PulpFest 2026 will celebrate the centennials of Amazing Stories and Ghost Stories, plus a great deal more at this year’s convention. Hugo Gernsback’s groundbreaking science-fiction pulp and Bernarr Macfadden’s purportedly “true” magazine concerning the spirit world both debuted one hundred years ago.
Our convention will also salute the centennial of the birth of paperback artist Robert Kennedy Abbett and the sesquicentennial of writer Jack London’s birth. The famed author was born on January 12, 1876.
Best known for his stories about the Far North and the South Seas, Jack London wrote 22 novels and nearly 200 shorter tales over a period of twenty-one years. His best-known works are Call of the Wild, The Sea Wolf, and White Fang. He died in 1916 at the age of forty, refusing to listen to his doctors and pushing himself to work harder and faster.
In addition to the work that made him famous across the globe, Jack London also wrote some twenty works of science fiction and fantasy, including four novels: Before Adam, The Iron Heel, The Scarlet Plague, and The Star Rover.
We hope you’ll join PulpFest on Friday, July 31, at 9:30 pm as we welcome Morgan Holmes to our programming stage for “Jack London’s Amazing Stories,” a discussion of the popular author’s forays into fields of science fiction and fantasy.
The former official editor of the Robert E. Howard United Press Association, Morgan Holmes was nominated in 2016 for a Hugo Award as best fan writer. He has been published in Blood ‘n’ Thunder, The Cimmerian, The Dark Man, REH: Two-Gun Raconteur, The Robert E. Howard Companion, and other publications. His work has also appeared at Castalia House, Black Gate, and other websites. Dr. Holmes — a podiatrist — has presented at PulpFest before, most recently in 2025, when he discussed, “Rafael Sabatini, Master of Blood and Thunder.”
PulpFest 2026 begins on July 30 and runs through August 2 at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Pittsburgh – Cranberry in Mars, Pennsylvania. In addition to honoring the centennials of Amazing Stories and Ghost Stories, we’ll also be celebrating the sesquicentennial of writer Jack London’s birth, the centennial of the birth of artist Robert Kennedy Abbett, and more at this year’s convention.
The general public is welcome to attend our programming free of charge. To learn more about our presentations, please click the 2026 Schedule link found on our website.
For those who also want to enjoy our dealers’ room, you can join PulpFest by clicking the register link found on our website. And don’t forget to book a room at the DoubleTree. They’re going fast!
Remember, in addition to your membership in PulpFest 2026, you’ll also be a member of Doc Con 2026, FarmerCon XXI, and The Shadow Con 2026. That’s four conventions for one price! You can’t beat that deal.
If you’re interested in selling at PulpFest, all of our wall and foyer tables have been reserved. A few island tables are remaining for $110 per table. Please click the “register” link on our website to learn how to join the convention as a dealer.
Our featured image was excerpted from the front cover for the October 1906 issue of Everybody’s Magazine, illustrating the first segment of Jack London’s five-part serial, “Before Adam,” the story of a man who dreams he lives the life of a prehistoric hominid. The cover artist is not known.
Our lead image was adapted by William Lampkin from the February 1947 issue of Famous Fantastic Mysteries, featuring cover art by Virgil Finlay, illustrating Jack London’s “The Star Rover,” in which a prisoner walks among the stars and experiences portions of past lives while in a trance.
Our final image is the February 1949 number of Famous Fantastic Mysteries, published by Popular Publications. Lawrence Sterne Stevens’ cover illustrates Jack London’s short novel, “The Scarlet Plague,” a post-apocalyptic novel in which a pandemic depopulates the Earth.
