Windy City Pulp and Paper Convention has been running in Chicago around April for 15 years (since 2000). Every year they have been publishing a convention booklet of articles and reprints (both fiction and non-fiction from the pulp era) titled Windy City Pulp Stories, which is a great resource.
The ones I have are trade paperback size, and the recent ones have ranged from 130 to 150 pages in length. Most are themed. Since the eighth volume they have been published by Black Dog Books using print-on-demand, these volumes are easy to get from Amazon and the like. The earlier ones are not as easy to find, tho I look for them.
I have several volumes, and will cover what I have.
#3 (2003) Edited by Cat Jaster and Doug Ellis, this volume has several articles, bios, and some fiction. The articles include an article on Will Murray about the creation of the villain from the Doc story, “Repel.” Another article looks at the films shown at the Convention. There is an article, bio and a sample of fiction from pulpster Hugh B. Cave, and a bio and sample of fiction from Frank Robinson.
#8 (2008) celebrates the 75th Anniversary of Doc Savage. Will Murray provides a personal article on the impact of Doc Savage on himself, along with articles on his favorite scenes from Doc, a retrospective on Doc’s career, and finally a look at an unused Lester Dent outline that may have had an influence on “The Man of Bronze.” Jeff Deischer has three articles: one on a possible lost Dent Doc novel, another on Doc’s aides, and finally one on the new Doc from Murray. Rick Lai takes another look at the villain from “The Fantastic Island.” Another article looks at the the flag of Calbia, from “The King Maker.” And we get an article on James Bama‘s favorite Doc covers.
In addition, there are some non-Doc articles, including a look at unused covers planned for pulp hero paperback reprints, and a memorial for artist Frank Hamilton.
#9 (2009) celebrates the Culture/Trojan spicy pulps with articles on the writers and artists. Among the articles on the writers are several by Will Murray with an informal history of the spicy pulps, and ones on spicy adventurers, westerns, and sleuths. For the artists are ones on H.J. Ward and Howard Parkhurst. There are also some reprints from the pulp era that dealt with the spicy pulps. This included an overview of spicy pulp editor Frank Armer, an article by him, and another where an author complained about the spicys with responses from others.
#10 (2010) celebrates the 100th anniversary of Adventure. There are several articles on editor Arthur S. Hoffman, along with articles on authors Walt Coburn, Barry Scobee, and Harold Lamb. There are several articles from the trade magazines of the time on Adventure, as well as a short piece of fiction.
#11 (2011) celebrates the 80th anniversary of Popular Publications. Most of the articles were reprinted from several pulp fanzines. There is an interview with publisher Harry Steeger, articles on G-8, Operator #5, and Captain Satan, as well as their premiums (rings and such). There are also reprints from the trade magazines of the era on Popular, including a photo essay on them.
#12 (2012) celebrates the 100th anniversary of the world of Edgar Rice Burroughs. There are several articles on Burroughs, Barsoom, Tarzan (including movies and other appearances), artist J. Allen St. John and more. There are four new non-fiction articles that Burroughs wrote, but were never previously published. Another article reprints rarely seen artwork produced for newspaper reprints of the Burroughs novels. And we get a short Tarzan story by Burroughs.
#13 (2013) celebrates the 100th anniversary of Fu Manchu and the 90th anniversary of science fiction and fantasy pulps. For Fu Manchu, we get a retrospective article by William Patrick Maynard, author of the new stories, an interview with Sax Rohmer, and an article by him. Articles showing Fu from movies and pulps. And an article by Rick Lai on Hanoi Shan, a possible influence on Fu. We then get a selection of articles on Weird Tales. There are several reprints from the trade magazines of the time, an article on artist Margaret Brundage, and a reprint of fiction. And there is a selection on the science fiction magazines.
#14 (2014) celebrates the detective pulps and the 85th anniversary of “The Maltese Falcon” and the western pulps, and the 95th anniversary of Western Story Magazine. For Dashiell Hammett and the detective pulps, we have articles that include an interview with Hammett, a pair dealing with the use of sex in pulp fiction stories that appeared in the 1920s, and other articles from the trade magazines of the time dealing with writing detective fiction. For the western pulps are also articles taken from the trade magazines of the time. Another article gives an overview of the best western pulps and authors. There is also a section on artists, with articles and an art portfolio for Virgil Finley, Hannes Bok, and Edd Cartier.
Even if you can’t get to the convention, take a look at this series of booklets. There is probably something in one you might enjoy.
