Galaxy Press Summer of Pop Culture Excitement

Galaxy Press attended four of the largest science fiction and fantasy pop culture conventions of the summer, San Diego Comic Con, Tampa Comic Con, Fan Expo Canada, and Atlanta Dragon Con, with record interest in our books. “Galaxy Press has attended San Diego Comic Con and Dragon Con Atlanta since the late 1980s and more recently the shows in Toronto and Tampa,” stated John Goodwin, President of Galaxy Press publisher of the fiction works of L. Ron Hubbard and the Writers of the Future series. “This year has seen the best interest by book readers yet … and I look forward to attending FanX Salt Lake later this month.”

Dan Farr, CEO of Tampa Bay Comic Con, Atlanta Comic Con, Indiana Comic Con, and FanX Salt Lake, the keynote speaker for the Writers of the Future Awards celebration earlier this year, spoke about pop culture. He said, “‘Popular Culture’ or ‘Pop Culture’ refers to the traditions and material culture of a particular society. It refers to the culture of the people; it arises from the people vs. the culture as promoted by the state or governing class. It has mass accessibility. It has appeal.”

Farr explained, “The modern concept of a fan convention dates back to the late 1930s with various gatherings of a few dozen science-fiction fans in Philadelphia and New York.

“Hardcore SF readers met at these underground affairs, mainly to discuss science fiction, which at that time consisted of pulps.

“Fanatics—FANS—bloomed.

“Fanzines were created and distributed by those fans.

“And Fandom as a community was here to stay.”

1939 saw the first World Science Fiction Convention, now known as Worldcon. Two hundred guests attended. Subsequent years saw hundreds of local and regional conventions spring up, celebrating science fiction and related genres, such as Boskone in Boston, Disclave in Washington, and Lunacon in New York.

The authors of the Golden Age of Science Fiction attended these events as celebrities, guests, and keynote speakers. Attending masters of the genre such as L. Ron Hubbard and John W. Campbell at the 1948 Toronto World Con, the 11th Philcon in 1953 with Isaac Asimov as toastmaster, and in 1956 Arthur C. Clark, Sprague de Kamp, and Harlan Ellison at the 14th World Science Fiction Convention.

In the ’60s, fan culture started to explode when mainstream TV series and movies such as Star Trek, The Twilight Zone, Lost in Space, The Day the Earth Stood Still, and Forbidden Planet came onto the convention scene. And these pop culture conventions have continued to grow.

“Simply put, it is what a lot of people like,” concluded Farr.

Galaxy Press will attend FanX Salt Lake from September 21-23 at the Salt Palace Convention Center. The booth will feature authors Jody Lynn Nye (Mythology 101), Eric James Stone (Blood Light: An Anthology of Humorous Horror Stories), Barbara Lund (Doomsday Ship Series), Christopher Bowthorpe (Writers of the Future Volume 37), Julie Frost (Pack Dynamics), Scott Parkin (Dragon Writers), Susan Kroupa (Doodlebugged Mysteries), as well as celebrity actor and artist Jim Meskimen (voice for Deadshot, Ultron, and Kuruk). Other judges and past winners attending include Todd McCaffrey (LA Witch Series), illustrator and artist Rob Prior, Brian C. Hailes (Hotel California: The Illustrated Novel), Brian Lee Durfee (The Forgetting Moon), and illustrator Nick Jizba.

Galaxy Press was established in 2002 to meet the growing demand for the fiction works of bestselling author L. Ron Hubbard, and publishes his complete fiction library, including the New York Times bestsellers Battlefield Earth, Mission Earth, Fear, Final Blackout and To the Stars. The annual L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future anthology, featuring new authors and artists selected by two panels of blue ribbon judges, is likewise published by Galaxy Press.

For more information, go to www.GalaxyPress.com.