Before Kemp left Arkansas , he discovered pulp fiction . As Kemp once wrote , " There were a number of magazines that struck my fancy for different reasons , among them were titles like '' Planet Stories , Weird Tales '' , '' Spicy Mystery Stories '' , etc . It was probably my emerging pubescence tilting me toward the spicy parts , but I had always been easy to tilt . " In 1952 , Kemp attended his first World Science Fiction Convention . As he later said , " It was like walking into a world I had been seeking for a very long time . I felt , instantly , that I was at home at last and among my kind of people . " In 1956 Kemp and other members of the University of Chicago Science Fiction Club founded Advent : Publishers , which publishes science fiction criticism , history , and bibliography . One of their first books was '' In Search of Wonder '' , a hardcover collection of the book reviews of Damon Knight . Critics have said the book created the " foundation for all subsequent SF criticism . " Kemp won the Hugo Award for Best Fanzine in 1961 for his publication '' Who Killed Science Fiction '' . To create the fanzine , " Earl sent the same five questions to 108 people , the elite of the science fiction world . And he printed the seventy-one responses he received . " The fanzine was distributed by the Spectator Amateur Press Society ( SAPS ) , a long-running amateur press association . Kemp 's win caused a bit of controversy because some felt that his publication had only a single issue ; afterwards the award 's eligibility rules for fanzines were changed to prevent single-issue publications from winning . However , '' Who Killed Science Fiction '' was actually the first '' SaFari Annual '' , part of a series of fanzines Kemp was publishing for SAPS , and the " controversy " was largely based on misunderstanding . In 2006 Kemp published a significant updating of '' Who Killed Science Fiction '' as the 29th issue of his current fanzine '' e Kemp also served as chairman of the 20th World Science Fiction Convention . In 1961 , he wrote a letter to Isaac Asimov in which he stated that " based on your delightful wit , and frankly your reputation " someone had jokingly suggested that Asimov deliver a pseudo-lecture at the Convention . Kemp stated , " Specifically it should be delivered at the masquerade and should be something on the theme of THE POSITIVE POWER OF POSTERIOR PINCHING . They went on to say that we would , naturally furnish some suitable posteriors for demonstration purposes . " Asimov responded that , " I have no doubt I could give a stimulating talk that would stiffen the manly fiber of every one in the audience . However , I am not yet ready to give an unqualified acquiescence . It does occur to me , now and then , that there is some age at which I ought to gain a kind of minimal dignity suiting my unintelligible position in life . Besides the real reason is that I will have to ask the permission of various people who are ( or would be ) concerned in the matter . If they say ' no ' , it will be ' no . ' Of course , I could be persuaded to do so on very short notice ; even after the convention began , if the posteriors in question were of particularly compelling interest . Yours , Asimov . " The suggested pseudo-lecture did not occur
20th World Science Fiction Convention
20th World Science Fiction Convention
Earl Kemp