I had intended to write an entry regarding the PulpFest flier that arrived in the mail on Saturday. On how, in the past, the arrival of a pulp convention newsletter generated a flurry of posts on the alt.pulp or Yahoo pulp newsgroups. But that this one hadn’t and that it had been fairly quiet so far.
The reason, I was going to propose, was the excellent communication the PulpFest team has had with the online pulp community over the past few months. Also, that the PulpFest Web site has been regularly updated with plenty of information about the upcoming event.
How, in the past, PulpCon news came out in dribs and drabs, in a newsletter, possibly a second newsletter, a few months later, then a new page or two on the PulpCon Web site. And how, even now, there has been little news of this year’s Pulpcon.
Well, that has changed.
After registration information for PulpCon was removed from its Web site, there was some speculation on newsgroups, but no information.
I was in the process of updating the PulpEvents list that appears on the front page of ThePulp.Net, so I sent an e-mail to PulpCon committee member Richard Clear to confirm the dates of the gathering.
The reply I received was brief and to the point:
Pulpcon will not be held this year. Take at look at Pulpfest.
With attendance slipping at PulpCon the past few years, something needed to be done to re-invigorate the convention. Without rehashing the whole story, the new PulpFest was the result of efforts in this regard by some of the PulpCon committee members.
Since 1972, Pulpcon has been a fixture on pulp fans’ calendars. I’ve sent in my annual membership since the mid-1990s, even though I’ve been able to attend only one Pulpcon. So it’s sad that there’s not going to be an “official” Pulpcon this year. I’m sure PulpFest will be a strong successor. I hope the name Pulpcon returns to the Pulp Events schedule in the future, but attached to a re-energized, re-invigorated and relevent convention.
– William
