My Father, the Pornographer: A Memoir

Andrew J. Offutt Timeline

1934

Born in Spencer County, Kentucky

1944

Wins Spencer County spelling bee

1939–1950

Lives on farm in log cabin

Teaches self to type and writes two novels

Begins drawing fetish comic serials

1949

Begins creating Cade of the Galactic Patrol, comic serial

1950

Moves to Taylorsville, Kentucky

1951

Wins Kentucky high school fiction contest with “The Devil’s Soul”

Graduates Taylorsville High School one year early

Enrolls at the University of Louisville on full academic scholarship from the Ford Foundation

1952

Creates Marcus Severus, comic book set in ancient Rome

1953

Death of father, Andrew J. Offutt IV

Resigns from AFROTC; unable to fly due to color-blindness

Uses “Uncle Andy” as byline for The Cardinal, school newspaper

1954

Wins If magazine college science fiction contest with “And Gone Tomorrow,” first professional publication

Applies for job as fetish artist for Bizarre magazine, rejected

Returns to drawing Cade

Designs ad layouts for Logan Furniture in Louisville

Uses “Morris Kenniston” as byline, referred to as “debut of alter ego”

Writes The Messenger of Zhuvastou, published almost twenty years later

1955

Graduates University of Louisville with BA in English

Works at Bonds Clothing for Men in Louisville, Kentucky

Moves to Pikeville, Kentucky, as traveling salesman for Procter & Gamble

Continues drawing fetish serials

1956

Drafted by U.S. Army, fails physical due to asthma

Completes book seven of Cade

1957

Moves to Lexington, Kentucky, for promotion with Procter & Gamble

Meets Mary Joe McCabe at a Catholic Youth Organization dance

Destroys all drawn and written fetish material except Cade

Marries Mary Joe McCabe

1958

Birth of first child, Christopher John Offutt

1959

Draws two serials for Irving Klaw, rejected

Begins work on Valkyria, long-running comic serial

1960

President of the Lexington Toastmasters Club

Contributing editor for Moonbeams, periodical for Procter & Gamble

1961

Birth of second child, Andrew J. Offutt VI

1962

Birth of third child, Mary Scott Offutt

President of Big Brothers of Lexington, Inc.

Moves to Morehead, Kentucky, as salesman for Coastal States Life Insurance

Joins Kiwanis Club

1963–1965

Creates Nellie, the Farmer’s Daughter, ninety-page fetish serial

1964

Moves to Haldeman, Kentucky

Birth of fourth child, Melissa Jane (Joe) Offutt

Starts insurance agency, andrew j. offutt associates

1967

Letter to Pope Paul VI, resignation from Catholic Church

Writes personal credo

1968

Publishes first novel, Bondage Babes, under the name Alan Marshall

Expands insurance agency to Winchester and Lexington, Kentucky

“Population Implosion” included in World’s Best Science Fiction

Buys a Mercedes-Benz, the only one in Rowan County

Writes more than a quarter million words in five months

Sets personal record by writing ninety-four pages in two days

1969

Attends first science fiction convention

First use of John Cleve as pseudonym on Slave of the Sudan

Acquires first literary agent

1970

Closes insurance agency to become full-time writer

Publishes Evil Is Live Spelled Backwards, first science fiction novel

Records seven one-hour tapes for a radio station, “The Writer Speaks”

Writes Autobiography of a Sex Criminal, never published

1970–1978

Writes and publishes eighty-eight pornographic novels under multiple pen names

1972

“For Value Received” included in Again, Dangerous Visions, anthology heralding the new wave of young SF writers

First use of Turk Winter as pseudonym

1974

Toastmaster at World Science Fiction Convention

1975

Begins long-term collaboration with Eric Stanton

Elected treasurer of Science Fiction Writers of America (SFWA)

1976–1978

Two-term president of SFWA

1977–1979

Edits five volumes of Swords Against Darkness, anthology of fantasy

1978

Reveals himself as John Cleve at Kubla Khan VI in Nashville

1982–1985

Creates Spaceways, a nineteen-book series, for Playboy Enterprises

1984

Death of mother, Helen Spanninger Offutt

1985

Writes will

Writes “secret will”

John Cleve retires

1986

Emergence of Turk Winter as primary pseudonym/persona

Receives Phoenix Award for lifetime service to Southern SF fandom

1987

Begins Winterbooks to publish his own work

1993

Publishes The Shadow of Sorcery, last novel

1999

Death of Eric Stanton, best friend and long-term collaborator

Suffers a heart attack, requiring triple bypass surgery

2001

Begins last book of Valkyria

2004

Publishes “Dark of the Moon,” last short story

2004–2013

Writes novellas for international clientele

Continues work on Valkyria

2013

Dies of acute alcohol-induced cirrhosis