The Prometheus Awards Collection


Prometheus Award Collection

As a lifelong supporter of libraries, I’ve seen many grand and inspiring institutions, but also many small and struggling ones, scraping by on a shoestring budget with an aging collection. In these smaller ones, my scan for Science Fiction, both classic and modern, often comes up nearly empty. I want to help!

I’m offering brand-new sets of 20 award-winning Science Fiction books to any library that wants them for their shelves.

While I know some libraries may already have too many books and aren’t seeking donations, I hope this collection will be a good fit for some of the many smaller libraries across the country.

To request a set, simply email lfs.book.collection@gmail.com using an official library email address. Please include your library’s website and mailing address for verification.

John Carmack
January 2025

Pile of Books for the Collection

About the Prometheus Awards Collection

This award-winning collection, recommended for libraries that wish to bolster their collection of significant science fiction and fantasy that has been recognized through one of the oldest literary awards within the speculative genres, was approved in October 2024 by the board of directors of the LFS, a nonprofit tax-exempt association of freedom-loving SF/fantasy fans.

Restricted to books in print to ensure broad availability, this selective list focuses on a stimulating and representative range of thought-provoking and entertaining novels drawn from more than 100 Prometheus Award winners for Best Novel or Best Classic Fiction (Prometheus Hall of Fame) that have been recognized by LFS members since the award was first presented by SF/fantasy fans in 1979.

Several broadly recognized classics or bestsellers that have won a Prometheus Award — such as Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451, Ernest Cline’s Ready Player One, George Orwell’s 1984 and Animal Farm and J.R.R Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings — were not included in this collection to avoid duplications in libraries.

This collection of 20 books is presented below in chronological order within each of the two annual Prometheus Awards categories, beginning with the most recent Prometheus award winners, and lists the year that each work was recognized with an award.

The Core of the Sun Cover Night Watch Cover

Prometheus Best Novel winners

Critical Mass, by Daniel Suarez (2024)
The Hook, by Barry Longyear (2021)
The Powers of the Earth and Causes of Separation, by Travis Corcoran (2018-19)
The Core of the Sun, by Johanna Sinisalo (2017)
Darkship Thieves, by Sarah Hoyt (2011)
Little Brother, by Cory Doctorow (2009)
Night Watch, by Terry Pratchett (2003)
Psychohistorical Crisis, by Donald Kingsbury (2002)
A Deepness in the Sky, by Vernor Vinge (2000)
In the Country of the Blind, by Michael Flynn (1991)
Solomon's Knife, by Victor Koman (1990)
The Probability Broach, by L. Neil Smith (1982)

Prometheus Hall of Fame winners for Best Classic Fiction

The Dispossessed, by Ursula Le Guin (1993)
An Enemy of the State, by F. Paul Wilson (1991)
Alongside Night, by J. Neil Schulman (1989)
Anthem, by Ayn Rand (1987)
Illuminatus!, by Robert Anton Wilson and Robert Shea (1986)
Trader to the Stars, by Poul Anderson (1985)
The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress, by Robert Heinlein (1983)

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