PulpFest 2016, day 1

The first day of PulpFest 2016 didn’t start until 4 p.m. Thursday, when registration began, and ran until nearly 1 a.m., after the “last call” at Pulps in the Pub.

I’d arrived in Columbus, Ohio, in the early afternoon, and met the rest of the PulpFest committee in the convention center ballroom, which was being transformed in the dealers’ room. The next few hours were spent finalizing table placement, and setting up the room that would be used to programming later in the evening.

There was a flurry of activity when registration began, then another at 6 p.m. when the doors to the dealers’ room opened for early-bird shopping. Those attending PulpFest picked up their registration packet, including hangtag, a copy of The Pulpster, a brochure on an upcoming book, Edgar Rice Burroughs: The Bibliography, and a flyer with a voucher from Radio Archives for a free audiobook from Pro Se Productions or Airship 27.

Dealers were still arriving throughout the evening, lugging boxes of pulps and books to their tables, and setting up displays. Of course, there was quite of bit of time spent greeting familiar faces and catching up since the last pulp gathering.

Early-bird shopping ended at 9 p.m., and many folks headed downstairs to the Union Room for the evening programming.

Anthony Tollin of Sanctum Books and comics veteran Tony Isabella discussed Street & Smith’s second-string heroes, The Whisperer and Cap Fury. Sanctum Books has reprinted the first series of The Whisperer of 14 novels and a number of short stories, as well as novels and short stories of The Skipper. The “two Tonys,” filling in for Will Murray who was unable to attend PulpFest, gave an entertaining discussion of the characters, with an emphasis on how they, particularly The Whisperer, influenced pop culture.

Next up, Dr. Garyn Roberts presented a talk and slideshow of H.G. Wells’ appearances in Amazing Stories. Wells was featured on the first 28 covers of the first all-science-fiction magazine, and the first quarterly version. Garyn’s presentation wrapped up around 11.

Next up was PulpFest’s first Pulps in the Pub, which provided an opportunity for pulp fans to gather in the hotel’s bar and talk pulps.

I’m a bit later posting today than I had expected. It’s been a busy morning, looking around the dealers’ room and discussing pulps, pop culture, and whatnot with folks stopping by the table, all while trying to write this entry. I will try to get tomorrow’s update posted earlier in the day.

Also, remember to check back next week for audio recordings of the two Thursday evening presentations.