PulpFest

Happy New Year from PulpFest

Ring in the new year by planning to join PulpFest 2016! You’ll be as content as the two lovebirds featured on Modest Stein’s cover to the December 31, 1938 issue of Street & Smith’s LOVE STORY MAGAZINE.

Although the Munsey group published the first specialized pulp magazines — beginning with THE RAILROAD MAN’S MAGAZINE in 1906, followed by THE OCEAN in 1907 — both pulps were a mixture of fact and fiction. It would be up to Street & Smith to originate the specialized pulp-fiction magazine in the fall of 1915 when it introduced DETECTIVE STORY MAGAZINE to the reading public.

Originally published twice a month, DETECTIVE STORY became a weekly before the end of its second year of publication. Despite its great success, the new pulp did not immediately inspire many imitators. It would be up to Street & Smith itself to develop the trend: WESTERN STORY MAGAZINE arrived in 1919, followed by LOVE STORY in 1921, SEA STORIES in 1922, and SPORT STORY MAGAZINE in 1923. It was not until 1924 that the single-genre fiction pulp would start to take off as other publishers began to release their own specialty pulps.

In 2016, PulpFest will be saluting one-hundred years of the specialty pulp with presentations on the development of the pulp western and the romance pulps. Join us at the Hyatt Regency Columbus from  July 21 – 24, 2016 for a look at these fascinating magazines. It should be a very special convention! Stay tuned to pulpcon.org to learn more about “Summer’s AMAZING Pulp Con.” We’ll be offering an argosy of special announcements in the weeks to come.

(Modest Stein began contributing covers to the pulp market in 1910, selling to both the Munsey and Street & Smith chains. By the twenties, he was largely employed by the latter, painting covers for ASTOUNDING SCIENCE FICTION, CLUES, CRIME BUSTERS, DOC SAVAGE, FAR WEST ILLUSTRATED, LOVE STORY MAGAZINE, ROMANTIC RANGE, THE SHADOW, UNKNOWN, and other Street & Smith titles. Following the publisher’s 1949 exit from the pulp field, Stein worked predominantly as a portrait artist. He died in 1958.)

PulpFest Returns to Pittsburgh!

PulpFest 2024 will begin Thursday, Aug. 1, and run through Sunday, Aug. 4. It will be held at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Pittsburgh – Cranberry. Please join us for "Spice, Spies, & Shaw" and much more at PulpFest 2024.

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