With PulpFest less than two months away, the committee is now finalizing the schedule of events and composition of panels. This year’s convention will boast even more programs than last year’s, with many of the pulp community’s most knowledgeable members participating in discussions that will be as informative as they are entertaining.

Guest of Honor William F. Nolan will appear at three separate events. On Friday evening, following the official welcome to PulpFest attendees, Nolan will be interviewed by his friend and agent, Jason Brock. In addition to touching on Max Brand and the Black Mask writers being celebrated at this year’s convention, the author will discuss his relationships with Ray Bradbury, Richard Matheson, Charles Beaumont, and other well-known writers of genre fiction in the pulp tradition. And, of course, he’ll talk about his own work, including his contributions to the horror field (such as his work for the revived Weird Tales) and the novels for which he is perhaps best known, Logan’s Run and its sequels.   

Immediately following the one-on-one session, Mr. Nolan will join moderator Don Hutchison and panelists Robert Randisi, Laurie Powers, and Ed Hulse for what we expect will be a lively discussion on Western pulp fiction, with an emphasis on the amazing Max Brand. Don is familiar to pulp aficionados as the author of The Great Pulp Heroes and editor of several outstanding pulp-fiction anthologies. Affectionately known as “the last of the pulp writers,” Bob Randisi has written hundreds of novels in the genre and will bring to the panel a more contemporary viewpoint. Laurie Powers, in addition to being a talented author and dedicated scholar, is the granddaughter of prolific Wild West Weekly scribe Paul S. Powers, who created some of that magazine’s most popular, long-running series characters. Ed Hulse is editor and publisher of Blood ‘n’ Thunder and author of The Blood ‘n’ Thunder Guide to Collecting Pulps, as well as a lifelong fan of Western fiction.

Finally, Nolan will headline Saturday night’s panel on Black Mask, the legendary crime-fiction pulp whose first issue appeared 90 years ago. He’ll be joined by Walker Martin, one of only two private collectors known to have compiled a complete set of this influential and highly desirable magazine; author, editor, and screenwriter John Wooley, the detective-fiction aficionado largely responsible for the resurgence of interest in pulp private eye Dan Turner; and another as yet unconfirmed scholar. Ed Hulse will moderate.

These all-star panels are only some of the events we have planned for PulpFest.  They’ll cover Westerns and crime pulps, but we’re not neglecting other genres. Fans, scholars and collectors interested in other categories, such as hero pulps and science fiction, can expect presentations targeted to their interests as well. We’ll be announcing those other events over the next few weeks.

Anyone with even a cursory interest in pulp fiction will find plenty to do, see, and buy at PulpFest, where a wide variety of material for sale will be displayed in a spacious hucksters room housing nearly 100 tables.  This year we’ve also arranged for a lunch wagon and tables where hungry attendees can wolf down sandwiches and take the load off their feet without leaving the hotel or missing any of the action.

There’s still time to make your room reservations and qualify for the special PulpFest room rate. Just click on the link for our host hotel, the Ramada Plaza, and use the toll-free number to book your room.

Things are coming together fast now, so be sure and check this page regularly over the next few weeks for additional programming announcements.