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Prometheus Award
Annual award for libertarian science fiction novels
Summary
Annual award for libertarian science fiction novels
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | Prometheus Award |
| imagesize | 150px |
| awarded_for | The best science fiction or fantasy fiction promoting individual freedom and human rights, or critiquing tyranny, slavery, war and other abuses of government power. |
| presenter | Libertarian Futurist Society |
| country | United States |
| year | 1979 |
| holder | Michael Flynn (In the Belly of the Whale) |
| website | lfs.org |
The Prometheus Award is an award for libertarian science fiction given annually by the Libertarian Futurist Society. American author and activist L. Neil Smith established the Best Novel category for the award in 1979; however, it was not awarded regularly until the newly founded Libertarian Futurist Society revived it in 1982. The Society created a Prometheus Hall of Fame Award (for classic works of libertarian and anti-authoritarian science fiction and fantasy, not necessarily novels) in 1983, and also presents occasional one-off Special Awards.
While the Best Novel category is limited to novels published in English for the first time during the previous calendar year, Hall of Fame nominees — which must have been published at least 20 years ago — may be in any narrative or dramatic form, including novels, novellas, stories, films, television series or episodes, plays, musicals, graphic novels, song lyrics, or verse.
The Best Novel winner receives a plaque with a one-ounce gold coin, and the Hall of Fame winner a plaque with a smaller gold coin.
Prometheus Blog Appreciation Series
Since 2019, LFS members have launched an Appreciation series of review-essays honoring all past winners and making clear why each work of fiction fits the distinctive focus of the award – something that was viewed as not necessarily obvious to sf/fantasy fans unfamiliar with the broad scope of libertarian thinking and analysis, which often overlaps with classical liberalism, its philosophical cousin.
Each Appreciation review-essay is published on the Prometheus Blog at https://www.lfs.org/blog/ and then linked next to each winning title on the past-winners list posted on the LFS website's Prometheus Awards page.
Multiple recipients
Some authors have won the award for best novel more than once:
Thrice
- Cory Doctorow
- Victor Koman
- Ken MacLeod
- L. Neil Smith
Twice
- Travis J. I. Corcoran
- Michael F. Flynn
- James P. Hogan
- Neal Stephenson
- Vernor Vinge
- F. Paul Wilson
- Daniel Suarez Five authors have won the Prometheus Hall of Fame award more than once:
- Poul Anderson
- Robert Heinlein
- George Orwell
- Ayn Rand
- F. Paul Wilson
Process
Books published in a given year are eligible (although books from the last few months of the previous year are also eligible if it is felt that they have been overlooked).
- All members may nominate novels for the award.
- Members of the Best Novel Committee read all of the nominated novels (typically between 12 and 16) and vote for a slate of typically 5 finalists.
- Full members, Sponsors and Benefactors (higher membership levels) then vote on the finalists.
Step 2 happens in the first few months of the following year.
Step 3 happens in early summer of the following year.
The awards were historically given at the Annual Worldcon or NASFIC. Since the pandemic, they have been presented live via Zoom and then posted on YouTube and the Videos page of the LFS website (www.lfs.org).
Prometheus Award winners and finalists
- Winners
- No winner selected
| Year | Author | Novel | Publisher | Ref. | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| * | ** | Doubleday | ||||
| ** | Berkley Books | |||||
| The Genesis Machine | Del Rey Books | |||||
| * | ** | Del Rey Books | ||||
| Alongside Night | Crown Publishers | |||||
| An Enemy of the State | Doubleday | |||||
| Songs from the Stars | Simon & Schuster | |||||
| Tales of Nevèrÿon | Bantam Books | |||||
| The Watcher | Ace Books | |||||
| * | Voyage from Yesteryear | Del Rey Books | ||||
| Fire Dancer | New American Library | |||||
| Friday | Holt, Rinehart and Winston | |||||
| The Many-Colored Land | Houghton Mifflin | |||||
| and | Oath of Fealty | Phantasia Press | ||||
| * | The Rainbow Cadenza | Simon & Schuster | ||||
| Double Crossing | Putnam | |||||
| The Nagasaki Vector | Del Rey Books | |||||
| Orion Shall Rise | Phantasia Press | |||||
| and | Thendara House | DAW Books | ||||
| (no award)+ | ||||||
| The Final Encyclopedia | Tor Books | |||||
| Manna | Analog Science Fiction and Fact | |||||
| The Peace War | Analog Science Fiction and Fact | |||||
| Tom Paine Maru | Del Rey Books | |||||
| The Tomb | Berkley Books | |||||
| * | The Cybernetic Samurai | Arbor House | ||||
| Elegy for a Soprano | Severn House | |||||
| The Gallatin Divergence | Del Rey Books | |||||
| A Matter of Time | Ace Books | |||||
| Radio Free Albemuth | Arbor House | |||||
| * | Marooned in Realtime | Analog Science Fiction and Fact | ||||
| Circuit | Berkley Books | |||||
| The Crystal Empire | Tor Books | |||||
| A Door into Ocean | Arbor House | |||||
| The Handmaid's Tale | McClelland & Stewart | |||||
| * | The Jehovah Contract | Franklin Watts | ||||
| Circuit Breaker | Berkley Books | |||||
| First Citizen | Baen Books | |||||
| The Uplift War | Phantasia Press | |||||
| Way of the Pilgrim | Ace Books | |||||
| * | Moon of Ice | Arbor House | ||||
| David's Sling | Baen Books | |||||
| Falling Free | Analog Science Fiction and Fact | |||||
| Final Circuit | Ace Books | |||||
| To Sail Beyond the Sunset | Ace Books | |||||
| * | Solomon's Knife | Franklin Watts | ||||
| The Boat of a Million Years | Tor Books | |||||
| Henry Martyn | Tor Books | |||||
| Infinity Hold | Questar | |||||
| The Mirror Maze | Bantam Spectra | |||||
| * | In the Country of the Blind | Baen Books | ||||
| The Cybernetic Shogun | William Morrow and Company | |||||
| The Tery | Baen Books | |||||
| Under the Yoke | Baen Books | |||||
| and | V for Vendetta | Warner Books | ||||
| , and * | Fallen Angels | Baen Books | ||||
| Distant Drums | Domain | |||||
| D'Shai | Ace Books | |||||
| The Infinity Gambit | Bantam Books | |||||
| ME: A Novel of Self-Discovery | Baen Books | |||||
| The Silicon Man | Bantam Spectra | |||||
| Star Trek#57: The Rift | Pocket Books | |||||
| A Tale of the Wind | Villard | |||||
| * | The Multiplex Man | Bantam Spectra | ||||
| The Memory of Earth | Tor Books | |||||
| Snow Crash | Bantam Spectra | |||||
| Steel Beach | Ace Books | |||||
| Timemaster | Tor Books | |||||
| A Woman's Place | American West Books | |||||
| * | Pallas | Tor Books | ||||
| Beggars in Spain | AvoNova/William Morrow | |||||
| Rainbow Man | Tor Books | |||||
| The Silicon Man | Bantam Spectra | |||||
| Virtual Girl | Ace Books | |||||
| * | The Stars Are Also Fire | Tor Books | ||||
| Dark Rivers of the Heart | Charnel House | |||||
| Deadly Care (novel) | Vantage Press | |||||
| The Select | Headline | |||||
| Solis | Hodder & Stoughton | |||||
| * | The Star Fraction | Legend Books | ||||
| CLD: Collective Landing Detachment | AvoNova | |||||
| and | Design for Great-Day | Tor Books | ||||
| The Diamond Age | Bantam Spectra | |||||
| Four Ways to Forgiveness | Harper Prism | |||||
| * | Kings of the High Frontier | Pulpless.com | ||||
| Firestar | Tor Books | |||||
| Paths to Otherwhere | Baen Books | |||||
| Sliders: the Novel | Boulevard Books | |||||
| Wildside | Tor Books | |||||
| * | The Stone Canal | Legend Books | ||||
| Bretta Martyn | Tor Books | |||||
| Finity's End | Warner Books | |||||
| The Fleet of Stars | Tor Books | |||||
| Nanotime | Avon Books | |||||
| * | The Golden Globe | Ace Books | ||||
| and | Masque | Aspect/Warner Books | ||||
| Moonwar | Hodder & Stoughton | |||||
| Rogue Star | Tor Books | |||||
| Y2K: The Millennium Bug | Xlibris | |||||
| * | A Deepness in the Sky | Tor Books | ||||
| The Cassini Division | Orbit Books | |||||
| Cradle of Saturn | Baen Books | |||||
| Cryptonomicon | Avon Books | |||||
| The Martian Race | Aspect/Warner Books | |||||
| * | The Forge of the Elders | Baen Books | ||||
| Eagle Against the Stars | Baen Books | |||||
| Lodestar | Tor Books | |||||
| The Sky Road | Orbit Books | |||||
| The Truth | HarperCollins | |||||
| * | Psychohistorical Crisis | Tor Books | ||||
| The American Zone | Tor Books | |||||
| Enemy Glory | Tor Books | |||||
| Falling Stars | Tor Books | |||||
| Hosts | Tor Books | |||||
| * | Night Watch | Doubleday | ||||
| Dark Light | Orbit Books | |||||
| Escape from Heaven | Pulpless.com | |||||
| The Haunted Air | Tor Books | |||||
| Schild's Ladder | Gollancz | |||||
| * | Sims | Tor Books | ||||
| Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix | Bloomsbury Publishing | |||||
| Naked Empire | Tor Books | |||||
| The Pixel Eye | Tor Books | |||||
| Spin State | Bantam Spectra | |||||
| * | The System of the World | William Morrow | ||||
| and | Anarquia | Sense of Wonder Press | ||||
| Marque and Reprisal | Del Rey Books | |||||
| Newton's Wake: A Space Opera | Orbit Books | |||||
| State of Fear | HarperCollins | |||||
| * | Learning the World | Orbit Books | ||||
| 47 | Little, Brown | |||||
| The Black Arrow: A Tale of the Resistance | Mountain Media | |||||
| Chainfire | Tor Books | |||||
| The Hidden Family | Tor Books | |||||
| and | RebelFire: Out of the Gray Zone | Rebelfire Press | ||||
| * | Glasshouse | Ace Books | ||||
| Empire | Tor Books | |||||
| The Ghost Brigades | Tor Books | |||||
| Harbingers | Tor Books | |||||
| Rainbows End | Tor Books | |||||
| * | The Gladiator | Tor Books | ||||
| * | Ha'penny | Tor Books | ||||
| The Execution Channel | Orbit Books | |||||
| and | Fleet of Worlds | Tor Books | ||||
| Ragamuffin | Tor Books | |||||
| * | Little Brother | Tor Books | ||||
| Half a Crown | Tor Books | |||||
| The January Dancer | Tor Books | |||||
| Matter | Orbit Books | |||||
| Opening Atlantis | Roc Books | |||||
| Saturn's Children | Ace Books | |||||
| * | The Unincorporated Man | Tor Books | ||||
| Hidden Empire | Tor Books | |||||
| Liberating Atlantis | Roc Books | |||||
| Makers | Tor Books | |||||
| The United States of Atlantis | Roc Books | |||||
| * | Darkship Thieves | Baen Books | ||||
| Ceres | Phoenix Pick | |||||
| For the Win | Tor Books | |||||
| The Last Trumpet Project | Lulu | |||||
| Live Free or Die | Baen Books | |||||
| * | Ready Player One | Random House | ||||
| * | The Freedom Maze | Big Mouth House | ||||
| The Children of the Sky | Tor Books | |||||
| and | In the Shadow of Ares | Amazon Kindle | ||||
| The Restoration Game | Orbit Books | |||||
| Snuff | Doubleday | |||||
| * | Pirate Cinema | Tor Books | ||||
| Arctic Rising | Tor Books | |||||
| The Unincorporated Future | Tor Books | |||||
| Darkship Renegades | Baen Books | |||||
| Kill Decision | Dutton | |||||
| * | Homeland | Tor Books | ||||
| * | Nexus | Angry Robot | ||||
| A Few Good Men | Baen Books | |||||
| Crux | Angry Robot | |||||
| Brilliance | Thomas & Mercer | |||||
| * | Influx | Dutton | ||||
| The Three-Body Problem | Tor Books | |||||
| Raising Steam | Doubleday | |||||
| A Better World | Thomas & Mercer | |||||
| * | Seveneves | William Morrow and Company | ||||
| Golden Son | Del Rey Books | |||||
| Apex | Angry Robot | |||||
| The Just City | Tor Books | |||||
| A Borrowed Man | Tor Books | |||||
| * | The Core of the Sun | Grove Press | ||||
| The Corporation Wars: Dissidence | Orbit Books | |||||
| The Corporation Wars: Insurgence | Orbit Books | |||||
| The Mandibles: A Family, 2029–2047 | HarperCollins | |||||
| Blade of p'Na | Phoenix Pick | |||||
| * | The Powers of the Earth | Morlock Publishing | ||||
| and | Drug Lord: High Ground | High Ground Books | ||||
| Torchship, Torchship Pilot and Torchship Captain | Kelt Haven Press | |||||
| Darkship Revenge | Baen Books | |||||
| The Corporation Wars: Emergence | Orbit Books | |||||
| Artemis | Crown Books | |||||
| Causes of Separation | Morlock Publishing | |||||
| Kingdom of the Wicked | Ligature Pty Limited | |||||
| State Tectonics | Tor Books | |||||
| The Fractal Man | Steve Heller Publishing | |||||
| The Murderbot Diaries | Tor Books | |||||
| and | Alliance Rising | DAW | ||||
| The Testaments | Random House: Nan A. Talese | |||||
| Ruin's Wake | Titan Books | |||||
| Luna: Moon Rising | Tor Books | |||||
| Ode to Defiance | LMBPN Publishing | |||||
| The Hook | Enchanteds | |||||
| Who Can Own the Stars? | Amazon Kindle | |||||
| Storm between the Stars | Kelt Haven Press | |||||
| Braintrust: Requiem | LMBPN Publishing | |||||
| Heaven's River | Amazon | |||||
| Rich Man's Sky | Baen Books | |||||
| Between Home and Ruin | Kelt Haven Press | |||||
| Seize What's Held Dear | Kelt Haven Press | |||||
| Klara and the Sun | Faber and Faber | |||||
| Should We Stay or Should We Go | HarperCollins | |||||
| Cloud Castles | Magic Isle Press | |||||
| Widowland | Quercus | |||||
| Captain Trader Helmsman Spy | Kelt Haven Press | |||||
| A Beast Cannot Feign | Amazon | |||||
| Summer's End | Baen Books | |||||
| Critical Mass | Dutton | |||||
| Lord of a Shattered Land | Baen Books | |||||
| Swim Among the People | Kelt Haven Press | |||||
| God's Girlfriend | Amazon | |||||
| Theft of Fire: Orbital Space#1 | Devon Eriksen LLC | |||||
| and | Alliance Unbound | DAW | ||||
| In the Belly of the Whale | CAEZIK SF & Fantasy | |||||
| Cancelled: The Shape of Things to Come | Annie Mosse Press | |||||
| Beggar's Sky | Baen Books | |||||
| Mania | HarperCollins |
Hall of Fame Award inductees
- 1983: Robert A. Heinlein, The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress | Ayn Rand, Atlas Shrugged
- 1984: George Orwell, Nineteen Eighty-Four | Ray Bradbury, Fahrenheit 451
- 1985: Poul Anderson, Trader to the Stars | Eric Frank Russell, The Great Explosion
- 1986: Cyril Kornbluth, The Syndic | Robert Anton Wilson / Robert Shea, Illuminatus! trilogy
- 1987: Robert A. Heinlein, Stranger in a Strange Land | Ayn Rand, "Anthem"
- 1988: Alfred Bester, The Stars My Destination
- 1989: J. Neil Schulman, Alongside Night
- 1990: F. Paul Wilson, The Healer
- 1991: F. Paul Wilson, An Enemy of the State
- 1992: Ira Levin, This Perfect Day
- 1993: Ursula K. Le Guin, The Dispossessed
- 1994: Yevgeny Zamyatin, We
- 1995: Poul Anderson, The Star Fox
- 1996: Robert A. Heinlein, Red Planet
- 1997: Robert A. Heinlein, Methuselah's Children
- 1998: Robert A. Heinlein, Time Enough for Love
- 1999: H. Beam Piper / John J. McGuire, A Planet for Texans (also known as Lone Star Planet)
- 2000: Hans Christian Andersen, "The Emperor's New Clothes"
- 2001: Jerry Pournelle / John F. Carr (editors), The Survival of Freedom
- 2002: Patrick McGoohan, The Prisoner (TV series)
- 2003: Robert A. Heinlein, "Requiem"
- 2004: Vernor Vinge, "The Ungoverned"
- 2005: A. E. van Vogt, The Weapon Shops of Isher
- 2006: Alan Moore (author) / David Lloyd (illustrator), V for Vendetta (graphic novel)
- 2007: Sinclair Lewis, It Can't Happen Here | Vernor Vinge, True Names
- 2008: Anthony Burgess, A Clockwork Orange
- 2009: J. R. R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings
- 2010: Poul Anderson, "No Truce with Kings"
- 2011: George Orwell, Animal Farm
- 2012: E. M. Forster, "The Machine Stops"
- 2013: Neal Stephenson, Cryptonomicon
- 2014: Lois McMaster Bujold, Falling Free
- 2015: Harlan Ellison, "'Repent, Harlequin!' Said the Ticktockman"
- 2016: Donald Kingsbury, Courtship Rite
- 2017: Robert A. Heinlein, "Coventry"
- 2018: Jack Williamson, "With Folded Hands"
- 2019: Kurt Vonnegut, "Harrison Bergeron"
- 2020: Poul Anderson, "Sam Hall"
- 2021: F. Paul Wilson, "Lipidleggin'
- 2022: Robert A. Heinlein, Citizen of the Galaxy
- 2023: Robert A. Heinlein, "Free Men"
- 2024: Terry Pratchett, The Truth
- 2025: Poul Anderson, Orion Shall Rise
Special Award recipients
- 1998: Brad Linaweaver and Edward E. Kramer: editors, Free Space (anthology)
- 2001: Poul Anderson, Special Prometheus Award for Lifetime Achievement
- 2005: Mark Tier and Martin H. Greenberg: editors, Give Me Liberty and Visions of Liberty (anthologies for Baen Books)
- 2005: L. Neil Smith (writer) and Scott Bieser (illustrator), The Probability Broach: The Graphic Novel
- 2006: Joss Whedon (writer-director), Serenity
- 2007: James McTeigue (director) and the Wachowskis (screenplay), V for Vendetta (motion picture)
- 2014: Vernor Vinge, Special Prometheus Award for Lifetime Achievement
- 2014: Leslie Fish, Tower of Horses (novella) and "The Horsetamer's Daughter" (song)
- 2015: F. Paul Wilson, Special Prometheus Award for Lifetime Achievement
- 2016: L. Neil Smith, Special Prometheus Award for Lifetime Achievement
- 2016: Jonathan Luna and Sarah Vaughn, Alex + Ada
- 2017: Mark Stanley, Freefall (webcomic)
References
References
- (30 May 2017). "Locus Online News » Special Prometheus Award for Freefall".
- "The Locus Index to SF Awards: 1979 Prometheus Awards". [[Locus (magazine).
- "The Locus Index to SF Awards: 1982 Prometheus Awards". [[Locus (magazine).
- "The Locus Index to SF Awards: 1983 Prometheus Awards". [[Locus (magazine).
- "The Locus Index to SF Awards: 1984 Prometheus Awards". [[Locus (magazine).
- "The Locus Index to SF Awards: 1985 Prometheus Awards". [[Locus (magazine).
- "The Locus Index to SF Awards: 1986 Prometheus Awards". [[Locus (magazine).
- "The Locus Index to SF Awards: 1987 Prometheus Awards". [[Locus (magazine).
- "The Locus Index to SF Awards: 1988 Prometheus Awards". [[Locus (magazine).
- "The Locus Index to SF Awards: 1989 Prometheus Awards". [[Locus (magazine).
- "The Locus Index to SF Awards: 1990 Prometheus Awards". [[Locus (magazine).
- "The Locus Index to SF Awards: 1991 Prometheus Awards". [[Locus (magazine).
- "The Locus Index to SF Awards: 1992 Prometheus Awards". [[Locus (magazine).
- "The Locus Index to SF Awards: 1993 Prometheus Awards". [[Locus (magazine).
- "The Locus Index to SF Awards: 1994 Prometheus Awards". [[Locus (magazine).
- "The Locus Index to SF Awards: 1995 Prometheus Awards". [[Locus (magazine).
- "The Locus Index to SF Awards: 1996 Prometheus Awards". [[Locus (magazine).
- "The Locus Index to SF Awards: 1997 Prometheus Awards". [[Locus (magazine).
- "The Locus Index to SF Awards: 1998 Prometheus Awards". [[Locus (magazine).
- "The Locus Index to SF Awards: 1999 Prometheus Awards". [[Locus (magazine).
- "The Locus Index to SF Awards: 2000 Prometheus Awards". [[Locus (magazine).
- "The Locus Index to SF Awards: 2001 Prometheus Awards". [[Locus (magazine).
- "The Locus Index to SF Awards: 2002 Prometheus Awards". [[Locus (magazine).
- "The Locus Index to SF Awards: 2003 Prometheus Awards". [[Locus (magazine).
- "The Locus Index to SF Awards: 2004 Prometheus Awards". [[Locus (magazine).
- "The Locus Index to SF Awards: 2005 Prometheus Awards". [[Locus (magazine).
- "The Locus Index to SF Awards: 2006 Prometheus Awards". [[Locus (magazine).
- "The Locus Index to SF Awards: 2007 Prometheus Awards". [[Locus (magazine).
- "The Locus Index to SF Awards: 2008 Prometheus Awards". [[Locus (magazine).
- "The Locus Index to SF Awards: 2009 Prometheus Awards". [[Locus (magazine).
- "The Locus Index to SF Awards: 2010 Prometheus Awards". [[Locus (magazine).
- "The Locus Index to SF Awards: 2011 Prometheus Awards". [[Locus (magazine).
- "2012 Prometheus Best Novel Winners Announced". Libertarian Futurist Society.
- (2012-07-20). "2013 Prometheus Winners Announced". Libertarian Futurist Society.
- "2014 Prometheus Best Novel Winners Announced". Libertarian Futurist Society.
- "Prometheus Award Winner Announced". Libertarian Futurist Society.
- "2016 Prometheus Award Best Novel Winners Announced". Libertarian Futurist Society.
- "Sinisalo's The Core of the Sun wins Prometheus Award for Best Novel". Libertarian Futurist Society.
- "Prometheus Award Winners Announced". Libertarian Futurist Society.
- "Prometheus Award and Classic Fiction Award Winners". Libertarian Futurist Society.
- "Prometheus Award winners announced". Libertarian Futurist Society.
- "Prometheus Award winners announced". Libertarian Futurist Society.
- "Prometheus Award winners announced". Libertarian Futurist Society.
- "Prometheus Award winners announced". Libertarian Futurist Society.
- "Prometheus Award Finalists announced". Libertarian Futurist Society.
- "Prometheus Award Finalists announced". Libertarian Futurist Society.
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