The Value of The iPulp Fiction Library

In the past, dime novels and other forms of pulp fiction provided cheap entertainment for young readers and inspired generations of great writers such as Bradbury, Burroughs, and Asimov. The iPulp Fiction Library brings back the tradition of the dime novel as a FREE online fiction magazine for readers 10 to adult.

Research shows there is a growing reading gap between boys and girls. Studies indicate that one of the causes of this problem is the lack of material targeting the interests of young males. Schools simply don't recognize boy-oriented genre fiction as literature. (See "Why Johnny Won't Read" Washington Post, and "What Boys Should Read" The Chronicle of Higher Education.) Boys tend to read a wider number of genres over a broader range of topics than girls. They like escapism (science fiction, adventure, and fantasy) and humor more than fiction and poetry, and they like to collect series of books (Simpson, 1996; Smith & Wilhelm, 2002). An article on the National Association of Elementary School Principals (NAESP) web site called "Reading Can Make You Smarter" summarizes studies that suggest that it is not just what you read, but the amount you read that builds vocabulary skills. Comic books and graphic novels have value to developing reading skills. The iPulp Fiction Library fills the void between graphic literature and full-length novels with quality genre stories that will appeal to boys.

If iPulp can turn just one young person on to the joys of reading or inspire one new author, it will have justified its existence.

Edgar Award Winner
Elaine Marie Alphin
Ghostwriters
middle grade contemporary fantasy
Digital Lifeline
middle grade supernatural mystery
Gatekeeper
middle grade supernatural mystery
[author website]

Author of Demon Keeper
Royce Buckingham
Goblin Problems
middle grade fantasy
Mutation
middle grade horror
[author website]

"iPulp takes fast-paced fiction to the kids, where they live, on the Internet. What a perfect idea. Home delivery. May it do for literacy what it did for pizza."

– Kathleen Duey, National Book Award Finalist
author of Skin Hunger

"With the whole world wallowing in pointless, plotless fiction, iPulp greets the reader like a breath of fresh adrenaline."

– David Lubar, Award-winning
author of Hidden Talents

"Like the good old days of Buck Rogers and Sam Spade, iPulp returns us to a time when reading was fun. It's great that writers and readers finally have a place to get together."

– Gregory Urbach, author of the
Waters of the Moon series

"Cheap short fiction - it's the lifeblood of literature."

– Orson Scott Card, Hugo Award-winning
author of Ender's Game

"iPulp Fiction Library is the mother of all short story fiction sites. Period."

– Gary Phillips , Chester Himes Award-winning
author of Only the Wicked

"I love the idea of iPulp. I cut my teeth as a reader on pulp fiction, the best of which has great storytelling energy. I'm all in favor of finding new ways to bring this kind of story to young readers."

– Bruce Coville, IRA Children's Choice Award-winning
author of The Monster's Ring

"The short story is practically a lost art, but it looks like we’ve found it at iPulp.  Personally, I’m delighted, because I love writing short fiction, but the real winners here are the readers— our kids."

– Royce Buckingham, screenwriter and
author of Demonkeeper

"As soon as I discovered iPulp Fiction Library I wanted my stories to be part of it. What a terrific outlet for writers to share their stories with kids and teens who do their reading on the web."

– Elaine Marie Alphin, Edgar Award-winning
author of Counterfeit Son

Publisher
Keith B. Shaw

Managing Editor
Mary Moore