Paul Frederick Ernst (November 7, 1899 - September 21, 1985) was a pulp fiction writer from the United States. He is best known as the author of the first 24 "Avenger" novels, which were published by Street & Smith under the pen name Kenneth Robeson. Paul Ernst was born in the city of Akron, Ohio. reportedly "[took] up fiction writing in his early twenties". His writings, described as "a prolific manufacturer of potboilers-made-to-order," appeared in a number of early Science fiction and fantasy periodicals. His work appeared in Astounding Stories, Strange Tales, and Amazing, and he wrote the Doctor Satan series (8 stories in total) that ran in Weird Tales from 1935 to 1936. Between 1939 and 1942, he was most known for authoring the original 24 The Avenger stories for the namesake pulp magazine. When the work at pulp magazines dried up, Ernst "was able to make a painless transition into the more prestigious "slick" magazines, where his word skill earned him higher financial rewards." In 1971, he was "still active as a writer," having written "Blackout" for the July 1971 issue of Good Housekeeping magazine. In September 1985, he died in Pinellas County, Florida, at the age of 85.