Sai S - Pulpflakes

The American Women’s Dime Novel Project

Dime novels were the predecessors of the pulps, bringing cheap fiction to a mass audience of all age groups. They published stories in many genres – western, crime/detective, sports, horror, science fiction and romance being some. Assorted dime novels (image courtesy Skinner Auctions) I read a few, and it may have been my luck, but… Continue reading The American Women’s Dime Novel Project

The last days of the magazine Short Stories

Last week, I reprinted the editorial from the Mar 25, 1940 (50th Anniversary) issue of Short Stories. This week, i just received a copy of the last issue of the magazine, and thought it would be interesting to look at the changes before the magazine ceased publication. It was one of the last pulps, stopping… Continue reading The last days of the magazine Short Stories

Editorial retrospective from the 50th Anniversary issue of Short Stories magazine

[Short Stories is one of my favorite magazines, and i recently got a copy of the 50th anniversary issue, so I decided to put this article online.] ON OUR shelves in the SHORT STORIES offices in Radio City are copies of the little old magazines that were the first numbers of a periodical which first… Continue reading Editorial retrospective from the 50th Anniversary issue of Short Stories magazine

Thornton T. Shively – newspaper article about the author

More about this author’s work on MysteryFile, including some nice comments. Basic biographical information: Full name Thornton Taylor Shively Birth: 26 Feb 1913 in Nebraska Marriage: Susan Elizabeth Collinson on 28 April 1939 in Los Angeles Writing career: Under the pseudonym Thorne Lee, he wrote about 50 stories from 1942 to 1951, almost all in the… Continue reading Thornton T. Shively – newspaper article about the author

Les Savage Jr. – Western author

Recently found this biography of one of my favorite western authors. The biography is by Jon Tuska, and has a photo I’ve never seen before. On the occasion of the sixtieth anniversary of his untimely death, here it is for you: “Les” Savage Jr. reading what looks like Don’t Cry for me by William Campbell… Continue reading Les Savage Jr. – Western author

E.B. Mann – Biography of western author

Found a biography of author E.B. Mann while looking for something else. He started his pulp career in 1928 with a story in Ranch Romances, went on to be published in the main Western magazines – Ace-High, Western Story, Wild West Weekly, Dime Western and Star Western. His pulp career ended in 1933 with about… Continue reading E.B. Mann – Biography of western author

Beautiful covers #4 – Jekyll/Hyde covers

Inspiration for the Batman villain Two-Face, perhapsDetective Fiction Weekly, November 26, 1932, Cover artist not known Can someone who’s read the issue tell us if this is the hero or the villain? And maybe the cover artist if that’s in the table of contents. Another cover from the same magazine, November 27, 1937. Another Jekyll/Hyde… Continue reading Beautiful covers #4 – Jekyll/Hyde covers

W.H.B. Kent – Forest ranger, Western Author

I became interested in W. H. B. Kent as a result of reading one of his stories in Great Stories of the West edited by Edmund Collier. Thought his life was interesting and decided to share it with you. Thanks to James G. Lewis of the Forest History Society for providing some of the background… Continue reading W.H.B. Kent – Forest ranger, Western Author

Edmund Collier – Great stories from West magazine

[I recently came across Great Stories of the West, edited by Edmund Collier. This is a selection from West magazine, which was edited by Collier, and it contains the following stories. Story title Author Magazine Issue The Aska-Damn Dog Raymond S. Spears West Jul 22 1931 Sheriff’s Son James Clarke West Jun 1935 Pud Ackley,… Continue reading Edmund Collier – Great stories from West magazine

Helen Wismer – pulp editor

Helen Wismer was a pulp editor at the time this article was published. She would go on to marry James Thurber, and be the main force behind his writing career in the final 26 years of his life. This article appeared in the June 24, 1933 issue of the El Paso Herald, 2 years before… Continue reading Helen Wismer – pulp editor