THE EDITORS of Better Homes and Gardens magazine unwittingly played right into the hands of G. T. Fleming-Roberts of Brown County, Indiana, when they printed a piece of advice on picking lilies a few months ago. Pull off the stamens, the magazine suggested, and the lilies won’t stain themselves—surely as innocent a tip on gardening… Continue reading Mastering Mystery: The Intriguing World of G. T. Fleming-Roberts
Tag: Pulp
Pulp Magazines: A man’s world
While the representation of women authors in the western and general fiction pulps was low, it wasn’t all a man’s world. In westerns Eli Colter and Cherry Wilson appeared regularly in Western Story; in general adventure fiction Beatrice Grimshaw (54 appearances in Blue Book); and in detective fiction the names of Mary Roberts Rinehart and… Continue reading Pulp Magazines: A man’s world
Do you know why The Popular Magazine had no illustrations?
For a long time, I was puzzled by why the Popular Magazine carried no illustrations. Here’s an explanation from the editor, Charles Agnew MacLean in the July 1904 issue. A Chat With You (editorial from the Popular Magazine, July 1904 issue) DID it ever occur to you what a bully good thing success is? There… Continue reading Do you know why The Popular Magazine had no illustrations?
Action Packed Western Stories: A writer’s creed
MUCH as the swift-moving Western story offends the ultra-cultured tastes of the intelligentsia, it has made for itself a very definite place in American literature. It may not be “art,” as the literati consider art. It may lack the polish of urban tales or the heart-throbs of bucolic stories. But it has something of which… Continue reading Action Packed Western Stories: A writer’s creed
The ponies were howling and singing: Secrets of good copy
I usually post about the often overlooked good points of the pulps, but there’s no excusing some of their worst excesses, pointed out by a copy editor who spent time cleaning up their messes. GRINDING TO A PULP By KENNETH A. FOWLER Mr. Fowler was formerly a copy editor with street & Smith Publications. Consequently,… Continue reading The ponies were howling and singing: Secrets of good copy
3 Pulp Tales: Words are money, Speed thrills and more
Three pulp tales from the newspapers. Words are Money Since basic pulp pay is a cent per word, and since the creation of any sort of fiction is to most authors slow and difficult labor, the majority of practitioners in pulp are poorly paid. But there are others who through long practice, have mastered the… Continue reading 3 Pulp Tales: Words are money, Speed thrills and more
Paint by numbers: The most hard-working pulp artists
Who were the most prolific pulp artists? By which i mean, the artists who painted the highest number of pulp covers under tough conditions. Norman Saunders’ oeuvre consists of 865 covers, meticulously documented here by his son. Has anyone come close, or even surpassed this? Using the Fictionmags Index, I tried to do a count… Continue reading Paint by numbers: The most hard-working pulp artists
The Game of Love: Romance for 15¢
A rare media article about a love pulp editor. By Cynthia Lowry New York, Jan. 22. (AP) Everything’s love, love, love to Peggy Graves and in a nice way, of course, it’s strictly business. Mrs. Graves is the editor of two pulp magazines devoted to turning out each month 14 stories of love and romance,… Continue reading The Game of Love: Romance for 15¢
Simple, Fast Search for the FictionMags Index: Now Improved
One and a half years back, the first version of FictionMags Search debuted. I made it because I needed it, and asking around, found other people would like it too. Since then, people all over the world have used it. Here’s a map I created showing where users came from: At the time I created… Continue reading Simple, Fast Search for the FictionMags Index: Now Improved
Three Pulp Tales: No fiction, only the truth
Tales discovered while searching for other stuff. Music to my ears JULIUS F. STONE says that rehabilitating Key West for the FERA has its ups and down.He gives an example. His staff had renovated a famous old sea-captain’s home down there in order to rent it to visitors. Stone rented the first floor apartment to… Continue reading Three Pulp Tales: No fiction, only the truth