live FarmerCon XVIII. Visit pulpfest.com and click our “Programming” button to learn more about what we have planned for our 2023 gathering.
You can become a member of PulpFest 2023 by clicking the Registration button on our homepage. If you need lodging, you’ll also be able to book a room through our site.
Tarzan and the Leopard Woman is one of two Burroughs-related films featuring Tommy Cook, the guest of honor for the 2023 ECOF. It was released by RKO Pictures in 1946.
The official centennial logo of Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc. is a trademark of Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
This year’s Windy City convention will celebrate the hero pulp explosion of 1933. So we’re featuring the cover for the May 1933 issue of The Phantom Detective, with art by Bertram Glover. It was the third issue of the Standard Magazines’ hero pulp.
Robert E. Howard made his first professional sale to “The Unique Magazine.” “Spear and Fang” ran in the July 1925 issue. The magazine quickly became Howard’s leading market for his professional fiction. Pictured above is Weird Tales for June 1930, with a cover by Hugh Rankin. The issue features the first half of Howard’s Solomon Kane story, “The Moon of Skulls.” Our featured image is Margaret Brundage’s depiction of Conan in the Robert E. Howard story, “Queen of the Black Coast,” published in Weird Tales for May 1934.
Our Chilling Sports postcard was adapted by William Lampkin from The Phantom Detective for January 1934, with cover by Rafael M. DeSoto, and Thrilling Sports for Winter 1947, with cover by Rudolph Belarski. Additional artwork is by Mark Wheatley.
