Arthur R Tofte (June 8, 1902 – May 21, 1980) was an American writer, best known for his

science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

and

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction that involves supernatural or Magic (supernatural), magical elements, often including Fictional universe, imaginary places and Legendary creature, creatures. The genre's roots lie in oral traditions, ...

.ISFDB bibliography
/ref> He has an award named after him, which is given to the category of

children's literature Children's literature or juvenile literature includes stories, books, magazines, and poems that are created for children. In addition to conventional literary genres, modern children's literature is classified by the intended age of the reade ...

by the Council for

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

Writers. He was married to Dorothy Tofte and had two children. Born in

Chicago, Illinois Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

, Tofte graduated from the

University of Wisconsin A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Uni ...

in 1925 and began a career in advertising, including a stint as advertising manager of the Tom Thumb Miniature Golf business."Introducing the Author", ''

Fantastic Adventures ''Fantastic Adventures'' was an American pulp fantasy and science fiction magazine, published from 1939 to 1953 by Ziff-Davis. It was initially edited by Raymond A. Palmer, who was also the editor of ''Amazing Stories'', Ziff-Davis's other sci ...

'', May 1939, p.84 His earliest writing included stories published in ''

Esquire Esquire (, ; abbreviated Esq.) is usually a courtesy title. In the United Kingdom, ''esquire'' historically was a title of respect accorded to men of higher social rank, particularly members of the landed gentry above the rank of gentleman ...

'' and in other general interest magazines."Meet the Authors," ''

Amazing Stories ''Amazing Stories'' is an American science fiction magazine launched in April 1926 by Hugo Gernsback's Experimenter Publishing. It was the first magazine devoted solely to science fiction. Science fiction stories had made regular appearance ...

'', August 1938, p.145 After joining the Fictioneers, a Milwaukee writers group which also included Stanley G. Weinbaum, he published five science fiction stories between 1938 and 1940, beginning with "The Meteor Monsters" in ''

''.SF Encyclopedia
/ref> He described Weinbaum as a "close friend" who sparked his interest in science fiction. In 1938, Tofte became a copy chief in the Industrial Group Advertising Department of

Allis-Chalmers Allis-Chalmers was a United States, U.S. manufacturer of machinery for various Industry (economics), industries. Its business lines included list of agricultural machinery, agricultural equipment, heavy equipment, construction equipment, electric ...

."For state writer, it was happy ending"

The Milwaukee Journal The ''Milwaukee Journal Sentinel'' is a daily morning broadsheet printed in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where it is the primary newspaper and also the largest newspaper in the state of Wisconsin, where it is widely read. It was purchased by the ...

, May 23, 1980 He remained with the company until his 1969 retirement, becoming manager of the Publications and Industrial Press Department in 1958. Tofte was also active in industry groups, and had been a vice president of the National Industrial Advertising Association as well as president of the Milwaukee Industrial Advertising Club. After his retirement, Tofte returned to writing. He sold a string of short sf stories to

Roger Elwood Roger Elwood (January 13, 1943 – February 2, 2007) was an American science fiction author and editor, who edited a large number of anthologies and collections for a variety of publishers during the early to mid-1970s. Biography Born and ...

, followed by two novels to Elwood's

Laser Books Laser Books was a line of 58 paperback (SF) novels published from 1975 to 1977 by Canadian romance powerhouse Harlequin Books. Laser published three titles per month, available by subscription as well as in stores. The books were limited to 50,000 ...

line. The novels reportedly sold about 75,000 copies each. He published three more science fictional novels as well as a historical novel, and sold short stories to magazines including

Family Circle ''Family Circle'' was an American women's magazine that covered topics such as homemaking, recipes and health. It was published from 1932 until the end of 2019. Originally distributed at supermarkets, it was one of the " Seven Sisters," a grou ...

and

Boys' Life ''Scout Life'' (formerly ''Boys' Life'') is the monthly magazine of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA). Its target readers are children between the ages of 6 and 18. The magazine‘s headquarters are in Irving, Texas. ''Scout Life'' is published ...

. Tofte died of cancer in 1980 at his Wisconsin home. A "family novel about raising a hyperactive child", ''Thursday's Child'' appeared posthumously, as did translations of his first two sf novels into Italian.Fantastic Fiction listing
/ref>

Science fiction

Novels

* ''Crash Landing on Iduna ''(1975) * ''Walls Within Walls ''(1975) * ''The Day the Earth Stood Still'' (1976) * ''Survival on a Primitive Planet ''(1977) * ''The Ghost Hunters'' (1978)

Short stories

* "Warriors of Mars" (1938) * "The Meteor Monsters" (1938) * "Purge of the Deaf" (1938) * "Revolt of the Robots" (1939) * "The Power and the People" (1940) * "The Speeders" (1973) * "When the Cold Came" (1974) * "A Thirst for Blood" (1974)

Short stories in Swedish

* "Krigarna på Mars" - Published in: ''Jules Verne-Magasinet ''(Veckans äventyr), 3/1943 * "Robotarnas uppror" - Published in: ''Jules Verne-Magasinet ''(Veckans äventyr), 9/1940

Science fiction

Novels

Short stories

Short stories in Swedish

References

Further reading