Dr. Chuck Tingle | |
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Born | Billings, Montana, U.S. |
Language | English |
Nationality | American |
Genre | Erotica, Satire |
Years active | 2014–present |
Website | |
chucktingle |
Dr. Chuck Tingle is a pseudonymous author of gay niche erotica. He self-publishes his works through Amazon.com, primarily as ebooks, but also as paperbacks and audiobooks (narrated by Sam Rand). Tingle began his career by writing dinosaur erotica and expanded to stories based on unicorns, Bigfeet, and various anthropomorphized objects and even concepts. The bizarre nature of Tingle's writing has led to his developing a cult reputation.
Little has been confirmed about Tingle's identity, beyond the fact that it is a pseudonym. He presents himself as a taekwondo grandmaster from Billings, Montana, who acquired a PhD in holistic massage at DeVry University (which does not offer such a degree). In 2016, a person presented as Tingle's son Jon – and identified as such by a statement from Tingle's Twitter account – stated in a Reddit AMA session that Tingle "is an autistic savant, but also suffers from schizophrenia." Jon stated that he edits his father's work for publication, and provides day-to-day care for him.Vox author Aja Romano has speculated that Tingle's work may be a deliberate satire on poorly written self-published erotic writing.
In April 2016, Space Raptor Butt Invasion was shortlisted for a Hugo Award for Best Short Story, as part of the alt-rightRabid Puppies campaign to influence the outcome of the 2016 Hugo Awards. However, Tingle made statements via his Twitter account that characterized the campaign as the work of "devils", and said that if his book were to win, anti-harassment activist Zoë Quinn would accept the award on his behalf.