PulpFest is not only lauded for its fine programming but also for its large dealers’ room.
Beginning on Thursday, August 7, the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Pittsburgh – Cranberry will be home to thousands of collectible pulp magazines and digests, vintage paperbacks, first-edition hardcovers and series books, original art, genre fiction, B-movies and serials, collectible comic books, and much more.
What dealers are we expecting at PulpFest 2025? In our posts this week, we’ll be profiling our dealers, telling you a little bit about each of them.
Dearly Departed Books of Alliance, Ohio is a brick & mortar shop open by chance or appointment. It primarily sells via the Internet. Established in 1978 by Scott and Linda Edwards, this loyal PulpFest dealer offers a large stock of mystery, science fiction, horror, fantasy, vintage paperbacks, first editions, pulp magazines, and related ephemera. This year, they’ll be selling pulps, paperbacks, hardbound first editions, and more.
Founded in 1977 and located in Minneapolis, Minnesota, DreamHaven Books has been selling at PulpFest for many years. Greg Ketter and Lisa Freitag specialize in new and used science fiction, fantasy, horror, film and media books, comics, and graphic novels. An independent bookseller, Greg has been selling books and pulps for over forty years. We look forward to having Dreamhaven back in our dealers’ room for yet another go-round.
Christopher Paul Carey, Vice President of Publishing, and Cathy Mann Wilbanks, Vice President of Operations, will be representing Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc. at PulpFest 2025. They’ll have all the latest publications from the Edgar Rice Burroughs Universe™ to the Edgar Rice Burroughs Authorized Library™ and everything in between. In addition to selling in our dealers’ room, Chris and Cathy will be hosting a panel on “The Universe According to Edgar Rice Burroughs” on Friday, August 8. Joining them will be will be Chris L Adams, the author of Gauntlets of Mars, and Win Scott Eckert, author of Pellucidar: Land of Awful Shadow, the forthcoming sequel to Korak at the Earth’s Core.
Two of the organizers of the Windy City Pulp and Paper Convention, Doug Ellis & Deb Fulton will have a wide selection of general fiction, science-fiction, adventure, and other pulps to offer. They’ll also have original art and other collectibles at this year’s PulpFest. Stop by their tables and you’re bound to find something that you can’t do without!
Henry G. Franke III, the editor of The Burroughs Bulletin and The Gridley Wave, and co-host of ERBFest 2025, will have a table in our registration area dedicated to this year’s salute to Edgar Rice Burroughs. Henry will have information about the author and his work, and this year’s art show, taking place in the Walnut Room near the DoubleTree’s main elevator. You can also visit the ERBFest table for a free copy of this year’s ERBFest program book and more. Can’t find Henry’s table? Look for the ERBFest 2025 banner.
Robin & Brendan Faulkner have been in the popular culture business since the 1960s. Located in Danbury, Connecticut, R & B Enterprises will have a wide selection of pulps, vintage magazines, classic movie and television DVDs, paperbacks, hardcovers, and related material at this year’s PulpFest. Please visit their website to learn more about what they have to offer.
Flinch! Books was founded in 2015 by two Ohio-based writers. Since their initial foray into the world of independent publishing — Something Strange is Going On!: New Tales From the Fletcher Hanks Universe — co-publishers Jim Beard and John C. Bruening have followed with more wide-ranging anthologies, as well as full-length novels showcasing their own creations — Beard’s Sgt. Janus and Bruening’s Midnight Guardian. The cover art for John’s latest adventure of The Midnight Guardian, March of the Giants, will be revealed at PulpFest 2025.
Dwight Fuhro is a teacher in Saskatchewan who is, quite simply, the top buyer of high-grade Shadow pulps and vintage Shadow collectibles in the world. He also collects original Shadow paintings, as well as interior illustrations from the pulp magazine. If you don’t believe us, check out his website at http://theshadow.kgbinternet.com/index.htm or ask Martin Grams. Dwight will be sharing a table with Pennsylvania dealers Todd and Ross Warren.
Please welcome William Carney & Mark Egner of Geiger & Archer Books to his first PulpFest as a dealer. Located in Endicott, New York, this brick-and-mortar specializes in vintage paperbacks, science fiction, fantasy, horror, crime & mystery, pulp fiction, and more. A bookstore for collectors and readers alike, Geiger and Archer also sells through AbeBooks. You’ll find Bill and Mark in our new foyer section of the dealers’ room, set up near their friend, Derik Woywood.
Martin Grams is an American pop culture historian who has written extensively on radio, television, and film. He’s the author of The Green Hornet: A History of Radio, Motion Pictures, Comics and Television, King Kong: The 1933 Radio Scripts, The Radio Adventures of Sax Rohmer’s Fu Manchu, The Shadow: The History and Mystery of the Radio Program, 1930-1954, and many other titles. In addition to his award-winning books, Martin will be selling a substantial selection of classic Blu-rays and DVDs. To learn more about his books, visit Martin’s website at martingrams.biz/. And don’t forget about the Mid-Atlantic Nostalgia Convention, a phenomenal nostalgia convention founded by Martin and his wife in 2006.
Born on April 1, 1875, Edgar Wallace was the creator of The Just Men, Sanders of the River, The Ringer, Mr. J. G. Reeder, and The Green Archer. So it certainly seems fitting that we welcome author, comic book scriptor, and intelligence analyst Allan Liska and Green Archer Comics to their first PulpFest. Green Archer Comics is a family-run comic book publisher that has been reviving legends since 2023! They specialize in Golden Age and public domain characters, including Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar; Edgar Wallace’s The Green Archer; The Press Guardian; The Clock; and, debuting at this year PulpFest, Buck Rogers! Stop by their table and share some memories! And please welcome Green Archer Comics to their first PulpFest.
George Hagenauer returns to PulpFest for another go-round. He has written the occasional trading card set and comics; been a columnist for the Comics Buyer’s Guide; and authored articles related to pulps and art. He co-wrote with Max Allan Collins The History of Mystery and Taschen’s award-winning Men’s Adventure Magazines. For 40 years, George also helped with the historical background for Collins’ historical mysteries. He also put together an exhibit telling the history of the American mystery genre through original art and was part of the team that started and ran the Chicago Comicon for its first incarnation. At the urging of his family, George is doing his estate sale while still alive and will be bringing original art and anything else of interest to PulpFest 2025. Send him suggestions for what to bring via his Comicartfans Gallery.
Scouring flea markets and antique shows up and down the East Coast, Rick Hall rescues pulps from the bottoms of musty old boxes for the collections of his fellows in the pulp community. Focusing primarily on pulp magazines, Rick adds fanzines and general magazines with “good authors” to the mix. You may find just what you’ve been looking for among Rick’s “found” treasures. Helping to man Rick’s table in 2025 will be Curt Phillips, a regular PulpFest attendee. Curt will have several nice hero and science fiction pulps in this year’s PulpFest auction.
Scott Hartshorn is an outgoing, Florida-based collector and dealer. He will be offering a selection of pulps, books by Robert E. Howard and Edgar Rice Burroughs, mystery and detective paperbacks, and science-fiction, fantasy, and pulp art. Scott is also planning to have a few collectible surprises as he returns to Pittsburgh for another PulpFest.
Richard Meli and Amanda Peebles will be representing Heartwood Books & Art at this year’s PulpFest. Heartwood is a member of the ABAA with over 25 years of experience in buying and selling vintage pulps, first editions, magazines, paperbacks, and other collectibles. Heartwood has more than 100,000 items available for sale, including the Robert Weinberg collection of rare pulps, digests, paperbacks, and related ephemera, the Napa Valley collection of men’s adventure magazines, the Barry Levin collection, world-class Edgar Rice Burroughs material, and one-of-a-kind Weird Tales, Clark Ashton-Smith, and H. P. Lovecraft gems.
Brad Heisler of Second Rodeo Games is the creator of Fortune Seekers, a tabletop role-playing game of globetrotting adventure and swashbuckling action where you step into the mud-covered boots of daring treasure hunters and race around the world to uncover rare antiquities lost to time. An independent game designer out of Wilmington, North Carolina, Brad will be releasing Pulp History expansions for Fortune Seekers that will reach into the past to create a series of play-sets based on H. Rider Haggard’s King Solomon’s Mines, Jules Verne’s 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, and Edgar Rice Burrough’s Tarzan of the Apes that will bring the action and adventure of these classic pulps to your table. More pulp expansions are in the works. Please welcome Brad to his first PulpFest.
Heritage Auctions is one of the leading dealers and appraisers of collectibles in the world. Sasha Fraze, consignment director for comics, comic art, and pulp magazines, will be manning the Heritage booth right outside our 2025 dealers’ room entrance during this year’s PulpFest. A graduate of McGill University, Sasha has worked for world-famous auction houses and comic shops, and in publishing, criticism, writing, and more. Stop by and talk with Sasha about Heritage and the services that they offer. And don’t forget about the company’s regular “Sunday Pulp Magazines Select Auctions.”
Paul Herman is a dealer and collector based in Connecticut who exhibits at the leading pulp and paperback conventions. He offers a wide variety of materials, including pulps, paperbacks, and vintage digests. He is very strong in the mystery and detective fields, turning up many scarce items. You can also find Fiction House pulps among his regular stock. Be sure to drop by Paul’s tables for a top-notch deal on some of the best collectibles around.
Hailing from Ohio, Mark Hickman will be offering a variety of science-fiction magazines and hero pulps, as well as comic books and original artwork from the pulps, comics, digests, and paperbacks. Mark will also be selling copies of The Collected Pulp Era, a two-volume set reprinting the complete run of his father Lynn Hickman’s classic pulp fanzine. Both volumes are very highly recommended.
Ever since he could hold a crayon, Ron Hill has been creating images. Since graduating from The Art Institute of Pittsburgh in 1982, Ron has worked as a cartoonist, illustrator, caricaturist, creative director, author, and business manager. In 2024, Ron debuted We Are Doc Savage: A Documentary on Fandom, a feature-length documentary — 2 years in production — that explores the history of Doc Savage fandom by interviewing dozens of collectors, creators, and characters who are keeping the legacy of The Man of Bronze alive. Ron will be manning the Doc Con XXII tables at PulpFest where he will have DVDs of his great film available for $25.
If you’re interested in selling at PulpFest, our dealers’ room is full. However, we are adding a limited number of tables in the pre-function hallway outside of the dealers’ room. These tables will cost $125 each and will be guarded by security overnight. If you are interested, please write to Jack Cullers at jack@pulpfest.com to sign up for a spot.
If you want to visit our dealers’ room, you have to be a member of PulpFest 2025. To join the convention, click the registration button at the top of this page. Your PulpFest membership also includes memberships in DocCon XXI, ERBFest 2025, and Farmercon XX. That’s four conventions for one price!
If you’re from outside the area, don’t forget to book a room. Due to cancellations, our host hotel, the beautiful DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Pittsburgh – Cranberry may have a few rooms left at the convention rate. Try clicking here to make your reservation. You may also reserve a room at our host hotel by calling 1-724-776-6900 or 855-610-8733. To receive the special convention rate of $136 plus tax per night, you must mention that you are a PulpFest attendee or use the code CDT91R. To get the convention rate, you must book your room by 11:59 pm on Tuesday, July 15.
You can click here for nearby hotels if all of the rooms at the DoubleTree are no longer available.
If you’re looking for a roommate, write to Jack Cullers at his email address above.
We’ll be profiling more of our PulpFest 2025 dealers through Friday, July 18. Please visit our site on Wednesday, July 16, for our next profiles.
A fan of horror and fantasy fiction, Jeanne Harding attended her first PulpFest in 2023, helping to celebrate the centennial of Weird Tales. You can read more of Jeanne’s contributions to pulpfest.com — including her looks at the shudder pulps and Ed Emshwiller — by clicking here.
Our featured image is a magazine rack in Tacoma, Washington, advertising Liberty, True Story, and True Detective magazines, circa early 1938. We’ll be running photographs of vintage newsstands and magazine racks all week. Special thanks to ThePulp.Net for sharing their collection of pulp photos from the early 20th century with us.
Our lead image was adapted by William Lampkin from Harvey Dunn’s original cover art for the March 1915 issue of New-Story Magazine, published by Street & Smith. Dunn’s artwork illustrates Edgar Wallace’s “The Four Just Men,” reprinted in its entirety. Wallace’s novel was originally self-published in 1905 by The Tallis Press.
Henry G. Franke III designed the poster for ERBFest 2025 using a photograph of Edgar Rice Burroughs and the 1925 first hardcover edition of The Cave Girl, published by A. C. McClurg & Co. This year is the sesquicentennial of Burroughs’ birth and the centennial of his novel, a lost world tale set in the South Seas.
Edgar Wallace’s celebrated thriller, “The Green Archer,” was first published in The Detective Magazine for December 20, 1923, with cover art by Leo Bates. A veteran of the First World War, Bates published his first illustrations in 1919, in a book of adventure stories written by Charles Gilson and published by Cassell & Co. He also painted the dustwrapper for a novel by Sapper (i.e., H.C. McNeile), published by Hodder & Stoughton. All told, Bates is credited with illustrating around fifty books, but his output could have been far greater.
Our final image was adapted by PulpFest Advertising Director William Lampkin from James Bama’s cover art for the Bantam Book edition of Doc Savage #1 — The Man of Bronze, first published in this format in 1964. The poster was used to publicize Ron Hill’s exclusive showings of We Are Doc Savage: A Documentary on Fandom at PulpFest 2024.
