Venus on the Half-shell (Kilgor Trout)

In "Two Conversations with Kurt Vonnegut" ("College Literature" #7, 1980, pp.1-29) (You can also find it in the Wonderful tome "Conversations with Kurt Vonnegut," a collection of interviews edited by William Rodney Allen (1988, the University Press of Mississippi, Jackson Mississippi)), an interview conducted by one Charles Reilly, we find this exchange:

Charles Reilly: ...Would you care to comment on the novel "Venus on the Half Shell," which was published under the by-line "Kilgore Trout?"

Kurt Vonnegut: "Venus on the Half Shell" was written by Phillip Jose Farmer. He lives out in Peoria and he is a distinguished Science Fiction writer. ..He kept calling me up and saying, "Please let me write a Kilgore Trout book." He was delighted by the character, and as I say, he was a respected writer himself, so I finally said, "Okay, go ahead."

Later in the interview, we find this exchange:

Charles Reilly: Well, I know someone named Phillip Jose Farmer wrote a book "by" Kilgore Trout, and I know some of your critics yelled at you for letting him do it.

Kurt Vonnegut: That's about a third of the story. This Farmer wanted to forge on and write a whole series of books "by" Trout--and I understand he's capable of knocking out a pretty decent Vonnegut book every six weeks. I hardly know Mr. Farmer. I've never met him and most of our contacts have been indirect, so I asked him, please, not to publish any more of his Trout books because the whole thing had become rather upsetting to me. I understand he was really burned up about my decision. I heard he made more money in that one "Kilgore Trout year" that he ever made before--in case you're too polite to ask, I didn't get any of the money.

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