PulpFest 2012 is very pleased to welcome award-winning science-fiction writer Mike Resnick as its guest of honor. Winner of five Hugo Awards and a Nebula Award, Mike first became involved in science fiction through the work of Edgar Rice Burroughs. With this year being the hundredth anniversary of the start of Burroughs’ writing career, it is fitting that our guest of honor is an author who, early in his career, "wanted nothing more than to write books in the style of Edgar Rice Burroughs."

Mike’s first published work of science fiction, The Forgotten Sea of Mars, was a sequel to Burroughs’ Llana of Gathol. After its release in 1965, Resnick transformed and expanded the story into The Goddess of Ganymede and its sequel Pursuit on Ganymede. Around the same time, Mike was also an associate editor for Camille Cazedessus’ ERB-dom.

Although Mike turned away from the influence of Edgar Rice Burroughs soon after publishing his first three science-fiction novels, he still appreciates the author’s creations. In recent years, he has written introductions to The Tarzan Twins for Wildside Press and for The Land That Time Forgot and Philip Jose Farmer’s Tarzan Alive, both published by Bison Books. Currently, Mike is editing, with Bob Garcia, The Worlds of Edgar Rice Burroughs, an anthology of mostly original stories inspired by Burroughs and his creations. It will be published by Baen Books and will feature stories by Kevin J. Anderson, Joe Lansdale, Michael Moorcock, and others, as well as the first appearance of Resnick’s "The Forgotten Sea of Mars" in nearly fifty years.

For further information about our special guest, please turn to our guest of honor page under "Programming."

Designer and cartoonist Chris Kalb, known in pulp circles for his hero pulp websites, like The 86th Floor and The Spider Returns, and for his work for Age of Aces Books, has created another superb post card for this year’s PulpFest. These cards will be distributed through collectibles, book, and antique paper shows, a wide array of science fiction, comic book, gaming, mystery, and film conventions, and bookstores and comic shops. Keep an eye out for these colorful promotion items. Chris’ previous cards have become sought-after collector’s items.

The Munsey Award is a prestigious award given each year at PulpFest to the person deemed most worthy by the majority of his or her peers. It recognizes the efforts and ongoing involvement of the recipient in the improvement, elevation, and continuance of keeping the pulps  alive and well for this generation and future generations.

As a result of the recent death of one of the organizers and stalwarts of the hobby, PulpFest has decided that henceforth the Munsey will be called The Rusty Hevelin Service Award,  or, in short, The Rusty. Hopefully, this will be accepted as a tribute to a man who was influential in making  PulpFest and its predecessors as successful as they are today.

The first annual Rusty Hevelin Service Award will be presented at PulpFest 2012. Nominations for the award are now being accepted. All members of the pulp community, whether they plan to attend PulpFest 2012 or not, are welcome to nominate a deserving person for this year’s Rusty.

David Saunders, the son of the legendary pulp artist Norman Saunders, has created a limited-edition print to serve as The Rusty. David’s work, pictured above, is a refreshing homage to classic pulp art that honors the entire pulp community and their common love of the purple prose of the bloody pulps.

If you have someone in mind that you feel worthy to receive this year’s Rusty, please let us know. All members of the pulp community, excepting past winners of the Munsey or Lamont awards, are eligible for this prestigious prize. Please send the person’s name and a brief paragraph describing why you feel that person should be honored to Mike Chomko, 2217 W. Fairview Street, Allentown, PA 18104-6542 or to mike@pulpfest.com. The deadline for nominations is April 30, 2012. The recipient of the Rusty will be selected by a panel of judges consisting of recognized experts in the field of pulp literature. The award will be presented on Saturday evening, August 11th during the convention’s evening programming.

The Mars and Tarzan centennials are not the only events that will make 2012 significant for PulpFest attendees: This year we also celebrate the 80th birthday of Conan the Cimmerian, the lusty barbarian who debuted in the December 1932 issue of the classic pulp magazine Weird Tales. Created by Robert E. Howard, Conan became a reader favorite and appeared in many stories over the next four years. 

Although Howard died a suicide in 1936, his most famous creation was later revived in hardcover collections published by Arkham House and Gnome Press. But it was the mid-Sixties Lancer paperbacks, with their striking Frank Frazetta covers, that enthralled baby-boom readers, led to Conan movies and comic books, and gave rise to a new generation of Howard scholars who have worked tirelessly to keep all their favorite author’s works in print. 

PulpFest will celebrate the Cimmerian’s eightieth birthday and honor Howard’s career with two very special programs. First, Rusty Burke will moderate a panel of REH experts who will discuss Conan, Howard’s other characters, and the author’s influence on the sword-and-sorcery genre. Rusty needs no introduction to devotees of “Two-Gun Bob.” He is the editor of the highly acclaimed Howard reprint series published in the US by Del Rey Books, the president of the Robert E. Howard Foundation, and a long-time participant in REHupa (The Robert E. Howard United Press Association). We will provide the names of other panelists as soon as they are confirmed. 

The second Conan-themed presentation will be made by another well-known Howard aficionado, Jim Keegan, who with his wife Ruth produces “The Adventures of Two-Gun Bob,” which appears in every issue of Conan, Kull, and Solomon Kane published by Dark Horse Comics. The Keegans have also illustrated several of the Del Rey volumes (including Crimson Shadows and Grim Land: The Best of Robert E. Howard, Volumes One & Two) and are the proprietors of Jim & Ruth’s Two-Gun Blog. Jim will offer a look at the Cimmerian as depicted by various illustrators over the last eight decades. 

Edgar Rice Burroughs and Robert E. Howard remain two of the most avidly collected pulp fictioneers, and we’re certain that this year’s PulpFest programs will win new fans for each. And that’s just the beginning. We’re already brainstorming ideas for other panels and presentations, so you can expect the same diverse mix of programming for which our convention has become famous. Check back often for additional news!

You can now book a room at the Hyatt Regency Columbus from the PulpFest home page. Immediately below the gray box where you can subscribe to our email list (which is highly recommended), you’ll find a list of our favorite links. Below our FarmerCon link, you’ll see "Book a Room." Click on "Hyatt Regency Columbus" and a new window will open on your monitor screen. This new window is a PulpFest specific window created by the Hyatt Regency where you’ll be able to make a reservation at the special convention rate of $109 per night.

You can also book a room at the Hyatt Regency Columbus by calling 1-614-463-1234. Please be sure to mention PulpFest in order to get the special convention rate. See you in August!

Some time during the winter of 1912, readers of the Munsey pulp, The All-Story, picked up the February issue of the magazine. It sported a cover featuring a sombreroed Mexican framed in a window. Little did they realize that they were being introduced to an author who would quickly become one of the leading practitioners of American popular fiction.

The All-Story for February 1912 featured a complete novel, ten short stories, and six serials, with "Under the Moons of Mars" listed above them all. The author of this "Romance of a soul astray," was listed as Norman Bean, a pen name for Edgar Rice Burroughs. Hiding behind a pseudonym in his initial effort as a professional writer, Burroughs would soon become one of the best paid authors to labor for the pulp market. Later in 1912, the new author made an indelible mark on American pop culture with the appearance of "Tarzan of the Apes," published complete in the October issue of The All-Story.

2012 marks the 100th anniversary of the publication of "Under the Moons of Mars," better known by its book title A Princess of Mars and soon to be a major motion picture from Disney. In August, PulpFest will celebrate this momentous occasion by offering a panel entitled Pulp Visions of Mars. Additionally, author and artist David Saunders, who has written extensively on the subject of illustration, will discuss J. Allen St. John, perhaps the artist most associated with the work of Edgar Rice Burroughs. Other events are still being planned.

Over the next few weeks, the PulpFest website will go through its annual overhaul. We’ll not only be updating many of the pages, but we’ll also be making several very exciting announcements (including our guest of honor). Additionally, we’ll be adding a link to the Hyatt Regency Columbus to allow you to book a room at the special convention rate.

The best way to keep abreast of changes to the website is through our email list in the little gray box to the right of our top post. It’s fast and easy to do. So join right now and be among the first to learn all there is to know about PulpFest 2012.

And don’t forget about our facebook site. You can "like" us at http://www.facebook.com/PulpFest.

Another giant of pulp fandom has left us. Glenn Lord passed away on December 31st, 2011 at the age of eighty. The leading proponent of the work of Robert E. Howard, Glenn worked tirelessly and selflessly for decades to see the author get his due. He was the guest of honor at Pulpcon 36 in 2007.

If you have ever enjoyed any of Robert E. Howard’s creations–Conan, Kull, Solomon Kane, or any of the countless other characters that Howard brought to life–you owe a debt of gratitude to the late Glenn Lord. Please visit REH: Two-Gun Raconteur for further testimonials about this giant of pulp and Howard fandom. May he rest in peace.

It is with heavy heart that we bid adieu to James "Rusty" Hevelin. This pillar of the pulp community passed away on Tuesday, December 27th. Active in science fiction fandom since the 1930s, Rusty was for many years the guiding light behind Pulpcon, the convention that helped to keep the memory of the pulps alive through the closing decades of the twentieth century and on into the 21st.This task has since been entrusted to PulpFest.

A veteran of the Second World War, when he served as a Marine in the South Pacific, Rusty was a member of science fiction’s First Fandom and well known as a huckster, collector, and toastmaster. In 1986, he received the Lamont Award for his longtime service to the pulp community as well as science fiction’s Big Heart Award. He was presented with the Sam Moskowitz Archive Award for excellence in science fiction collecting in 2003.

PulpFest was extremely fortunate to have Rusty attend the 2011 convention when he helped the pulp community celebrate its fortieth annual summer pulp con. At next year’s convention, we will be honoring him with a special tribute during our evening programming.

Here’s wishing everyone the happiest of holiday seasons. Hopefully, this "Santa of the Gas Bags" has a copy of your favorite pulp magazine in one of his sacks to help tide you over ’til April 29th when the Windy City Pulp and Paper Convention will celebrate the 100th anniversary of Edgar Rice Burroughs’ Tarzan of the Apes.

After you’ve finished celebrating the winter holidays, please stop back at the PulpFest website for some exciting news about next Summer’s Great Pulp Convention. Better still, sign up for our email updates by filling in the little gray box titled "E-Mail List" right here on our home page.

Many thanks to Jerry Page for sending us this great holiday cover from the December 7, 1928 issue of Street & Smith’s The Popular Magazine .