Behind every pulp magazine were the writers who cranked out the stories, the editors who shaped them, and the artists who made readers reach for their hard-earned dime (or quarter). This bibliography covers books and articles about the people behind the pulps, organized by subject so you can find what you’re looking for without wading through the full list. Use the Quick Links to jump to a specific writer or section.
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Comments regarding entries appear below the bibliographic information. Unsigned comments are those of ThePulp.Net staff; comments by contributors are credited.
Edgar Rice Burroughs
- Day, Bradford M. Bibliography of Adventure: Mundy, Burroughs, Rohmer, Haggard Bradford M. Day, 1995.
- Day, Bradford M. Edgar Rice Burroughs: A Bibliography Science-Fiction and Fantasy Publications, 1962.
- Fenton, Robert W. The Big Swingers: Edgar Rice Burroughs (1875–1950), Tarzan (1912–) Prentice-Hall, 1967.
- Grondahl, Paul. “Fan of ‘Tarzan’ author is a hero among loyal readers.” Albany (N.Y.) Times Union, 10 Feb. 2000.
- This newspaper article profiles Henry Heins and his efforts which led to the first publishing of two forgotten Edgar Rice Burroughs works: a 1924 novel, Marcia of the Doorstep, and a 1927 play, You Lucky Girl, written for his daughter.
- Lupoff, Richard A. Edgar Rice Burroughs: Master of Adventure Canaveral Press, 1965 (revised, Ace Books, 1968).
- Porges, Irwin. Edgar Rice Burroughs: The Man Who Created Tarzan Brigham Young University Press, 1975; Ballantine Books, 1976.
- The Ballantine Books trade paperback edition is two volumes, with 655 pages in the first volume and over 600 in the second.
- Schneider, Jerry L., compiler. Edgar Rice Burroughs Tells All ERBville Press, 2008.
- Taliaferro, John. Tarzan Forever: The Life of Edgar Rice Burroughs, Creator of Tarzan Simon & Schuster, 1999.
- Van Hise, James, ed. Edgar Rice Burroughs’ Fantastic Worlds Midnight Graffiti Publications, 1997.
- Zeuschner, Robert B. Edgar Rice Burroughs: The Exhaustive Scholar’s and Collector’s Descriptive Bibliography McFarland, 1996.
Quick links
Lester Dent
- Cannaday, Marilyn. Bigger than Life: The Creator of Doc Savage Popular Press, 1990.
- McCarey-Laird, M. Martin. Lester Dent: The Man, His Craft and His Market Hidalgo Publishing Co., 1994.
- Weinberg, Robert. The Man Behind Doc Savage 1974.
Erle Stanley Gardner
- Hughes, Dorothy B. The Case of the Real Perry Mason William Morrow, 1978.
- “This is more than just a biography, it contains a bibliography of Erle Stanley Gardner’s pulp stories and everything else he wrote.” — Monte Herridge
- Mundell, E.H. Erle Stanley Gardner: A Checklist Kent State University Press, 1968/1970.
Walter B. Gibson
- Cox, J. Randolph. Man of Magic and Mystery: A Guide to the Work of Walter B. Gibson Scarecrow Press, 1988.
- Here’s a thorough accounting of the work that Gibson did for The Shadow, other pulps, comics, books, and more.
- Gildea, William. “‘The Shadow’s’ Creator Still Lurks in Hearts…” The Washington Post–L.A. Times Wire Service, 24 May 1978.
- An interview with Walter B. Gibson.
- Montgomery, George. The Shadow Knew Textile Bridge Press, 1989.
- A personal reminiscence of times spent with Walter Gibson and how author Jack Kerouac may have been influenced by The Shadow stories. An odd, but interesting booklet. Introduction by the Amazing Kreskin.
- Nanovic, John. Introduction to The Crime Oracle/The Teeth of the Dragon Dover Publications Inc., 1975.
- The pulp editor recalls his days at Street & Smith, and his dealings with William Ralston, Walter Gibson, Lester Dent, and others.
- Shimeld, Thomas J. Walter B. Gibson and The Shadow McFarland & Co., 2003.
Dashiell Hammett
- Bruccoli, Matthew J.; and Richard Layman. Hardboiled Mystery Writers: Raymond Chandler, Dashiell Hammett, Ross Macdonald Carroll & Graf, 2002.
- Mundell, E.H. A List of the Original Appearances of Dashiell Hammett’s Magazine Work Kent State University Press, 1968/1975.
Robert E. Howard
- Cerasini, Marc A.; and Charles E. Hoffman. Robert E. Howard Starmont Reader’s Guides. Starmont House, 1987.
- de Camp, L. Sprague; Catherine Crook de Camp; and Jane Whittington Griffin. Dark Valley Destiny: The Life of Robert E. Howard Bluejay Books, 1983.
- Ellis, Novalyne Price. One Who Walked Alone: Robert E. Howard the Final Years Donald M. Grant, 1986.
- The 1996 movie The Whole Wide World was based on Novalyne Price Ellis’s two-year relationship with Conan creator Howard detailed in this book.
- Finn, Mark. Blood & Thunder: The Life and Art of Robert E. Howard MonkeyBrain Books, 2006; (revised and expanded) Robert E. Howard Foundation Press, 2013.
- The definitive biography of Robert E. Howard, and the one that set the record straight on a life mired in speculation and half-truth. Finn, himself a Texas writer, reads Howard through a Texas lens, arguing that the oil boomtowns and frontier culture of Cross Plains shaped everything Howard put on the page. The 2013 Foundation Press edition is the author’s director’s cut, adding more than 35,000 words to the original. Nominated for a World Fantasy Award in 2007.
- Howard, Robert E. Post Oaks and Sand Roughs & Other Autobiographical Writings Robert E. Howard Foundation Press, 2019.
- A collection of Howard’s autobiographical writings, anchored by the semi-autobiographical novel Post Oaks and Sand Roughs, in which Howard appears thinly disguised as “Steve Costigan” and chronicles his early years as a writer in Cross Plains. The volume also includes a previously unpublished early draft of the novel, “Lost Plains” stories, items from The Junto, and personal essays, all restored to original texts where available. Edited and annotated by Rob Roehm, with an introduction by Rusty Burke. Limited to 200 numbered copies. The novel was first published by Donald M. Grant, 1990.
- Jones, Stephen. The Weird Tales Boys PS Publishing, 2023.
- Lord, Glenn, ed. The Howard Collector Ace Books, 1979.
- This book is divided into two parts. The first half features fiction by Robert E. Howard; the second half includes articles and letters that originally appeared in the 1960s zine The Howard Collector.
- Lord, Glenn. The Last Celt Donald M. Grant, 1976.
- A portrait of Robert E. Howard painted from his notes, manuscripts, letters, and stories.
- Nielsen, Leon. Robert E. Howard: A Collector’s Descriptive Bibliography of American and British Hardcover, Paperback, Magazine, Special and Amateur Editions, with a Biography McFarland, 2010.
- Oliver, Willard M. Robert E. Howard: The Life and Times of a Texas Author University of North Texas Press, 2025.
- A major scholarly biography of Howard, running to nearly 600 pages. Oliver, a criminal justice professor at Sam Houston State University in Huntsville, Texas — Howard country — draws exhaustively on primary sources to argue that the driving force of Howard’s life and work was his pursuit of personal freedom. Praised by reviewers as the most thoroughly researched Howard biography yet written.
- Szumskyj, Benjamin, ed. Two-Gun Bob: A Centennial Study of Robert E. Howard Hippocampus Press, 2006.
- Thirteen new and reprinted essays marking the centennial of Howard’s birth, with contributors including S.T. Joshi, Charles Hoffman, Frank Coffman, and Glenn Lord, and a foreword by Michael Moorcock.
- Van Hise, James, ed. The Fantastic Worlds of Robert E. Howard Midnight Graffiti Publications, 1997.
- Includes 21 articles on the creator of Conan and Kull, with artwork by Steve Fabian and Roy Krenkel.
- Vick, Todd B. Renegades and Rogues: The Life and Legacy of Robert E. Howard University of Texas Press, 2021.
- de Camp, L. Sprague. H.P. Lovecraft: A Biography New English Library, 1975.
- Harman, Graham. Weird Realism: Lovecraft and Philosophy Zero Books, 2012.
- A philosophical study that uses H.P. Lovecraft as the key figure of a new school of speculative realist thought. Harman, an object-oriented philosopher, argues that Lovecraft’s constant exploitation of the gap between objects and the language used to describe them makes him as central to this philosophical tradition as Hölderlin was to Heidegger. Of interest to pulp fans for its serious engagement with Lovecraft as a major literary figure.
- Joshi, S.T. H.P. Lovecraft Starmont Reader’s Guides #13. Starmont House, 1982.
- A revised and expanded second edition was published under the title A Subtler Magick: The Writings and Philosophy of H.P. Lovecraft, Starmont House, 1996.
- Joshi, S.T. H.P. Lovecraft: A Life Necronomicon Press, 1996.
- Joshi, S.T.; and David E. Schultz, eds. O Fortunate Floridian: H.P. Lovecraft’s Letters to R.H. Barlow University of Tampa Press, 2007.
- Legaria, Marcos. L’Affaire Barlow: H.P. Lovecraft and the Battle for His Literary Legacy Bold Venture Press, 2023.
- Price, Robert M. H.P. Lovecraft and the Cthulhu Mythos Starmont Studies in Literary Criticism. Starmont House, 1990.
- Schweitzer, Darrell, ed. Discovering H.P. Lovecraft Starmont Studies in Literary Criticism. Starmont House, 1987.
- Schweitzer, Darrell. The Dream Quest of H.P. Lovecraft The Milford Series: Popular Writers of Today. Borgo Press, 1978.
- Joshi, S.T.; David E. Schultz; and Rusty Burke, eds. A Means to Freedom: The Letters of H.P. Lovecraft and Robert E. Howard Hippocampus Press, 2009.
- The complete, unabridged correspondence between two of the pulp era’s greatest writers, covering the six years of their exchange from 1930 until Howard’s death in 1936. Exhaustively annotated by the editors, the letters range from history and philosophy to a sustained debate over the merits of barbarism versus civilization — Lovecraft the New England patrician versus Howard the son of the Texas frontier. A trade paperback edition followed in 2011.
- Vol. 1: 1930–1932
- Vol. 2: 1933–1936
- Murray, Will. “In His Own Words — John Fleming Gould.” Illustration No. 31 (Fall 2010), 58–74.
- Murray wrote the introduction, but the bulk of the article is a transcript of a talk Fleming gave as a guest of honor at Pulpcon 19 (1990). It is profusely illustrated with Fleming’s interior and cover art.
- Nolan, William F. “Collecting Max Brand” Firsts: The Book Collector’s Magazine May 1997, 36–46.
- The article is devoted to collecting books by Max Brand and shows covers of many hardbacks and pulps. Another article about Brand in the same magazine is “Frederick Faust: A Checklist,” pages 47–51. This checklist is only of first editions and does not include magazines, although most of Brand’s books contain stories that originally appeared in pulp magazines. — Monte Herridge
- Steranko, James. “Tribute to Bruce Elliott” Comixscene No. 4 (May–June 1973), 22.
- Artist and pulp historian Steranko offers a tribute to one of his inspirations. The tribute includes a photo of magician Elliott and several of The Shadow pulp covers.
- Taraba, Frederic B. “Walter M. Baumhofer: King of the pulps” Step-by-Step Graphics Vol. 13 No. 6 (November–December 1997), 107–117.
- Baumhofer, most celebrated for his cover paintings for Doc Savage, is profiled in the graphic arts magazine’s “Masters” series. Taraba traces Baumhofer’s career in the magazine illustration industry and highlights of his life. The article includes an original painting from the May 1934 Doc Savage, as well as paintings or covers from Dime Western, Dime Detective Magazine, Speakeasy Stories, and Western Story Magazine, and non-pulps such as American Magazine and Woman’s Day.
- Taraba, Frederic B. “The Weird Tales of Margaret Brundage” Step-by-Step Graphics Vol. 11 No. 5 (September–October 1995), 118–129.
- Part of the magazine’s “Masters” series, this article chronicles the artist’s career in the pulps and includes some biographical information on her life after the pulps. It includes nine Weird Tales covers (several of the cover paintings are paired with the printed covers), as well as five other paintings.
- Hawk, Pat. Hawk’s Author’s Pseudonyms for Book Collectors Pat Hawk, 1992.
- Rock, James A. Who Goes There: A Bibliographic Dictionary of Pseudonymous Literature in the Fields of Fantasy and Science Fiction James A. Rock, 1979.
- Server, Lee. Encyclopedia of Pulp Fiction Writers Checkmark Books, 2002.
- Bacon, Daisy. Love Story Writer Bold Venture Press, 2020.
- A memoir by the longtime editor of Love Story Magazine, offering a first-person account of life in the pulp industry from one of its most successful editors.
- Cave, Hugh B. Magazines I Remember: Some Pulps, Their Editors, and What It Was Like to Write for Them Tattered Pages Press, 1994.
- Coburn, Walt. Walt Coburn: Western Word Wrangler, An Autobiography High-Lonesome Books, 1973.
- A memoir by one of the most prolific writers of western pulp fiction, covering his career writing for Adventure, Argosy, and dozens of other pulps.
- Elliot, Jeffrey M. Pulp Voices: Interviews with Pulp Magazine Writers and Editors; or Science Fiction Voices No. 6 The Milford Series: Popular Writers of Today. Borgo Press, 1983.
- Interviews with writers and editors of science fiction pulps, including Jack Williamson, Horace L. Gold, Stanton A. Coblentz, C.L. Moore, and Raymond Z. Gallun. With an introduction by Poul Anderson.
- Gruber, Frank. The Pulp Jungle Sherbourne, 1967.
- “He describes his struggle to become a pulp author and he talks about all the pulp people he has met.” — Al Tonik
- Gulick, Bill. Sixty-Four Years as a Writer Caxton Press, 2006.
- Hersey, Harold Brainerd. Pulpwood Editor: The Fabulous World of the Thriller Magazines Revealed by a Veteran Editor and Publisher Frederick A. Stokes, 1937 (reprinted Greenwood Press, 1974; Adventure House, 2002).
- “Not the book we’d like, but about all we’ve got from this period. Hersey worked on The Thrill Book, then for Clayton and Macfadden on many pulp titles.” — John DeWalt
- Locke, John, ed. Pulpwood Days, Volume One: Editors You Want to Know Off-Trail Publications, 2007.
- As with his Pulp Fictioneers book above, Locke has pulled together a selection of articles originally published in the writers’ magazines during the pulp heyday, all on the topic of pulp magazine editors.
- Locke, John, ed. Pulpwood Days, Volume 2: Lives of the Pulp Writers Off-Trail Publications, 2013.
- A follow-up to his previous “Pulpwood Days” book, this one looks at the lives of the fictioneers as told through articles in writers’ magazines.
- Powers, Paul S. Pulp Writer: Twenty Years in the American Grub Street University of Nebraska Press, 2007.
- Price, E. Hoffman. Book of the Dead: Friends of Yesteryear: Fictioneers & Others Arkham House, 2001.
- Williamson, Jack. Wonder’s Child: My Life in Science Fiction Bluejay Books, 1984.
- Britt, George. Forty Years — Forty Millions: The Career of Frank A. Munsey Farrar & Rinehart, 1935.
- Brooks, C.W. The Revised Hannes Bok Checklist T.K. Graphics, 1970/74.
- This 44-page chapbook lists Bok’s known artwork in pulps, magazines, books, and more.
- Brower, Steven; and Jim Simon. Astounding, Mysterious, Weird & True: Vol. 1, The Pulp Art of Comic Book Artists SB Studio Books, 2013.
- Cartier, Dean. Edd Cartier: The Known and the Unknown Gerry de la Rosa, 1977.
- Davin, Eric Leif. Pioneers of Wonder: Conversations With the Founders of Science Fiction Prometheus Books, 1999.
- Davis, Norbert. The Adventures of Max Latin Mysterious Press, 1988.
- The item of interest here is the eight-page introduction by John D. MacDonald, who also wrote 39 stories for Dime Detective between 1946 and 1952. This introduction covers not only the Max Latin character but Norbert Davis’ life and some of MacDonald’s pulp career. An interesting introduction, more so than most. — Monte Herridge
- Easton, Robert. Max Brand: The Big Westerner University of Oklahoma Press, 1970.
- Garnier, Philippe; with Eddie Muller. Goodis: A Life in Black and White Black Pool Productions, 2013.
- The first English translation of the 1984 biography of pulp fictioneer David Goodis.
- Grant, Donald M. The Last Celt Donald M. Grant, 1976.
- Grant, Donald M., ed. Talbot Mundy: Messenger of Destiny Donald M. Grant, Publisher, Inc., 1983.
- Gunnison, John; and Rudolph Belarski. Belarski: Pulp Art Masters Adventure House, 2003.
- Gunnison, John; and Walter Baumhofer. Walter Baumhofer: Pulp Art Masters Adventure House, 2004.
- Heather, Roderick. Indiana MacCreagh: The Real-Life Adventures of the Original Indiana Jones New Generation Publishing, 2019.
- This biography is about Gordon MacCreagh, a fictioneer who wrote for Adventure, Argosy, People’s, and other pulps publishing adventure fiction.
- Korshak, Stephen D.; and J. David Spurlock. The Alluring Art of Margaret Brundage Vanguard Productions, 2013.
- This book on the Weird Tales artist is available in three versions: paperback, at 124 pages; hardback, at 128 pages; and limited-edition hardback, at 150 pages.
- Laughlin, Charlotte; and Daniel J.H. Levack, eds. De Camp: An L. Sprague de Camp Bibliography Underwood/Miller, 1983.
- Moskowitz, Sam. Foreword to Worlds of Weird, edited by Leo Margulies. Pyramid Books, 1965.
- A look at “The Forgotten Creator of Weird Tales,” the magazine’s originator and publisher J.C. Henneberger.
- Nadis, Fred. The Man from Mars: Ray Palmer’s Amazing Pulp Journey Tarcher/Penguin, 2013.
- Nolan, William F. Black Mask Boys: Masters in the Hard-Boiled School of Detective Fiction Mysterious Press, 1987.
- Nolan, William F. Max Brand: Western Giant, The Life and Times of Frederick Schiller Faust Bowling Green State University Popular Press, 1985.
- Parente, Audrey. Once a Pulp Man: The Secret Life of Judson P. Philips (Hugh Pentecost) Camden, 1997; Bold Venture Press, 2016.
- Parente, Audrey. Pulp Man’s Odyssey: The Hugh B. Cave Story Starmont House, 1988.
- Parente, Audrey. Pulpmaster: The Theodore Roscoe Story Starmont Popular Culture Studies. Starmont House, 1992.
- Powers, Laurie. Queen of the Pulps: The Reign of Daisy Bacon and Love Story Magazine McFarland, 2022.
- A biography of Daisy Bacon, the editor who guided Love Story Magazine for more than two decades and made it one of the most widely read pulps of its era.
- Richardson, Darrell C. J. Allen St. John: An Illustrated Bibliography Mid-America Publishers Inc., 1991.
- Roberts, Tom, ed. Memorial Tribute to Hugh B. Cave Black Dog Books, 2004.
- Ruber, Peter; Darrell C. Richardson; and Victor A. Berch. King of the Pulps: The Life and Writings of H. Bedford-Jones Battered Silicon Dispatch Box, 2003.
- Saunders, David. The Art of Allen Anderson The Illustrated Press, 2019.
- A fully illustrated monograph on the pulp cover artist best known for his work on Planet Stories, the spicy pulps, and western pulps, with reproductions from original paintings, reference photos, and rare proof sheets.
- Saunders, David. The Art of Rafael DeSoto The Illustrated Press, 2019.
- A fully illustrated monograph on the pulp and paperback cover artist best known for his work on The Spider, with reproductions from original paintings, working drawings, and reference photos.
- Saunders, David. H.J. Ward The Illustrated Press, 2010.
- Saunders, David. Norman Saunders The Illustrated Press, 2008.
- Saunders, David. Walter Baumhofer The Illustrated Press, 2014.
- A fully illustrated monograph on the pulp cover artist whose iconic work for Doc Savage, Dime Detective, and The Spider defined the visual style of the hero pulps, with over 300 reproductions.
- Schelly, Bill. Otto Binder: The Life and Work of a Comic Book and Science Fiction Visionary North Atlantic Books, 2016.
- Seabrook, Jack. Martians and Misplaced Clues: The Life and Work of Fredric Brown Bowling Green State University Popular Press, 1993.
- Sherman, Philip. Leo Margulies: Giant of the Pulps — His Thrilling, Exciting, and Popular Journey Altus Press, 2017.
- Dr. Philip Sherman, the nephew of Leo Margulies, examines the life and career of the editor-in-chief of Standard Magazines/The Thrilling Group.
- Siegel, Mark. Hugo Gernsback, Father of Modern Science Fiction The Milford Series: Popular Writers of Today. Borgo Press, 1988.
- Also includes essays on Frank Herbert and Bram Stoker.
- Smith, R. Dixon. Lost in the Rentharpian Hills: Spanning the Decades with Carl Jacobi Bowling Green State University Popular Press, 1985.
- Taves, Brian. Talbot Mundy, Philosopher of Adventure: A Critical Biography McFarland & Co., 2006.
- Tuska, Jon; and Vicki Piekarski. Max Brand Companion Greenwood Press, 1996.
- (Unsigned). Finlay’s Illustrations for “Weird Tales” Showcase Art Productions Inc., 1976.
- A slim chapbook with eight black-and-white plates and one color plate of illustrations by Virgil Finlay.
- Vadeboncoeur, Jim Jr.; and Everett Raymond Kinstler. Everett Raymond Kinstler: The Artist’s Journey Through Popular Culture, 1942–62 Underwood Books, 2005.
- Wallace, Morgan A. His Second Self: The Bio-Bibliography of Victor Rousseau Emanuel Spectre, 2011.
- Weinberg, Robert. Biographical Dictionary to Science Fiction and Fantasy Artists Greenwood Press, 1988.
- Weinberg, Robert. The Louis L’Amour Companion Andrews and McMeel, 1992.
- “Describes his ventures into different media with lists of his stories in the pulps and his novels.” — Al Tonik
- Widder, William J. The Fiction of L. Ron Hubbard: A Comprehensive Bibliography and Reference Guide to Published and Selected Unpublished Works Bridge Publications Inc., 1994.
- Widder, William J. Master Storyteller: An Illustrated Tour of the Fiction of L. Ron Hubbard Galaxy Press, 2003.
- Zimmer, Daniel. Tom Lovell — Illustrator The Illustrated Press, 2013.
- A fully illustrated monograph on the pulp and magazine illustrator whose work appeared in Adventure, Argosy, and other pulps before he moved on to the major slick magazines, with reproductions from original paintings and biographical material.
