Category: Author Updates

Male vs. female readers, and science fiction vs. fantasy: Is modern publishing targeting one more than the other? 


By Michael Grossberg

It’s an old cliche: Men prefer science fiction; women prefer fantasy. (Of course, that’s a half-truth at best: After all, many men enjoy fantasy, and many women, science fiction.)

Left to right: The planets Mars, Earth and Venus (File photo)

Yet, if men are mostly from Mars and women are mostly from Venus, how is today’s publishing world appealing to both?

Not very well, Kristin McTiernan argues on her Fictional Influence website and blog.

When McTiernan posted a video about the absence of contemporary men’s fiction, it went viral.

“I struck a nerve that resonated far beyond my usual audience,” McTiernan wrote on her Fictional Influence website.

“The comment section flooded with responses from men who felt invisible in today’s publishing landscape – readers hungry for stories that spoke to their experiences (from their perspective) without apology.”

Continue reading Male vs. female readers, and science fiction vs. fantasy: Is modern publishing targeting one more than the other? 


Ark Press: New genre/SF publisher aims to offer “authentic storytelling” – and upcoming novels by two Prometheus-recognized authors


By Michael Grossberg

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.

Continue reading Ark Press: New genre/SF publisher aims to offer “authentic storytelling” – and upcoming novels by two Prometheus-recognized authors


The Locus rave review of Michael Flynn’s last novel – with a remarkable apology – may signal a broader re-evaluation of the three-time Prometheus winner


By Michael Grossberg

Winning literary awards and receiving rave reviews can boost the careers of novelists, by raising their visibility and enhancing their reputation. That’s sadly no longer fully possible for the late great Michael Flynn.

Michael Flynn, a three-time Prometheus Best Novel winner (Creative Commons license)

Flynn, who died in 2023 at 75, recently was announced in an LFS press release as the 2025 winner of the Prometheus Award for Best Novel for In the Belly of the Whale.

His epic social novel, a sobering drama about challenges and conflicts among the crew on a vast colony ship two centuries into a projected eight-century voyage to settle Tau Ceti, was the last novel Flynn wrote before his death. 

Published in 2024 by CAEZIK SF & Fantasy, Flynn’s novel has garnered some attention – especially an extraordinary review in Locus magazine (excerpted below) that amounts to a mea culpa for previously overlooking and underestimating Flynn.

Yet, both during his five-decade writing career and after his passing, Flynn has not garnered as much attention and appreciation from other critics and mainstream publications as I think the author and his last book deserve.

Shahid Mahmud, CAEZIK founder-publisher and a huge enthusiast for Flynn’s fiction, agrees. Mahmud tells me that he considers Flynn one of the most underestimated science fiction writers of his generation.

Continue reading The Locus rave review of Michael Flynn’s last novel – with a remarkable apology – may signal a broader re-evaluation of the three-time Prometheus winner


Poul Anderson’s novel Orion Shall Rise to be inducted into the Prometheus Hall of Fame

By Michael Grossberg

Orion Shall Rise, a 1983 novel by Poul Anderson, has won the 2025 Best Classic Fiction award and will be inducted into the Prometheus Hall of Fame.

Poul Anderson (Creative Commons license)

Published by Timescape and first nominated for the Prometheus Award in 1984, when it became a Best Novel finalist, Orion Shall Rise explores the corruptions and temptations of power and how a free society might survive and thrive after a post-nuclear-war apocalypse on a largely depopulated Earth.

This will be Anderson’s fifth work to be inducted into the Prometheus Hall of Fame, following Trader to the Stars (in 1985), The Star Fox (in 1995), “No Truce with Kings” (in 2010) and “Sam Hall” (in 2020.)

Continue reading Poul Anderson’s novel Orion Shall Rise to be inducted into the Prometheus Hall of Fame

Michael Flynn, now a three-time Prometheus winner, wins posthumous Best Novel recognition for In the Belly of the Whale

By Michael Grossberg

For the first time in Prometheus Awards history, our annual Best Novel award has gone to a posthumous work.

Novelist Michael Flynn at an sf convention several decades ago (File photo)

Michael Flynn, who died in 2023 at 75, was able to finish writing In the Belly of the Whale before his passing.

CAEZIK SF & Fantasy, a strong supporter of Flynn’s work, published Flynn’s last novel in 2024.

The epic science fiction novel, a suspenseful and insightful exploration of the complex challenges, conflicts and threats to liberty aboard a large colony ship two centuries into a projected eight-century voyage to Tau Ceti, has now won the 2025 Prometheus Award for Best Novel.

Continue reading Michael Flynn, now a three-time Prometheus winner, wins posthumous Best Novel recognition for In the Belly of the Whale

Two-time Prometheus winner George Orwell honored in United Kingdom with Royal Mint coin, but “Big Brother is (still) watching you”


By Michael Grossberg

Great Britain’s Royal Mint is honoring George Orwell – also worth celebrating today on the anniversary of his birthday June 25, 1903 – with a new coin, 75 years after his death in 1950.

Best known for his Prometheus-winning classics Nineteen Eighty-Four and Animal Farm, the British novelist and essayist will be celebrated with a new  £2 coin.

In the Orwellian spirit of the well-known Nineteen Eighty-Four catch phrase that “Big Brother is watching you,” coin artist Henry Gray created a coin design that appears to be an eye, but at its center is actually a camera lens surrounded 360 degrees by the famous phrase.

Continue reading Two-time Prometheus winner George Orwell honored in United Kingdom with Royal Mint coin, but “Big Brother is (still) watching you”


Michael Flynn’s legacy: How the Best Novel finalists have received broader cultural recognition (Part Five)


By Michael Grossberg

Two-time Prometheus winner Michael Flynn has become a Best Novel finalist again this year for In the Belly of the Whale, an epic work illuminating the complex lives, work, challenges, conflicts and threats to liberty aboard a large colony ship two centuries into a projected eight-century voyage to Tau Ceti.

Two-time Prometheus winner Michael Flynn (Creative Commons license)

Flynn previously won the Prometheus Award for Best Novel for In the Country of the Blind (in 1991) and Fallen Angels (in 1992), co-written with Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle.

One of the most frequently recognized authors within the 46-year history of the Prometheus Awards, Flynn wrote works that were ranked Best Novel finalists seven times – a track record exceeded only by Ken MacLeod, L. Neil Smith and F. Paul Wilson.

Sadly, Flynn, who died at 75 in 2023, is no longer around to do interviews about his final, posthumous novel.

But in Part Five of our ongoing Prometheus Blog series documenting how each of our 2025 Best Novel finalists have received broader cultural recognition for their fiction, talent and imagination, we offer the next best thing: One of the best and last interviews Flynn gave before he passed.

Continue reading Michael Flynn’s legacy: How the Best Novel finalists have received broader cultural recognition (Part Five)


Danny King’s Cancelled: How our Best Novel finalists are receiving broader attention (Part Two
)

By Michael Grossberg

Buoyed by the Prometheus Award recognition for his novel Cancelled: The Shape of Things to Come, British author Danny King is receiving international attention.

As the voting period enters its last three weeks to determine the winners of the next Prometheus awards, it’s worth highlighting how King’s novel and other of this year’s Best Novel finalists have been gaining recognition and sparking discussions in the broader culture. That includes Lionel Shriver’s Mania (the focus of the previous Prometheus blog post in this series.) 

British writer Danny King (Creative Commons license)

King recently was interviewed in Australia on the Liberty Itch Podcast.

During the wide-ranging interview, King discussed the anti-authoritarian and libertarian themes of Cancelled, what inspired him to make the central character of his “utopian/dystopian” tale a “woke” lesbian woman, and the unexpected difficulty he had getting his latest novel published.

The podcast hails Cancelled as “the latest book of multi-award winning writer Danny King” and “a satirical novel set in a future world in which saying or thinking the wrong thing gets you cancelled from mainstream society.”

According to the description of that podcast (Episode 13), Liberty Itch writer Tom Volcanos ask Danny about “Cancelled, being cancelled, and writing in our brave new world where being cancelled is all too real,” according to the podcast description.

Continue reading Danny King’s Cancelled: How our Best Novel finalists are receiving broader attention (Part Two
)

Award-winning libertarian author Barry B. Longyear, R.I.P.



By Michael Grossberg

Barry B. Longyear (1942-2025) has passed.

The prolific sf author, who won the 2021 Prometheus Award for Best Novel for The War Whisperer, Book 5: The Hook, died May 6 at the age of 82.

Barry B. Longyear (Courtesy of author)

Longyear is perhaps best known for “Enemy Mine,” an sf story about a risky confrontation but ultimately life-saving friendship between a human pilot and an alien fighter stranded on a harsh and distant planet.

“Enemy Mine,” part of Longyear’s first story collection Manifest Destiny, achieved the rare feat of science fiction’s Triple Crown by winning a Hugo, Nebula and Locus Award.

According to an obituary/tribute in Mike Glyer’s File 770, “fans sealed their approval of his amazing output by voting Barry the John W. Campbell Award as best new writer in 1980 (now the Astounding Award).

Continue reading Award-winning libertarian author Barry B. Longyear, R.I.P.



Sequels, part 8: More Best Novel winners (not sequels) by L. Neil Smith and Ramez Naam that inspired sequels


By Michael Grossberg

Quite a few Prometheus Award Best Novel winners, while not sequels themselves, have inspired subsequent novels that have received further Prometheus recognition.

L. Neil Smith in the 1980s (Creative Commons license)

Such winners by Sarah Hoyt (Darkship Thieves), Victor Milan (The Cybernetic Samurai) and Dani and Eytan Kollins (The Unincorporated Man) were examined in the previous post of this ongoing series about sequels.

Ramez Naam (Creative Commons license)

Let’s turn our attention here to Prometheus-winning works by Ramez Naam and L. Neil Smith. Both authors were inspired to write more than one follow-up novel to their initial Prometheus-winning novels.

While Naam framed one complex story for his near-future Nexus trilogy, Smith conceived a variety of zestful and rambunctious stories all linked within his alternate-universe North American Confederacy series.

Continue reading Sequels, part 8: More Best Novel winners (not sequels) by L. Neil Smith and Ramez Naam that inspired sequels