Ark Press, a new publisher, aims to offer science fiction and other genre fiction that appeals to fans of “authentic storytelling.”
“We’re done with boring, heavy-handed fiction that lectures instead of entertains,” said Tony Daniel, editor-in-chief of Ark Press.
“Our goal is to bring back fiction worth reading—stories that ignite the imagination, celebrate the human spirit, and reflect the values and experiences of everyday Americans.”
“Whether it’s gripping adventure tales, hard-hitting thrillers, thought-provoking sci-fi, crime, and mystery, or heartfelt stories of triumph and resilience, Ark Press aims to deliver works that inspire, entertain, and connect with readers across the country, not just the coasts,” Daniel said.
Among the first works to be published by Ark Press, in 2026, are contracted but as-yet-unannounced novels by Prometheus winner Travis Corcoran and Prometheus nominee Larry Correia.
TARGETTING AN UNDERSERVED AUDIENCE
Ark Press plans to publish genre novels with broad and classic appeal, especially to what the publisher views as a currently underserved market of readers: men and teenage boys.
Ark Press, led by editor D.J. Butler (a former editor at Baen Books), reportedly has made deals with several award-winning SF authors to write novels that will be among the first the press will publish, according to Graham Bradley on the Upstream Reviews Substack column.
The publisher plans to release novels on an annual and seasonal model, starting in 2026. The first season will feature two books, with Ark Press gearing up to publish far more in 2027.
TRAVIS CORCORAN AND LARRY CORREIA TO WRITE NOVELS
According to an Upstream Reviews post, the first two writers contracted to write for Ark Press are Corcoran and Correia.
Both are of interest to Libertarian Futurist Society members as writers who have been recognized to different extents within the Prometheus Awards.
Most prominently, Corcoran’s The Powers of the Earth won the Prometheus Award for Best Novel in 2018 – the first self-published novel to ever do so.
Corcoran’s Causes of Separation, a direct sequel to The Powers of the Earth within his Aristillius series focusing on a libertarian colony on the moon, won the Prometheus Award for Best Novel in 2019 – the first time an author won the Best Novel category in two consecutive years, and the first time both a book and its sequel won.
While Correia has not won a Prometheus award yet, one of his novels has been nominated for our award – and two more of his novels have been suggested as candidates to consider this year.
Correia was nominated for Best Novel in 2020 for Monster Hunter Guardian, co-written with Prometheus winner Sarah Hoyt (Darkship Thieves.)
Correia, who has written or co-authored more than 30 novels, was nominated for the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer in 2011 and is a four-time winner of the Dragon Award for Best Fantasy Novel or Best Military Science Fiction. He is best known for his bestselling Monster Hunter, Grimnoir Chronicles and Saga of the Forgotten Warrior series.
Coincidentally, among the more than two dozen potential candidates for Best Novel nomination that have come to our attention so far this year – and are being read by Prometheus judges and other LFS members to confirm whether they in fact fit the distinctive dual focus of our award on both literary quality and liberty – are the last two novels in Correia’s popular Saga of the Forgotten Warrior series.
Graveyard of Demons and Heart of the Mountain, respectively Book 5 and the concluding Book 6 of Correia’s series, attracted the interest to Libertarian Futurist Society members because they focus on an oppressed caste struggling for freedom and against slavery in a world dominated by an authoritarian Law based on enforced castes, violence and war.
THE FOCUS OF ARK PRESS – AND A CONTEST
“Breaking away from New York publishing,” Ark Press styles itself as an alternative.
The new publisher plans to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the United States by “bringing back the Great American Novel, giving the Land of the Free the literature she deserves—and exporting our freedom-loving, frontier-taming brand of storytelling to the rest of the globe,” according to its website.
Putting its money where its mouth is, Ark Press is launching with a contest, open to published and emerging authors.
The Ark Press website offers guidelines for the submission of novels exploring the theme of “America 2076.”
The winning author will receive a $10,000 advance, with publication of his or her winning novel planned for July 4th, 2026.
According to the contest description: “We want stories as big as the Great Plains, the Rocky Mountains, Teddy Roosevelt’s grin. Stories the size of Texas and Alaska—put together! Stories so expansive they reach from sea to shining sea and so deep they fill the Grand Canyon…. But don’t send us your tired, poor, huddled masses of warmed-over trunk stories.”
For further reading: See our recent Prometheus Blog post exploring the issue of publishers failing to consider works that appeal to men and boys.
ABOUT THE PROMETHEUS AWARDS AND THE LFS
* Join us! To help sustain the Prometheus Awards and support a cultural and literary strategy to appreciate and honor freedom-loving fiction, join the Libertarian Futurist Society, a non-profit all-volunteer association of freedom-loving sf/fantasy fans.
Libertarian futurists understand that culture matters. We believe that literature and the arts can be vital in envisioning a freer and better future. In some ways, culture can be even more influential and powerful than politics in the long run, by imagining better visions of the future incorporating peace, prosperity, progress, tolerance, justice, positive social change, and mutual respect for each other’s rights, human dignity, individuality and peaceful choices.
* Prometheus winners: For a full list of Prometheus winners, finalists and nominees – including in the annual Best Novel and Best Classic Fiction (Hall of Fame) categories and occasional Special Awards – visit the enhanced Prometheus Awards page on the LFS website. This page includes convenient links to all published essay-reviews in our Appreciation series explaining why each of more than 100 past winners since 1979 fits the awards’ distinctive dual focus on both quality and liberty.
* Watch videos of past Prometheus Awards ceremonies, Libertarian Futurist Society panel discussions with noted sf authors and leading libertarian writers, and other LFS programs on the Prometheus Blog’s Video page.
* Read “The Libertarian History of Science Fiction,” an essay in the international magazine Quillette that favorably highlights the Prometheus Awards, the Libertarian Futurist Society and the significant element of libertarian sf/fantasy in the evolution of the modern genre.
* Check out the Libertarian Futurist Society’s Facebook page for comments, updates and links to the latest Prometheus Blog posts.
