Fest or Fair?
#136 - In which we compare a couple of book selling weekends, write some words, and talk about murder on a train.
The last two weekends couldn’t have been more different, despite having the same objective - sell some books.
The last weekend of July we headed to Pittsburgh for Pulpfest 2026, while the following weekend we stayed a little closer to home for the BookFair at Bel Air. One worked, and one didn’t. (At least not the way we had hoped.)
Pulpfest 2026
Pulpfest was held in a hotel in a suburb of Pittsburgh, and while the hotel was just off a freeway exit, it wasn’t exactly visible from the road either. It wasn’t going to attract any passing traffic - this was definitely a destination event.
The hotel turned out to be great, and so were the Pulpfest staff in helping a couple of newbies get acclimatized to the area and the way that things worked. Setting up was a breeze, and we were soon ready to go.
Pulpfest is a multi-day event (Thursday through Sunday morning), and it was definitely focused on people with a love of the genre. The dealers room was one of the largest we’ve experienced at a niche convention like this and was the main focus of the event. Attendees were there to buy.
It turned out to be our most successful book event/convention in terms of sales in the last five years.
To cap it all, everyone we met was friendly and welcoming. It was great to actually get to meet multiple online friends in person for the first time, plus make new friends along the way too.
The conversations sparked some creative ideas and opportunities, which we will definitely be following up on.
We’re already making plans for what we want to take to PulpFest 2027!
Book Fair @ Bel Air
Our success at Pulpfest caused us what at first seemed like a problem. We’d sold so many books that some titles had sold out and we were low on stock of others, with another event the next weekend. That, in fact, turned out to be an opportunity.
When we started our Lemon Hog Publishing imprint, we set ourselves a target that once we’d published three books, we’d try attending a book event under the Lemon Hog name with just those books rather than our usual setup of the multiple titles as we’d had at Pulpfest.
I’ve also sometimes wondered if my usual array of diverse book titles could be a bit overwhelming - This was a chance to try a more focused, simpler setup.
This would be a single-day, 4-hour event held in a community college sports hall, again just out of town off a main road. Over the last several months there had been a lot of promotion on social media, and there seemed to be quite a buzz about the event.
The hall was filled with tables for just over 100 authors, and I will say it was one of the best-organized events in terms of providing vendors with the information they needed as well as directions and load-in instructions.
But in retrospect, it was all a bit clinical and functional; I’ve been at larger events, where we’ve been made to feel more welcome. No one was rude or anything, but we were just another table number.
The hall was also sectioned into genre areas; we ended up in the thriller/suspense section in a good end-of-row spot at a crossroads of two walkways, so we were expecting a lot of traffic.
And there was a lot of traffic, probably 2 to 3 times the attendees over the 4 hours of the show than there had been over the full Pulpfest weekend. As it was a free event, it drew a mix of determined book buyers and general audience too - notable across a wide age range, including an impressive number of families. Which was great to see.
For many of the attending authors, it was a success - especially if you were the author of children’s books or a sprayed-edge romantasy series.
But in the end we only sold a handful of books. It wasn’t our worst book event sales-wise, but it was close.
The day, however, wasn’t a total waste, as it did give us the opportunity to do some serious thinking and arrive at some conclusions.
Final thoughts
Clearly our audience currently remains at the smaller focused genre events. We need to find more of these within a reasonable traveling distance to attend.
We need to focus on continuing to build the Lemon Hog titles list in areas that might have a broader appeal (although we don’t want to chase trends).
We need to visit some of the more generalist shows to scope out which, if any, may be worth trying in the future.
Two weekends, two experiences, two opportunities to learn.
Alan
Other Stuff
Welcome new folks
We had a few new folks subscribe to the newsletter over the last few weeks both at events and online. Welcome and thanks for signing up.
If you aren’t a member of my wonderful group of subscribers yet, then click the button below and join our growing community of readers and commentators to get these missives delivered directly to your email inbox every other Friday.
Thanks
Word Slinging
Work continues apace on the new, updated, and expanded second edition of Star Trek: a comics history. This week we delivered the updated chapters on the first Marvel Comics run and full DC Comics runs. Next week we will be heading out to Deep Space Nine, and we move on to the short-lived Malibu Comics titles
Shows Booked in 2026/27
For friends in the Los Angeles area - come join me on August 28th for a fun evening devoted to the life and works of Ian Fleming to be held at The Last Bookstore in Studio City.
====
On Friday, August 28th at 7 pm, “Ian Fleming: The Spy with the Golden Pen” will be an evening of celebration dedicated to the man, the myth, the legend that is 007’s creator, Ian Fleming. Join us for:
A LIVE episode of the To Live and Let Die in LA podcast with Neil McNally and Steve Kilcullen, featuring special guest Matt Gourley (James Bonding Podcast)
A very special appearance by actress Luciana Paluzzi (Fiona Volpe of Thunderball)
A 30-minute presentation + Q&A with Alan Porter (President, The Ian Fleming Foundation)
A spectacular photo-op outside featuring a 2010 Aston Martin DBS courtesy of Michael Laity.
Rare 1st Edition Bond books on display provided by Matthew Bradford.
Plus! Every attendee is automatically entered into a raffle for a Complete Fleming Boxed Set courtesy of HarperCollins Publishing and Ian Fleming Publications.
==========
The list of the remaining events in 2026 where you will be able to find us is now looking something like this:
August 16 - Moonraker Screening Event - Newtown PA
August 28 - Ian Fleming Evening - Los Angeles CA
September 12 - ArmadilloCon - Austin TX
September 25-27 - Baltimore ComicCon - Baltimore MD
And we are already starting to get bookings for 2027.
February 5-7 - Farpoint - Towson, MD.
April - Dates TBC - Live and Let in LA - Casino Royale screening
May 28-30 - Comicpalooza - Houston, TX
Buy Our Books Direct Online
You can now buy any of our books directly from us via our Forest Comics and Books store on eBay where they are all listed with the same BuyNow prices that we charge at conventions and shows.
Thanks to the folks who have already purchased copies from us over the last few weeks.
Podcast Procrastinations
Chronological Christie
Hop on board and join us for the first of two podcast episodes discussing all the happenings on the Orient Express.
During this episode Alan suggested that Murder on the Orient Express was Agatha Christie’s most famous book, but Gill had other ideas.
What do you think is her most famous work?
Bond vs Spy Movies
Check out the latest James Bond vs Spy Movies episode on the On Her Majesty’s Secret Podcast network. This time around we are joined by August and Margaux from the A Good Squeeze podcast as we discuss 1985’s A View To Kill and Spies Like Us.
Books Read in 2026
“History of the DC Universe” by Mark Waid et al.
I’m the sort of detail-oriented geek who loves to dive into the backstory of fictional universes, so this hardback edition of the recent update on the history of the DC Comics universe was something I was looking forward to, especially with Mark Waid guiding the journey.
While the early art-driven thematic summary pages were delightful to work through, the real treat for me was the detailed timeline based on Mark’s research that was full of references to the source materials.
I was also blown away by the four double-page spreads of DC characters, with each one including around 300 characters.
This is a volume that is destined to be pulled off the shelf and revisited on a regular basis for both research and fun.
********
Over at our online bookstore at Bookshop.org I’ve now added a new section listing books read so far in 2026, as well as previous years, so you can pick up copies of any that interest you, while also helping out local independent bookstores.
You can check it out HERE
Where on the Web Are We?
You can now find links to all the places you can find us online, websites, newsletters, social media, and more in a single LINKS page on our website.
As always, thanks for joining me this week. If you know someone else who might enjoy the contents of this edition of the newsletter, or just my ramblings in general, please feel free to share by clicking the button below.
[share button]
See you next time
Alan J. Porter
The Can’t See The Forest (TM) newsletter is a production of Megrin Entertainment, a division of 4Js Group LLC
I think you're approaching this right. Pulpfest for us at Pulp 2.0 & Subtropic ( Together we publish The Men's Adventure Quarterly and The Art of Ron Lesser book series) is a benchmark: We know we need to have something new for our audience, reconnect with them, as well as wander around and talk to retailers and other publishers & authors (market research and strategic partnerships).
There are numerous ways to get "paid" in this indie business we're in. For me it's developing more books, lining up graphic design gigs, partnering, and developing other media to support all of it.
This year we experimented with that free newsprint zine you received in your registration packet - giving people something free, and offering them the opportunity to pre-order MAQ 15. The format cost and ease of production has emboldened me to begin development of a line of pulp newsprint comics. More on that later as it develops.
I'm glad you had a great time at Pulpfest, and look forward to seeing you in 2027!