By Michael Grossberg
The 46th Prometheus Awards ceremony is shaping up to be one of the most interesting, thought-provoking and exciting in years.
Ten speakers from around the world have been lined up for the roughly hourlong awards show, which will present the two annual categories for Best Novel and Best Classic Fiction (the Prometheus Hall of Fame) plus an occasional Special Award – the first the first for Young Adult Fiction.
Here is the Zoom link to watch the awards live:
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/87824388418?pwd=CsoznF4wtlLNTYvEotlIpVJkCoGb9I.1
All Libertarian Futurist Society members and other freedom-loving SF/fantasy fans are invited to watch the live Zoom event, which will begin at 10 a.m. Pacific time (1 p.m. Eastern time) on Sunday Aug. 16, 2026.
So who are the 10 presenters, winners and other speakers?
THE AWARDS WINNERS
Among those making acceptance speeches:
* 2026 Special Award winner Dave Freer (Storm-Dragon), from his home in Tasmania, Australia
* 2026 Best Novel winner J. Franklin Pierce (A Kiss for Damocles), from his home in Greensburg, Pennsylvania
* Of special note: Accepting the posthumous Hall of Fame award for Aldous Huxley’s Brave World will be Huxley’s grandchildren Tessa and Trev Huxley and the Pulitzer-winning writer-editor Jack Miles, co-trustee of the Aldous and Laura Huxley Literary Trust.
All three will be speaking from the New York area.
* In addition, co-publisher Ian McMurtrie, who founded Raconteur Press, which published both 2025 novels, will say a few words from his Texas headquarters, about the significance and impact of the award on small publishers.
THE AWARDS PRESENTERS
As previously detailed in a profile on the Prometheus Blog, the keynote speaker of the 46th Prometheus Awards will be author, George Mason University law professor, Cato Institute scholar and author Ilya Somin.
A lifelong science fiction fan, Somin will discuss libertarian currents in SF/fantasy and present the Hall of Fame category. Somin will speak from Arlington, Virginia.
Another guest presenter will be two-time Prometheus Best Novel winner Travis Corcoran (The Powers of the Earth, Causes of Separation), who will present the Special Award.
Corcoran’s speech will discuss the importance of young-adult SF/fantasy as a way to inspire new generations of readers and will present the Special Award. Corcoran will speak from his New Hampshire home.
LFS co-founder Michael Grossberg, who chairs the Prometheus Best Novel Judging Committee, will present the Best Novel category, speaking from his home in Columbus, Ohio.
LFS President William H. Stoddard, who chairs the Prometheus Hall of Fame Judging Committee, will emcee the ceremony from his home in Lawrence, Kansas.
And Chris Hibbert, the LFS Treasurer and Webmaster, will host the roughly 60- to 70-minute Zoom ceremony from his home in Mountain View, California.
As in previous years, the 46th Prometheus Awards will be recorded and slightly edited to later post on YouTube and on the LFS website’s Videos page.
But there’s nothing quite like seeing an awards show live – and seeing Prometheus Awards history in the making.
THE ORDER OF THE AWARDS AND SPEAKERS
Although details of the 46th Prometheus Awards ceremony are still being finalized, here’s the tentative order of the awards and speakers:
Opening remarks: Emcee William H. Stoddard
Overview, focus of Prometheus Hall of Fame: Stoddard
Introduction of Somin: Stoddard
Keynote speech on Libertarian Currents in SF/Fantasy: Ilya Somin
Presentation of Hall of Fame: Somin
Acceptance speeches for Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World:
Jack Miles
Tessa Huxley
Trevenan (Trev) Huxley
Introduction of Grossberg: Stoddard
Presentation of Best Novel: Michael Grossberg
Acceptance speech: J. Kent Pierce (A Kiss for Damocles)
Introduction of Corcoran: Stoddard
Speech on importance of Young Adult Fiction: Travis Corcoran
Presentation of Special Award for Young Adult Fiction: Corcoran
Acceptance speech: Dave Freer (Storm-Dragon)
Acceptance speech: Publisher Ian McMurtrie, whose Raconteur Press published both A Kiss for Damocles and Storm-Dragon
Closing remarks: Stoddard
Optional Q/A discussion (if time permits): Moderated by Stoddard
For more information about the above speakers and speeches, read the series of recent articles about the Huxleys, Somin, Corcoran and Freer posted on the Prometheus Blog.
And stay tuned to the Prometheus Blog for final updates.
ABOUT THE LFS AND THE PROMETHEUS AWARDS
* 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 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, 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 the 106 works that have won a Prometheus 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.
