Brad R. Torgersen

Brad R. Torgersen (born April 6, 1974) is an American science fiction author whose short stories regularly appear in various anthologies and magazines, including Analog Science Fiction and Fact and Orson Scott Card's Intergalactic Medicine Show. His stories have won the Analog AnLab readers' choice award three different times, and he was a finalist in 2012 for the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer, the Hugo Award for best novelette, and the Nebula Award for best novelette. In addition to short fiction, he has two published novels, including the 2019 Dragon Award winner, A Star-Wheeled Sky. Analog lists him as one of the "leading writers in the genre".

Brad R. Torgersen
Born (1974-04-06) April 6, 1974
United States
OccupationAuthor
Period1992 - present
GenreScience fiction
Notable works
  • A Star-Wheeled Sky
  • "Ray of Light"
  • "The Exchange Officers"
  • "The Chaplain's Legacy"
Notable awards
Website
bradrtorgersen.com

He has served in the United States Army Reserve since 2002, and has achieved the rank of Chief Warrant Officer Three. Torgersen has been deployed to locations around the United States, as well as to Qatar, Jordan, Kuwait, Poland, and Italy.

Career

Writing

Torgersen was born April 6, 1974.[1][2] His first public credit was as an unpaid script writer for locally-produced space opera serial Searcher & Stallion, which broadcast on Salt Lake City community radio KRCL FM in the early 1990s.[3] "Footprints" was published in North Seattle Community College's 2002 Licton Springs Review.[4]

In 2009, his story "Exanastasis" won third place in the third quarter Writers of the Future contest.[5] Torgersen's first professional sale occurred shortly thereafter, when editor Stanley Schmidt bought Torgersen's novelette "Outbound" for Analog Science Fiction and Fact, and the story was selected in the Analog AnLab readers' poll for Best Novelette for 2010.[6] His novelette "Ray of Light" was the cover story on the December 2011 issue of Analog and was nominated for both the Nebula Award[7] and the Hugo Award.[8] He was also nominated for the 2012 John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer.

Torgersen received two nominations for the 2014 Hugo Awards: for the novella "The Chaplain's Legacy" and the novelette "The Exchange Officers".[9] "The Chaplain's Legacy" also won the 2014 AML Award for Short Fiction.[10] The Chaplain's War, published by Baen Books in October 2014, took his Analog stories "The Chaplain's Assistant" and the AnLab-winning "The Chaplain's Legacy" and expanded them into a fix-up novel.[11] During the 2015 Hugo nomination and voting period, Torgersen led the Sad Puppies movement,[12] which claimed that popular works were often unfairly passed over by Hugo voters in favor of more literary works, or stories with progressive political themes.[13][14]

He won his third Analog AnLab readers' choice award for the novelette "Life Flight".[15] In December 2018, Baen published A Star-Wheeled Sky, which won the 2019 Dragon Award for "Best Science Fiction Novel".[16]

Military service

Due to the events of 9/11, Torgersen enlisted in the United States Army Reserve in 2002, where he has worked his way up to Chief Warrant Officer (CW3).[17][18] He served first as an enlisted United States Army Adjutant General's Corps soldier with the 2122nd Garrison Support Unit, and then with the 493rd MP Company, both at Fort Lewis (and later, Joint Base Lewis–McChord).[18]

Upon his return to Utah, Torgersen was assigned to the 478th Human Resources Company at Fort Douglas, where he eventually packeted for and was accepted to Warrant Officer Candidate School (WOCS). Graduating in 2009, he was appointed Adjutant General Warrant Officer (420A WO1), then commissioned two years later to Adjutant General Chief Warrant Officer (420A CW2).[18] At present, he holds the U.S. Army's lowest senior Chief Warrant Officer grade, which is CW3.

His overseas missions have all occurred during the Global War on Terror and include two Title 10 deployments: one to Qatar/Jordan with the 96th Sustainment Brigade as part of a Special Operations joint task force (SOJTF), and one to theater sustainment command (TSC) in Kuwait with the 300th Sustainment Brigade. He has also served in Poland (Anakonda, 2016) and Italy (Caserma Ederle).[18]

Military decorations
Joint Service Commendation Medal[18]
Army Commendation Medal[18]
 Army Achievement Medal with oak leaf cluster[18]
 Army Reserve Component Achievement Medal with silver oak leaf cluster[18]
National Defense Service Medal[18]
 Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal[18]
Global War on Terrorism Service Medal[18]
Armed Forces Reserve Medal with bronze Hourglass device, "M" device and bronze award numeral 2[18]
Non-Commissioned Officer Professional Development Ribbon
Army Service Ribbon[18]
Army Overseas Service Ribbon with award numeral 2[18]
Army Reserve Overseas Training Ribbon with award numeral 2[18]

Fiction Works

The Chaplain's War
  • The Chaplain's War (October 2014, Baen Books, ISBN 978-1-4767-3685-3), a fix-up novel incorporating these stories:

The Nemesis

A serial space opera story on the Searcher & Stallion radio drama show on KRCL FM.[3]

  1. "The Beginning" (October 1992)
  2. "The Preparation" (October 1992)
  3. "Time for Action" (October 1992)
  4. "A Trap is Sprung" (November 1992)
  5. "Times of Conquest" (November 1992)
  6. "Retaliate and Escape" (November 1992)
  7. "The Price of Freedom" (December 1992)
  8. "Fight or Flight" (December 1992)
  9. "On the Move" (December 1992)
  10. "Desperation" (December 1992)
  11. "Return to Center" (January 1993)
  12. "Battle to the Last" (January 1993)

Waywork Universe
  • "Axabrast", short fiction published on the Baen Books website in November 2018[19]
  • A Star-Wheeled Sky (novel, December 2018, Baen Books, ISBN 978-1-4814-8362-9)

Collections
  • Lights in the Deep (August 2013, WordFire Press, ISBN 978-1-61475-074-1)
  • Racers of the Night (August 2014, WordFire Press, ISBN 978-1-61475-232-5)

Anthologies

These are anthologies edited or co-edited by Torgersen.

Short stories
  • "Footprints" in Licton Springs Review (Spring 2002)
  • "Exanastasis" in L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future, Volume XXVI edited by K. D. Wentworth (October 2010, Galaxy Press, ISBN 9781592128471)
  • "Outbound" in Analog Science Fiction and Fact edited by Stanley Schmidt (November 2010, Dell Magazines)
  • "Exiles of Eden" in Orson Scott Card’s Intergalactic Medicine Show #22 edited by Edmund R. Schubert (April 2011)
  • "The Bullfrog Radio Astronomy Project" in Analog Science Fiction and Fact edited by Stanley Schmidt (October 2011, Dell Magazines)
  • "Ray of Light" in Analog Science Fiction and Fact edited by Stanley Schmidt (November 2011, Dell Magazines)
  • "The Ascent" with Mike Resnick in Tales from the Fathomless Abyss edited by Philip Athans (December 2011, Athans & Associates Creative Consulting)
  • "Sheep Dog" in The Gruff Variations: Writing for Charity Anthology, Vol. 1 edited by Eric James Stone (March 2012, Writing for Charity)
  • "Guard Dog" with Mike Resnick in Space Battles edited by Bryan Thomas Schmidt (April 2012, Flying Pen Press, ISBN 978-0-9845927-5-3)
  • "The Curse of Sally Tincakes" in Orson Scott Card’s Intergalactic Medicine Show #28 edited by Edmund R. Schubert (May 2012)
  • "Peacekeeper" with Mike Resnick in The Mammoth Book of SF Wars edited by Ian Watson and Ian Whates (May 2012, Robinson, ISBN 978-1-78033-040-2)
  • "Strobe Effect" with Alastair Mayer in Analog Science Fiction and Fact (November 2012, Dell Magazines)
  • "The Shadows of Titan" with Carter Reid in Space Eldritch edited by Nathan Shumate (December 2012, Cold Fusion Media, ISBN 978-1-4811-7831-0)
  • "The Exchange Officers" in Analog Science Fiction and Fact edited by Stanley Schmidt (January 2013, Dell Magazines)
  • "The Bricks of Eta Cassiopeiae" in Beyond the Sun edited by Bryan Thomas Schmidt (August 2013, Fairwood Press, ISBN 978-1-933846-38-5)
  • "Gemini 17" in Lights in the Deep (August 2013, WordFire Press, ISBN 978-1-61475-074-1)
  • "Guardian of the Headwaters" in The Crimson Pact: Volume 5" edited by Paul Genesse (August 2013, Iron Dragon Books, ISBN 978-0-9850038-4-5)
  • "Reardon's Law" in Five by Five 2: No Surrender edited by Kevin J. Anderson (August 2013, WordFire Press, ISBN 978-1-61475-071-0)
  • "The Hideki Line" in Spark: A Creative Anthology, Volume IV" edited by Brian Lewis (January 2014, Empire & Great Jones Little Press, ISBN 978-0-9888072-9-7)
  • "Picket Ship" in Baen Books: Free Stories 2014 (January 2014, Baen Books)
  • "Life Flight" in Analog Science Fiction and Fact edited by Trevor Quachri (March 2014, Dell Magazines)
  • "The Nechronomator" in Galaxy's Edge Issue 7 edited by Mike Resnick (March 2014, Arc Manor/Phoenix Pick, ISBN 978-1-61242-186-5)
  • "Astronaut Nick" in A Fantastic Holiday Season: The Gift of Stories edited by Kevin J. Anderson and Keith J. Olexa (July 2014, WordFire Press, ISBN 978-1-61475-202-8)
  • "Blood and Mirrors" in Racers of the Night: Science Fiction Stories edited by Brad R. Torgersen (August 2014, WordFire Press, ISBN 978-1-61475-232-5)
  • "Peacekeeper" in Racers of the Night: Science Fiction Stories edited by Brad R. Torgersen (August 2014, WordFire Press, ISBN 978-1-61475-232-5)
  • "Recapturing the Dream" in Racers of the Night: Science Fiction Stories edited by Brad R. Torgersen (August 2014, WordFire Press, ISBN 978-1-61475-232-5)
  • "The Flamingo Girl" in Racers of the Night: Science Fiction Stories edited by Brad R. Torgersen (August 2014, WordFire Press, ISBN 978-1-61475-232-5)
  • "The General's Guard" in Riding the Red Horse edited by Tom Kratman and Vox Day (December 2014, Castalia House)
  • "Sparky the Dog" in Red Tide edited by Larry Niven, Brad R. Torgersen, and Matthew J. Harrington (October 2014, Phoenix Pick, ISBN 978-1-61242-132-2)
  • "Gyre" in Galaxy's Edge Issue 13 edited by Mike Resnick (March 2015, Arc Manor/Phoenix Pick, ISBN 978-1-61242-260-2)
  • "The Ghost Conductor of the Interstellar Express" in Trajectories: Stories of Exploration edited by Dave Creek (March 2016, Hydra Publications, ISBN 978-1-942212-36-2)
  • "Jupiter or Bust" in Orson Scott Card's Intergalactic Medicine Show #50 edited by Edmund R. Schubert (April 2016, Hatrack River )
  • "Spirits with Visions" in 2113: Stories Inspired by the Music of Rush edited by Kevin J. Anderson and John McFetridge (April 2016, ECW Press, ISBN 978-1-77041-292-7)
  • "The Diddley Bow Horror" in Redneck Eldritch edited by Nathan Shumate (April 2016, Cold Fusion Media, ISBN 978-0-692-69291-2)
  • "Mars Court Rules" in Galactic Games edited by Bryan Thomas Schmidt (June 2016, Baen Books, ISBN 978-1-4767-8158-7)
  • "Purytans" in Analog Science Fiction and Fact edited by Trevor Quachri (July-August 2016, Dell Magazines)
  • "CASPer's Ghost" in A Fistful of Credits edited by Chris Kennedy and Mark Wandrey (June 2017, Seventh Seal Press, ISBN 978-1-942936-70-1)
  • "The Bride" in Monster Hunter Files edited by Larry Correia and Bryan Thomas Schmidt (October 2017, Baen Books, ISBN 978-1-4814-8275-2)
  • "Hymns of the Mothers" in Forbidden Thoughts edited by Jason Rennie (January 2017, Superversive Press, ISBN 978-0-9945163-7-4)
  • "The Unsent Letter" in Freedom's Light: Short Stories edited by Lindsay Galloway, Kia Heavey, and Matthew Souders (January 2017, Victory Fiction, ISBN 978-1-5204-0024-2)
  • "Orphans of Aries" in Rocket's Red Glare edited by James Reasoner (May 2017, Rough Edges Press, ISBN 978-1-5466-7053-7)
  • "45" in MAGA 2020 & Beyond edited by Marina Fontaine, Jason Rennie, and Dawn Witzke (November 2017, Superversive Press, ISBN 978-1-925645-48-4)
  • "Old Dogs, New Tricks" in Avatar Dreams: Scientific Visions of Avatar Technology edited by Kevin J. Anderson and Mike Resnick (April 2018, WordFire Press, ISBN 978-1-61475-598-2)
  • "For Man or Beast" in To Be Men: Stories Celebrating Masculinity edited by Sirius Métier (June 2018, Superversive Press, ISBN 978-1-925645-14-9)
  • "Scrith" in Man-Kzin Wars XV (February 2019, Baen Books, ISBN 978-1-4814-8377-3)
  • "All Quiet on the Phantom Front" in Weird World War III edited by Sean Patrick Hazlett (October 2020, Baen Books, ISBN 978-1-982124-91-5)

Fiction awards and honors

Torgersen has been nominated for and won multiple awards for his various works. He is listed on Analog's Who's Who, a short listing of the "leading writers in the genre" who have been published in Analog.[20]

Year Organization Award title,
Category		 Work Result Refs
2009 Writers of the Future Third Quarter "Exanastasis" 3 [5][21]
2010 Analog Science Fiction and Fact Analog Award,
Best Novelette		 "Outbound" Won [6][22]
2011 Analog Science Fiction and Fact Analog Award,
Best Novelette		 "Ray of Light" Nominated [23]
2011 Worldcon John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer - Nomination below cutoff [24]
2012 Worldcon Hugo Award,
Best Novelette		 "Ray of Light" Nominated [8][25]
2012 Worldcon John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer - Nominated [26]
2012 SFWA Nebula Award,
Best Novelette		 "Ray of Light" Nominated [7][27]
2013 Analog Science Fiction and Fact Analog Award,
Best Novella		 "The Chaplain's Legacy" Won [28]
2013 Analog Science Fiction and Fact Analog Award,
Best Novelette		 "The Exchange Officers" Nominated [29]
2014 Worldcon Hugo Award,
Best Novelette		 "The Exchange Officers" Nominated [30]
2014 Worldcon Hugo Award,
Best Novella		 "The Chaplain's Legacy" Nominated [31]
2014 Analog Science Fiction and Fact Analog Award,
Best Novelette		 "Life Flight" Won [32]
2014 Association for Mormon Letters AML Awards,
Short Fiction		 "The Chaplain’s Legacy" Won [10]
2015 Worldcon Hugo Award,
Best Novel		 "The Chaplain's War" Nomination below cutoff [33]
2019 Dragon Con Dragon Award, Best Science Fiction Novel A Star-Wheeled Sky Won [16]

References
  1. "Torgersen, Brad R". Science Fiction Encyclopedia. September 6, 2019. Archived from the original on February 5, 2021. Retrieved February 5, 2021.
  2. Torgersen, Brad R. (September 9, 2011). "9-11 Ten Years Gone". Archived from the original on March 8, 2017. Retrieved January 15, 2016.
  3. "Searcher and Stallion - Audio Dramas". Internet Archive. Archived from the original on February 5, 2021. Retrieved February 5, 2021.
  4. "Title: Footprints". Internet Speculative Fiction Database. Archived from the original on July 20, 2017. Retrieved February 5, 2021.
  5. "Awards and Events". Writersofthefuture.com. 2010. Archived from the original on 2013-02-09.
  6. "SF Awards". Locus. 2011. Archived from the original on May 14, 2012.
  7. "2011 Nebula Awards Nominees Announced". Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America. February 20, 2011. Archived from the original on March 4, 2019. Retrieved March 4, 2019.
  8. "2012 Hugo Awards Nominations". Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America. April 7, 2012. Archived from the original on March 4, 2019.
  9. "2014 Hugo Awards". Hugo Awards. 2014. Archived from the original on March 4, 2019. Retrieved June 10, 2014.
  10. "2014 AML Awards". Association for Mormon Letters. March 28, 2015. Archived from the original on September 9, 2015. Retrieved February 5, 2021.
  11. "SF Signal list of 2013 Penny Publications readers' poll winners". Archived from the original on May 15, 2016. Retrieved February 7, 2021.
  12. Torgersen, Brad R. (February 1, 2015). "SAD PUPPIES 3: the 2015 Hugo slate". Archived from the original on January 25, 2021. Retrieved February 5, 2021.
  13. Anders, Charlie Jane (April 4, 2015). "The Hugo Awards Were Always Political. But Now They're Only Political". io9. Archived from the original on November 8, 2020. Retrieved February 5, 2021.
  14. Italie, Hillel (April 17, 2015). "Puppies Attack: Hugo Awards reflect sci-fi/fantasy divide". Associated Press. Archived from the original on February 5, 2021. Retrieved February 5, 2021.
  15. Torgersen, Brad R. (2015). "SF Signal announces winners for Analog and Asimov's readers' choice awards". Archived from the original on October 21, 2020. Retrieved February 4, 2021.
  16. "2019 Dragon Award". Locus Magazine Online. Retrieved October 2, 2019.
  17. Torgersen, Brad R. (May 26, 2020). "About the Author". Star Trek Starship Tactical Combat Simulator On-Line Database & Archive. Archived from the original on February 5, 2021. Retrieved February 5, 2021.
  18. Martin, Quiana R. (July 10, 2019). Certificate of Release or Discharge from Activy Duty for Brad Russell Torgersen (PDF) (Report). United States Army Reserve. pp. 1–2. Retrieved February 8, 2021.
  19. Torgersen, Brad R. (November 2018). ""Axabrast" by Brad R. Torgersen". Baen Books. Archived from the original on March 1, 2019. Retrieved March 1, 2019.
  20. "Who's Who - Authors Corner". Archived from the original on July 25, 2020. Retrieved February 4, 2021.
  21. "Volume 26 - 2010 - Winners". Writers of the Future. Archived from the original on March 4, 2019. Retrieved March 4, 2019.
  22. "Award Category: 2010 Best Novelette (Analog Award)". Internet Speculative Fiction Database. Archived from the original on March 4, 2019. Retrieved March 4, 2019.
  23. "Award Category: 2011 Best Novelette (Analog Award)". Internet Speculative Fiction Database. Archived from the original on March 4, 2019. Retrieved March 4, 2019.
  24. "Award Category: 2011 Best New Writer (John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer)". Internet Speculative Fiction Database. Archived from the original on March 4, 2019. Retrieved March 4, 2019.
  25. "Award Category: 2012 Best Novelette (Hugo Award)". Internet Speculative Fiction Database. Archived from the original on March 4, 2019. Retrieved March 4, 2019.
  26. "Award Category: 2012 Best New Writer (John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer)". Internet Speculative Fiction Database. Archived from the original on March 4, 2019. Retrieved March 4, 2019.
  27. "Award Category: 2012 Novelette (Nebula Award)". Internet Speculative Fiction Database. Archived from the original on March 4, 2019. Retrieved March 4, 2019.
  28. "Award Category: 2013 Best Novella (Analog Award)". Internet Speculative Fiction Database. Archived from the original on March 4, 2019. Retrieved March 4, 2019.
  29. "Award Category: 2013 Best Novelette (Analog Award)". Internet Speculative Fiction Database. Archived from the original on March 4, 2019. Retrieved March 4, 2019.
  30. "Award Category: 2014 Best Novelette (Hugo Award)". Internet Speculative Fiction Database. Archived from the original on March 4, 2019. Retrieved March 4, 2019.
  31. "Award Category: 2014 Best Novella (Hugo Award)". Internet Speculative Fiction Database. Archived from the original on March 4, 2019. Retrieved March 4, 2019.
  32. "Award Category: 2014 Best Novelette (Analog Award)". Internet Speculative Fiction Database. Archived from the original on March 4, 2019. Retrieved March 4, 2019.
  33. "Award Category: 2015 Best Novel (Hugo Award)". Internet Speculative Fiction Database. Archived from the original on March 4, 2019. Retrieved March 4, 2019.

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