Details Archive

The PulpFest Organizing Committee would like to thank the following people whose invaluable assistance helped to make PulpFest 2010 a tremendous success:

Our front desk staff Sally Cullers, Maura Childers, Aaron Cullers, Jack Cullers, Samantha Cullers, and Sam Childers, as well as John Gunnison, Chris Kalb, Michael Neno, David Saunders, Mark Trost, Dan Zimmer, plus Jason and Sunni Brock, Brian Earl Brown, Rusty Burke, Stephen Haffner, Rick Hall, Morgan Holmes, Steve Lewis, Lohr McKinstry, Walker Martin, Laurie Powers, David Lee Smith, Steve Haynes of Cinevent, John Bruening of Ohio Magazine, Vineetha Thomas and Diane Share of Experience Columbus, and Meri Lynne Stumbo, Beth Sweet, and the rest of the staff at the Ramada Plaza Hotel and Convention Center. A special thank you to Martin Grams for his eleventh-hour technical assistance in setting up the Thursday-night movie screening.

The Organizing Committee would also like to thank all of the folks who helped to create The Pulpster #19:

Tony Davis and Bill Lampkin, plus Wooda Carr, Mike Chomko, Peter Chomko, Dave Fox, Fracesco Francavilla, Don Hutchison, Rex Layton, John Locke, Neil Mechem, Kenney Mencher, William F. Nolan, Bruce Stirling, and the magazine’s sponsors–Bear Manor Media, Black Dog Books, Golden Age Comics, Granton City Press, Malice Domestic, Mike Chomko Books, Origins Game Fair, PageTurner Editions, The Pulp Factory,  Pulp Ts, and the Windy City Pulp & Paper Convention.

And many thanks to all of the presenters who informed and entertained everyone who attended our programming events:

John DeWalt, Martin Grams, John Gunnison, Stephen Haffner, Ed Hulse, Don Hutchison, Will Murray, Francis Nevins, our Guest of Honor, William F. Nolan, Laurie Powers, Tom Roberts, Anthony Tollin, David Walker, John Wooley, auction organizers Barry Traylor and Mike Chomko, plus Maura Childers, Sam Childers, Aaron Cullers, Jack Cullers, Sally Cullers, and Sam Cullers, and finally, to the nominators and Lamont Award and Munsey Award winners who helped to select the winner of this year’s winner, Mike Chomko.

Finally, thanks to all of the conventions, book shows, websites, magazines, newspapers, and other media outlets that helped to promote our show as well as the dealers, attending members and supporting members of PulpFest 2010. It was due to your encouragement and support that our convention was a great success. We hope to see you all back in  the summer of 2011 along with a good many newcomers for PulpFest 2011. 

Accolades for the 2010 edition of PulpFest have been pouring in from all over the Internet. With 394 registrations, the convention closed in on four hundred members, while its panels and presentations were very well received. And where else can you go to see thousands of pulp magazines?

The reporting began on Friday, July 30, when Laurie Powers began a three-part post to her Internet blog, Laurie’s Wild West. A highly regarded writer, Laurie is also the granddaughter of Paul Powers, one of the original pulpsters and the author of many stories originally published by Wild West Weekly. Laurie’s report was soon followed by longtime pulp fan and conventioneer Walker Martin when he logged onto the Yahoo news group Pulpmags, and offered his view of PulpFest 2010. Both reports can be found on Laurie’s blog. Walker’s is also available on Steve Lewis’ Mystery*File.

For those who enjoy the work of Robert E. Howard, the creator of Conan, Morgan Holmes has posted a convention report at the REHupa website, the blog for the members of the Robert E. Howard United Press Association. For a look at PulpFest 2010 from a Howardian perspective, please visit the association’s site.

Mike Nevins, Bill Nolan, Don Hutchison, Laurie Powers, and Ed Hulse discussing the pulp Western at PulpFest 2010.

And for those of you who would like a more visual presentation, there are plenty of pictures available from this year’s convention. Adirondack reporter Lohr McKinstry has about a dozen photos posted on Flickr, Yahoo’s public photography archive. And Brian Earl Brown, the official editor of the Pulp Era Amateur Press Society and publisher of  BEB Books, has over forty pictures elsewhere on Flickr. Finally, if you belong to Pulpmags, the Yahoo news group devoted to discussing the history of pulp magazines, David Lee Smith has posted twenty more photos from this year’s con.

Planning is already underway for PulpFest 2011 which will be even bigger and better than this year’s event. See you next summer!

Rusty Burke, Walker Martin, Laurie Powers, and John Gunnison of Adventure House enjoying themselves at PulpFest 2010!

Following dealer set-up on Thursday evening, PulpFest 2010 officially got underway at 8 AM this morning. As always, the show began with the typical feeding frenzy as book and pulp collectors scoured the room searching for this or that long elusive volume. The convention’s programming schedule began at 2 PM when Mike Nevins discussed his forthcoming book, Cornucopia of Crime. Dave Walker follwed with a reading from his new Captain Midnight story, The Dawn of Midnight. There will be a lot more programming during the evening hours including Bill Nolan’s guest of honor presentation and Don Hutchison’s panel on the pulp Western. Rounding out this evening’s programming will be publisher Steven Haffner’s multi-media look at science fiction author Leigh Brackett and Anthony Tollin’s discussion of the 80th anniversary of the Shadow’s radio debut.

There’s still plenty of time to join in on the fun. The dealers’ room will be open until 5 PM on Friday and from 9 AM to 5 PM on Saturday. Sunday will be a bit shorter, from 10 am to 3 PM. The evening programming schedules for Friday and Saturday nights will run from 7 PM until 12 AM. Tomorrow’s programming will include afternoon presentations by Doc Savage author Will Murray and another by popular culture expert Martin Grams. The evening programming will include an auction, a panel on the classic detective pulp, Black Mask Magazine, and presentation of the 2010 Munsey Award.

Admission to the show is $15 per day or $35 for all three days, allowing entry to all convention activities. The general public is very much welcome to attend.

The deadline for advance registrations to PulpFest 2010 is Tuesday, July 27, at 10 PM. Advance registrations will not be accepted after Tuesday. Payments made through Paypal will not be accepted after 10 PM on July 27.

Although PulpFest 2010 officially gets under way on Friday, July 30, the convention’s organizing committee is urging dealers to arrive on Thursday to set up their displays. The dealers’ room will be open from 6 PM to 12 AM on July 29 for set-up. It will also be open for set-up on Friday morning for one hour during early bird admission. The dealers’ room will be open to everyone beginning at 9 AM on Friday.

During Thursday set-up, dealers will be asked to arrange their displays and, upon completion, cover them up and then depart the room. No selling will be permitted during Thursday evening’s set-up.

The general membership is also welcome to arrive on Thursday. Early registration will take place beginning at 7 PM at a location to be determined. All members, dealers included, will be able to pick up their registration packets at this time. For those of you who have not yet registered for PulpFest, Thursday evening will be an ideal time to do so. Three-day memberships will be available for $35. Early-bird memberships will be available for $60. Early-bird memberships will not be available after Thursday.

For those members arriving on Thursday, July 29, refreshments will be provided courtesy of the PulpFest organizing committee. Film historian Ed Hulse has also put together a short film program to help celebrate the convention’s themes–the 90th anniversaries of the debut of Black Mask Magazine and the first appearance of Max Brand in Western Story Magazine.

Single-day memberships will be available at the door for Friday or Saturday at the rate of $15 per day. Sunday only memberships will cost $5. Full three-day memberships will also be available at the door for $35. Children who are accompanied by a parent and are fifteen years of age or younger will be admitted free of charge.

The hotel’s special room rate of $79 per night plus tax will continue through the start of the convention. However, rooms are going quickly. If you want to take advantage of this or other offers by the hotel, be sure to make your reservation as soon as possible. For further details, visit the Ramada Plaza page under "The Details." You can also make a reservation by calling the hotel at 614-846-0300. Be sure to mention PulpFest to get the special convention rate whether placing your reservation by phone or online.

The Ramada Plaza Hotel and Convention Center is located just off Exit 116 of I-71, about ten minutes north of downtown Columbus, Ohio. Heading north on I-71, get off at Exit 116, the Morse Road exit. Turn left onto Morse Road. Follow Morse until you get to Sinclair Road. Turn right onto Sinclair Road. The hotel is at 4900 Sinclair Road. Heading south on I-71, get off at Exit 116, the Sinclair Road exit. Turn right onto Sinclair Road and follow to the Ramada Plaza Hotel. For those who would like a map to get to the hotel, click here.

The PulpFest organizing committee is looking for volunteers to serve as hospitality suite hosts on Friday and Saturday evenings. If you are willing, please write to jack@pulpfest.com. Haffner Press will be sponsoring the con suite on Friday  when it will be temporarily renamed "The Otherness Suite." The Robert E. Howard Foundation will sponsor the con suite on Saturday.

The convention will officially open on Friday, July 30 at 9 AM. Early-bird registrants will be allowed into the dealers’ room beginning at 8 AM. The doors will open to everyone, beginning at 9 AM. The dealers’ room will be open until 5 PM on Friday evening. It will be open from 9 AM to 5 PM on Saturday and from 10 AM to 3 PM on Sunday.

There will be a full schedule of programming on Friday and Saturday evenings from 7 PM until about midnight. There will also be several presentations during the daytime hours. Please visit our programming page for further details.

All PulpFest attendees will be able to submit material for inclusion in the Saturday Night Auction. For additional information, please visit our Auctions page or contact Barry Traylor via email.

The second annual Munsey Breakfast will take place on Sunday, August 1, beginning at 9 AM. This will be an informal meal in the hotel’s restaurant to celebrate this year’s Munsey Award winner and your PulpFest experience. All convention attendees are welcome to attend.

PulpFest 2010 will have many freebies available for all attendees. There will be a variety of materials at the entrance to the dealers’ room. These will be accessible on Saturday morning. So bring along a BIG bag!

For those attendees who would like to ship their purchases to their homes, PulpFest 2010 has arranged for a local UPS provider to be available at the hotel on Sunday, August 1. A local FedEx office, located about two miles from the hotel, will also be open for shipping your purchases. Transportation can be arranged through the hotel’s shuttle service. Further information is available on our FAQ  page.

The entire PulpFest 2010 organizing committee–Mike Chomko, Jack Cullers, Ed Hulse and Barry Traylor–is looking forward to seeing you all in just a few days. Have a safe trip to Columbus.

PulpFest 2010 would like to thank the following organizations for their generous contributions to our convention:

Book Source Magazine for sending copies of their publication for distribution at PulpFest.

Chaosium, the developer of the Call of Cthulhu role-playing game, for donating a number of books to the convention that will be awarded as door prizes during our evening programming.

Dell Magazines for giving us over 100 copies of Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine for our members.

Engle Publishing for sending copies of The Paper & Advertising Collectors’ Marketplace for distribution to PulpFest attendees.

Experience Columbus for putting together a VIP package that will get you and your family members reduced admissions to many of the city’s fine attractions. Copies will be available at our freebies table, but you can also download copies through the Visiting Columbus page of our website.

The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, the award-winning magazine that celebrated its sixtieth anniversary in 2009, for donating a number of back issues to hand out to our members.

Galaxy Press for sending copies of The Golden Gazette for our freebie table.

We’d also like to thank Acorn Bookshop, Blue Jacket Books, Dark Star Books, The Dust Jacket, Karen Wickliff Books, and Mavericks Cards and Comics for their help in promoting our convention, and we invite PulpFest attendees to visit them in Ohio. You’ll find links to their websites under "Friends" on the PulpFest home page.

Many thanks to cartoonist and publisher Michael Neno and Eric Johnson, Associate Curator of Rare Books and Manuscripts and an Assistant Professor at Ohio State University, for their help promoting PulpFest in the Columbus area, as well as Mark Trost for his work to promote us through the media.

Finally, Haffner Press will be sponsoring the PulpFest hospitality suite on Friday, July 31. The suite will be renamed "The Otherness Lounge" to honor the release of Haffner’s Detour to Otherness, a collection featuring some of the best fiction from Henry Kuttner and C. L. Moore, two of the greats from the pulp era.

Saturday night’s hospitality suite will be sponsored by The Robert E. Howard Foundation, an organization that works to foster understanding of the life and works of Robert E. Howard through its publishing efforts, its support of Robert E. Howard Days in Cross Plains, Texas, and other methods.

As of June 16, the PulpFest dealers’ room is totally sold out. Any dealer registrations received after Tuesday, June 22, 2010 will be placed on a waiting list in case of last minute cancellations.

Visitors to this year’s show can look forward to seeing material for sale on 100 tables spread across our expanded exhibit space at the Ramada Plaza. PulpFest’s exhibitors offer a wide variety of product. In addition to original pulp magazines, attendees can purchase hardcovers and paperbacks, new fiction written in the pulp tradition, and other collectibles related to American popular culture of the pulp era. Rare and particularly desirable books can cost many hundreds, even thousands of dollars, but our dealers offer many inexpensive items as well. Collectors on a tight budget can still find lots of appealing stuff at PulpFest, and newcomers to the hobby will be surprised to see how many vintage magazines they can purchase at affordable prices. Those looking to sample pulp fiction without investing a lot of money in collectible items can choose from among dozens of newly published reprint volumes in trade-paperback format. In short, PulpFest’s dealers’ room offers something for everybody!

Happy Thanksgiving to all! With the holiday shopping season getting underway tomorrow, why not treat yourself to "Christmas in July" by sending in your registration for PulpFest 2010? Or perhaps you can convince your significant other to skip the sweater that he or she was planning to buy for you on Black Friday and instead purchase a "3-day membership with early bird access" for their favorite pulp fan. And while they’re at it, you might want to tell them about the Titanic exhibit that will be at Columbus’ Center of Science and Industry through September 6. Why not make PulpFest 2010 a trip for the whole family? Columbus has plenty to offer!     (more…)

PulpFest 2010 continues the proud tradition of a summer pulp con, now in its 39th year. A new and improved version of the venerable convention catering to fans and collectors of vintage popular fiction, join us…

Friday, July 30th – Sunday, August 1st
at the Ramada Plaza Hotel and Convention Center
in Columbus, Ohio

For further details on a variety of topics including the Munsey Award, please explore our website. We hope to see you at the end of July 2010.

The PulpFest Organizing Committee would like to thank the following people whose invaluable assistance helped to make PulpFest 2009 a resounding success:

Sally Cullers, Samantha Cullers, Aaron Cullers, John Gunnison, Mark Trost, Chris Kalb, David Saunders, Dan Zimmer, Steve Haynes, Phil Nelson, John Wehler, Curt Phillips, Rusty Burke, Morgan Holmes, Kurt Shoemaker, Rick Hall, Nicholas Hauser, Barry Traylor, Mark Halegua, Lohr McKinstry, Dave Kurzman, Walker Martin, Scott Hartshorn, Vineetha Thomas and Diane Share of Experience Columbus, and Meri Lynne Stumbo, Beth Sweet, Mark Carr, Jack, Patrick, Andrew and the rest of the staff at the Ramada Plaza Hotel and Convention Center.

The Organizing Committee would also like to thank all of the folks who helped to assemble The Pulpster #18:

Tony Davis, Bill Lampkin, Rex Layton, Monte Herridge, Mike Chomko, Garyn Roberts, Nick Carr, Dean Cartier, Joseph Wrzos, the late Edd Cartier, Barry Traylor, Peter Chomko, Will Murray and the magazine’s sponsors–Altus Press, Age of Aces Books, Girasol Collectables, Dwight Fuhro, Black Coat Press, Mike Chomko Books, Off-Trail Publications, Fenham Publishing, and The Pulp Art Gallery.

And many thanks to all of the presenters who informed and entertained everyone who attended our programming events:

Doug Ellis, John Gunnison, Walker Martin, Tom Roberts, Don Hutchison, Garyn Roberts, Rick Davis, Karen Cunningham, Nick Carr, Ron Fortier, Bill Maynard, Shelby Rhodes, Warlock Vance, Mike Glagola, Stephen Haffner, Anthony Tollin, Will Murray, Eric Johnson, Ian Lohr, our Guest of Honor, Otto Penzler, our masters of ceremonies, Jack Cullers and Ed Hulse,  auction organizers Barry Traylor, Mike Chomko, Aaron Cullers, and Sam Cullers, and the Lamont Award winners who helped to select the winner of the 2009 Munsey Award, Bill Thom.

Finally, thanks to all of the conventions, book shows, websites, magazines and newspapers that helped to promote our show as well as the dealers, attending members and supporting members of PulpFest 2009. Truly, it was your encouragement and support that ultimately made our convention a great success. We hope to see you all back in 2010, along with a good many newcomers who will join in the fun at PulpFest 2010.

PulpFest 2010 will have both daytime and evening hours.

Dealers’ Room Hours

Thursday, July 29     6 PM - 12 AM–dealer set-up

Friday, July 30         8 AM - 9 AM–early bird admission

Friday, July 30          9 AM - 5 PM–dealers’ room open to all

Saturday, July 31     9 AM - 5 PM–dealers’ room open to all

Sunday, August 1     10 AM - 3 PM–dealers’ room open to all

Evening Programming Hours

Thursday, July 29      7 PM - 10 PM–early registration

Thursday, July 29      8 PM - 12 AM–film program and con bash

Friday, July 30            7 PM - 12 AM–scheduled programming

Saturday, July 31       7 PM - 12 AM–scheduled programming

Munsey Award Breakfast

Sunday, August 1      9 AM - 10 AM–in hotel restaurant