Here is the citation that explains why he was up for this honor:
The Collections Librarian at the University of Connecticut, Richard Bleiler is a bibliographer and researcher in the areas of science fiction, fantasy, horror, crime, and adventure fiction. In 2002, he was nominated for the Bram Stoker Award for Best Non-Fiction for the second edition of Supernatural Fiction Writers: Fantasy and Horror. With his father, Everett Bleiler, Richard compiled Science Fiction: The Early Years and Science Fiction: The Gernsback Years, both published by Kent State University Press. His other work includes The Index to Adventure Magazine, The Annotated Index to The Thrill Book, the second edition of Science Fiction Writers: Critical Studies of the Major Authors from the Early Nineteenth Century to the Present Day, and Reference and Research Guide to Mystery and Detective Fiction. Richard’s essay, “Forgotten Giant: A Brief History of Adventure Magazine,” originally published in Extrapolation: A Journal of Science Fiction and Fantasy, is considered the finest overview of the classic pulp magazine. He has also written essays on early science fiction, fantasy, and mystery authors for The Dictionary of Literary Biography and other reference works, as well as articles on the writings of Frank Belknap Long and Clark Ashton Smith for Gary Hoppenstand’s Pulp Fiction of the 20s and 30s.
Named for Frank A. Munsey, publisher of the first pulp magazine, the award recognizes someone who has contributed to the betterment of the pulp community through disseminating knowledge, publishing, or other efforts to preserve and to foster interest in pulp magazines.
Here is the citation that explains why he was up for this honor:
Rick Lai accepting the Munsey Award. Photo by Anne Marble.
Like many of us, RICK LAI has dedicated much of his adult life and disposable income to his passion for collecting pulp fiction (in all its permutations). Rick distinguished himself with the erudite and insightful scholarship that has made him respected among Wold Newtonians and purists alike. Rick’s speculative theories on character and continuity may have been inspired by Philip José Farmer, but were never bound by Farmer or anyone else’s parameters. Rick’s brilliant and provocative flights of fantasy informed, inspired, and even infuriated readers, but kept them coming back for the next article or book. Later in life, Rick made the natural progression from scholar to storyteller as he began creating works that supplement and expand upon his literary speculations. Among his many books are Chronology of Shadows: A Timeline of The Shadow’s Exploits, The Return of Judex, The Revised Complete Chronology of Bronze, Rick Lai’s Secret Histories: Daring Adventurers, Rick Lai’s Secret Histories: Criminal Masterminds, and Shadows of the Opera: Retribution in Blood. Rick has also presented at PulpFest and written many articles for The Pulp Collector, Pulp Vault, Echoes, Blood ‘n’ Thunder, and other periodicals. To learn more about Rick, read “PulpFest Profile — The Shadow of Rick Lai.”
Named for Frank A. Munsey, publisher of the first pulp magazine, the award recognizes someone who has contributed to the betterment of the pulp community through disseminating knowledge, publishing, or other efforts to preserve and to foster interest in pulp magazines.
Named for Frank A. Munsey, publisher of the first pulp magazine, the award recognizes someone who has contributed to the betterment of the pulp community through disseminating knowledge, publishing, or other efforts to preserve and to foster interest pulp magazines.
Here are the nominees and the citations that explain why they are up for this honor.
Begun in 2004, AIRSHIP 27 PRODUCTIONS was the brainchild of veteran comic book writer, Ron Fortier. Familiar with the reprints being published to keep alive the memory of the classic pulp heroes, Ron wondered why no one was creating brand new adventures featuring these amazing characters. Partnering with professional comic book illustrator and graphic artist, Rob Davis, Fortier self-published The Hounds of Hell, co-authored with Gordon Linzner. In this tale, the Ten Detective Aces hero, The Moon Man, battles Doctor Satan, the equally famous Weird Tales villain. They followed this book with their first anthology, Lance Star – Sky Ranger, starring all-new exploits of a long-forgotten Canadian aviation pulp hero. Then came two anthologies of brand new Secret Agent “X” stories and the first all-new adventures of Ace Periodicals’ Captain Hazzard. Today, Airship 27 Productions continues its mission of producing brand new adventures of classic pulp heroes, as well as new, pulp-inspired heroes. There are over 200 titles in its catalog. Through Airship 27, Ron Fortier and Rob Davis have helped to establish and invigorate the new pulp fiction genre and introduce classic pulp characters to new enthusiasts. Airship 27 has also provided many new writers and artists an outlet for their work, helping them to establish their careers. Airship 27 continues to promote new pulp through such outstanding titles as Legends of New Pulp Fiction and the non-fiction guidebook, Who’s Who in New Pulp, as well as their longtime support for the Pulp Factory Awards, presented annually for the best in New Pulp Fiction.
As the publisher of Wildside Press,JOHN BETANCOURT has made available hundreds of stories from pulp magazines, digests, and early paperbacks available in print and ebook form, particularly in his Megapack format. John was an assistant editor at Amazing Stories and later helped to revive Weird Tales. The magazine went on to garner a World Fantasy Award in 1992 and a Hugo Award in 2009. In 2015, Betancourt helped the revived Weirdbook get off the ground. Originally published by W. Paul Ganley — for which he won a World Fantasy Award in 1992 — Weirdbook continues to appear on a fairly regular basis from Betancourt and Wildside Press. He also serves as the publisher of Sherlock Holmes Mystery Magazine and the infrequently issued Adventure Tales, which presents classic tales from the pulp magazines. In 2021, John revived Startling Stories, the classic science fiction pulp originally published by Ned Pines’ Standard Magazines. John is also a writer of science fiction, fantasy, and mystery fiction.
The Collections Librarian at the University of Connecticut, RICHARD BLEILER is a bibliographer and researcher in the areas of science fiction, fantasy, horror, crime, and adventure fiction. In 2002, he was nominated for the Bram Stoker Award for Best Non-Fiction for the second edition of Supernatural Fiction Writers: Fantasy and Horror. With his father, Everett Bleiler, Richard compiled Science Fiction: The Early Years and Science Fiction: The Gernsback Years, both published by Kent State University Press. His other work includes The Index to Adventure Magazine, The Annotated Index to The Thrill Book, the second edition of Science Fiction Writers: Critical Studies of the Major Authors from the Early Nineteenth Century to the Present Day, and Reference and Research Guide to Mystery and Detective Fiction. Richard’s essay, “Forgotten Giant: A Brief History of Adventure Magazine,” originally published in Extrapolation: A Journal of Science Fiction and Fantasy, is considered the finest overview of the classic pulp magazine. He has also written essays on early science fiction, fantasy, and mystery authors for The Dictionary of Literary Biography and other reference works, as well as articles on the writings of Frank Belknap Long and Clark Ashton Smith for Gary Hoppenstand’s Pulp Fiction of the 20s and 30s. Richard was nominated for the Bram Stoker Award for Best Non-Fiction in 2002.
A researcher of fantasy, science fiction, mystery, and adventure fiction for over thirty years, GENE CHRISTIE has extensively studied and indexed the magazines of the pulp era, especially those published by the Frank A. Munsey Company. Never too busy or tired to help, Gene has volunteered his time, knowledge, and editorial abilities, contributing to projects published by Adventure House, Off-Trail Publications, Battered Silicon Dispatch Box, and others. He annually volunteers at the Windy City Pulp and Paper Convention, in addition to proofing their program book, and has been a long-time attendee at other pulp-related conventions. In conjunction with Black Dog Books, he has compiled and edited several rare and previously unreprinted works, including Cornell Woolrich’s The Good Die Young, George Allan England’s The Empire in the Air, Seabury Quinn’s Demons of the Night, Murray Leinster’s The Silver Menace, and the excellent Munsey anthologies The Space Annihilator and The People of the Pit. He also serves as the editor for Black Dog Books’ Talbot Mundy Library. At PulpFest 2019, Gene offered convention attendees a wonderful presentation on Robert Hobart Davis, considered by many to be the greatest editor of the pulp era.
HENRY G. FRANKE III is the editor of The Burroughs Bulletin, the journal of The Burroughs Bibliophiles, the nonprofit literary society devoted to the life and works of Edgar Rice Burroughs. He also edits The Gridley Wave newsletter for the organization and during the pandemic, began organizing a monthly Zoom meeting for the Bibliophiles. He is also a member of the Edgar Rice Burroughs Amateur Press Association. Henry has presented several times at PulpFest and has organized art shows for the convention. He has also contributed to The Pulpster. In 2021, Henry — along with Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc., and the PulpFest organizing committee, organized ERBFest 2021, last year’s summertime convention for Burroughs fans. He was a contributing editor and penned the introductions for IDW Publishing’s Library of American Comics archival series reprinting Russ Manning’s Tarzan newspaper comic strips. The first volume of the series won the 2014 Eisner Award for Best Archival Collection – Strips. Henry also wrote introductions for IDW’s Library of American Comics reprint of the 1929 daily Tarzan strips by Hal Foster and Rex Maxon, and for Tarzan and the Adventurers, the fifth volume in Titan Books’ “Complete Burne Hogarth Comic Strip Library.”Additionally, he contributed the foreword to Tarzan the Untamed, the seventh volume in the “Edgar Rice Burroughs Authorized Library,” published by Edgar Rice Burroughs, Inc., and is currently writing the afterwords for the Authorized Library books. Specializing in art inspired by Burroughs’ stories, Franke is currently working on an illustrated biography of Russ Manning. He served in the US Army from 1977 to 2009 and is now employed by the Army as a civilian.
CHRIS KALB is known in pulp circles for his hero pulp websites, like The 86th Floor and The Spider Returns, ventures that have helped to attract people who are new to the pulps. There isn’t anyone out there making better use of all the new technology while still preserving the “oldness” of pulps and popular culture. He has become the person to go to for publishers who want a retro-design for their books or website, including Ed Hulse’s Murania Press. He is also the lead designer for Age of Aces Books, a pulp reprint house that specializes in air war fiction. In 2010, Age of Aces received two National Indie Excellence Awards for Chris’s work on the bestselling The Spider vs. The Empire State. Chris was the designer of PulpFest‘s original website and for many years, put together the convention’s print advertisements. A freelance designer and illustrator, he was the Art Director of Sci Fi Magazine for many years.
Like many of us, RICK LAIhas dedicated much of his adult life and disposable income to his passion for collecting pulp fiction (in all its permutations). Rick distinguished himself with the erudite and insightful scholarship that has made him respected among Wold Newtonians and purists alike. Rick’s speculative theories on character and continuity may have been inspired by Philip José Farmer, but were never bound by Farmer or anyone else’s parameters. Rick’s brilliant and provocative flights of fantasy informed, inspired, and even infuriated readers, but kept them coming back for the next article or book. Later in life, Rick made the natural progression from scholar to storyteller as he began creating works that supplement and expand upon his literary speculations. Among his many books are Chronology of Shadows: A Timeline of The Shadow’s Exploits, The Return of Judex, The Revised Complete Chronology of Bronze, Rick Lai’s Secret Histories: Daring Adventurers, Rick Lai’s Secret Histories: Criminal Masterminds, and Shadows of the Opera: Retribution in Blood. Rick has also presented at PulpFest and written many articles for The Pulp Collector, Pulp Vault, Echoes, Blood ‘n’ Thunder, and other periodicals. To learn more about Rick, read “PulpFest Profile — The Shadow of Rick Lai.”
WILLIAM PATRICK MAYNARD was born and raised in Northeast Ohio. An avid reader of vintage thriller fiction and a keen student of film and comic art, he has been writing fiction since childhood. Since 2009, he has been authorized by the Sax Rohmer literary estate to continue the Fu Manchu series. The Terror of Fu Manchu was released in 2009 and The Destiny of Fu Manchu in 2011. In addition to his novels, Bill also writes mystery and science fiction short fiction and screenplays. His recent fiction has appeared in George Mann’s Further Encounters of Sherlock Holmes, Flinch Books’ Occupied Pulp, Bold Venture’s Zorro: The Daring Escapades, and other anthologies. Bill has also authored nearly 300 pop culture articles and has contributed DVD commentaries for classic films of the last century. Bill has published articles in Blood and Thunder, The Cimmerian, The Pulpster, and Windy City Pulp Stories, among others. He has also penned a substantial number of pulp fiction columns for The Black Gate website. He was co-guest of honor — with Will Murray — at PulpFest 2013. In late 2018, Bill joined the PulpFest marketing department as a writer. Since then, he has contributed significantly to our website and our convention. Bill is PulpFest’s assistant director of marketing and the director of the convention’s afternoon programming.
From the beginning of his very varied career, writer GARY PHILLIPS has always tipped his cap to those who came before, and been a living, breathing homage to pulp culture and aesthetic. From his graphic novels — Peepland, Angeltown — to his short stories — “L. A. Noir,” “Treacherous” — and his novels — the most recent featuring a pulp reimagining of Matthew Henson, the first black explorer to reach the North Pole, his ethos has remained true. A long-time native of Los Angeles who lives near to where he was born and raised, Phillips writes some of the most realistic crime fiction in the genre, filling his stories with characters that fit right into the context of their times. He particularly admires Dashiell Hammett for his plotting and ability to keep his stories “grounded in reality.” Phillips’ restless devotion to bettering his craft shows, as he is still publishing some of his best work even after twenty-three years of being a professional author. Chantelle Aimée Osman, his editor at Agora Books, has written, “Knowing him for a decade before acting as his editor, I can’t think back to a single conversation where Gary didn’t refer me to some (usually obscure) pulp author or series. To me, and to many in the industry, Gary basically serves as the pulp ‘North Star,’ pointing the way for those who come after and making sure we remember those who came before.” In addition to his Doc Savage inspired novel, Matthew Henson and the Ice Temple of Harlem and his Hammett-inspired detective novels, Gary has contributed stories to Asian Pulp, The Avenger Chronicles, Bass Reeves, Frontier Marshall, Black Pulp, The Darker Mass: Heroes from the Shadows, Echoes of Sherlock Holmes, The Green Hornet Casefiles, Jewish Noir, Los Angeles Noir, The Spider: Extreme Prejudice, and similar pulp-inspired anthologies. To learn more about Gary, read “PulpFest Profile — Gary Phillips — To the North Pole and Beyond by Way of the Moon.”
While some nominees are like Doc Savage — out front and known to most — others are like The Shadow — hidden from view for most of the time, yet still there and appearing when needed. A pulp collector since a teenager, SHEILA VANDERBEEK began attending pulp conventions in 1975. She has attended nearly all of the major pulp conventions since her first. She helped with all the radio recreations that were performed at Pulpcon. A member of the Battered Silicon Press pulp advisory committee, Sheila has helped on many books for the publisher. In addition to recommending authors and series, she has supplied all or most of the stories included in Battered Silicon’s Great Merlini, John Solomon, Needle Mike, Park Ave Hunt Club, Satan Hall, and Suicide Squad collections, as well as others. She has also provided copies of stories to Steeger Books and other pulp-related publishers. Owning one of the largest and wide-ranging pulp collections in existence, Sheila also provided content information to Leonard Robbins for his groundbreaking pulp magazine indices. She has also helped with countless other research projects in the pulp field. Sheila has been a member of the Pulp Era Amateur Press Society since 1997.
For twenty-five years, HOWARD WRIGHT was the publisher of the Doc Savage fan magazine The Bronze Gazette. He created his magazine when there was no real Internet and very little information readily available about Lester Dent’s “Man of Bronze.” His main reason for starting the publication was to gather information about Doc Savage, disseminate this news to the “Fans of Bronze,” and keep Doc fans going during the “lean” years when Doc was, for the most part, a mere memory. Through Howard’s sustained efforts, interest in Doc was maintained and his return to the limelight assured. His final issue of the Gazette was published at the beginning of 2016. The magazine is being continued by Terry Allen, Kez Wilson, and Chuck Welch, creator of the Hidalgo Trading Company and a former member of the PulpFest organizing committee. It takes three people to duplicate Howard’s superb work on the Gazette.
DAN ZIMMER has been working to promote greater awareness of pulp artists by producing and distributing Illustration Magazine since 2001. He has published over seventy-five issues of his magazine. Dan has tirelessly contributed his time, expertise, and personal wealth to promote a more respectful awareness of the artistic accomplishments of pulp artists through the deluxe publication of the many biographical articles on such artists that have appeared in his magazine. He has done this despite the overwhelming fact that his creative vision is far beyond receiving any reasonable economic return for his efforts. His devotion to classic American illustrators is manifest in the elegant presentation of his magazine and has helped to turn the tide in our culture’s growing appreciation of pulp art. Dan has also published illustrated biographies of pulp artists Walter Baumhofer, H. J. Ward, and Norman Saunders through his book-publishing arm, The Illustrated Press. Additionally, he has supported the pulp community by drawing his readers’ attention to various pulp conventions, including the Windy City Pulp and Paper Convention, Pulpcon, and PulpFest. He’s also helped them by sharing scans of original pulp art for advertising the convention and illustrating publications. Dan has also served as the sponsor of Windy City’s annual pulp art exhibit and created the limited edition print of David Saunder’s Munsey Award painting without cost to the PulpFest organizing committee.
Rich Harvey has been named the winner of the 2021 Munsey Award. Nominated by the general pulp community, Harvey was selected by previous living winners of the Lamont, Munsey, and Rusty Awards. The results were announced at Pulpfest on August 20.
Here is the citation that explain why he was up for this honor:
Although pulp reprints abound in our day and age, such was not always the case. Along with John Gunnison of Adventure House, RICH HARVEY was one of the first small publishers to get the pulp reprint movement off the ground. He started in the pages of his fanzine, PULP ADVENTURES — begun in 1992 — where he published stories from COMPLETE NORTHWEST NOVEL, DIME DETECTIVE, .44 WESTERN MAGAZINE, NEW DETECTIVE MAGAZINE, and other pulps. Two of the highlights were two short stories by Norvell Page, offering the first two adventures of the popular pulp hero The Spider. Rich — along with his onetime partner, Cat Jaster, would go on to reprint two dozen of The Spider’s adventures. As Bold Venture Press, he has published a six-volume series reprinting the complete run of Johnston McCulley’s Zorro tales, reprinted unique tales from one of the longest-lived pulp magazines, RAILROAD STORIES, “new pulp” adventures in AWESOME TALES, and pulp old and new in the continuing PULP ADVENTURES. In 2020, he was the publisher of ZORRO: THE DARING ESCAPADES, an anthology of sixteen all-new adventures from multiple authors, based on the legendary character created by Johnston McCulley. Along with his current partner, Audrey Parente, Rich manages the twice-a-year Pulp AdventureCon in two locations, New Jersey and Florida. These one-day events help to bring the world of pulp to a wider geographic range of fans. Rich is also great at personally communicating with fans one-on-one, whether by email or through social media.
Named for Frank A. Munsey, publisher of the first pulp magazine, the award recognizes someone who has contributed to the betterment of the pulp community through disseminating knowledge, publishing, or other efforts to preserve and to foster interest pulp magazines.
Named for Frank A. Munsey, publisher of the first pulp magazine, the award recognizes someone who has contributed to the betterment of the pulp community through disseminating knowledge, publishing, or other efforts to preserve and to foster interest pulp magazines.
The winner of the 2021 Munsey Award will be selected by a committee made up of all the living Lamont, Munsey, and Rusty Award recipients and announced on Friday, August 20.
Here are the nominees and the citations that explain why they are up for this honor.
Begun in 2004, AIRSHIP 27 PRODUCTIONS was the brainchild of veteran comic book writer, Ron Fortier. Familiar with the reprints being published to keep alive the memory of the classic pulp heroes, Ron wondered why no one was creating brand new adventures featuring these amazing characters. Partnering with professional comic book illustrator and graphic artist, Rob Davis, Fortier self-published THE HOUNDS OF HELL, co-authored with Gordon Linzner. In this tale, the TEN DETECTIVE ACES hero, The Moon Man, battles Doctor Satan, the equally famous WEIRD TALES villain. They followed this book with their first anthology, LANCE STAR – SKY RANGER, starring all-new exploits of a long-forgotten Canadian aviation pulp hero. Then came two anthologies of brand new Secret Agent “X” stories and the first all-new adventures of Ace Periodicals’ Captain Hazzard. Today, Airship 27 Productions continues its mission of producing brand new adventures of classic pulp heroes, as well as new, pulp-inspired heroes. There are over 200 titles in its catalog. Through Airship 27, Ron Fortier and Rob Davis have helped to establish and invigorate the new pulp fiction genre and introduce classic pulp characters to new enthusiasts. Airship 27 has also provided many new writers and artists an outlet for their work, helping them to establish their careers. Airship 27 continues to promote new pulp through such outstanding titles as LEGENDS OF NEW PULP FICTION and the non-fiction guidebook, WHO’S WHO IN NEW PULP, as well as their longtime support for the Pulp Factory Awards, presented annually for the best in New Pulp Fiction.
As the publisher of Wildside Press,JOHN BETANCOURT has made available hundreds of stories from pulp magazines, digests, and early paperbacks available in print and ebook form, particularly in his MEGAPACK format. In the late 1980s, John also helped to revive WEIRD TALES. The magazine went on to garner a World Fantasy Award in 1992 and a Hugo Award in 2009. In 2015, Betancourt helped the revived WEIRDBOOK get off the ground. Originally published by W. Paul Ganley — for which he won a World Fantasy Award in 1992 — WEIRDBOOK continues to appear on a fairly regular basis from Betancourt and Wildside Press. He also serves as the publisher of SHERLOCK HOLMES MYSTERY MAGAZINE and the infrequently issued ADVENTURE TALES, which presents classic tales from the pulp magazines. Earlier this year, John revived STARTLING STORIES, the classic science fiction pulp originally published by Ned Pines’ Standard Magazines.
The Collections Librarian at the University of Connecticut, RICHARD BLEILER is a bibliographer and researcher in the areas of science fiction, fantasy, horror, crime, and adventure fiction. In 2002, he was nominated for the Bram Stoker Award for Best Non-Fiction for the second edition of SUPERNATURAL FICTION WRITERS: FANTASY AND HORROR. With his father, Everett Bleiler, Richard compiled SCIENCE-FICTION: THE EARLY YEARSand SCIENCE-FICTION: THE GERNSBACK YEARS, both published by Kent State University Press. His other work includes THE INDEX TO ADVENTURE MAGAZINE, THE ANNOTATED INDEX TO THE THRILL BOOK, the second edition of SCIENCE FICTION WRITERS: CRITICAL STUDIES OF THE MAJOR AUTHORS FROM THE EARLY NINETEENTH CENTURY TO THE PRESENT DAY, and REFERENCE AND RESEARCH GUIDE TO MYSTERY AND DETECTIVE FICTION. Richard’s essay, “Forgotten Giant: A Brief History of ADVENTURE MAGAZINE,” originally published in EXTRAPOLATION: A JOURNAL OF SCIENCE FICTION AND FANTASY, is considered the finest overview of the classic pulp magazine. He has also written essays on early science fiction, fantasy, and mystery authors for THE DICTIONARY OF LITERARY BIOGRAPHY and other reference works, as well as articles on the writings of Frank Belknap Long and Clark Ashton Smith for Gary Hoppenstand’s PULP FICTION OF THE ’20S AND ’30S.
A researcher of fantasy, science fiction, mystery, and adventure fiction for over thirty years, GENE CHRISTIE has extensively studied and indexed the magazines of the pulp era, especially those published by the Frank A. Munsey Company. Never too busy or tired to help, Gene has volunteered his time, knowledge, and editorial abilities, contributing to projects published by Adventure House, Off-Trail Publications, Battered Silicon Dispatch Box, and others. He annually volunteers at the Windy City Pulp and Paper Convention, in addition to proofing their program book, and has been a long-time attendee at other pulp-related conventions. In conjunction with Black Dog Books, he has compiled and edited several rare and previously unreprinted works, including Cornell Woolrich’s THE GOOD DIE YOUNG, George Allan England’s THE EMPIRE IN THE AIR, Seabury Quinn’s DEMONS OF THE NIGHT, Murray Leinster’s THE SILVER MENACE, and the excellent Munsey anthologies THE SPACE ANNIHILATOR and THE PEOPLE OF THE PIT. He also serves as the editor for Black Dog Books’ Talbot Mundy Library. At PulpFest 2019, Gene offered convention attendees a wonderful presentation on Robert Hobart Davis, considered by many to be the greatest editor of the pulp era.
Probably best known for the SCIENCE FICTION, FANTASY, AND WEIRD FICTION MAGAZINE INDEX that he originally compiled with Steve Miller, WILLIAM CONTENTO has assembled other works that have become essential tools of reference. These include his INDEX TO SCIENCE FICTION ANTHOLOGIES AND COLLECTIONS, INDEX TO CRIME AND MYSTERY ANTHOLOGIES (with Martin H. Greenberg), THE SUPERNATURAL INDEX (with Mike Ashley), and others. Since 2003, he and Phil Stephensen-Payne have built up the online FictionMags Index into a research juggernaut. It currently lists the contents of over 75,000 issues of thousands of different magazine titles. Pulps are heavily represented, of course, but pulp writers turn up in other magazines, too, and the FictionMags Index allows them to be discovered. A huge endeavor, the FictionMags Index has been a tremendous boon to pulp-magazine research.
Although pulp reprints abound in our day and age, such was not always the case. Along with John Gunnison of Adventure House, RICH HARVEY was one of the first small publishers to get the pulp reprint movement off the ground. He started in the pages of his fanzine, PULP ADVENTURES — begun in 1992 — where he published stories from COMPLETE NORTHWEST NOVEL, DIME DETECTIVE, .44 WESTERN MAGAZINE, NEW DETECTIVE MAGAZINE, and other pulps. Two of the highlights were two short stories by Norvell Page, offering the first two adventures of the popular pulp hero The Spider. Rich — along with his onetime partner, Cat Jaster, would go on to reprint two dozen of The Spider’s adventures. As Bold Venture Press, he has published a six-volume series reprinting the complete run of Johnston McCulley’s Zorro tales, reprinted unique tales from one of the longest-lived pulp magazines, RAILROAD STORIES, “new pulp” adventures in AWESOME TALES, and pulp old and new in the continuing PULP ADVENTURES. In 2020, he was the publisher of ZORRO: THE DARING ESCAPADES, an anthology of sixteen all-new adventures from multiple authors, based on the legendary character created by Johnston McCulley. Along with his current partner, Audrey Parente, Rich manages the twice-a-year Pulp AdventureCon in two locations, New Jersey and Florida. These one-day events help to bring the world of pulp to a wider geographic range of fans. Rich is also great at personally communicating with fans one-on-one, whether by email or through social media.
CHRIS KALB is known in pulp circles for his hero pulp websites, like The 86th Floor and The Spider Returns, ventures that have helped to attract people who are new to the pulps. There isn’t anyone out there making better use of all the new technology while still preserving the “oldness” of pulps and popular culture. He has become the person to go to for publishers who want a retro-design for their books or website, including Ed Hulse’s Murania Press. He is also the lead designer for Age of Aces Books, a pulp reprint house that specializes in air war fiction. In 2010, Age of Aces received two National Indie Excellence Awards for Chris’s work on the bestselling THE SPIDER VS. THE EMPIRE STATE. Chris was the designer of PulpFest‘s original website and for many years, put together the convention’s print advertisements.
Like many of us, RICK LAIhas dedicated much of his adult life and disposable income to his passion for collecting pulp fiction (in all its permutations). Rick distinguished himself with the erudite and insightful scholarship that has made him respected among Wold Newtonians and purists alike. Rick’s speculative theories on character and continuity may have been inspired by Philip José Farmer, but were never bound by Farmer or anyone else’s parameters. Rick’s brilliant and provocative flights of fantasy informed, inspired, and even infuriated readers, but kept them coming back for the next article or book. Later in life, Rick made the natural progression from scholar to storyteller as he began creating works that supplement and expand upon his literary speculations. Among his many books are CHRONOLOGY OF SHADOWS: A TIMELINE OF THE SHADOW’S EXPLOITS, THE RETURN OF JUDEX, THE REVISED COMPLETE CHRONOLOGY OF BRONZE, RICK LAI’S SECRET HISTORIES: DARING ADVENTURERS,RICK LAI’S SECRET HISTORIES: CRIMINAL MASTERMINDS, and SHADOWS OF THE OPERA: RETRIBUTION IN BLOOD. Rick has also presented at PulpFest and written many articles for THE PULP COLLECTOR, PULP VAULT, ECHOES, BLOOD ‘N’ THUNDER, and other periodicals.
From the beginning of his very varied career, writer GARY PHILLIPS has always tipped his cap to those who came before, and been a living, breathing homage to pulp culture and aesthetic. From his graphic novels — PEEPLAND, ANGELTOWN — to his short stories — “L. A. Noir,” “Treacherous” — and his novels — the most recent featuring a pulp reimagining of Matthew Henson, the first black explorer to reach the North Pole, his ethos has remained true. A long-time native of Los Angeles who lives near to where he was born and raised, Phillips writes some of the most realistic crime fiction in the genre, filling his stories with characters that fit right into the context of their times. He particularly admires Dashiell Hammett for his plotting and ability to keep his stories “grounded in reality.” Phillips’ restless devotion to bettering his craft shows, as he is still publishing some of his best work even after twenty-three years of being a professional author. Chantelle Aimée Osman, his editor at Agora Books, has written, “Knowing him for a decade before acting as his editor, I can’t think back to a single conversation where Gary didn’t refer me to some (usually obscure) pulp author or series. To me, and to many in the industry, Gary basically serves as the pulp ‘North Star,’ pointing the way for those who come after and making sure we remember those who came before.” In addition to his Doc Savage inspired novel, MATTHEW HENSON AND THE ICE TEMPLE OF HARLEM and his Hammett-inspired detective novels, Gary has contributed stories to ASIAN PULP, THE AVENGER CHRONICLES, BASS REEVES, FRONTIER MARSHALL, BLACK PULP, THE DARKER MASK: HEROES FROM THE SHADOWS, ECHOES OF SHERLOCK HOLMES, THE GREEN HORNET CASEFILES, JEWISH NOIR, LOS ANGELES NOIR, THE SPIDER: EXTREME PREJUDICE, and similar pulp-inspired anthologies.
While some nominees are like Doc Savage — out front and known to most — others are like The Shadow — hidden from view for most of the time, yet still there and appearing when needed. A pulp collector since a teenager, SHEILA VANDERBEEK began attending pulp conventions in 1975. She has attended nearly all of the major pulp conventions since her first. She helped with all the radio recreations that were performed at Pulpcon. A member of the Battered Silicon Press pulp advisory committee, Sheila has helped on many books for the publisher. In addition to recommending authors and series, she has supplied all or most of the stories included in Battered Silicon’s Great Merlini, John Solomon, Needle Mike, Park Ave Hunt Club, Satan Hall, and Suicide Squad collections, as well as others. She has also provided copies of stories to Steeger Books and other pulp-related publishers. Owning one of the largest and wide-ranging pulp collections in existence, Sheila also provided content information to Leonard Robbins for his groundbreaking pulp magazine indices. She has also helped with countless other research projects in the pulp field. Sheila has been a member of the Pulp Era Amateur Press Society since 1997.
For twenty-five years, HOWARD WRIGHT was the publisher of the Doc Savage fan magazine THE BRONZE GAZETTE. He created his magazine when there was no real Internet and very little information readily available about Lester Dent’s “Man of Bronze.” His main reason for starting the publication was to gather information about Doc Savage, disseminate this news to the “Fans of Bronze,” and keep Doc fans going during the “lean” years when Doc was, for the most part, a mere memory. Through Howard’s sustained efforts, interest in Doc was maintained and his return to the limelight assured. His final issue of the GAZETTE was published at the beginning of 2016. The magazine is being continued by Terry Allen, Kez Wilson, and Chuck Welch, creator of the Hidalgo Trading Company and a former member of the PulpFest organizing committee. It takes three people to duplicate Howard’s superb work on the GAZETTE.
DAN ZIMMER has been working to promote greater awareness of pulp artists by producing and distributing ILLUSTRATION MAGAZINE since 2001. He has published over seventy issues of his magazine. Dan has tirelessly contributed his time, expertise, and personal wealth to promote a more respectful awareness of the artistic accomplishments of pulp artists through the deluxe publication of the many biographical articles on such artists that have appeared in his magazine. He has done this despite the overwhelming fact that his creative vision is far beyond receiving any reasonable economic return for his efforts. His devotion to classic American illustrators is manifest in the elegant presentation of his magazine and has helped to turn the tide in our culture’s growing appreciation of pulp art. Dan has also published illustrated biographies of pulp artists Walter Baumhofer, H. J. Ward, and Norman Saunders through his book-publishing arm, The Illustrated Press. Additionally, he has supported the pulp community by drawing his readers’ attention to various pulp conventions, including the Windy City Pulp and Paper Convention, Pulpcon, and PulpFest. Dan has also served as the sponsor of Windy City’s annual pulp art exhibit and created the limited edition print of David Saunder’s Munsey Award painting without cost to the PulpFest organizing committee.
The winner of Pulpfest’s 2020 Munsey Award is Mike Ashley, author, bibliographer, critic, editor, and historian with a special expertise in the history of magazine science fiction, fantasy, and weird fiction.
The award is named for Frank A. Munsey, publisher of the first pulp magazine, and recognizes someone who has contributed to the betterment of the pulp community through disseminating knowledge, publishing, or other efforts to preserve and to foster interest pulp magazines. The winner is selected by a committee made up of all the living Lamont, Munsey, and Rusty Award recipients. The award is a fine art print created by David Saunders and published by Dan Zimmer of The Illustrated Press.
The award citation notes that Mike Ashley is the author or co-author of numerous works related to the pulps, science fiction, and fantasy. These include The Age Of The Storytellers: British Popular Fiction Magazines, 1880-1950,Algernon Blackwood: A Bio-Bibliography, “Blue Book — The Slick In Pulp Clothing,” The Gernsback Days: A Study In The Evolution Of Modern Science Fiction From 1911 To 1936, Monthly Terrors: An Index To The Weird Fantasy Magazines Published In The United States And Great Britain, Science Fiction, Fantasy And Weird Fiction Magazines, The Supernatural Index: A Listing Of Fantasy, Supernatural, Occult, Weird And Horror Anthologies, and others. In 2000, Ashley began to publish his multi-part The History Of The Science-Fiction Magazines, beginning with The Time Machines: The Story Of The Science-Fiction Pulp Magazines From The Beginning To 1950.
Ashley has also edited many anthologies and single-author collections, often drawing work from the pulps. He is currently part of a team compiling an index to the most important British popular fiction magazines published between 1880 and 1950, including all the British pulps.
In 2002, he received a Pilgrim Award from the Science Fiction Research Association in recognition of his distinguished contributions to the study of science fiction.
Pulpfest’s Mike Chomko posted these acceptance remarks from Mike Ashley:
It’s really great to win this award and I must thank everyone who voted for me. Especially as I feel such a long way from the epicentre of the pulp world, tucked away as I am in North Kent in England. Britain had its pulps, but nothing like those that appeared in the United States. In the early 1960s, when I started researching and collecting them, not only had the heyday of the pulps long passed, but it wasn’t easy to track them down in Britain.
Sure we had some dreadful British editions of American pulps that had appeared during the War and continued afterwards for some years, but these were often abridged versions and always looked second rate. If I was going to collect and understand the pulps properly, I had to collect the originals. However, in those long-ago, pre-internet days, doing so wasn’t that easy.
I now forget all of the dealers who helped me. There were some in Britain who had US pulps for sale — Ken Slater and Ken Chapman in particular. In the States, I was helped by Bob Madle, Bob Weinberg, and others. And bit by bit my collection grew.
However, my fascination was not just collecting pulps, but understanding their history. And it wasn’t just the science fiction or weird pulps that intrigued me. I suppose I have to thank or blame Sam Moskowitz for really setting my interest on fire, though it wasn’t just him. Tom Cockcroft in New Zealand was always enticing me with references to obscure magazines. Billy Pettitt said to me once that I was wasting my time researching the primary science fiction and fantasy magazines because they had already been covered. He told me that I ought to turn my attention to the rare British pulps like HUTCHINSON’S MYSTERY-STORY or the obscure PAN.
This was in the mid-sixties, and there was one small fanzine in particular that drove my collecting bug. That was LORE. Produced by Jerry Page and Jerry Burge, it made references to all kinds of lesser-known magazines — both British and American — and pushed for resources not only to index them, but to reprint them.
These days, with the wonderful work achieved by Adventure House, Black Dog Books, Steeger Books, and so many others, it’s relatively easy to acquire facsimile or reprinted issues of the old pulps. I never believed back in 1965 that I would have a complete reprint of THE THRILL BOOK – admittedly not as pulps in their original format — but no matter. It was so legendary that I doubted I’d ever see them. I remember trying to check out these early pulps at the British Library only to have my submission card returned time and again with the notation, ‘Destroyed in the War.’
In some ways, the comparative ease with which — thanks to the internet and reprint sources — you can now find so many of these early pulps has perhaps tainted some of that thrill of the chase. But for research purposes it’s brilliant. However, there is still so much that is not readily available. I wonder whether I’ll ever assemble a complete run of the British magazine, YES OR NO – not a pulp in looks, but definitely in content. This was another destroyed in the War, but in this case, very few seemed to have bothered to collect it. I may well have the biggest run of that magazine of anyone. However, I still have only 237 of its 798 issues, which is less than a third. It’s that kind of research that drives me on. The delight in discovering, reading, and researching such early magazines is still as vibrant in me now as it was almost sixty years ago.
Now I have another thrill, with the Munsey Award. How wonderful.
The PulpFest Organizing Committee has announced the fourteen 2020 Munsey Award nominees. Named for Frank A. Munsey, publisher of the first pulp magazine, the award recognizes someone who has contributed to the betterment of the pulp community through disseminating knowledge, publishing, or other efforts to preserve and to foster interest pulp magazines.
Although the 2020 PulpFest has been canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic, the convention’s organizing committee felt it was important to continue the tradition of honoring the service of such individuals. The winner of the 2020 Munsey Award will be selected by a committee made up of all the living Lamont, Munsey, and Rusty Award recipients and announced on Monday, August 3, at the start of the week that PulpFest 2020 was scheduled to take place.
Author, bibliographer, critic, editor, and historian MIKE ASHLEY has a special expertise in the history of magazine science fiction, fantasy, and weird fiction. In 2002, he received a Pilgrim Award from the Science Fiction Research Association in recognition of his distinguished contributions to the study of science fiction. He is the author or co-author of numerous works related to the pulps, science fiction, and fantasy. …In 2000, Ashley began to publish his multi-part THE HISTORY OF THE SCIENCE-FICTION MAGAZINES, beginning with THE TIME MACHINES: THE STORY OF THE SCIENCE-FICTION PULP MAGAZINES FROM THE BEGINNING TO 1950. Mr. Ashley has also edited many anthologies and single-author collections, often drawing work from the pulps. He is currently working to compile an index to the most important British popular fiction magazines between 1880 and 1950.
The Collections Librarian at the University of Connecticut, RICHARD BLEILER is a bibliographer and researcher in the areas of science fiction, fantasy, horror, crime, and adventure fiction. In 2002, he was nominated for the Bram Stoker Award for Best Non-Fiction for the second edition of SUPERNATURAL FICTION WRITERS: FANTASY AND HORROR. With his father, Everett Bleiler, Richard compiled SCIENCE-FICTION: THE EARLY YEARSand SCIENCE-FICTION: THE GERNSBACK YEARS, both published by Kent State University Press. His other work includes THE INDEX TO ADVENTURE MAGAZINE, THE ANNOTATED INDEX TO THE THRILL BOOK, the second edition of SCIENCE FICTION WRITERS: CRITICAL STUDIES OF THE MAJOR AUTHORS FROM THE EARLY NINETEENTH CENTURY TO THE PRESENT DAY, and REFERENCE AND RESEARCH GUIDE TO MYSTERY AND DETECTIVE FICTION. Richard’s essay, “Forgotten Giant: A Brief History of ADVENTURE MAGAZINE,” originally published in EXTRAPOLATION: A JOURNAL OF SCIENCE FICTION AND FANTASY, is considered the finest overview of the classic pulp magazine….
For several years, JASON RAY CARNEY has been researching, publishing, and teaching about the pulps, helping to maintain knowledge and interest in this important part of American popular culture. Here at Christopher Newport University, Dr. Carney makes pulps — such as WEIRD TALES — and pulp authors, including Robert E. Howard, Clark Ashton Smith, and H.P. Lovecraft, an integral part of many of his classes, from freshmen and sophomore composition, to popular genres, special topics, and Honors classes. Hundreds of students have now read, analyzed, discussed, and written about these pulp magazines and writers. Additionally, he has worked with undergraduate research assistants on his pulp-related writing projects, allowing select students to study elements of pulp fiction more closely. As a scholar, Dr. Carney’s monograph WEIRD TALES OF MODERNITY: THE EPHEMERALITY OF THE ORDINARY IN THE STORIES OF ROBERT E. HOWARD, CLARK ASHTON SMIT, AND H.P. LOVECRAFT, was released in July 2019 by MacFarland…. He is on the board for The Robert E. Howard Foundation and serves as co-editor for the academic journal dedicated to Howard and pulp fiction, THE DARK MAN: THE JOURNAL OF ROBERT E. HOWARD AND PULP STUDIES. He has been a speaker at numerous pulp-related conferences and events, including the annual Howard Days and Necronomicon. Finally, he is the area chair for the Pulp Studies section of the Popular Culture Association’s National Conference.
CAMILLE CAZEDESSUS has been publishing a fanzine devoted to pulp fiction for more than fifty years, first as ERB-DOM and later as THE FANTASTIC COLLECTOR. All told, he has edited and published almost 250 issues, as well as several books. In its earliest incarnation, Caz’s magazine focused on the work of Edgar Rice Burroughs, presenting background information and bibliographic details about the author’s work as it appeared in magazines, books, comics, and movies. ERB-DOM won a Hugo Award in 1966. In the late nineties, Caz rechristened his fanzine as PULPDOM, a publication devoted to “studying the authors that wrote for the pulps and reprinting the ‘fantastic adventure’ type stories from pulp magazines.” … Caz continues to publish PULPDOM today as an online pulp fanzine.
A researcher of fantasy, science fiction, mystery, and adventure fiction for over thirty years, GENE CHRISTIE has extensively studied and indexed the magazines of the pulp era, especially those published by the Frank A. Munsey Company. Never too busy or tired to help, Gene has volunteered his time, knowledge, and editorial abilities, contributing to projects published by Adventure House, Off-Trail Publications, Battered Silicon Dispatch Box, and others….
Probably best known for the SCIENCE FICTION, FANTASY, AND WEIRD FICTION MAGAZINE INDEX that he originally compiled with Steve Miller, WILLIAM CONTENTO has assembled other works that have become essential tools of reference. These include his INDEX TO SCIENCE FICTION ANTHOLOGIES AND COLLECTIONS, INDEX TO CRIME AND MYSTERY ANTHOLOGIES (with Martin H. Greenberg), THE SUPERNATURAL INDEX (with Mike Ashley), and others. In the last seventeen years, he and Phil Stephensen-Payne have built up the online FictionMags Index into a research juggernaut. It currently lists the contents of over 75,000 issues of thousands of different magazine titles….
STEPHEN HAFFNER — The “Big Poobah” of Haffner Press — has been returning the work of many well-regarded pulp fiction writers into print for nearly twenty years. Specializing in science fiction, fantasy, and mystery fiction, Stephen has brought back the early work of Leigh Brackett, Fredric Brown, Howard Brown, Edmond Hamilton, Henry Kuttner, C. L. Moore, Manly Wade Wellman, and Jack Williamson in a series of beautifully designed hardcovers. He is also working on volumes featuring the fiction of Robert Bloch, Donald Wandrei, and others. Ed Gorman wrote the following about Haffner Press books: “They’re among the best made and most handsomely illustrated of all the collectibles I’ve ever seen. These are masterpieces in every way.” Stephen has also been involved in furthering interest in the pulps among both academia and the general public. He has been associated with the annual Jack Williamson Lectureship at Eastern New Mexico University for many years and in 2009 was a co-sponsor with the Kinsman Historical Society of the first Edmond Hamilton Day in the late author’s hometown….
Although pulp reprints abound in our day and age, such was not only the case. Along with John Gunnison of Adventure House, RICH HARVEY was one of the first small publishers to get the pulp reprint movement off the ground. He started in the pages of his fanzine, PULP ADVENTURES — begun in 1992 — where he published stories from COMPLETE NORTHWEST NOVEL, DIME DETECTIVE, .44 WESTERN MAGAZINE, NEW DETECTIVE MAGAZINE, and other pulps. …Along with his current partner, Audrey Parente, Rich manages the twice-a-year Pulp AdventureCon in two locations, New Jersey and Florida. These one-day events help to bring the world of pulp to a wider geographic range of fans. Rich is also great at personally communicating with fans one-on-one, whether on email or Facebook.
CHRIS KALB is known in pulp circles for his hero pulp websites, like The 86th Floor and The Spider Returns, ventures that have helped to attract people who are new to the pulps. There isn’t anyone out there making better use of all the new technology while still preserving the “oldness” of pulps and popular culture. He has become the person to go to for publishers who want a retro-design for their books or website, including Ed Hulse’s Murania Press. He is also the lead designer for Age of Aces Books, a pulp reprint house that specializes in air war fiction. In 2010, Age of Aces received two National Indie Excellence Awards for Chris’s work on the bestselling THE SPIDER VS. THE EMPIRE STATE. Chris was the designer of PulpFest‘s original website and for many years, put together the convention’s print advertisements.
Like many of us, RICK LAIhas dedicated much of his adult life and disposable income to his passion for collecting pulp fiction (in all its permutations). Rick distinguished himself with the erudite and insightful scholarship that has made him respected among Wold Newtonians and purists alike. …Among his many books are CHRONOLOGY OF SHADOWS: A TIMELINE OF THE SHADOW’S EXPLOITS, THE RETURN OF JUDEX, THE REVISED COMPLETE CHRONOLOGY OF BRONZE, RICK LAI’S SECRET HISTORIES: DARING ADVENTURERS, and SHADOWS OF THE OPERA: RETRIBUTION IN BLOOD.
DAVID PHIPPS is the creator and driving force behind the PULP ALLEY miniatures game. David’s enthusiasm for pulp fiction is evident in the mystery, excitement, and adventure that gameplayers encounter whenever they play another round of PULP ALLEY. …Another PULP ALLEY player suggested that, “. . . through the medium of tabletop gaming, Dave is attracting both people with a casual awareness of pulp fiction as well as those who are new to the field. . . . His enthusiasm for pulp fiction is genuine and infectious. He has led me to discover the likes of Solomon Kane, John Carter, and others. I honestly do not know if this qualifies him for the Munsey Award . . . However, in his own way, David Phipps, through PULP ALLEY, is introducing pulp fiction to a new audience. . . . Bringing new blood to tabletop gaming and piquing interest in a style of storytelling (in many mediums) . . . can only be good for the greater community.”
While some nominees are like Doc Savage — out front and known to most — others are like The Shadow — hidden from view for most the time, yet still there and appearing when needed. A pulp collector since a teenager, SHEILA VANDERBEEK began attending pulp conventions in 1975. She has attended 62 of the 63 major pulp conventions since her first. She helped with all the radio recreations that were performed at Pulpcon. A member of the Battered Silicon Press pulp advisory committee, Sheila has helped on many books for the publisher…
For twenty-five years, HOWARD WRIGHT was the publisher of the Doc Savage fan magazine THE BRONZE GAZETTE. He created his magazine when there was no real Internet and very little information readily available about Lester Dent’s “Man of Bronze.” His main reason for starting the publication was to gather information about Doc Savage, disseminate this news to the “Fans of Bronze,” and keep Doc fans going during the “lean” years when Doc was, for the most part, a mere memory…
DAN ZIMMER has been working to promote greater awareness of pulp artists by producing and distributing ILLUSTRATION MAGAZINE since 2001. He has published over sixty issues of his magazine. Dan has tirelessly contributed his time, expertise and personal wealth to promote a more respectful awareness of the artistic accomplishments of pulp artists through the deluxe publication of the many biographical articles on such artists that have appeared in his magazine. He has done this despite the overwhelming fact that his creative vision is far beyond receiving any reasonable economic return for his efforts. His devotion to classic American illustrators is manifest in the elegant presentation of his magazine and has helped to turn the tide in our culture’s growing appreciation of pulp art. Dan has also published illustrated biographies of pulp artists Walter Baumhofer, H. J. Ward, and Norman Saunders through his book-publishing arm, The Illustrated Press….
Publisher George Vanderburgh is the winner of the 2019 Munsey Award. The award was presented at PulpFest in Pittsburgh on August
17.
GEORGE VANDERBURGH has published over 600 books through his Battered Silicon Dispatch Box, many of them directly related to the pulps. He was largely responsible for finally getting all of Fred Davis’ classic Moon Man stories back into print. And what about his Peter the Brazen series, his five volumes featuring the work of Seabury Quinn, THE COMPLEAT ADVENTURES OF THE PARK AVENUE HUNT CLUB, his Green Ghost set, THE COMPLEAT SAGA OF JOHN SOLOMON, THE ADVENTURES OF THE GOLDEN AMAZON, THE COMPLEAT ADVENTURES OF THE SUICIDE SQUAD, and others? He has also given us numerous collections of detective fiction, including volumes featuring the Thinking Machine, Dr. Thorndyke, and Martin Hewitt. Looking at his website, his future plans include several books reprinting pulp authors who have been unjustly forgotten. Along with the late Robert Weinberg, George served as the co-editor of Arkham House Publishers until the death of April Derleth. A regular attendee of pulp conventions, George has helped both longtime and new fans to collect the tales of some of the most fantastic heroes from the pulps. At this year’s PulpFest, George was part of our presentation, “The Game’s Afoot: Sherlock Holmes and the Pulps.”
Bill Lampkin, last year’s winner, made the presentation.
The award, named for Frank A. Munsey, publisher of the first pulp magazine, recognizes someone
who has contributed to the betterment of the pulp community through
disseminating knowledge, publishing, or other efforts to preserve and to foster
interest pulp magazines. The winner is selected by a committee made up of all
the living Lamont, Munsey, and Rusty Award recipients. The award is a fine art print created by David
Saunders and published by Dan Zimmer of The Illustrated Press.
The PulpFest Organizing Committee
has announced the fifteen 2019 Munsey Award nominees. Named for Frank A. Munsey, publisher of the first pulp magazine, the award recognizes
someone who has contributed to the betterment of the pulp community through
disseminating knowledge, publishing, or other efforts to preserve and to foster
interest pulp magazines. The winner will be selected by a committee made up of
all the living Lamont, Munsey, and Rusty Award recipients and named August 17 at PulpFest
in Pittsburgh.
Author, bibliographer, critic, editor, and historian MIKE ASHLEY has a special expertise in the history of magazine science fiction, fantasy, and weird fiction. In 2002, he received a Pilgrim Award from the Science Fiction Research Association in recognition of his distinguished contributions to the study of science fiction. He is the author or co-author of numerous works related to the pulps, science fiction, and fantasy. …In 2000, Ashley began to publish his multi-part THE HISTORY OF THE SCIENCE-FICTION MAGAZINES, beginning with THE TIME MACHINES: THE STORY OF THE SCIENCE-FICTION PULP MAGAZINES FROM THE BEGINNING TO 1950. Mr. Ashley has also edited many anthologies and single-author collections, often drawing work from the pulps. He is currently working to compile an index to the most important British popular fiction magazines between 1880 and 1950.
The Collections Librarian at the University of Connecticut, RICHARD BLEILER is a bibliographer and researcher in the areas of science fiction, fantasy, horror, crime, and adventure fiction. In 2002, he was nominated for the Bram Stoker Award for Best Non-Fiction for the second edition of SUPERNATURAL FICTION WRITERS: FANTASY AND HORROR. With his father, Everett Bleiler, Richard compiled SCIENCE-FICTION: THE EARLY YEARS and SCIENCE-FICTION: THE GERNSBACK YEARS, both published by Kent State University Press. His other work includes THE INDEX TO ADVENTURE MAGAZINE, THE ANNOTATED INDEX TO THE THRILL BOOK, the second edition of SCIENCE FICTION WRITERS: CRITICAL STUDIES OF THE MAJOR AUTHORS FROM THE EARLY NINETEENTH CENTURY TO THE PRESENT DAY, and REFERENCE AND RESEARCH GUIDE TO MYSTERY AND DETECTIVE FICTION. Richard’s essay, “Forgotten Giant: A Brief History of ADVENTURE MAGAZINE,” originally published in EXTRAPOLATION: A JOURNAL OF SCIENCE FICTION AND FANTASY, is considered the finest overview of the classic pulp magazine….
CAMILLE CAZEDESSUS has been publishing a fanzine devoted to pulp fiction for more than fifty years, first as ERB-DOM and later as THE FANTASTIC COLLECTOR. All told, he has edited and published almost 250 issues, as well as several books. In its earliest incarnation, Caz’s magazine focused on the work of Edgar Rice Burroughs, presenting background information and bibliographic details about the author’s work as it appeared in magazines, books, comics, and movies. ERB-DOM won a Hugo Award in 1966. In the late nineties, Caz rechristened his fanzine as PULPDOM, a publication devoted to “studying the authors that wrote for the pulps and reprinting the ‘fantastic adventure’ type stories from pulp magazines.” … Caz continues to publish PULPDOM today as an online pulp fanzine.
Probably best known for the SCIENCE FICTION, FANTASY, AND WEIRD FICTION MAGAZINE INDEX that he originally compiled with Steve Miller, WILLIAM CONTENTO has assembled other works that have become essential tools of reference. These include his INDEX TO SCIENCE FICTION ANTHOLOGIES AND COLLECTIONS, INDEX TO CRIME AND MYSTERY ANTHOLOGIES (with Martin H. Greenberg), THE SUPERNATURAL INDEX (with Mike Ashley), and others. In the last seventeen years, he and Phil Stephensen-Payne have built up the online FictionMags Index into a research juggernaut. It currently lists the contents of over 75,000 issues of thousands of different magazine titles….
WIN SCOTT ECKERT is the coauthor with Philip José Farmer of the Wold Newton novel THE EVIL IN PEMBERLEY HOUSE and the author of THE SCARLET JAGUAR, both featuring Patricia Wildman, daughter of the pulp hero Doc Wildman, the bronze champion of justice. …Additionally, he is the editor of and a contributor to MYTHS FOR THE MODERN AGE: PHILIP JOSÉ FARMER’S WOLD NEWTON UNIVERSE — a 2007 Locus Awards finalist — and the coeditor with Christopher Paul Carey of TALES OF THE WOLD NEWTON UNIVERSE. He was the coeditor of FARMERPHILE from 2007–2009. His massive timeline of crossover stories — CROSSOVERS: A SECRET CHRONOLOGY OF THE WORLD — was published by Black Coat Press in 2010. In 1997, he launched the first Wold Newton website, The Wold Newton Universe. A tireless chronicler of Farmer’s idiosyncratic view of a broad shared universe, Eckert has shown remarkable fidelity to Farmer’s vision and serves as an inspiration to the many who have followed in his wake. Like Farmer, Win is one of the leading “Children of the Pulps.”
RALPH GRASSO may just be the ultimate pulp fan. He has created and is the administrator for at least 25 pulp and pulp-related Facebook groups. Ralph actively participates in these groups to engage members in spirited conversation relative to the group topic. These groups provide a place for fans of the pulps to congregate and chat. They also serve to bring in new members and introduce them to pulp literature, authors, and characters. Just some of the groups that Ralph has created are A. MERRITT FAN GROUP, FANS OF BRONZE, H.P.L. — THE MASTER OF COSMIC HORROR, IN THE ROARING HEART OF THE CRUCIBLE, THE MYSTERY MEN OF JOHNSTON MCCULLEY, PULP SWORD AND SORCERY, THE SHADOW STRIKES, SWORD AND PLANET FICTION, TWO-GUN BOB — THE WORLDS OF ROBERT E. HOWARD, and WELLMAN’S GUYS!
STEPHEN HAFFNER — The “Big Poobah” of Haffner Press — has been returning the work of a number of well-regarded pulp fiction writers into print for nearly twenty years. Specializing in science fiction, fantasy, and mystery fiction, Stephen has brought back the early work of Leigh Brackett, Fredric Brown, Howard Brown, Edmond Hamilton, Henry Kuttner, C. L. Moore, Manly Wade Wellman, and Jack Williamson in a series of beautifully designed hardcovers. …Stephen has also been involved in furthering interest in the pulps among both academia and the general public. He has been associated with the annual Jack Williamson Lectureship at Eastern New Mexico University for many years and in 2009 was a co-sponsor with the Kinsman Historical Society of the first Edmond Hamilton Day in the late author’s hometown….
Although pulp reprints abound in our day and age, such was not only the case. Along with John Gunnison of Adventure House, RICH HARVEY was one of the first small publishers to get the pulp reprint movement off the ground. He started in the pages of his fanzine, PULP ADVENTURES — begun in 1992 — where he published stories from COMPLETE NORTHWEST NOVEL, DIME DETECTIVE, .44 WESTERN MAGAZINE, NEW DETECTIVE MAGAZINE, and other pulps. …Along with his current partner, Audrey Parente, Rich manages the twice-a-year Pulp AdventureCon in two locations, New Jersey and Florida. These one-day events help to bring the world of pulp to a wider geographic range of fans….
CHRIS KALB is known in pulp circles for his hero pulp websites, like The 86th Floor and The Spider Returns, ventures that have helped to attract people who are new to the pulps. There isn’t anyone out there making better use of all the new technology while still preserving the “oldness” of pulps and popular culture. He has become the person to go to for publishers who want a retro-design for their books or website, including Ed Hulse’s Murania Press. He is also the lead designer for Age of Aces Books, a pulp reprint house that specializes in air war fiction. In 2010, Age of Aces received two National Indie Excellence Awards for Chris’ work on the bestselling THE SPIDER VS. THE EMPIRE STATE. Chris was the designer of PulpFest‘s original website and for many years, put together the convention’s print advertisements.
Like many of us, RICK LAI has dedicated much of his adult life and disposable income to his passion for collecting pulp fiction (in all its permutations). Rick distinguished himself with his erudite and insightful scholarship that has made him respected among Wold Newtonians and purists alike. …Among his many books are CHRONOLOGY OF SHADOWS: A TIMELINE OF THE SHADOW’S EXPLOITS, THE RETURN OF JUDEX, THE REVISED COMPLETE CHRONOLOGY OF BRONZE, RICK LAI’S SECRET HISTORIES: DARING ADVENTURERS, and SHADOWS OF THE OPERA: RETRIBUTION IN BLOOD.
While some nominees are like Doc Savage — out front and known to most — others are like The Shadow — hidden from view for most the time, yet still there and appearing when needed. A pulp collector since a teenager, SHEILA VANDERBEEK began attending pulp conventions in 1975. She has attended 62 of the 63 major pulp conventions since her first. She helped with all the radio recreations that were performed at Pulpcon. A member of the Battered Silicon Press pulp advisory committee, Sheila has helped on many books for the publisher….
GEORGE VANDERBURGH has published over 600 books through his Battered Silicon Dispatch Box, many of them directly related to the pulps. He was largely responsible for finally getting all of Fred Davis’ classic Moon Man stories back into print. …Looking at his website, his future plans include several books reprinting pulp authors who have been unjustly forgotten. Along with the late Robert Weinberg, George served as the co-editor of Arkham House Publishers until the death of April Derleth….
Although some may believe he is old enough to have purchased pulps off the newsstand, CHUCK WELCH is a mere whippersnapper. As one of the original Internet Fans of Bronze, Chuck started attending the summer pulp convention in the late 1990s. After meeting his future wife at one of those conventions, Chuck took some time off to start a family. At the behest of Bill Mann, he returned to attend PulpFest. As was his wont, Chuck immediately started volunteering and making suggestions to the organizing committee. Having enough of his puppy-dog eyes, he was asked to join the team. Chuck served as the convention’s technology and social media director until his resignation in 2018, due to family commitments. When the Internet began to take off, Chuck began Flearun, a Doc Savage group now at Facebook. He is also the creator of the Hidalgo Trading Company — perhaps the closest anyone has come to presenting an online Doc fanzine — and the current editor of the Doc Savage fan magazine THE BRONZE GAZETTE.
For twenty-five years, HOWARD WRIGHT was the publisher of the Doc Savage fan magazine THE BRONZE GAZETTE. He created his magazine when there was no real Internet and very little information readily available about Lester Dent’s “Man of Bronze.” His main reason for starting the publication was to gather information about Doc Savage, disseminate this news to the “Fans of Bronze,” and keep Doc fans going during the “lean” years when Doc was, for the most part, a mere memory…
DAN ZIMMER has been working to promote greater awareness of pulp artists by producing and distributing ILLUSTRATION MAGAZINE since 2001. He is nearing the sixtieth issue of his magazine. Dan has tirelessly contributed his time, expertise and personal wealth to promote a more respectful awareness of the artistic accomplishments of pulp artists through the deluxe publication of the many biographical articles on such artists that have appeared in his magazine. He has done this despite the overwhelming fact that his creative vision is far beyond receiving any reasonable economic return for his efforts. His devotion to classic American illustrators is manifest in the elegant presentation of his magazine and has helped to turn the tide in our culture’s growing appreciation of pulp art. Dan has also published illustrated biographies of pulp artists Walter Baumhofer, H. J. Ward, and Norman Saunders through his book-publishing arm, The Illustrated Press.…
William Lampkin is the winner of the 2018 Munsey Award. The award was presented at PulpFest in Pittsburgh on July 28.
William Lampkin, is a freelance writer/editor and publication designer who has spent much of his work life in the newspaper field, much like Rambler Murphy (but without the cool nickname and crime-solving). After freelancing for a number of years, he’s now the public information officer for a professional licensing board. Like many from his generation, Bill discovered the pulps through paperback reprints of Edgar Rice Burroughs, Robert E. Howard, The Shadow, Doc Savage, and The Spider. He bought his first actual pulp in the seventies. Bill runs ThePulp.Net, which he created in 1996, and also writes the Yellowed Perils blog. He founded the Facebook group Southern Pulpsters in 2015. A resident of Florida, he has designed THE PULPSTER since 2008, and beginning with its 22nd issue, became editor of the award-winning program book.
The first twenty-one issues of the magazine were edited by Tony Davis, winner of the 1999 . Tony calls Bill: “One of the unsung heroes of contemporary pulp fandom.” In late 2013, Bill also began to design <PulpFest‘s print advertisements, badges, and other materials. He is a member of the <PulpFest organizing committee, serving as the convention’s advertising director and webmaster.
The award, named for Frank A. Munsey, publisher of the first pulp magazine, recognizes someone who has contributed to the betterment of the pulp community through disseminating knowledge, publishing, or other efforts to preserve and to foster interest pulp magazines. The winner is selected by a committee made up of all the living Lamont, Munsey, and Rusty Award recipients. The award is a fine art print created by David Saunders and published by Dan Zimmer of The Illustrated Press.
