Brian Van Reet

About the Author

Brian Van Reet is an acclaimed American author and veteran of the Iraq War, where he served as a tank crewman with the U.S. Army. Drawing from his firsthand experiences in the conflicts of the early 21st century, Van Reet's writing explores the human cost of modern warfare, blending raw authenticity with profound emotional depth. His debut collection, Fire and Forget: Short Stories from the Long War, earned widespread praise for its unflinching portrayal of soldiers' lives amid the chaos of deployment, capturing the moral ambiguities and lingering traumas of combat. A former fellow at the Iowa Writers' Workshop, Van Reet continues to contribute essays and fiction to leading publications, illuminating the intersections of duty, loss, and resilience in contemporary literature.