Category: LFS programs

It’s your choice! How you can personalize and shape your ‘Early Reader’ selections and schedule

By Michael Grossberg

Our Early Readers program seeks more LFS members as volunteers to help enhance our annual Prometheus Awards and the nominating and judging process for the Best Novel category.

As described in the previous Prometheus Blog post, we’re looking for freedom-loving sf/fantasy fans who enjoy reading speculative fiction (broadly defined to include sci-fi, fantasy, alternate-history, dystopian literature, mythic fables, “social” sf, near-future politicial thrillers, etc.).

Our ideal Early Reader participants also should be knowledgeable about libertarian and free-market sociopolitical and economic analysis to discern whether such genre novels are good fits for the Prometheus Awards – or not.

Consistent with our nonprofit, all-volunteer libertarian organization of freedom-loving sf/fantasy fans, we’ve structured our Early Readers program to maximize individual choice in several ways.

Continue reading It’s your choice! How you can personalize and shape your ‘Early Reader’ selections and schedule

Reading and reporting on Best Novel candidates: An invitation to join our ‘Early Readers’ program

By Michael Grossberg

Over the most-recent Prometheus Awards nomination and judging cycles, more Libertarian Futurist Society members have made a genuine difference by volunteering to read and report on various novels to help us determine whether any deserved Best Novel nominations.

This post aims to introduce and explain the goals of our Early Readers program – with sincere hopes that more LFS members will decide to join our efforts over this next awards cycle.

Now’s an excellent time to volunteer, since we’ve just recently begun compiling potential candidates from sf/fantasy novels already published (or to be published) during 2024.

What we’re always striving to identify, within the much larger field of sf/fantasy and speculative fiction, are the relative few novels that seem relevant to the Prometheus Awards and its distinctive dual focus, at once literary and thematic.

Continue reading Reading and reporting on Best Novel candidates: An invitation to join our ‘Early Readers’ program

Literary qualities: Questions to consider in judging the Prometheus Awards, part 2

By Michael Grossberg

Given the complexity and multiple variables in weighing works of speculative fiction for how well they fit the distinctive dual focus of the Prometheus Awards, many LFS members and Prometheus judges have found a set of questions useful to answer as they read different works and consider their eligibility and quality.

These questions also may help LFS members as they read and rank finalists before voting to choose each year’s Prometheus winners.

After outlining a set of basic eligibility questions in the previous Prometheus Blog post, this post will focus on further questions related to overall literary quality.

Continue reading Literary qualities: Questions to consider in judging the Prometheus Awards, part 2

Eligibility questions to ask when considering sf/fantasy for the Prometheus Awards

By Michael Grossberg

Those Libertarian Futurist Society members who’ve served for some time as finalist-selection judges or Early Readers for different categories of the Prometheus Award have come to find a variety of questions helpful.

These questions also may help LFS members as they read and rank Best Novel and Hall of Fame finalists before voting to choose each year’s winners – including this year.

Who will win the next Prometheus Award for Best Novel in 2024?

Whether LFS members are considering the eligibility of an sf/fantasy novel for the Best Novel category, suggesting a candidate for nomination for Best Novel or Best Classic Fiction (the Prometheus Hall of Fame) or volunteering to read and report on various candidates as Early Readers, such questions can prove useful.

Accordingly, the Prometheus Blog is posting a sample set of such questions.

Continue reading Eligibility questions to ask when considering sf/fantasy for the Prometheus Awards

Several ways you can make a difference in the Prometheus Awards – including some less-obvious steps worth taking

By Michael Grossberg

Without the Libertarian Futurist Society and its members, the Prometheus Awards wouldn’t have survived for 45 years – and counting.

Prometheus, the light bringer (Creative Commons license)

 

Freedom-loving sf/fantasy fans have made a difference over the decades in three major ways: Through their continuing LFS memberships and support, by becoming active in the discovery and nominating process of our awards and ultimately, by reading the annual finalists and voting to choose the annual winners.

Yet, there are several less obvious but vital ways that LFS members (and others) can help enhance the awards process and help ensure that worthy potential contenders aren’t overlooked – especially in the annual Best Novel category, first presented in 1979.

Continue reading Several ways you can make a difference in the Prometheus Awards – including some less-obvious steps worth taking

Which sf/fantasy literary awards are the most worthwhile? (You might be surprised how high the Prometheus award ranks)

Naturally, the Prometheus Awards are important to Libertarian Futurist Society members and other freedom-loving sf/fantasy fans.

Gold coins are used as prizes in the Prometheus Awards

But where does our award rank among other sf/fantasy literary awards in the considered opinion of leading sf/fantasy editors?

Prominent sf/fantasy novelist Charles Stross, who won the 2007 Prometheus Award for Best Novel for Glasshouse, shared a private conversation with a top editor that actually ranks the Prometheus Award quite high.

Continue reading Which sf/fantasy literary awards are the most worthwhile? (You might be surprised how high the Prometheus award ranks)

Publishers, authors, LFS members & sf/fantasy fans: Please heed our early call for Best Novel submissions (and why timeliness matters)

By Michael Grossberg

Have you come across a 2024 sf/fantasy novel that seems to fit the distinctive dual focus of the Prometheus Awards?

If so, it’s not too early to bring it to our attention.

In fact, the right time is now – rather than later.

And that good advice applies not only to Libertarian Futurist Society members, but also to publishers, authors, sf/fantasy fans and libertarians outside our organization.

Continue reading Publishers, authors, LFS members & sf/fantasy fans: Please heed our early call for Best Novel submissions (and why timeliness matters)

Have you seen LFS ads online? If so, you’re part of our Google ad campaign

If you’ve seen an ad like this online, you’re probably a freedom-loving sf/fantasy fan!

In recent months, the Libertarian Futurist Society has been experimenting more with online advertising to raise our visibility and attract new members.

The evolving ad campaign takes advantage of Google targeting techniques to reach that relatively small pool of people in the population who overlap in two key categories: science-fiction/fantasy fans and libertarians.

Some LFS members have already noticed such ads online at Reason magazine or its blog and other libertarian websites; a few also have spotted such ads at various conservative and liberal sites that attract sf/fantasy fans.

If you do see an LFS like this pop up anywhere, please help us out!

Continue reading Have you seen LFS ads online? If so, you’re part of our Google ad campaign

Prometheus Award Ceremony August 13 via Zoom

The Libertarian Futurist Society’s annual awards ceremony will take place online this year via Zoom, on 13 August, starting at 2 PM Eastern Daylight Savings Time (1 PM Central, noon Mountain, 11 AM Pacific). The Best Novel Award will be given to Wil McCarthy for Rich Man’s Sky, and the Hall of Fame Award to Robert A. Heinlein for Citizen of the Galaxy.

Joining us as presenters will be past Prometheus Award winners Travis Corcoran and F. Paul Wilson.

Sf novelist Travis Corcoran (Photo courtesy of author)

Corcoran has won the Prometheus Award twice, for his novels The Powers of the Earth and Causes of Separation; he will present the Best Novel Award.

Continue reading Prometheus Award Ceremony August 13 via Zoom

Introducing the new Prometheus Award badges for finalists, winners

“Guess what, I’m a winner!”

Or: “Guess what, I’m a finalist!”

From now on, Prometheus Awards finalists and winners will have an optional extra way to publicize their honor: an official LFS awards badge.

Continue reading Introducing the new Prometheus Award badges for finalists, winners