2024 Robert A. Heinlein Winner: Tom Doherty

Tom Doherty, founder of TOR Books and Chair of Tom Doherty Associates, publishing under the Tor, Forge, Tordotcom, Starscape, Tor Teen, and Nightfire imprints, is the 2024 winner of the Robert A. Heinlein Award. The award is bestowed for outstanding published works in science fiction and technical writings that inspire the human exploration of space. This award is in recognition of Mr. Doherty’s work in bringing the inspiring books of hundreds of authors writing about our future in Space to public awareness.

The award will be formally presented during Balticon 58 opening ceremonies on Friday, May 24th, at 8pm. Mr. Doherty will participate in the program the entire weekend.

Tom Doherty is the founder and Chairman of Tor Publishing Group, the largest publisher of science fiction and fantasy in the United States. He began his career as a salesman for Pocket Books and rose to be Division Sales Manager. From there, he went to Simon and Schuster as National Sales Manager, then became publisher of Tempo Books. He was Publisher and General Manager of the Ace and Tempo divisions of Grossett & Dunlap before founding his own company in 1980, publishing under the name Tor Books. In the over forty plus years since its founding, Tor Publishing Group has been at the forefront of the science fiction and fantasy genre for decades and has won every major award in the SFF field.

The Robert A. Heinlein Award was founded by Dr. Yoji Kondo, a long-time friend of Robert and Virginia Heinlein. A grant from the Heinlein Society funds half of the costs associated with the award with additional funding provided by the family of Dr. Kondo. Balticon and the Robert A. Heinlein Award are annual activities of the Baltimore Science Fiction Society. More information on the Robert A. Heinlein Award, including past winners, can be found at www.bsfs.org/bsfsheinlein.htm.