PulpFest is organized by a committee of six: Jack and Sally Cullers, Barry Traylor Mike Chomko, Bill Lampkin, and Craig McDonald. Below is a little about each of them.
Jack Cullers
Chairman Jack Cullers was born on a ranch in Montana (or maybe it was a farm in Ohio) where he grew up wrestling pet dogs and garter snakes. It was a steady diet of Frank Gruber westerns that turned him into the rough-and-tumble character we all know and love. Now a resident of Bellbrook, Ohio, Jack has turned in his six guns for volunteer work with the Greene County Public Library System. He lives with his charming wife Sally and their rambunctious dogs.
Jack is well-known in convention circles for his organizing skills. He has also been known to ask people to “step outside” if they desire an exceptionally nice copy of Western Story Magazine that he needs for his collection. Generally, these miscreants are taken away in a cardboard box.
“While parts of my bio may be a bit of an exaggeration, there is something about this committee that is not. I really enjoy working with the other members. While we sometimes disagree, we are able to discuss problems and move on. There is no ‘I am the Boss’ feeling here. We are all looking forward to an exciting and well-attended PulpFest this year.”
In 2012, Jack and Sally Cullers were recognized for their outstanding service to the pulp community by being named the recipients of the first Rusty Hevelin Service Award. In addition to his chairmanship, Jack also serves as the convention’s business manager and membership director. To reach Jack by email, write to jack@pulpfest.com.
Barry Traylor
Although he spends every October preparing his yard for his “Halloween Haunt,” J. Barry Traylor’s enjoyment of pulps matches his love for that holiday.
Barry has been breathing pulp flakes for longer than most people spend in the workaday world. He has been organizing book and pulp auctions for just about the same amount of time, almost single-handedly putting together several hundred items for sale for a single night’s auction. In 2008, Barry quickly mastered the art of digital photography and stunned the convention crowd with his wonderful images of pulps ranging from rarities like Far East Adventure Stories to more common titles such as Fantastic Adventures.
Retired from the printing industry, Barry makes his home in Lancaster, Pennsylvania in a relatively uncluttered home with his lovely and understanding wife Lynn. His biggest delights are his two granddaughters, Ajilon and Zoe. During their visits, Barry usually removes his high-grade copies of Terror Tales from display. His favorite pulp is Weird Tales, something he began to enjoy while learning at the feet of his pulp mentor, the late Richard Minter.
In 2014, Barry’s outstanding service to the pulp community was recognized by his peers when he was named the winner of the Rusty Hevelin Service Award. Barry currently serves as the PulpFest goodwill ambassador. To reach Barry by email, write to barry@pulpfest.com.
Mike Chomko
Mike Chomko, the winner of the 2010 Munsey Award, has been a regular at pulp cons since the early nineties. In September of 2008, he joined Jack Cullers, Barry Traylor, and Ed Hulse to launch PulpFest. Mike serves as the marketing and programming director of the convention and is also the publisher of The Pulpster.
A former member of the Pulp Era Amateur Press Society, Mike was the publisher of Purple Prose, a highly-respected pulp fanzine that ran for seventeen issues in the late 1990s and early 21st century. Around the same time, he founded Mike Chomko Books, an independent purveyor of genre fiction and related materials. His specialty is pulp-related material.
In “real life,” Mike is a semi-retired registered nurse. He works in the operating room of a surgical center for pediatric patients. Married for over forty years, he is the father of two adult children and a grandfather. To reach Mike by email, write to mike@pulpfest.com.
Sally Williams Cullers
Sally attended her first pulp convention in 1983, soon after she started hanging out with Jack Cullers. She and Jack’s son, Aaron, would spend convention weekends helping out wherever they could. Although she never fell in love with the hobby of collecting pulps, she did fall for Mr. Cullers (and Aaron). Pulp conventions became an annual thing. Soon Sally was helping Mary Ramlow run the registration desk at Pulpcon. Then came a daughter, Samantha, and somewhere along the way, Sam and her mom started selling baked goods to help occupy the time during the convention. Sally and Samantha continue to run the registration table at PulpFest.
PulpFest has become a Cullers family tradition. Aaron still comes to PulpFest from Austin, Texas from time to time. Samantha and her husband, Sam Childers, also attend. Sam’s mom, Maura Childers, has also helped at the convention’s registration desk. One of these days, we hope to see the next generation of Cullers/Childers kids attend. “The pulp community is a tight group of wonderful people,” Sally comments. “We look forward to connecting and catching up with our pulp friends yearly at PulpFest.”
Sally serves as PulpFest‘s registration desk coordinator. In 2012, Sally and her husband received the Rusty Hevelin Service Award for outstanding service to the pulp community. To reach Sally by email, write to sally@pulpfest.com.
William Lampkin
A writer/editor and publication designer, Bill Lampkin has spent much of his work life in the newspaper field, much like Rambler Murphy (but without the cool nickname and crime-solving). Like many from his generation, Bill discovered the pulps through paperback reprints of Edgar Rice Burroughs, Robert E. Howard, The Shadow, Doc Savage, and The Spider. He bought his first actual pulp in the seventies.
Bill runs ThePulp.Net — which he created in 1996 — and also writes the Yellowed Perils blog. A resident of Florida, he has designed The Pulpster, the PulpFest program book, since 2008 and served as its designer/editor since 2013. In late 2013, Bill began to design PulpFest‘s print advertisements.
In 2018, Bill Lampkin was the winner of the Munsey Award. He currently serves as the convention’s director of advertising, editor and designer of The Pulpster, and manages the convention’s website. To reach Bill by email, write to bill@pulpfest.com.
Craig McDonald
The author of the Edgar-nominated Hector Lassiter historical crime series, Craig McDonald is an award-winning novelist, journalist, and editor. The twelve volumes in his Lassiter series chronicle the exploits of a fictional Black Mask author and his encounters with such notable figures as Lester Dent, Ian Fleming, Ernest Hemingway, and Orson Welles. In addition to his Edgar nomination, Craig was also a finalist for the Anthony, Gumshoe, and Crimespree Magazine Award for best first novel. He earned national awards for his profiles of crime novelists James Crumley, Elmore Leonard, James Sallis, and Daniel Woodrell.
At PulpFest 50, Craig debuted a new series of literary thrillers in which classic pulp magazine heroes literally come to life. A haunting mix of history and meta-fiction centered on the very act of literary creation, The Blood Ogre introduces Zana O’Savin, the award-winning author’s version of Doc Savage’s cousin Pat. He has since added two more volumes to the series: The Mothman Menace and The Death Killers.
Craig serves as the convention’s assistant director of marketing. His primary responsibility is the PulpFest YouTube Channel.
We’d also like to thank PulpFest committee members emeritus — Ed Hulse, Chris Kalb, Sara Light-Waller, William Patrick Maynard, and Chuck Welch — for their services to the pulp community.
