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.

As he has for the last nineteen years, Tony Davis has come up with another dynamite issue of The Pulpster. The official magazine and program guide for PulpFest 2010, the new issue is 44 pages long and, for the first time in its long history, features a color cover.

Like this year’s PulpFest, one of the focal points of The Pulpster#19 is the 90th anniversary of Black Mask. With that in mind, Bruce Stirling has contributed a detailed analysis about the origins of hard-boiled crime fiction in "Whatever Happened to Three Gun Terry?", illustrated by Kenney Mencher.

The former editor of Singing Guns magazine, Dave Fox, sets his sight on Frederick Faust with "Max Brand and Western Story Magazine: Year One," another ninety year anniversary in 2010, while PulpFest guest of honor, Bill Nolan, covers both anniversaries with "Spade, Destry and Dr. Kildare."

But there’s plenty more as Don Hutchison takes a look at author David Goodis and John Locke presents an overview of the career of Avenger writer Paul Ernst. Wayne Leighton is on board with a piece on L. Ron Hubbard and Theodore Sturgeon while Pulpster designer Bill Lampkin (of ThePulp.Net) discusses "The Lost Doc Savage Movie," illustrated by Francescho Francavilla, and longtime pulp historian Nick Carr answers "10 Pulp Questions I’ve Been Asked." Filling out the issue is a reprint of a Frederick C. Painton article from the April 1936 Writer’s Digest plus editorial content.

Except for "Sunday Only" attendees, all members (including supporting members) of PulpFest 2010 will receive a complimentary copy of The Pulpster #19.

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.    (more…)

 PulpFest is proud to announce that award-winning author, editor, screenwriter, and biographer William F. Nolan will be the Guest of Honor at this year’s convention.

Among his other accomplishments, Mr. Nolan is a leading authority on pulp fictioneers Max Brand and Dashiell Hammett as well as the other Black Mask contributors who flourished under the regime of editor Joseph T. Shaw. His many books on these writers include Hammett: A Life at the Edge (1983), The Black Mask Boys (1985), and Max Brand: Western Giant (1986). This year marks the 90th anniversary of both Black Mask’s first issue and Max Brand’s first appearance in Western Story Magazine, and the PulpFest committee felt that Mr. Nolan was the ideal person to help recognize these milestones in pulp history. He will headline PulpFest panels on Western and hard-boiled detective fiction.     (more…)