Frederik Pohl, who helped shape and popularize science fiction as an influential agent, editor and award-winning author, died Sept. 2 at a hospital near his home in Palatine, Illinois. He was 93.
His death was confirmed by a granddaughter, author Emily Pohl-Weary. An entry on Pohl's website noted that he "went to the hospital in respiratory distress."
Pohl had been a presence in science fiction since the 1930s, when he began to organize fan clubs and conventions. He published his first work — a poem under an assumed name — in 1937 and worked as an agent and editor before he turned 20.