George Orwell – Prometheus Blog

Orwell’s Animal Farm and Anderson’s naked Emperor: The enduring power of parable and fable in contemporary discourse

George Orwell is one of only a handful of Prometheus-winning writers to remain world famous and widely read for more than one work of fiction.

Author Hans Christian Andersen (Creative Commons license)

Meanwhile, the Prometheus Hall of Fame classic that is perhaps best known around the world is Hans Christian Anderson’s fable “The Emperor’s New Clothes.”

George Orwell. (Creative Commons license)

Perhaps still most widely acclaimed for his dystopian novel Nineteen Eighty-Four, Orwell is also frequently referenced and quoted for his satirical parable Animal Farm. (Forget the poorly reviewed 2026 animated film version, which substitutes a trendy and misguided anti-corporate ideology for Orwell’s explicit anti-communist theme.)

Of the 50 works of fantastic fiction that have now been inducted into the Prometheus Hall of Fame for Best Classic Fiction, Orwell’s classics and Andersen’s evocative fable rank high among the most notable and enduring.

And that’s why they are frequently referenced in contemporary intellectual debates and commentary – and will continue to be relevant for generations.

Continue reading Orwell’s Animal Farm and Anderson’s naked Emperor: The enduring power of parable and fable in contemporary discourse

You never know what you’ll find at your local bookstore (A hint: Some Prometheus-winning classics, prominently displayed)

By Michael Grossberg

The Book Loft in Columbus’ German Village (Creative Commons license)

A visit to a local bookstore brought home to me something that too many lovers of liberty tend to forget, take for granted or deny: Support for freedom, and an almost instinctive distrust of coercive and abusive authority, is deeply rooted within American society and history.

Such attitudes – while certainly not the same thing as consistent support for individual rights, non-aggression, free minds and free markets – show up nearly everywhere, including within many precincts of popular and commercial culture.

I was reminded of this truth anew the other day, when my husband and I visited The Book Loft, a famous and highly unusual bookstore in Columbus, for the first time in several years.

Continue reading You never know what you’ll find at your local bookstore (A hint: Some Prometheus-winning classics, prominently displayed)

How to approach A.I. ethically: Chronicles magazine reminds us of the wisdom of C.S. Lewis and George Orwell

By Michael Grossberg

It’s always encouraging to see a Prometheus-recognized writer remembered in any contemporary article, especially about one of the hottest, most divisive and misunderstood issues of our day.

But it’s wonderful – and rare – to find two such authors remembered in the same article, especially one that quotes them with accuracy and insight.

The enduring wisdom of both C.S. Lewis and George Orwell is at the core of a sensible article about Artificial Intelligence by Benjamin M. Osborne in Chronicles magazine.

Orwell, of course, is a two-time Prometheus Hall of Fame inductee for his novels Nineteen Eighty-Four and Animal Farm. Lewis, meanwhile, is again a Hall of Fame finalist this year for his 1945 science fiction novel That Hideous Strength.

So what ideas and insights by Lewis and Orwell are explored and applied in Osborn’s June 2026 article, “What Would C.S. Lewis Have Thought of AI?”

Continue reading How to approach A.I. ethically: Chronicles magazine reminds us of the wisdom of C.S. Lewis and George Orwell

The Orwell Prize fiction finalists reflect dual focus on both style and content, like the Prometheus Awards

By Michael Grossberg

Not everyone is familiar with the British-based Orwell Prizes, which recently announced their slate of 2026 finalists.

Sponsored and administrated by The Orwell Foundation in the United Kingdom, the prizes aim to recognize work that comes closest to George Orwell’s ambition “to make political writing into art.”

Orwell certainly achieved that goal with his most widely acclaimed and enduring novels Nineteen Eighty-Four and Animal Farm, both later inducted into the Prometheus Hall of Fame for Best Classic Fiction. So it’s nice to see another award honoring Orwell’s spirit.

Continue reading The Orwell Prize fiction finalists reflect dual focus on both style and content, like the Prometheus Awards

L. Neil Smith’s The Probability Broach: The Prometheus winner that one Best Novel judge dreams of seeing on screen someday 

By Michael Grossberg

It’s relatively rare for a Prometheus-winning work of pro-freedom science fiction or fantasy to be adapted into a movie or for television. But that happened this year, with the recent 2026 release of an animated film of George Orwell’s Animal Farm, inducted in 2011 into the Prometheus Hall of Fame.

While the misconceived third film version of Orwell’s anti-authoritarian and anti-communist classic fable proved disappointing, our hopes remain high for more Prometheus-winning novels or stories to be filmed – and some are already in the works.

Meanwhile, sparked by this year’s film release, I asked Libertarian Futurist Society members I work with as fellow Best Novel judges which Prometheus-winning works they’d like to see on screen.

Adam Tuchman’s top choice is The Probability Broach, L. Neil Smith’s alternate-history SF novel that won the 1982 Best Novel award.

Continue reading L. Neil Smith’s The Probability Broach: The Prometheus winner that one Best Novel judge dreams of seeing on screen someday 

Richard Salman’s unusually insightful review of the flawed new Animal Farm film illuminates George Orwell’s thinking and goals in writing his 1945 satirical fable 

By Michael Grossberg

Of the many reviews of the flawed new film version of George Orwell’s Animal Farm, perhaps the most insightful is one that broadens its critique to examine Orwell himself.

Richard M. Salsman, an economist and visiting assistant professor of political economy at Duke University, goes deeper than most other writers in contextualizing Andy Serkis’ widely panned animated film version.

With disturbing clarity, Salsman explains how Orwell’s evolving views led him to reverse his initial conception of Animal Farm as a critique of capitalism – but also how the British democratic socialist remained faithful to some of his deepest underlying assumptions.

This is a powerfully illuminating review and essay that deserves to be read in full at The Daily Economy, a publication of the American Institute for Economic Research.

But I also want to highlight some of Salman’s key insights, because they are so relevant to the themes and world view that shape the Prometheus Awards.

Continue reading Richard Salman’s unusually insightful review of the flawed new Animal Farm film illuminates George Orwell’s thinking and goals in writing his 1945 satirical fable 

The rewards of patience: The Prometheus Hall of Fame’s track record of recognition and frequent renominations

By Michael Grossberg

Patience can be a virtue – especially when it comes to nominations for the Prometheus Hall of Fame.

Not all works that become Hall of Fame finalists or winners do so in the first year that they are nominated. But that’s never a permanent obstacle to recognition, because in this annual Prometheus category, Libertarian Futurist Society members benefit from the luxury of time.

If at first a work is overlooked or doesn’t rank high enough to become a finalist, it can be nominated and renominated in future years.

Continue reading The rewards of patience: The Prometheus Hall of Fame’s track record of recognition and frequent renominations

“What is a Hater?” – Economist David Henderson applies Orwell’s 1984 insights about how authoritarians abuse language to discount criticism and demonize others 

By Michael Grossberg

One of the most chilling and distasteful aspects of the totalitarian dictatorship that George Orwell envisioned in Nineteen Eighty-Four was the “two-minute hate.”
Fuelled by State propaganda demonizing dissidents and alleged enemies, and reflecting the mob psychology of true believers manipulated by power-hungry rulers, the “two-minute hate” is the type of Reign of Terror phenomenon that no sane and decent person would wish to be part of – or be victimized by – in real life.

Yet, increasingly in American and European politics and culture, extreme partisans of Left and Right indulge in hateful rhetoric while ironically accusing others of “hate” – even when a bit of introspection and understanding of human behavior might reveal fewer people than one might think are actually motivated by that dark emotion.

Referencing Orwell and his Prometheus Hall of Fame-winning classic Nineteen Eighty-Four, libertarian economist David Henderson identifies the disturbing trend of using and abusing language to demonize anyone who holds differing views.

Continue reading “What is a Hater?” – Economist David Henderson applies Orwell’s 1984 insights about how authoritarians abuse language to discount criticism and demonize others 

Orwell’s Animal Farm falls disappointingly short in new animated film version that distorts its anti-authoritarian themes 

By Michael Grossberg

When it comes to film versions of George Orwell’s Animal Farm, the third time’s not the charm.

With visionary director-actor Andy Serkis at the helm of the recently released animated film version of Orwell’s classic anti-authoritarian fable and a host of great actors doing the voices of the farm animals, I’d hoped for the best for Animal Farm, inducted in 2011 into the Prometheus Hall of Fame.

Seth Rogen, Gaten Matarazzo, Glenn Close, Woody Harrelson, Kieran Culkin, Steve Buscemi, Kathleen Turner, Laverne Cox and Jim Parsons are among the actors voicing the animal characters in the story about pigs consolidating control on a farm in a movement for equality that is systematically corrupted.

Yet, Serkis’ long-in-gestation 2025 film, finally released in the U.S. in May 2026, has proved to be a major disappointment.

Continue reading Orwell’s Animal Farm falls disappointingly short in new animated film version that distorts its anti-authoritarian themes 

Two Prometheus Hall of Fame classics appear on the list of singer/songwriter David Bowie’s top-100 greatest books

By Michael Grossberg

Singer-songwriter-actor David Bowie (Creative Commons license)

David Bowie is remembered as one of the past half-century’s greatest singer-songwriters.

Perhaps less well known was the extraordinary intelligence and eclectic literacy of Bowie, who died at 69 in 2016. He read widely, broadening his understanding and appreciation of the world and humanity, at its best and worst.

The Bowie Book Club has preserved a list of Bowie’s top-100 books that he read and ranked highest during his lifetime as major influences on his thinking, creativity and development of artistic tastes.

Among them are two Prometheus Hall of Fame winners for Best Classic Fiction: George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four, inducted in 1984, and Anthony Burgess’s A Clockwork Orange, inducted in 2008.

Continue reading Two Prometheus Hall of Fame classics appear on the list of singer/songwriter David Bowie’s top-100 greatest books