One of the most exciting and promising Libertarian Futurist Society outreach projects in years is our new Prometheus Awards Collection for Libraries.
The ambitious project offers a carefully curated selection of Prometheus-winning novels to be donated and mailed to interested libraries across the country upon their request.
The set of brand-new books was chosen to expand the range and variety of notable and acclaimed science fiction on library shelves across the country – especially to aid smaller libraries, which may have more limited resources.
JOHN CARMACK’S GREAT IDEA
“As a lifelong supporter of libraries, I’ve seen many grand and inspiring institutions, but also many small and struggling ones, scraping by on a shoestring budget with an aging collection. In these smaller ones, my scan for Science Fiction, both classic and modern, often comes up nearly empty. I want to help!,” said John Carmack, the well-known video game developer and computer programmer.
Carmack initially proposed the project to the LFS and is generously funding the purchase and distribution of the books.
Carmack’s full pitch, along with the list of 20 Prometheus-winning novels selected to meet the needs and requirements of libraries, can be found at the new Prometheus Library Collection page on the LFS website.
Each book in the set will include a newly designed small sticker, identifying The Prometheus Awards Collection while also including our LFS.org website address, with hopes that it will spark the curiosity and interest of at least some library readers.
Following Carmack’s recent announcement of the donated-books offer on X and elsewhere, two U.S. libraries responded promptly with a request for the set of books to be donated and mailed to their address.
HOW THE PROJECT EVOLVED
Through several months of discussion and research among LFS Board of Directors members and Carmack, the LFS evolved the project and focused its scope. In the process, they confirmed that most libraries have very specific requirements for donated books as well as strong preferences regarding any books added to their shelves.
For instance, we learned that libraries only want donations of new books, not used, and preferably hardbound. Most libraries also strongly prefer more-recent and more-popular titles, given their limited shelf space and library users’ reading patterns, which tend to focus on newer books.
Yet, the LFS and Carmack didn’t want to duplicate the books already on the shelves of most libraries, either, preferring to send some titles that may be lesser-known – such as Johanna Sinisalo’s dystopian-feminist and anti-authoritarian The Core of the Sun – but that represent the strong variety and quality of Prometheus winners.
Thus, we opted not to include several widely known Prometheus winners that continue to be significant bestsellers and widely available, such as George Orwell’s 1984 or J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings.
WHO IS CARMACK?
Carmack may be best known for co-founding the video game company id Software, for his later work at Oculus VR, and for his innovative 3D computer graphics as lead programmer of its 1990s games Commander Keen, Doom, Quake, Wolfenstein 3D and their sequels.
According to Wikipedia, Carmack has pioneered or popularized the use of many techniques in computer graphics. Among them: “adaptive tile refresh” for Commander Keen, ray casting for Hovertank 3D, Catacomb 3-D, and Wolfenstein 3D, binary space partitioning which Doom became the first game to use, and surface caching which he invented for Quake.
Carmack’s engines have also been licensed for use in other influential first-person shooters such as Half-Life, Call of Duty and Medal of Honor: Allied Assault.
He received the Lifetime Achievement Award during the 10th annual Game Developers Choice Awards ceremony in 2010.
A science fiction fan, Carmack first became aware of the Prometheus Award several years ago when he read Travis Corcoran’s two Best Novel winners: The Powers of the Earth and Causes of Separation. (Both titles are included on the selective Prometheus Library Collection list.)
His interest in the Prometheus Awards and the LFS was further piqued, he said, after enjoying Theft of Fire, the 2024 Best Novel finalist by Devon Eriksen.
Carmack requests that only libraries, or librarians, directly contact him for more information or to request the set of donated books.
All others, including LFS members and other freedom-loving SF/fantasy fans who may have personal connections with your local library to share or recommendations for specific libraries to contact, should email LFS Secretary Michael Grossberg at bestnovelchair@lfs.org or mgrossberg1@gmail.com
IF YOU WANT TO KNOW MORE ABOUT THE PROMETHEUS AWARDS:
* Prometheus winners: For the full list of Prometheus winners, finalists and nominees – including 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, which now 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.
* 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.
* Watch videos of past Prometheus Awards ceremonies (including the recent 2023 ceremony with inspiring and amusing speeches by Prometheus-winning authors Dave Freer and Sarah Hoyt), Libertarian Futurist Society panel discussions with noted sf authors and leading libertarian writers, and other LFS programs on the Prometheus Blog’s Video page.
* Check out the Libertarian Futurist Society’s Facebook page for comments, updates and links to Prometheus Blog posts.
* 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 believe that culture matters. We understand that the arts and literature can be vital in envisioning a freer and better future – and in some ways can be even more 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.
