This is the first in a series of four articles published in 1926 by Albert William Stone in The Author and Journalist(A&J) on meeting various pulp editors in person. Stone was a Denver based author who mostly wrote western stories; A&J was also in Denver so Stone was writing mostly for a western audience in… Continue reading Meeting the editors – Street & Smith
Category: Pulp Magazines
Crime Poetry
I’ve encountered many poems in the western and general fiction pulps. This was the first one I’ve seen from the crime pulps. The author, C. Wiles Hallock, contributed more than 200 poems to the pulps, with 70 of them appearing in the detective magazines. CRIME CONTAGIONBy C. WILES HALLOCK WELLINGTON WEATHERBY BENDEMEER BLAKEWoke in the… Continue reading Crime Poetry
Harold Q. Masur – Newspaper profile
This was originally published in the Wichita Eagle. Suspense Writer Hits TownMystery Is ‘Why Dunnit’ By BARRY PARISEagle Staff Writer It’s not “who dunnit?” in mystery writing any more it’s “why dunnit?” according to suspense writer Harold Q Masur. Masur, author of Bury Me Deep which sold well over a million copies and was translated… Continue reading Harold Q. Masur – Newspaper profile
From Breaking Hearts to Broken Hearted: Ethel Rosemon’s story
Till Barry Traylor posted a photo in a Facebook group, I had no idea that this pulp existed. I had never seen an issue or read a story from it, but that didn’t make me any less curious about it. It was one of the many magazines that hitched their star to the rapidly rising… Continue reading From Breaking Hearts to Broken Hearted: Ethel Rosemon’s story
Point, Counterpoint: Contemporary opinions of the pulps from 1940
An exchange in the Scranton, Pennsylvania, Tribune on the merits of pulps caught my attention recently. The instigator of this exchange was Donald Raub, then a schoolboy attending what used to be Central High School in Scranton, Pa who sent many letters to the editor. The first letter was this screed printed on 15 May,… Continue reading Point, Counterpoint: Contemporary opinions of the pulps from 1940
Ham & Eggs: The successful pulp recipe of Alfred L. Gehri
We live in amazing times. Things previously impossible because they’d cost too much to try are now feasible. Like me buying pulps off EBay and shipping them across the world or diving into the lives of pulp authors by reading old newspapers and journals online.A few weeks ago, I read my first issue of Popular… Continue reading Ham & Eggs: The successful pulp recipe of Alfred L. Gehri
Allen Anderson – The Gunfighting gal
Allen Anderson painted over a hundred and fifty pulp covers for Ace Magazines and Fiction House. This is one of his best, from Bob Lesser’s collection. The printed cover was almost as good as the painting.
Stereotyping in the pulps
There are those who believe that the past was uniformly dark. With the pulps, this attitude leads to an unreasoning belief that all pulp authors and editors were biased, that they never challenged any social or cultural norms and tacitly endorsed the biases and prejudices of their times. That this is wrong should be obvious,… Continue reading Stereotyping in the pulps
Pulp Art: Wings, December 1932 by Rudy Belarski
From time to time, I’m going to share an original pulp cover with you. This one, like a lot of them, is from Robert Lesser’s collection. The cover for Fiction House’ Wings, December 1932 by Rudolph Belarski, possibly illustrating Derek West’s The Wash-Out Kid. The magazine cover is missing from the FictionMags Index but I… Continue reading Pulp Art: Wings, December 1932 by Rudy Belarski
Issue Review: Gangster Stories, December 1929
When Prohibition was enacted in America in 1920, it made production and sale of illicit alcohol very attractive. Organized crime was attracted by the high margins in this trade and the noveau riche gangsters it spawned were celebrities in their day. Gangsters and their lives were topics of public interest. The first pulp publisher to… Continue reading Issue Review: Gangster Stories, December 1929