By Michael Grossberg
Within the 46-year history of the Prometheus Awards, 194 of the 505 novels nominated within the Best Novel category have been sequels, as previously reported – and 11 have gone on to win. Yet, the Prometheus Awards are not the only science fiction awards that often recognize sequels.
Quite a few have been honored by the Hugo Awards, voted by members of the World Science Fiction Society and presented annually at Worldcons.
By my count, the Hugos have honored sequels nine times in the Best Novel category. Interestingly, quite a few of those authors also have been recognized in the Prometheus Awards – including Lois McMaster Bujold, Orson Scott Card, C.J. Cherryh and Vernor Vinge. In several cases, both awards have recognized writers for the same works.
This overview of such recognition reminds us of the frequent overlap between the Hugos and the Prometheus awards while shedding light on the popularity and appeal of sequels.