CFP: Pulp Magazine Studies Area / PCA/ACA conference (Nov 1; Apr 16-19)

Call for Proposals

Pulp Magazine Studies Area

Popular Culture/American Culture Association

National Conference

Chicago, IL

April 16-19, 2014

 

Pulp magazines were a series of mostly English-language, predominantly American, magazines printed on rough pulp paper.  They were often illustrated with highly stylized, full-page cover art and numerous line art illustrations of the fictional content.  They were sold for modest sums, and were targeted at (sometimes specialized) readerships of popular literature, such as western and adventure, detective, fantastic (including the evolving genres of science fiction, fantasy, and horror), romance and sports fiction. The first pulp Argosy, began life as the children’s magazine The Golden Argosy, dated Dec 2, 1882 and the last of the “original” pulps was Ranch Romances and Adventures, Nov. 1971.

 

The Pulp Studies area exists to support the academic study of pulp writers, editors, readers, and culture.  It seeks to invigorate research by bringing together scholars from diverse areas including romance, western, science fiction, fantasy, horror, adventure, detective, and more.  Finally, the Pulp Studies area seeks to promote the preservation of the pulps through communication with libraries, museums, and collectors.

 

With this in mind, we are calling for papers and panels that discuss the pulps and their legacy.  Suggested authors and topics:

• Magazines:  Amazing Stories, Weird Tales, Wonder Stories, Fight Stories, All-Story, Argosy, Thrilling Wonder Stories, Spicy Detective, Ranch Romances and Adventures, Oriental Stories/Magic Carpet Magazine, Love Story, Flying Aces, Black Mask, and Unknown, to name a few.
• Editors and Owners:  Street and Smith (Astounding), Munsey (Argosy), Farnsworth Wright (Weird Tales), Hugo Gernsback (Amazing Stories), Mencken and Nathan (Black Mask), John Campbell (Astounding).
• Influential Writers:  H.P. Lovecraft, A. E. Merritt, Robert E. Howard, C. L. Moore, Fritz Leiber, Raymond Chandler, Dashiell Hammett, Donald Wandrei, Clark Ashton Smith, and Henry Kuttner. 
• Influences on Pulp Writers:  Robert Bloch, H. Rider Haggard, Arthur Conan Doyle, Jack London, and Edgar Rice Burroughs were all influences, along with literary and philosophical figures such as Bram Stoker, Mary Shelley, Friedrich Nietzsche, Edgar Allen Poe, and Herbert Spencer.
• Popular Characters:  Conan of Cimmeria; Bulldog Drummond; Doc Savage; Solomon Kane; Buck Rogers; The Domino Lady; Jiril of Jiory; Zorro; El Borak; The Shadow; The Spider; Nick Carter; The Avenger; and Captain Future, among others.  Also character types: the femme fatale, the he-man, the trickster, racism and villainy (such as Charles Middleton’s Ming the Merciless), and more.
• Artists:  Popular cover artists including Margaret Brundage (Weird Tales), Frank R. Paul (Amazing Stories), Virgil Finlay (Weird Tales), and Edd Cartier (The Shadow, Astounding).
• Theme and Styles:  Masculinity, femininity, and sex as related to the heroic in the pulps; the savage as hero, the woman as hero, the trickster as hero, etc.
• Film, Television and Graphic Arts:  Pulps in film, television, comics, graphic novels and other forms are especially encouraged.
• Cyberculture:  Cyberpulps such as Beneath Ceaseless Skies and pulp-influenced games such as the Age of Conan MMORPG or the Call of Cthulhu role-playing game.
• International Pulp Fiction:  During the interwar period and after WWII American-style pulp fiction inspired native pulp traditions in Australia, Britain, and continental Europe.  Submissions covering pulp magazines, paperbacks, and writers in languages other than English are especially encouraged.

These are but suggestions for potential panels and presentations.  Proposals on other topics are welcome.

 

For general information on the Pulp Studies area, please visit our website:  http://pulpstudies.weebly.com/

 

Final Submission Deadline: November 1, 2013

 

How to Submit Proposals:  Submit proposals through the following website:  http://ncp.pcaaca.org/

Note:  Only papers submitted through the website will appear in the conference program.  If you have any questions, please contact the Pulp Studies area coordinators:

 

Justin Everett - University of the Sciences - j.everet@usciences.edu

Jeffrey Shanks - Southeast Archaeological Center - jeffrey_shanks@nps.gov

CFP: Australasian Journal of Popular Culture "All-Pulp" Issue (Feb. 1)

Call for Papers:

Australasian Journal of Popular Culture

"All-Pulp" Issue

 

The Australasian Journal of Popular Culture is seeking submissions of articles for an "all-pulp" issue.  This issue will be co-edited by the journal's editor, Toni-Johnson Woods, and Justin Everett, area chair for Pulp Studies for the Popular Culture Association. 

Our aim is to produce a truly international publication, and so we encourage articles that explore pulp in every nation!  We are not limiting "pulp" to the American magazine tradition, but wish to include the pulp traditions of countries outside the U.S. which may include paperbacks, comics, and other forms as appropriate to that country's tradition.  Please include as many images as is appropriate to your article.

The Australasian Journal of Popular Culture is a double-blind refereed journal and is the official publication of Popcaanz (Popular Culture Association of Australia and New Zealand).

We are embracing all meanings of “pulp” and are particularly interested in innovative approaches to scholarship—practitioners, artists, and fans are welcome to submit material.  We are also interested in material that comes from the broadest possible spectrum and can include:

•    Print – digests and cheap fiction
•    Pulp “industry”
•    Merchandise
•    Film
•    Music
•    Websites
•    Comics
•    Radio
•    Book Reviews – please submit your pulp book for review
•    Exhibition Reviews
•    Photographic essay

Submission Deadline:  Feb. 1, 2013 for full papers.

All papers must conform to the journal’s style guide (British English):
http://www.intellectbooks.co.uk/journals/page/index,name=journalstyleguide/

Please submit articles of between 4,000 and 6,000 words to the editors:
Toni Johnson-Woods, t.johnsonwoods@uq.edu.au

CFP: Pulp Fiction as Genesis of Genius, PCA/ACA (Dec. 15; April 20-23)

Of related interest... 

Call for Proposals

Giving Birth to Greatness:

Pulp Fiction as Genesis of Genius

Pulp Studies Area

Popular Culture Association/

American Culture Association National Conference

San Antonio, TX

April 20-23, 2011

ABSTRACT: Although often viewed as a site for literary works with little value and short shelf lives, pulp fiction has in reality been a very effective mechanism for launching the careers of authors who would become literary giants, many of whom would move on to publish novel-length works that have become embedded in the canon of American and British fiction. In spite of its status among the literati as being of little worth, the pulps—particularly those of the early 20th century—have played an important role in shaping popular genres of modern fiction, including detective, adventure, spicy, science fiction, horror, and fantasy. Further, these working-class fictions, with their focus on action and adventure, gave voice to the hopes and fears of the common working man in a way that was often ignored by so-called “literary” fiction. Pulp magazines have also often been the site for the introduction of new—and often controversial—cultural issues, such as space travel, alien abduction, drug addiction, homosexuality, sado-masochism, crime, and pornography.

As we inaugurate our Pulp Studies area this year, we encourage sessions that somehow address the surprising role that the pulps have played in the careers of the authors, artists, editors, and publishers.
Suggested authors and topics:

• Magazines: Amazing Stories, Weird Tales, Wonder Stories, Fight Stories, All-Story, Argosy, Thrilling Wonder Stories, Spicy Detective, Flying Aces, Black Mask, and Unknown, to name a few.
• Editors and Owners: Street and Smith (Argosy), Farnsworth Wright (Weird Tales), Hugo Gernsback (Amazing Stories), Mencken and Nathan (Black Mask), John Campbell (Astounding).
• Influential Writers: H.P. Lovecraft, A. E. Merritt, Robert E. Howard, C. L. Moore, Fritz Leiber, Raymond Chandler, Dashiell Hammett, Donald Wandrei, Clark Ashton Smith, and Henry Kuttner.
• Influences on Pulp Writers: Robert Bloch, H. Rider Haggard, Arthur Conan Doyle, Jack London, and Edgar Rice Burroughs were all influences, along with literary and philosophical figures such as Bram Stoker, Mary Shelley, Friedrich Nietzsche, Edgar Allen Poe, and Herbert Spencer.
• Popular Heroes: Conan of Cimmeria; Doc Savage; Solomon Kane; Buck Rogers; Northwest Smith; Jiril of Jiory; Zorro; Kull of Atlantis; El Borak; The Shadow; The Spider; Bran Mak Morn; Nick Carter; The Avenger; and Captain Future, among others.
• Artists: Popular cover artists included Margaret Brundage (Weird Tales), Frank R. Paul (Amazing Stories), Virgil Finlay (Weird Tales), and Edd Cartier (The Shadow, Astounding).
• Periods: The dime novels; Argosy and the ancestral pulps; Weird Tales, Amazing Stories, and the heyday of the pulps; John Campbell’s reforms; the 1950s; the decline of the pulps in the 50s and 60s; pulps in the age of the Internet.
• Theme and Styles: Masculinity, femininity, and sex in the pulps; the ethos of plot and action; compact vs. purple prose; Social Darwinism; technocracy vs. naturalism; social roles; drugs and addiction; the aesthetic of violence; detective as hero; pornography and the cover girl; the savage as hero.
• Reinvention of the Pulps: Pulps in film, television, comics, graphic novels and other forms are especially encouraged. Possible topics could include film interpretations such as Conan the Barbarian, comic book incarnations of pulp magazines and series; “new weird” reinventions of the pulps such as the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen and The Watchmen; fan films; and newer productions, including the recently released Solomon Kane and the forthcoming Conan.

These are but suggestions for potential panels and presentations. Proposals on other topics are welcome.

Final Submission Deadline: December 15, 2009

• When submitting your paper, abstract, proposal, or panel please include your name, affiliation, and email address. For those submitting a panel, include the name, affiliation, and email address for each participant and note who will be the principle contact and panel chair.
• Abstracts should be approximately 250 words in length.
• Indicate if presentation media is required. Projectors will be present in most locations, but presenters must supply their own computers.
• A preliminary version of the schedule will usually be posted on our website in January. Due to the number of panels and participants, we are unable to accommodate individual scheduling requests. We encourage participants to come for the entire conference. The final version of the schedule will be distributed in hard copy at the conference with addendums if needed. For privacy reasons we do not publish email addresses in the online version of the program.
• Only one paper is accepted from the same presenting author. All presenters, including invited panel speakers and session chairs, must register and pay the conference registration fee. If you need an early confirmation for visa or budgetary reasons, please indicate this in your submission.

Submit proposals to:
Justin Everett
University of the Sciences
600 S. 43rd St.
Philadelphia, PA 19104
Email: j.everet@usp.edu

OR:

Deirdre Pettipiece
West Chester University
Anderson Hall 119b
West Chester, PA 19383
Email: dpettipiece@wcupa.edu