GANG PULP
Introduction by John Locke

        In 1929, a new kind of magazine appeared on newsstands: the gang pulps! And nothing that came before gave the pulps a worse reputation. Month after month, the stories luridly recounted the exploits of the most sadistic killers, the most craven squealers, the most coldblooded gun molls, the most corrupt cops, the most ruthless gang bosses, the most brutal mob wars, that ever escaped the realm of the imagination—a genre of extremes.
        There had been outlaw heroes in crime fiction before, but none like this new breed, who toasted with bootleg liquor while their bloody victims lay dying on the floor. Almost immediately, the gang pulps came under attack from the censors. America’s morals lay dying on the pulpwood pages, they claimed.
        Centered in the crosshairs was famed pulp editor Harold Hersey, creator of Gangster Stories, Racketeer Stories, Speakeasy Stories, and a raft of other gang magazines. He was threatened with prosecution. Clean up—or else!
        But the story of this clash has never before been told; nor have many of the stories been available since their original publication during the dying years of Prohibition. Included in Gang Pulp are nineteen rare tales, selected from both the pre- and post-censorship periods. Did Hersey buckle under? Judge for yourself in violent and profane pulp classics like “One Hour Before Dawn,” “Rough on Rats,” and “City of Bullets.”
        In “Glorifying the American Goon,” an in-depth introduction based on all-new research, the world of the gang pulps is explored: what the stories were about, what happened during the attack on Hersey, how he responded, how the stories changed.                    294 pages, $24 . . . available at Amazon

IF SHE ONLY HAD A MACHINE GUN
Crime stories by Richard Credicott
Introduction by Dave Credicott
Edited by John Locke & Rob Preston

        For the first time, we’re able to offer a complete pulp career in a single volume. Richard Credicott’s first story appeared in October 1929, unlucky timing indeed. Over the next few years, he struggled to make the pulp racket pay. His best work appeared in the gang pulps and ranks with the very best to be found there, wildly entertaining stories of mob mayhem and intrigue. His specialty was the molls, the tough chicks who gave the ultra-violent gangster life the touch of spice that made it all worthwhile.
        This volume includes all eighteen of Richard Credicott’s stories, published from 1929-33, in Mobs, The Underworld, Racketeer Stories, Gangland Stories, Detective-Dragnet, Dime Detective, and others. Included is a complete biography of Credicott’s life and writing career, offering rare insights into the ups and downs of the pulp-magazine world of the early Depression.
        Until this time, there were no known living relatives of any of the gang-pulp authors. In fact, it’s exceedingly difficult to discover even the most basic information about this mostly obscure group. Therefore, it was a complete surprise and an unexpected privilege to meet Richard’s son, Dave Credicott, who enthusiastically provided an introduction to this volume, counterpointing the history with reminiscences of his father.
        All of which makes this volume a unique contribution to pulp history.                              360 pages, $20 . . . Amazon

CITY OF NUMBERED MEN: THE BEST OF PRISON STORIES
Edited by John Locke

        During Prohibition, America’s prisons filled beyond capacity with convicts, turning decrepit institutions into seething cauldrons of hate and despair. The papers reported daily on escape attempts, inmate violence, tough wardens, grisly executions, and horrendous riots that were beaten back with machine guns and tear gas. . . . all the raw material that famed pulp publisher Harold Hersey needed to launch a pulp magazine: Prison Stories. Each hardboiled issue featured sociopathic cons, snitches, corrupt guards, devious wardens, and brutal violence. Included are stories from all six issues of this ultra-rare pulp, complete and uncensored with original illustrations.
        Additional features: * The startling history of Prison Stories * Complete cover gallery * “Harold Hersey: Tales of an Ink-Stained Wretch,” the first comprehensive biography of pulp publishing’s most colorful character * Author biographies * Highlights from the monthly letters column.                                        276 pages, $20 . . . Amazon

THE GANGLAND SAGAS OF BIG NOSE SERRANO:  Volumes 1-3
By Anatole Feldman
Introductions by Will Murray

Volume 1: Dames, Dice and the Devil
        Features the first four Big Nose Serrano novels from Gangster Stories, 1930-31. Serrano started off as a gangland version of Cyrano de Bergerac, a guy with a large nose who supplies romantic poetry to a better-looking friend. But Big Nose evolved into his own force of nature, a Tommy-gun toting berserker who rhymed as he slew. From the pen of top gang-pulp author, Anatole Feldman, who wrote down-and-dirty gang fiction like he was born to the cause. Big Nose is reprinted for the first time since original publication. Unique, unforgettable. 266 pages, $20 . . . Amazon
Volume 2: Horses, Hoboes and Heroes
        The next four novels of Chicago's most notorious fictional gangster. These stories, from 1931-32, find Big Nose involved with horse racing; fighting a mysterious underworld villain named the Spider. The middle two novels of the set, "Hell-Bent for Election" and "The Crime Crusade" follow Big Nose's entry into politics. He fights big city corruption with the same zeal he applied to mob warfare. 266 pages, $20 . . . Amazon
Volume 3: Hell’s Gangster
        Completing the run of the 12 Big Nose Serrano sagas, this volume includes the three short novels from GREATER GANGSTER STORIES, and a novelette from THE GANG MAGAZINE. In these four stories, Big Nose continues to confront the social ills of the Depression with the gangster's arsenal of violence, kidnapping and murder. 224 pages, $18 . . . Amazon

QUEEN OF THE GANGSTERS: Volume 1: BROADWALK EMPIRE
Stories by Margie Harris
Introduction by David Bischoff

        Margie Harris was the first woman hardboiled crime fiction writer in history. She wrote some of the toughest, roughest, most remorseless stories to be found in ’30s gangster pulps like Gangland Stories, Racketeer Stories and Mobs. Her avid readers questioned whether she could even be a woman. Who is this “Margie Harris”? they wondered aloud. Who is this frail who cracks wise from the inside?
        I’m “just another twist,” she told them—a woman of mystery then—a woman of mystery now. She palled around with the death-row doomed and the Chicago underworld. She may have been a newswoman; may have worked in the law. One point was not in doubt. She slammed her typewriter like a machine gun, mowing down good guys and bad guys alike; shooting them, knifing them, blowing them up—lacing her prose with metaphysical commentary on the destinations of their damned souls.
        Tough. Rough. Hardboiled. Through the explosive stories of Margie Harris we savor the meeting of fist and flesh, the clatter of machine guns, the stench of gas fumes from sleek Packards barreling down city streets, the bitterness of bootleg hooch, the glory of sin. A violent symphony of hot jazz.
        In an age when gangsters were royalty, Margie Harris was their queen.
        This inaugural anthology of her work collects eight explosive stories, an introduction by David Bischoff, and a bio of Margie Harris.
        David Bischoff is a New York Times bestselling author, editor and script writer whose credits include the classic fantasy series, The Gaming Magi, and work on Star Trek: The Next Generation. He teaches in an MFA program at Seton Hill University.
                                                                                                                                                234 pages, $18 . . . Amazon