Here we’ll try to answer some of the questions we are frequently asked. If you’re still uncertain after scrolling through everything, try one of the email links down at the bottom.
When will the next PulpFest take place?
PulpFest 2025 is scheduled for Thursday, August 7, through Sunday, August 10, 2025, at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Pittsburgh – Cranberry in Mars, Pennsylvania. Be sure to bookmark pulpfest.com to stay informed about our plans for our 53rd summertime popular culture convention.
What’s a pulp? Is it a comic book?
Not at all. It’s a pulp magazine. Pulp magazines got their name from the cheap paper on which they were printed. They featured prose fiction with a few black-and-white interior illustrations.
Frank A. Munsey pioneered the format in 1896 with The Argosy. About a decade later, other publishers began to release their own pulp fiction magazines and the industry began to pick up steam, providing one of the primary forms of entertainment during the first half of the twentieth century.
After World War II, the demand for pulp magazines waned as a more convenient form of cheap entertainment took hold – paperbacks. These were often just as “pulpy,” since they were often written by many of the same authors. In the fifties, television became the favored form of escapism and the surviving pulps ceased publication. Fiction magazines continued to be published but in new formats, including digest magazines.
The science-fiction and mystery digests and “men’s adventure magazines” are considered descendants of the pulps. Comic books were inspired by the pulps — particularly the so-called “hero” pulps such as Doc Savage, The Shadow, and The Spider. However, pulps are not comic books.
Will material other than pulps be available at the convention?
Although the focus of PulpFest is pulp magazines and related materials, digests, vintage paperbacks, men’s adventure and true crime magazines, first-edition hardcovers, genre fiction, series books, dime novels, original art, Big Little Books, B-movies, vintage television shows, and serials, as well as related paper collectibles, old-time-radio shows, and Golden Age, Silver Age, Bronze Age, and pulp-related comic books and games, are also allowed. However, PulpFest is not a comic book convention. Sexually explicit material — including Playboy, Penthouse, and Oui — is not allowed.
Can I register for PulpFest in advance?
PulpFest prefers that its members register in advance and it will save you money.
A prepaid, full-weekend membership to PulpFest 2025 will cost $40 for members who will be staying at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Pittsburgh – Cranberry. Also, to reward our loyal attendees who help to defray the convention’s substantial costs by staying at our host hotel, PulpFest is happy to offer free early-bird shopping on Thursday, August 7. Our shopping event will be followed by a slate of evening programming.
For those members who will not be staying at the DoubleTree, a prepaid, full-weekend membership to PulpFest 2024 will cost $50. If such members desire to participate in early-bird shopping on Thursday, it will cost an additional $30.
Please click the registration button at the top of our page for further details. If you’d like to pay for your membership via Paypal, you’ll find our Paypal link on our registration page.
Is there a cut-off date for advance registrations?
No advance registrations for PulpFest 2025 will be accepted after Sunday, August 3, 2025. Our Paypal page will shut down at 10 p.m. Eastern time on that day. Anyone wishing to register for PulpFest 2025 after August 3 will have to do so at the door. A full weekend membership paid at the door will cost $50.
I have preregistered for PulpFest 2025. Where do I pick up my membership materials?
For those who have preregistered, you will be able to pick up your membership material outside the entrance to our dealers’ room at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Pittsburgh – Cranberry. Our registration desk will be open daily from 9 a.m. to 4:45 p.m., beginning on Thursday, August 7, through Saturday, August 10.
When and how can I register at the door for PulpFest 2025?
Registration will take place outside the entrance to our dealers’ room at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Pittsburgh – Cranberry. Our registration desk will be open daily from 9 a.m. to 4:45 p.m., beginning on Thursday, August 7, through Saturday, August 10. If you are paying at the door, please have a completed registration form on hand to speed up the process. You will find a link to our registration form on the PulpFest 2025 registration page.
You’ll be able to pay for your registration at the door using cash, check, or credit card.
A full weekend registration at the door will cost $50. Early-bird shopping privileges on August 7 will be provided free of charge if you are staying at the DoubleTree. If you desire early-bird privileges and are staying elsewhere, the cost will be an additional $30 above your full-weekend registration fee of $50. You will need to show proof that you are staying at the DoubleTree.
A Friday or Saturday one-day pass will cost $25. One-day passes will not be available for Thursday, August 7. Admission is free on Sunday, August 10, but buying opportunities will be limited as our dealers will be packing up and departing.
Do children have to register for the convention?
All PulpFest attendees must be registered for the convention. However, there will be no charge for children who are fifteen years of age or younger and accompanied by a parent. They will be admitted free of charge. So bring your family!
I will be visiting PulpFest for a day. Where can I park?
For those visiting PulpFest for the day or the weekend, there is ample free parking surrounding the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Pittsburgh – Cranberry.
I can’t attend PulpFest 2025, but I’d like to help. How can I do so?
Supporting memberships for those who cannot attend PulpFest will cost $30. All paying members, including supporting members, will receive a complimentary copy of The Pulpster, our program book. Please click the registration button at the top of our page to learn how to become a PulpFest supporting member.
Are there any discounts available to attend PulpFest?
There is a $10 discount on a full weekend membership if you are staying at DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Pittsburgh – Cranberry when you pay in advance.
How can I get a room at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Pittsburgh – Cranberry?
The hotel provides PulpFest with a limited block of rooms. The sooner you book your room at the DoubleTree, the better chance you have of landing a room. So please book your room as soon as possible. We don’t want you to miss the chance to stay at our terrific host hotel.
To book a room at the DoubleTree, go to our homepage at pulpfest.com. Click the book a room link at the top of our page. You will be redirected to a web page where you can book a room at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Pittsburgh – Cranberry for your PulpFest stay. You can edit the length of your stay by clicking on the large date numbers on the page.
You can also reserve a room by calling 1-724-776-6900 or 855-610-8733. You must mention PulpFest or use the code CDT91R to receive the special convention rate of $136 plus tax per night. Included in the room rate are two complimentary breakfasts per room for each day of your stay. Wi-Fi and free parking are also included.
Please note that a deposit equaling the first night’s room rate plus tax will be required at the time of reservation. You will have until 11:59 p.m. on July 7, 2025 — one month before the start of PulpFest 2025 — to cancel your reservation and receive a refund of your deposit. Any cancellation made after July 7, 2025 will result in the forfeiture of your deposit.
What is the deadline to book a room at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Pittsburgh – Cranberry to get the special convention rate?
You must book your room by 11:59 p.m. on Tuesday, July 15, 2025, to get the special convention rate.
What are PulpFest’s dealers’ room hours for buyers?
The PulpFest 2025 dealers’ room will be open on Thursday, August 7, from 9 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. for early-bird shopping. You’ll find more details immediately below.
On Friday and Saturday, the convention will be open to all registered members from 9 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. It will be open on Sunday from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. However, most dealers will be packing up. Buying opportunities on Sunday will be limited.
What is early-bird shopping?
To reward loyal attendees who help to defray the convention’s substantial costs by staying at our host hotel, PulpFest is happy to offer free early-bird privileges.
If you do not plan to stay at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Pittsburgh – Cranberry, you can still obtain early-bird privileges with the purchase of a full weekend membership. It will cost $80. You can purchase such memberships in advance or at the door.
Early birds will be allowed into the dealers’ room on Thursday, August 7, while our dealers set up their displays. Due to travel conditions and other contingencies, PulpFest cannot guarantee that every dealer will be available during early-bird hours.
Early-bird hours will begin at 9 a.m. and end at 4:45 p.m. on August 7. Please click the registration button at the top of our homepage for further details.
When will dealers be able to set up for the convention?
The dealers’ room will be open for setting up dealer displays from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. on Wednesday, August 6. Only dealers and their helpers will be allowed into the dealers’ room during this time.
No buying, selling, or trading will be permitted during this time. Anyone who buys, sells, or trades during early set-up will have to leave the dealers’ room immediately. There will be no exceptions to this rule.
For those dealers who cannot arrive on Wednesday, our dealers’ room will open on Thursday, August 7, at 8 a.m. so dealers who arrive on Thursday can begin setting up. Early-bird shopping will begin at 9 a.m.
All PulpFest dealers should be set up by 4:45 p.m. on Thursday, August 7. If you are not able to set up your display by this time, please discuss your needs with convention chairman Jack Cullers. You can reach him by email at jack@pulpfest.com or by writing him at 1272 Cheatham Way, Bellbrook, OH 45305.
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 you need additional help getting to the hotel and/or the loading area, please call or text Jack Cullers at 937-671-1574.
Where can I ship items that I plan to sell at PulpFest?
Please write to convention chairman Jack Cullers for instructions at 1272 Cheatham Way, Bellbrook, Ohio 45305, or via email at jack@pulpfest.com before shipping anything.
How can I ship my purchases home from PulpFest?
A FedEx Office Print & Ship Center is less than a half-mile away from the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Pittsburgh – Cranberry. Located at 19095 Perry Highway in Mars, Pennsylvania, it is open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturdays and from 12 p.m. to 6 p.m. on Sundays. It is open on weekdays from 8 a.m. until 7 p.m.
Can banners or any other signage be displayed at PulpFest?
PulpFest welcomes banners and other signage. However, such items cannot be attached to the hotel’s walls in any way, shape, or form.
If a dealer has a sign or a banner, you will have to provide your own display stand to hang your sign or banner. The convention is not responsible for providing you with a banner stand or easel to display your advertising.
Will PulpFest 2025 have an art show?
Henry G. Franke III of The Burroughs Bibliophiles will host an art show in the Chestnut Room at the DoubleTree by Hilton on August 8 and 9 from 11:30 a.m. until 1 p.m. on both days. Henry will be displaying some of Gray Morrow’s penciled artwork featuring the “Women of Edgar Rice Burroughs” and more at the 2025 art show, part of our ERBFest activities.
Will PulpFest 2025 have any social activities?
On Thursday, August 7, PulpFest will hold its annual opening day pizza party in the DoubleTree’s lounge area. “Pizza at PulpFest” is funded through the generous donations of the convention’s dealers.
There will also be social sessions in the hotel’s restaurant and lounge area following the close of PulpFest’s evening programming on August 7 – 9, hosted by the members of Doc Con, Farmercon, and ERBFest.
When is the scheduled programming at PulpFest?
There will be programming during the evening hours of August 7, 8, and 9. Our programming will begin at 6:55 p.m. each night.
We will also have programming during the afternoons on Friday, August 8, and Saturday, August 9. Our afternoon programming will begin at 1:30 p.m. on both days.
We’ll be celebrating “The Masters of Blood and Thunder” and More at PulpFest 2025. Our main focus will be the 150th anniversary of the births of Edgar Rice Burroughs, Rafael Sabatini, and Edgar Wallace. However, we will also be celebrating the Great Pulp Villains, Adventure magazine, and more at our 2025 convention.
And don’t forget, PulpFest will also be hosting Farmercon XX, ERBFest 2025, and the first Doc Con in almost a decade. You’ll get four conventions for the price of one. Each convention will offer special programming and more.
I’m a contemporary writer or artist. Are there opportunities for me at PulpFest?
Since it began, PulpFest has been a strong supporter of contemporary popular culture.
“Back in the day,” those who wrote for the rough paper industry sometimes called themselves “fictioneers.” In its early years, PulpFest supported contemporary creators through its “New Fictioneer” readings. Beginning in 2022, the convention shifted toward interviews, panels, and presentations featuring contemporary creators. You can expect more of the same at PulpFest 2025.
Please note that all contemporary creators who wish to be part of our programming line-up at PulpFest 2025 must be registered members of the convention.
I have a programming idea. Who should I tell?
If you have an idea for our programming, please send an email to PulpFest programming director, Mike Chomko, at mike@pulpfest.com or via regular mail at 2217 W. Fairview Street, Allentown, PA 18104-6542. Please provide a description of your idea and whether or not you’d like to present at the convention. It is recommended that you contact Mike with your ideas ASAP as our programming slots quickly fill up.
Will PulpFest 2025 have a program book?
The Pulpster is a longstanding tradition cherished by attendees of PulpFest. This highly collectible and informative program book has been published for over thirty years. All paying members — including supporting members — will receive a complimentary copy of The Pulpster.
The Pulpster invites everyone to submit articles and features related to pulp collecting and pulp history. Write to the editor of The Pulpster, William Lampkin for further details. You can reach Bill by email at bill@pulpfest.com.
The Pulpster also accepts advertising. For further details, please write to Mike Chomko at mike@pulpfest.com. Visit https://thepulpster.com/advertising/ for our print specifications.
All back issues except for The Pulpster #29, 32, and 33 are out of print. You can order copies of our available back issues by clicking here or by writing to Mike Chomko at mike@pulpfest.com for more information.
Will PulpFest 2025 be offering any awards?
PulpFest will be presenting The Munsey Award at its 2025 convention. This prestigious prize bears the name of the man who published the first all-fiction pulp magazine, Frank A. Munsey.
The Munsey is a limited edition art print created by renowned artist David Saunders. This annual award recognizes an individual or institution that has bettered the pulp community, be it through disseminating knowledge about the pulps or through publishing or other efforts to preserve and foster interest in the pulp magazines we all love and enjoy.
The 2025 Munsey Award will be presented on Saturday evening, August 9.
The Rusty Hevelin Service Award recognizes those persons who have worked long and hard for the pulp community with little thought for individual recognition. It is meant to reward largely quiet and unheralded work and is reserved for those individuals who are most deserving. Only two Rusty Awards have been presented over the years.
Will PulpFest handle estate auctions?
PulpFest welcomes estate auctions for the simple reason that we would like to see collections stay with people who appreciate the pulps. For further information, please write to Mike Chomko at 2217 W. Fairview Street, Allentown, PA 18104, or via email at mike@pulpfest.com.
Will there be a live auction at PulpFest 2025?
PulpFest will have one live auction on Saturday evening, August 9. It will begin at 9 p.m. The general public is welcome to attend.
I cannot attend PulpFest but would like to bid on something in your auction. How can I do so?
For those who are not able to attend PulpFest 2025, the convention will accept bids placed through the PulpFest Online Bidding Page. We will then bid for you at the auction up to the amount that you specify on the bidding page.
Online bids by those unable to attend PulpFest 2025 will have to be placed by 11:59 p.m. Eastern time on Sunday, July 27. When placing your bid, you will need to provide your name, email address, mailing address, and billing address (if different), your method of payment, the lot you are bidding on, and your highest bid. A separate form must be filled out for each lot.
To place your online bids, click the red button immediately above the auction lot photographs on our auction page. Our online bidding form will open in a new tab. Bids that are less than $10 will not be accepted.
PulpFest reserves the right to withdraw any auction lot from sale at any time prior to its being auctioned. All bidders are encouraged to review the lots before placing bids. ALL SALES ARE FINAL.
If you have any questions or concerns about placing online bids, please contact PulpFest auction coordinator Mike Chomko at mike@pulpfest.com.
PulpFest will accept checks or money orders (in U.S. dollars), PayPal, or credit card payments for items won through silent bidding. A 5% fee will be charged for all credit card and PayPal transactions. There will be additional shipping charges for those who are not able to pick up the lots they have won.
Can members of PulpFest submit items to sell at auction?
All members of PulpFest can submit items to our auction. All PulpFest 2025 members are encouraged to submit their items before the start of the convention. This will allow the convention to list submitted lots on our online auction page, opening them up for online bidding.
All auction lots submitted before the start of the convention must be received by 11:59 p.m. on July 10, 2025 to be added to our online auction page.
All auction lots must have a $20 minimum value.
PulpFest reserves the right to reject any submitted material that does not meet our standards.
The convention will charge a 16% commission based on the selling price for anything sold. For example, if an item sells for $100, the seller will receive $84.
If a submitted lot receives no bids, the seller will owe $5 to PulpFest.
All auction lots will have to be submitted to PulpFest by 1 p.m. on the day of the auction. If you have questions concerning the auction, please contact PulpFest auction coordinator Mike Chomko at mike@pulpfest.com or 2217 W. Fairview Street, Allentown, PA 18104-6542.
I would like to attend the PulpFest auction, but not the convention itself. Will I be able to do so?
People who desire to attend the PulpFest auction — but not the convention itself — are also welcome to attend our auction on Saturday, August 9. If non-PulpFest attendees want to place bids during the auction, they will have to register as bidders. There will be a $5 non-refundable fee to bid during the auction.
Non-PulpFest attendees can register to bid in the PulpFest 2025 auction at the convention’s front desk on August 8 or 9, from 9 a.m. until 4:45 p.m., and on Saturday evening, August 9, from 8:45 – 9 p.m.
Will there be role-playing games at the convention?
At this point, the PulpFest organizing committee is not planning to feature any pulp-related games — including Call of Cthulhu, Pulp Alley, and Spirit of the Century — at PulpFest 2025. If you’re interested in a PulpFest gaming track, please contact the convention’s programming director, Mike Chomko, at mike@pulpfest.com.
Will there be a costume contest?
No, there will not be a costume contest. However, if you would like to attend the convention in costume, you are more than welcome to do so.
Does PulpFest offer a “freebie” table?
PulpFest sends its advertising to other conventions, bookstores, and comic book shops for display on their giveaway tables or near their cash registers. We’re more than happy to reciprocate. Please contact the convention’s marketing director, Mike Chomko, at mike@pulpfest.com for further details.
Material of a political or religious nature is not allowed on the convention’s giveaway table. Our members attend PulpFest to celebrate popular fiction and to enjoy themselves.
Our attendees come to PulpFest to celebrate and learn about popular culture, socialize, and enjoy themselves. Therefore, all attendees of PulpFest are asked to keep opinions of a political, religious, or societal nature to themselves.
Although you have a right to your opinions, our members — including dealers — are not at the convention to be lectured about politics, religion, and so on.
Any attendee who harasses any other PulpFest members — including the convention’s dealers — will be asked to leave PulpFest.
Are there opportunities to volunteer at the convention?
There are opportunities to help out at PulpFest. If you would like to lend a hand with the convention, please contact our chairman, Jack Cullers. You can reach him via email by writing to jack@pulpfest.com or at 1272 Cheatham Way, Bellbrook, Ohio 45305.
What type of COVID-19 mitigation restrictions will be in place at PulpFest 2025?
The Pennsylvania Department of Health has lifted all COVID mitigation orders. Everyone is encouraged to follow the latest CDC safety guidance.
Currently, the DoubleTree does not have any COVID policies for guests. As this can change depending on conditions, it is recommended that you visit the Allegheny County Health Department at https://www.alleghenycounty.us/health-department/resources/covid-19/covid-19.aspx for their latest guidance.
We hope that those who plan to attend PulpFest 2025 will exercise caution. We have many older members who attend. Please keep them in mind.
If you are exhibiting any symptoms associated with COVID, please stay at home. You should not attend PulpFest. Isolate and avoid contact with others, rest, and drink fluids. Call your healthcare provider if your symptoms worsen.
The PulpFest organizing committee will continue to assess developments regarding COVID-19. We will advise you about any changes to our plans through our website and social media pages.
How can I help to promote PulpFest?
Every year, PulpFest prints thousands of postcards to promote the convention. If you are a retailer who would like to distribute our cards to your customers, please contact Mike Chomko at mike@pulpfest.com or 2217 W. Fairview St., Allentown, PA 18104-6542.
If you are associated with a book or collectible show or convention, or someone who will be attending such an event, please write to Mike at one of the addresses above if you want to lend a hand. Any help that you provide will be greatly appreciated!
The convention will also be promoted through print advertising in periodicals including Alter Ego, Men’s Adventure Quarterly, Paperback Parade, and Windy City Pulp Stories. The convention may also make some advertising purchases on social media.
How can I have my website listed on the PulpFest website?
If you have a website that you think will be of interest to our membership, please contact the convention’s marketing director, Mike Chomko, at mike@pulpfest.com. We occasionally include such information in the posts we compose for our homepage.
If you are a dealer with a website who intends to sell at PulpFest 2025, please provide Mike Chomko with the address of your site. All registered dealers will be profiled in a series of posts that will run on the PulpFest website during the week of July 14. Mike will include links to PulpFest dealers’ websites in these posts.
How can my company be listed on the PulpFest website?
Although we’ve done away with our links page, we do offer organizations the chance to sponsor our website. The cost is $150 for a one-year sponsorship or $80 for a six-month sponsorship. If you would like to sponsor the PulpFest home page, please contact the convention’s marketing director, Mike Chomko, at mike@pulpfest.com.
Another way to advertise through PulpFest is to donate material that will be provided free to our members or serve as door prizes. Your generosity will be acknowledged on our website and at the convention. Over the years, Bear Manor Media, Chaosium Inc., ERB Books, Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc., The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, Pulpville Press, Radio Archives, Stark House Press, Steeger Books, Vanguard Publications, and other organizations have donated their products to PulpFest.
Event sponsorships are also available. You can sponsor the convention’s membership badges, our welcome banner, and more. To learn more about donations and sponsorship opportunities, please contact the convention’s marketing director, Mike Chomko, at mike@pulpfest.com.
I’ve bookmarked your home page. Is PulpFest also on social media?
In addition to our home page at pulpfest.com, you’ll also find information on our Facebook site at http://www.facebook.com/PulpFest, our X feed at https://twitter.com/pulpfest, and via Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/pulpfest/. We also have a PulpFest YouTube channel. You can subscribe here. To learn more about our YouTube videos, please write to Craig McDonald at craig@pulpfest.com.
Does PulpFest offer an e-letter for important news and information?
The convention does offer an e-letter. To sign up, click here. Simply provide your name and your email address and you’ll be added to our e-list.
Does PulpFest publish a newsletter? How can I get a copy?
PulpFest will release a downloadable PDF of our annual newsletter during the spring of 2025. It will feature a great deal of information about the convention. When it becomes available, you will be able to download it via a link found on our registration page.
We will also be mailing our registration forms to past members of our convention. To be added to our mailing list, please contact our chairman, Jack Cullers. You can reach him via email by writing to jack@pulpfest.com or at 1272 Cheatham Way, Bellbrook, Ohio 45305.
Why is PulpFest considered “Summer’s Amazing Pulp Con?” Are there other pulp cons?
PulpFest is one of the largest pulp conventions in the world and the largest one to take place during the summer. There are other pulp cons throughout the year. We highlight as many as we can through the posts that appear on our website. Bookmark our homepage and visit often to be sure to catch these posts.
Is PulpFest a convention for fans of the movie Pulp Fiction?
Although fans of Quentin Tarantino’s award-winning film are more than welcome to attend PulpFest, the focus of the convention is pulp magazines and related material. Pulp magazines are so-called because of the cheap paper on which they were printed. Please click Pulp History in our PulpFest links to learn more.
You still haven’t answered my question.
Sorry, but we are not The Shadow. We do not know what questions lurk your mind. If you have another question, please ask it through our contact button.
Still searching for answers? Here’s who to contact…
- Registration, hotel, membership, volunteering, and dealer questions: Jack Cullers at jack@pulpfest.com
- Promotion, programming, social media, Pulpster back issues, and Munsey Award questions: Mike Chomko at mike@pulpfest.com
- Questions about the PulpFest YouTube Channel: Craig McDonald at craig@pulpfest.com
- Contributions to The Pulpster: William Lampkin at bill@pulpfest.com
- Advertising in The Pulpster: Mike Chomko at mike@pulpfest.com
- Auction: Mike Chomko at mike@pulpfest.com
- Website issues: William Lampkin at bill@pulpfest.com
The Argosy for December 1896, the first pulp magazine.
Pulp magazines are not the only collectibles that are featured at PulpFest. You’ll also find Golden and Silver Age comic books, as well as comics featuring pulp heroes at the convention. The 11th issue of Eternity Comics’ Spicy Tales — dated September 1989 and featuring cover art by Bruce Timm — is just one example of the kind of comic book you might find at PulpFest 2023.
At PulpFest 2024, we’ll be honoring writer, editor, and literary agent Joseph T. Shaw. Born on May 8, 1874, it will be the 150th anniversary of the birth of the legendary editor of Black Mask. H. C. Murphy contributed the cover art for the September 1929 issue of Black Mask, featuring the first segment of Dashiell Hammett’s “The Maltese Falcon.”
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. 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.
Written by Frederick C. Davis, “Legions of the Death Master” appeared in the July 1935 issue of Popular Publications’ hero pulp, Operator #5. It’s one of many novels in which the United States is saved from utter destruction by Jimmy Christopher, America’s Secret Service Ace. The cover art is by John Newton Howitt. At PulpFest 2024, we’ll be celebrating the 90th anniversary of the magazine’s 1934 debut.
PulpFest 2024 will also be saluting the 90th anniversary of A. A. Wyn’s Secret Agent X, a hero pulp that debuted with its February 1934 number. Running for 41 issues and written by a variety of authors — hidden behind the name of “Brant House” — Secret Agent X was a master of disguise. G. T. Fleming-Roberts wrote “Claws of the Corpse Cult,” the lead story for the April 1938 issue of the Ace pulp magazine. The cover was painted by Ray Quigley, a freelance artist who sold both black-and-white interior illustrations and cover paintings to the pulp industry. He later drew the “Jungle Jim” newspaper strip for the Sunday comics.
2024 is also the centennial of the first book edition of Edgar Rice Burrough’s The Land That Time Forgot. We’ll also be celebrating this anniversary as part of our third ERBFest, a summertime gathering for the fans of Edgar Rice Burroughs. First released in book form by A. C. McClurg in 1924, Burroughs’ trilogy concerns a land where creatures long extinct still survive. We’ll be saluting “dinosaurs in the pulps” at PulpFest 2024. Our web-card was adapted by William Lampkin from J. Allen St. John’s cover art for the January 1949 issue of Amazing Stories.
PulpFest’s advertising director William Lampkin — who also edits The Pulpster — developed our “New Fictioneers Readings” banner. It features the artwork of Hannes Bok, whose painting originally served as the front cover for the November 1941 number of Weird Tales. Our “New Fictioneers Readings” have been replaced by programming panels, generally featuring contemporary creators.
Register in advance so you can help PulpFest celebrate “Spice, Spies, Shaw,” and More. The convention will also be saluting the 90th anniversary of Culture Publications’ Spicy pulps. Our 2024 printed postcard was adapted by PulpFest advertising director William Lampkin from H. J. Ward’s original cover art for the May 1935 issue of Spicy-Adventure Stories.
Craig McDonald was one of several writers featured in our panel “Doc Savage and His Offspring” at PulpFest 2023. Craig’s The Mothman Menace — the second novel in The Adventures of Zana O’Savin — also premiered at the convention. It features front cover art by Douglas C. Klauba. Both creators have been profiled on our website. Click their names to read about them.
The Munsey Award was created in 2009 by artist David Saunders, the son of legendary illustrator Norman Saunders. Dan Zimmer of The Illustrated Press produced a limited signed and numbered edition of the award. The PulpFest Organizing Committee is indebted to both David and Dan for their generous support of our community.
The cover for the 2023 issue of The Pulpster was adapted by editor and designer William Lampkin from Modest Stein’s cover art for the March 1939 issue, first number of Street & Smith’s Sport Story Magazine. Click here to order a copy. Supplies are limited.
Our auctioneer image is excerpted from Norman Rockwell’s cover art for The Country Gentleman dated April 29, 1922.
That’s Uma Thurman on the poster for Quentin Tarantino’s award-winning film Pulp Fiction. Although fans of the movie are more than welcome to attend PulpFest, the focus of the convention is pulp magazines and related material including digests magazines, vintage and genre paperbacks, men’s adventure and true crime magazines, comic books, and other collectibles. Some of our dealers also sell discs featuring B-movies, serials, and vintage television shows, as well as recordings of old-time-radio shows.
Our closing image — a photograph by William Lampkin — features Jim and Cathy Dello at PulpFest 2021 when the convention celebrated the 90th anniversary of The Shadow.
