PulpFest 2025 took place Thursday through Sunday, Aug. 7-10, in Mars, Pa., just outside of Pittsburgh. Below are links to the Pulp Tales podcast’s audio recordings of 14 presentations — over 10 hours — from PulpFest 2025.
Pulp presentations
- Edgar Rice Burroughs and the Ideal Man
- Cathy Wilbanks, vice president of operations at Edgar Rice Burroughs Inc., and longtime fan Bernice Jones discuss the great men that Edgar Rice Burroughs brought to life in novel after novel. This presentation was part of ERBFest, held in conjunction with PulpFest 2025.
- Edgar Wallace, Master of Blood and Thunder
- Ed Hulse, publisher at Murainia Press, looks at the life and times of author Edgar Wallace, a master of blood and thunder, on the 150th anniversary of his birth.
- Masters of Villainy
- Pulp collector and former intelligence consultant Tim King and author and pulp historian Will Murray explore the masters of villainy, a celebration of the 90th anniversary of the villain pulps.
- Tarzan, Lord of the Merchandising Jungle
- Author Jim Beard, publisher at Becky Books and co-publisher at Flinch! Books, takes a look at how Tarzan, Edgar Rice Burroughs’ enduring character, has been marketed for over a century. This presentation was part of ERBFest, held in conjunction with PulpFest 2025.
- Masters of Adventure
- Ed Hulse, publisher at Murainia Press, and pulp collectors Tom Krabacher and Kurt Shoemaker discuss the masters who made the long-running magazine Adventure into a leading light of the pulp rack.
- Personal Demons and the Creative Mind
- Author William Patrick Maynard moderates a discussion of how pulp-era fictioneers — Raymond Chandler, Robert E. Howard, William Lindsey Gresham, and Lester Dent — drew on their anxieties, experiences, and weaknesses to fuel and add to their work. The panel features author John Bruening, co-publisher at Flinch! Books, pulp fan Morgan Holmes, author and PulpFest committee member Craig McDonald, and author and pulp historian Will Murray.
- Masters of Men’s Adventure Magazines
- Wyatt Doyle, co-editor of the Men’s Adventure Library series, discusses the “masters” who put together the men’s magazines for the American war veterans.
- Tarzan the Time Traveler and Discourses on Doc
- Christopher Paul Carey, vice president of publishing at Edgar Rice Burroughs Inc., and author Win Scott Eckert explore Tarzan the time traveler from Philip José Farmer’s novel Time’s Last Gift and examine Farmer’s writings and speculations concerning Doc Savage, the Man of Bronze. This presentation was part of FarmerCon, held in conjunction with PulpFest 2025.
- The Masters of Tarzan Illustration
- Artists Mark Wheatley and Douglas C. Klauba examine Tarzan’s illustrators as part of this year’s salute to the 150th anniversary of Edgar Rice Burroughs’ birth. This presentation was part of ERBFest, held in conjunction with PulpFest 2025.
- Rafael Sabatini, Master of Blood and Thunder
- Pulp collector Morgan Holmes reflects on author Rafael Sabatini, one of the masters of blood and thunder, on the 150th anniversary of his birth.
- Doc Savage and the Bantam Revival
- Artist and filmmaker Ron Hill and author and pulp historian Will Murray examine the Bantam Books line of Doc Savage paperbacks, which began in 1964 and continued until 1990. This presentation was part of Doc Con, held in conjunction with PulpFest 2025.
- Steve Holland, The Torn Shirt Sessions
- Author Michael Stradford looks at actor and model Steve Holland, who became the face of Doc Savage, the Man of Bronze, for Bantam Books’ paperback line from the 1960s through 1990. This presentation was part of Doc Con, held in conjunction with PulpFest 2025.
- 50 Years of George Pal’s Doc Savage: The Man of Bronze
- Pulp collector Chris Kalb, co-publisher at Age of Aces Books, and artist and filmmaker Ron Hill, reflect on Doc Savage: The Man of Bronze on the movie’s 50th anniversary. Produced by George Pal and directed by Michael Anderson, the film was released in 1975. This presentation was part of Doc Con, held in conjunction with PulpFest 2025.
- Ray Bradbury, Burroughs’ Disciple
- Editor and pulp historian Garyn Roberts discusses the influence of Edgar Rice Burroughs on the life and works of the Science Fiction Grand Master and Poet of the Pulps, Ray Bradbury.
ThePulp.Net’s coverage
- The Pulp Super-Fan: Con Report
- Michael R. Brown recounts his visit to PulpFest 2025 on his blog.
- Yellowed Perils: PulpFest
- TPN editor William Lampkin attended PulpFest 2025 and posted daily photos from “the summer’s pulp convention.”
- ThePulp.Net’s Facebook page
- In addition to our regular posts, you’ll find updates from PulpFest here and be able to comment on them (if you’re a Facebook member — if not, you should still be able to read the page).
- ThePulp.Net’s Instagram feed
- Look at photos posted live from PulpFest on TPN’s Instagram feed. Search for #pulpfest2025.
