For over 50 years, PulpFest has celebrated mystery, adventure, science fiction, and much more. In the pulp magazines of the early twentieth century — which gave PulpFest its name — the hardboiled detective, science fiction, and sword and sorcery genres developed and flourished. They gave us Buck Rogers, Conan the Barbarian, Cthulhu, Doc Savage, Hopalong Cassidy, John Carter of Mars, Sam Spade, The Shadow, Solomon Kane, Tarzan, Zorro, and many other pop culture icons.
PulpFest will commemorate three “Masters of Blood and Thunder” and more at this year’s convention. We’ll be marking the sesquicentennial of the births of Edgar Rice Burroughs, Rafael Sabatini, and Edgar Wallace. We’ll also explore the “Great Pulp Villains,” the “Masters of Adventure,” and more at our 2025 PulpFest.
But that’s not all. PulpFest 2025 will host its fourth salute to the Master of Romance and Adventure, Edgar Rice Burroughs. Co-hosted by Henry G. Franke III — the editor of The Burroughs Bulletin — ERBFest 2025 will feature presentations on “Edgar Rice Burroughs and the Ideal Male,” “Tarzan: Lord of the Merchandising Jungle,” “The Masters of Tarzan Illustration,” and “Ray Bradbury, Burroughs’ Disciple.” Additionally, our popular panel, “The Universe According to Edgar Rice Burroughs,” will return on Friday afternoon, August 8. Closing things out will be the “Barsoomian Bull Session” on Saturday night in the hotel’s Ember & Vine social lounge. Door prizes will be awarded to those in attendance at the ERBFest social gathering.
ERBFest 2025 will also present an art show on Friday and Saturday afternoons, saluting the author’s 150th birthday. All this and more will be part of this year’s ERBFest. We’ll have more details on our ERBFest presentations beginning in May.
The fans of Philip José Farmer will also be returning to PulpFest for FarmerCon XX.
Since 2011, PulpFest has hosted Farmercon, a convention celebrating the life and times of the longtime pulp fan and Grand Master of Science Fiction, born over 100 years ago.
By holding the convention alongside PulpFest, Farmer fans get a variety of programming and a room full of pulp and book dealers to enjoy. Of course, the premier publisher of Farmer and related works, Meteor House, will have a prominent spot in our dealers’ room. And don’t forget the after-hours socializing that the fans of Philip José Farmer are known to enjoy. These gatherings are always vibrant, entertaining, and informative.
One of the highlights of FarmerCon XX will be the convention’s panel exploring “Tarzan the Time Traveler and Discourses on Doc.”
Our Farmercon XX panel is scheduled for 8:35 pm on Friday, August 8, in the PulpFest 2025 programming room. It will be followed at 11:05 pm by “Fraternize at Farmercon” in the Ember & Vine lounge at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Pittsburgh – Cranberry. All are welcome to join the “Friends of Phil” for their gathering in our host hotel’s restaurant and lounge.
If three conventions for one price isn’t good enough for you, how about four? PulpFest is excited to announce that Doc Con will return to action, just in time for the Golden Anniversary of George Pal’s film, Doc Savage: The Man of Bronze. The first Doc Con since 2017 will be held at PulpFest 2025.
Inspired by the success of Farmercon and ERBFest — which have drawn fans of Philip José Farmer and Edgar Rice Burroughs to the annual PulpFest — the devoted “Fans of Bronze” are hoping the revived Doc Con will enjoy similar success. And what that means to you is that your membership to PulpFest 2025 will get you 4 conventions for the price of one! Register now by clicking here!
On Thursday evening, August 7, Doc Con 2025 will open with a “Bronze Bash” in the Ember & Vine lounge at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Pittsburgh – Cranberry, an after-hours social event. The convention will continue on Friday evening, August 8, with “Doc Savage and the Bantam Revival: A Conversation with Will Murray,” featuring Jennifer DiGiacomo, and a showing of George Pal’s Doc Savage: The Man of Bronze. On Saturday afternoon, August 9, Doc Con 2025 will offer a grand finale, starting with a panel presentation featuring storyboards and other production material from the Doc film to honor the Golden Anniversary of the George Pal movie, followed by a showing of the fan cut of the film.
Remember, your membership to PulpFest 2025 will also garner you memberships to Doc Con 2025, ERBFest 2025, and FarmerCon XX! Again, that’s 4 conventions for the price of one! You can’t beat that, especially if you’re a fan of Burroughs, Doc, Farmer, and pulps! We hope you’ll join us from August 7 – 10, 2025 in Mars, Pennsylvania.
And don’t forget to book a room at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Pittsburgh – Cranberry. They’re going fast! The special convention rate of $136 plus tax per night includes two complimentary hot breakfasts per room during your stay, free Wi-Fi, and free parking. To thank you for your support, PulpFest will provide free early-bird shopping when you book a room at the convention’s host hotel.
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Our featured image is excerpted from Thomas Beecham’s cover art for the March 1956 issue of Fury: Exciting True Adventures for Men, illustrating Howard Pyle’s article, “Bloody Buccaneers of the Spanish Main.” We’ll be saluting the 150th anniversary of the birth of Rafael Sabatini — one of the leading writers of pirate stories of all time — the “Masters of Men’s Adventure,” and more at PulpFest 2025. Watch for our programming posts beginning in May.
Our lead image was adapted by William Lampkin from Rudoph Zirm’s cover for the February 1935 issue of Doctor Death. Bill also adapted Clinton Pettee’s cover for The All-Story for July 1913, illustrating Edgar Rice Burroughs’ “The Cave Girl” — and Mel Hunter’s cover art for the May 1960 number of The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction. Philip José Farmer’s “Open to Me, My Sister” is featured in the issue.
Bill Lampkin also excerpted the photo of the late Ron Ely from George Pal’s Doc Savage: The Man of Bronze and adapted it as a webcard for Doc Con XXI and PulpFest 2025. Closing things out is a contemporary take on the bumper sticker issued for the Doc Savage movie in 1975, adapted by Bill for the Doc Con Facebook page.
Kenneth Grant is a writer and popular culture enthusiast who began writing for our website in 2022. He particularly enjoys the hero pulps and has written about pulp villains, Ron Hill’s new documentary We Are Doc Savage, Talking Pulp with Craig McDonald, and more.
