Once again another Windy City Pulp and Paper Convention has passed (2016), and we are blessed with a new edition of the Windy City Pulp Stories, now up to #16.
This year’s focus is on science fiction, as well as the 120th anniversary of Argosy. We get a great selection of articles, both new and reprinted in these area.
The largest set are focused on the celebration of science fiction. And the “new” articles aren’t so new. While they see print here for the first time, they were actually pulled together in 1979 by Robert Weinberg for a proposed tribute to Astounding on its 50th Anniversary. Which never saw print. Here we get a tribute by Robert Weinberg on Astounding, as well as an interview with A.E. van Vogt. Will Murray provides a couple of short, but still interesting, articles. One is an “alternate history” of early SF mags. Basically a look at what might have been. His second is a list of oddities from Astounding.
Then we get “Reflections on Science Fiction,” by Manly Wade Wellman, which tells of him getting into writing science fiction. “An Interview With Poul Anderson,” by Dave Studzinski.
Then we get into the reprinted stuff. First we get a look at Amazing Stories (and Hugo Gernsbeck) by Everett F. Bleiler. Then some articles from the 1930s on how to write. One is on “Writing the Pseudo-Scientific Story,” which I thought a strange term to use for science fiction. And the other is by Hugo Gernsback on what is expected from those wanting to submit to his magazines, Science Wonder Stories and Air Wonder Stories.
Also included are “The Faces of Science Fiction,” by Tom Roberts, which reprints many black and white artwork “head shots” of various SF authors. And a couple of articles by Doug Ellis: “The Mort Weisinger Gala, June 5, 1937,” and “Science Fiction Collector Rarities.”
We get a short section focusing on art. First off is an article on Frank R. Paul that ran in Family Circle magazine, which even got a new Paul cover (which is included). Here, too, they kept using the term “pseudo-scientific” instead of “science fiction”. Then we get “Roy G. Krenkel: A Brief Biography,” by David Saunders, followed by a gallery of Krenkel’s SF artwork.
In the celebration of The Argosy and Frank A. Munsey, we get a couple of articles Munsey wrote. The first is his “The Story of The Argosy,” which is a sort of bio of him along with a history of the magazine up until 1907. Then we get a look at “The Making and Marketing of Munsey’s Magazines” from 1899.
As always, a great conference book. I highly recommend it and the prior ones, most of which are kept in print by Black Dog Books.
