There’s just one week left until the start of PulpFest 2026. The summertime destination for fans and collectors of popular fiction — both old and new — PulpFest seeks to honor the pulps by drawing attention to the many ways these throwaway magazines have inspired writers, artists, film directors, game designers, and other creators over the years.
Dealers who arrive early will be able to set up their displays on Wednesday, July 29, from 6:30 to 8:30 pm. The time is meant to be used for set-up alone. There will be no buying, selling, or trading permitted during setup time. If any dealer or dealer’s helper is observed buying, selling, or trading, that person will have to leave the dealers’ room immediately.
Our dealers’ room at the DoubleTree is very accessible. Access to the dealers’ room for unloading and loading purposes will be through the ballroom’s rear entrance and the nearby banquet dock. Click here for a map showing the loading area of the hotel and here for a map of the DoubleTree’s Grand Ballroom.
If your dealer tables are in the foyer, just outside of our dealers’ room, we have security scheduled for Wednesday through Saturday nights, starting at midnight and running until 7 am. Within the dealers’ room, there are no worries. The doors are locked and secured nightly.
Dealer set-up will continue on Thursday, July 30, from 8 – 9 am. Registration for all members will also begin at this time in the foyer outside the dealers’ room at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Pittsburgh – Cranberry in Mars, Pennsylvania.
The dealers’ room will open for early-bird shopping at 9 am on Thursday, July 30. Early-bird shopping will continue until 4:45 pm for PulpFest members who will be staying at the DoubleTree or for those who elect to purchase an early-bird membership if staying elsewhere.
Our full slate of programming for Thursday evening will get underway at 6:55 pm. The general public is welcome to attend all of our programming. Click the 2026 Schedule button to learn more about our great programming, or click here to link to our 2026 mobile schedule. To learn more about a particular programming event, click on its title link.
If you have not yet booked a room for your stay, please call 1-724-776-6900 or 855-610-8733 to reach the DoubleTree. Although the convention rate is no longer available, there may be some vacancies at the hotel. Other options include the Hampton Inn, Hilton Garden Inn, or Home2 Suites. They’re all less than two miles away from our host hotel. Click here to learn more.
If anyone is looking for a room, we may be able to put you in touch with someone in need of a roommate. Click our “contact” button at the top of the site and send us a message.
Conveniently located at the intersection of three major roadways, the DoubleTree boasts a world-class restaurant in an open-air setting. There are many other restaurants nearby — some within walking distance — suitable for a variety of tastes. The more adventurous can discover plenty of dining, shopping, and nightlife just a short drive away in downtown Pittsburgh. The DoubleTree also offers a 24-hour fitness center, indoor and outdoor swimming pools, and a sauna.
You’ll find a map to the hotel and the surrounding area on the PulpFest website, or click here.
Thanks so much to everyone who has reserved a room at our host hotel. By staying at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Pittsburgh – Cranberry, you’ve helped to ensure the convention’s success.
Our advance registrations end on Sunday, July 26, at 10 pm eastern time. So what are you waiting for? Click here to register for the convention.
In addition to our great dealers’ room and programming, we also have a substantial auction on Saturday night, August 1, beginning at 8 pm. For those not able to attend PulpFest 2026, we will be accepting online auction bids through 9 pm Eastern Time on Tuesday, July 28.
If you are exhibiting any symptoms associated with COVID or other infectious ailments, please stay home. You should not attend PulpFest. Isolate and avoid contact with others, rest, and drink fluids. Call your healthcare provider if your symptoms worsen.
Although we can’t force anyone, we hope that everyone who plans to attend PulpFest 2026 will be vaccinated against COVID. Although masks are optional, they are recommended. We have many older members who attend PulpFest. Please keep them in mind. Remember, we’re all in this together.
We look forward to seeing you at PulpFest 2026. Your PulpFest membership also makes you a member of Doc Con 2026, FarmerCon XXI, and The Shadow Con 2026. That’s four conventions for one price!
Can’t wait for PulpFest 2026 to begin? Relax, it will arrive before you know it. Don’t end up like the ghost in our featured image. He was so anxious for the arrival of PulpFest that he kicked the bucket. Now he wants you to join him in the afterlife! Our image was excerpted from an unknown artist’s cover art, created for the first issue of Bernarr Macfadden’s Ghost Stories, dated July 1926.
And then there’s the astronaut in the quicksand. He was in such a rush to get to Mars, Pennsylvania that he ran off and found himself in a real mess: drowning in quicksand with his space helmet’s facemask smashed to smithereens. Our lead image was adapted by William Lampkin from Ed Valigursky’s cover art for the January 1955 issue of Amazing Stories.
We’ll be celebrating the centennials of both Ghost Stories and Amazing Stories at PulpFest 2026. Click our 2026 Schedule link to learn more.
Frank R. Paul, the “grandfather of science-fiction art,” painted the cover for the program book of the 13th World Science Fiction Convention — Clevention — held on September 2 – 5, 1955 at the Manger Hotel in Cleveland, Ohio. The paperbound convention book was the first ever to feature a color cover. Although the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Pittsburgh – Cranberry is not quite as futuristic as Paul’s illustration, our host hotel was completely renovated in 2016.
The first and only issue of Medical Horrors was published in late 1931 with a cover date of January 1932. Sold by Harold Hersey’s Green Band Publishing Corp., it ran for a single issue. A mix of fiction and non-fiction, it featured such articles and stories as “The Million Dollar Baby Farm,” “Chloroformed,” and “Doctor A. W. Waite: Satan’s Personal Representative.”
What gave Harold Hersey the idea that a magazine entitled Medical Horrors could be successful in a field that partially relied on drugstores for distribution is beyond our ken. He was, however, a publisher who often tried things that were outside the box.
Learn what PulpFest 2026 has to offer in Craig McDonald’s video on our YouTube Channel.
And while you’re there, be sure to subscribe.
