By Michael Grossberg
Grand Master Robert Heinlein was remembered during LACon V, the recent World Science Fiction Convention in Los Angeles/Anaheim, California.
An “LA and Heinlein” panel discussion, highlighted in a File 770 post with this picture, included speakers from academia and the Heinlein Society.
“RAH has been gone for decades but he was still very much alive in the “L.A. and Heinlein” panel… It was an interesting hour of being walked through the Los Angeles years of Heinlein’s life and hearing about how he was an Influence for some of the then-fledgling writers there,” Rich Lynch wrote in his brief report.
Robert Heinlein (1907-1988) was mentor to several generations of younger sf writers, ultimately became the author most recognized by the Prometheus Awards, with a record nine awards as of 2026.
So it’s nice to see Heinlein remembered – and with such respect, appreciation and affection – at SF/fantasy fandom’s annual Worldcon.
Although some of Heinlein’s later novels were nominated in the 1980s for Best Novel, and several posthumously published novels were nominated for Best Novel in the 1990s and 2000s, all of his Prometheus winners have been previously published classics inducted over the decades into the Prometheus Hall of Fame.
Heinlein’s Prometheus winners include his novel The Moon is a Harsh Mistress (inducted in 1983), the novel Stranger in a Strange Land (in 1987), the novel Red Planet (in 1996), the novel Methuselah’s Children (in 1997), the novel Time Enough for Love (in 1998), the story “Requiem” (in 2003), the story “Coventry” (in 2017), the novel Citizen of the Galaxy in 2022 and the story “Free Men” in 2023.
A SAMPLING OF OUR ARTICLES ABOUT HEINLEIN
The Prometheus Blog has posted more than 80 articles covering Heinlein’s life and work over the past half decade or so.
Here is a selection of a half dozen or so of the most interesting articles, all worth reading or revisiting:
Robert Heinlein: Remembering the Grand Master on his birthday
From the Heinlein Prize Trust archive: Robert Heinlein’s optimistic vision of the future and expansion through the solar system
Economics in science fiction: The Specter of Overproduction (from Pohl and Huxley to Heinlein), an essay by LFS President William H. Stoddard
TANSTAAFL: Libertarian economist David Friedman examines an acronym popularized by Heinlein
“You can’t enslave a free man” – Heinlein Society acceptance speech for “Free Men,” the 2023 Prometheus Hall of Fame winner
Heinlein Prize Trust working to sustain author’s legacy, spread liberty…
Rational anarchism & TANSTAAFL: An Appreciation of Robert Heinlein’s The Moon is a Harsh Mistress, a 1983 Prometheus Hall of Fame co-winner for Best Classic Fiction, a review by William H. Stoddard
ABOUT THE PROMETHEUS AWARDS
* Join us! To help sustain the Prometheus Awards, honor outstanding freedom-loving fantastical fiction and find fellowship with other fans, join the Libertarian Futurist Society, a non-profit all-volunteer international 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, 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 links to all published essay-reviews in our Appreciation series explaining why each winning work since 1979 fits the awards’ distinctive dual focus on both liberty and literary quality.
* Watch videos of the annual 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 highlights the Prometheus Awards, the Libertarian Futurist Society and the significant elements of libertarian themes and insights in the evolution of the modern SF/fantasy genre.
* Check out the Libertarian Futurist Society’s Facebook page for updates, comments, and links to Prometheus Blog posts.
