A banner year for Prometheus blog interviews: 2023 winner Dave Freer, frequent finalist Karl Gallagher, author/judge John Christmas and the late great James Hogan

By Michael Grossberg

This was an excellent year for interesting and informative interviews with a variety of authors, all worth reading (or rereading.)

Dave Freer with his 2023 Prometheus Awards Best Novel plaque for Cloud-Castles (Photo courtesy of Freer)
James P. Hogan (Creative Commons license)

The Prometheus Blog boasted more posted interviews in 2023 than ever before – most notably, with Australian sf writer Dave Freer, the first individual from the Southern Hemisphere to win a Prometheus award; and with the late great James Hogan, a two-time Prometheus winner for Best Novel.

Continue reading A banner year for Prometheus blog interviews: 2023 winner Dave Freer, frequent finalist Karl Gallagher, author/judge John Christmas and the late great James Hogan

The John Christmas interview, part 3: Good guys, bad guys, Cold War politics, fiction writing and how Putin has delayed his next novel

KGB Banker, a contemporary financial-political thriller co-written by author and LFS Best Novel finalist judge John Christmas, has recently been recognized by the Best Thrillers website as the “Best Conspiracy Thriller of 2022.”
Meanwhile, Christmas’ first novel was Democracy Society, a futuristic and satiric libertarian novel about fighting corrupt government.

John Christmas (Photo courtesy of author)

In the third and final part of his Prometheus Blog interview, Christmas discusses literary styles, Cold War politics, what kind of “good guys” and “bad guys” he likes to create as characters, why he became a novelist and what he plans to write next.
Continue reading The John Christmas interview, part 3: Good guys, bad guys, Cold War politics, fiction writing and how Putin has delayed his next novel

John Christmas interview, part two: What the novelist and awards judge looks for in Prometheus nominees and what he’s learned about writing fiction

LFS member John Christmas, a Prometheus Best Novel judge for the past decade, has written and published two novels.

Most recently, Christmas co-wrote KGB Banker, a contemporary political thriller recently recognized by Best Thrillers as the “Best Conspiracy Thriller of 2022.”
In this second part of his Prometheus Blog interview, Christmas discusses what he looks for in judging Prometheus nominees, and shares more about what he’s learned about writing fiction and appreciating good fiction.

Continue reading John Christmas interview, part two: What the novelist and awards judge looks for in Prometheus nominees and what he’s learned about writing fiction

Interview: Best Novel judge John Christmas on favorite Prometheus winners, lessons learned about writing fiction from judging the awards

“My experience as a writer helps me as a judge. And, my experience as a judge helps me as a writer.” – John Christmas

LFS member John Christmas, a published novelist, has served as a Prometheus Best Novel judge for about a decade now.

Author, LFS judge John Christmas Photo courtesy of Christmas

Christmas co-wrote KGB Banker, a contemporary political thriller recently recognized by Best Thrillers as the “Best Conspiracy Thriller of 2022.”

Christmas’s first novel was Democracy Society, a futuristic libertarian novel about fighting a corrupt government.

In this interview, Christmas discusses some of his favorite Prometheus-winning novels, how his creative writing has helped him be a better awards judge, and how serving as a Best Novel judge has benefited him as a writer.

The Christmas interview also seems timely in how it sheds light on the awards-judging process, since the Best Novel finalist judging committee is currently reading and discussing more than a dozen nominees and candidates for nomination in the final month or two before voting to select the annual slate of finalists.

Continue reading Interview: Best Novel judge John Christmas on favorite Prometheus winners, lessons learned about writing fiction from judging the awards

KGB Banker: Veteran LFS judge John Christmas recognized for his conspiracy thriller

Most Libertarian Futurist Society members enjoy reading fiction, but few write it. John Christmas, a veteran LFS member and Best Novel finalist judge based in Europe, does both.

A former banker whose banking career ended when his whistleblowing against his employer was covered up by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, Christmas wove his real-life experiences into his novel KGB Banker, co-written with William Burton McCormick.

The novel has just been recognized by Best Thrillers as the “Best Conspiracy Thriller of 2022.”

For more information, visit the Best Thrillers website.

How Christmas came to co-write the novel with McCormick, he said, is a roundabout, fascinating and unlikely but true story.

Continue reading KGB Banker: Veteran LFS judge John Christmas recognized for his conspiracy thriller

Videos: The 2019 Prometheus Award ceremony at the Worldcon in Dublin

The Prometheus Award this year went to Causes of Separation by Travis Corcoran, while the Prometheus Hall of Fame Award was won by “Harrison Bergeron” by Kurt Vonnegut Jr.

The awards were presented at the 77th World Science Fiction Convention, held in Dublin, Ireland, August 15-19 2019, by two members of the Libertarian Futurist Society, Fred Moulton and John Christmas.
If you didn’t make it to the Worldcon, you can watch our (three) videos to witness the event.
Continue reading Videos: The 2019 Prometheus Award ceremony at the Worldcon in Dublin