Kemp, Kenny 1955-

views updated

KEMP, Kenny 1955-

PERSONAL: Born May 9, 1955, in San Diego, CA; son of Omer C. (a pharmacist) and Virginia T. (a homemaker) Kemp. Ethnicity: "White." Education: Brigham Young University, B.A., 1980, J.D., 1984.

Religion: Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormon). Hobbies and other interests: Filmmaking, composing music, flying, travel, art.

ADDRESSES: Home—3292 East Bengal Blvd., Salt Lake City, UT 84121; fax 801-943-7227. E-mail—kk@kennykemp.com.

CAREER: Attorney and author. Law Office of Kenneth O. Kemp, Salt Lake City, UT, attorney, 1984—. Also works as a building contractor.

AWARDS, HONORS: CINE Gold Eagle, Council on International Non-theatrical Events, 1995, Best of Fest, Breckenridge Film, 1995, NEMN Silver Apple, National Educational Media Network, 1996, Togetherness Award, Family Favorite Film Festival, 2000, and Children's Choice, American Library Association, 2000, all for short film Fedora; essay award, 1996, for 3/4 Inch Marine Ply; Inspirational Fiction award, Independent Publisher, 1998, for I Hated Heaven; Grand Prize National Self-Published Book Awards, Writer's Digest, 1999, Best Nonfiction Audio Book, Independent Publisher's Association, 2000, and Best Memoir, Independent Publisher, 2000, all for Dad Was a Carpenter.

WRITINGS:

(And director) Wildest Dreams (short film), Alta Films Press (Salt Lake City, UT), 1987.

(And director) Fedora (short film), Alta Films Press (Salt Lake City, UT), 1995.

3/4 Inch Marine Ply (essay), Alta Films Press (Salt Lake City, UT), 1996.

I Hated Heaven (romance fiction), Alta Films Press, (Salt Lake City, UT), 1998.

Dad Was a Carpenter: A Memoir, Alta Films Press, (Salt Lake City, UT), 1999, published as Dad Was a Carpenter: Blueprints for a Meaningful Life, HarperSanFrancisco (San Francisco, CA), 2001.

The Welcoming Door: Parables of the Carpenter, HarperSanFrancisco (San Francisco, CA), 2002.

WORK IN PROGRESS: Hell Is 10,000 Cable Channels, a sequel to I Hated Heaven; second historical fiction in series of three, City on a Hill.

SIDELIGHTS: When asked about his beginnings as a writer, Kenny Kemp commented, "I took the long way around to finding a career in writing, though I've always been a storyteller. In college, I majored in film, but when it came time to go to Los Angeles, reason got the best of me and I opted for law school, which was fine if all I wanted to do was get an education, but once I was out, being a hired hand still didn't suit me."

Kemp's writing career began in 1987 with the production of Wildest Dreams, a short film that he both wrote and directed. While the film was nominated for a student Academy Award, it did not provide Kemp with the opportunity to break into the film industry. He decided to turn to writing instead, and self-published his first novel, I Hated Heaven. The book sold over twenty-thousand copies and was described as an "original, comic novel" by Booklist reviewer John Mort. I Hated Heaven's success prompted Kemp to produce a memoir about his father called Dad Was a Carpenter. The book was awarded the Grand Prize in the 1999 Writer's Digest National Self-Published Book Awards. Kemp was offered a deal with HarperCollins and his book was reprinted in 2001.

Dad Was a Carpenter was lauded by critics for its inspirational story of a son reminiscing about his father. Writing for Word Weaving, Cindy Penn said, "This beautifully written story of father, a son, and the meaning of life must be read." She believed that "the subtle life lessons shared within will remain with the reader for a lifetime." Library Journal reviewer Douglas C. Lord described the novel as "a brief but beautiful love letter" written in "a frankly inspirational style."

Kemp's original vision for his next project was a picture book containing imagined stories about Jesus Christ as an adolescent experiencing the events that he later teaches about in the parables. The idea was reworked and published as The Welcoming Door: Parables of the Carpenter, the first novel in a series of three. Kemp considered this novel to be "the best work he's ever done." Critics also praised the novel. Shawna Saavedra Thorup of Library Journal compared the novel to Joseph Girzone's Joshua, commenting that readers who enjoyed Joshua "will appreciate the powerful storytelling and exceptional look at Jesus and His world." Although a reviewer for Publishers Weekly, remarked, "Turning these parables into actual stories anchors them to details, perhaps diluting their power as compact, versatile teaching tools," the reviewer maintained that Kemp's "far greater accomplishment is his characterization of a young Jesus.…Kemp creates a Jeshua who is human, who sometimes doubts himself, who becomes exhausted and frustrated, but who is the kind of man readers will wish they could work alongside of or have as a brother."

To aspiring writers and dreamers alike, Kemp offered the advice, "Lucky people are those who put themselves in luck's path; those who stay home are never lucky. Never give up. No one knows how far you'll need to go to succeed. The key to your dreams might be right around the next corner."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

periodicals

Booklist, August, 1998, John Mort, review of I Hated Heaven, p. 1965.

Library Journal, June 1, 2002, Douglas C. Lord, review of Dad Was a Carpenter: Blueprints for a Meaningful Life, p. 193; November 1, 2002, Shawna Saavedra Thorup, review of The Welcoming Door: Parables of the Carpenter, p. 74.

Publishers Weekly, September 30, 2002, review of The Welcoming Door, p. 49.

School Library Journal, December, 1998, Carol DeAngelo, review of I Hated Heaven, pp. 146-147.