Sarah Hoyt – Prometheus Blog

The biggest novels in Prometheus history: An annotated list of the top dozen in page length (and why such epic works reward readers) 

Size matters – or at least it can make a big difference, in helping a novel to achieve greater dramatic impact in its scope, depth, narrative complexity and emotional power.

Quite a few longer novels have been recognized by the Prometheus Awards over the past 47 years, whether as nominees, finalists or winners – from J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings, Neal Stephenson’s Cryptonomicon and Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged to the recent nomination of Sarah Hoyt’s three-volume No Mans Land for the next Prometheus Award for Best Novel.

The three classic and epic works by Tolkien, Stephenson and Rand rank No. 1, 2 and 3 in page length in the history of the Prometheus Awards – as detailed in previous Prometheus Blog articles about the three bestselling winners and No Man’s Land.

So what are all the Prometheus-recognized novels and their ranks in page lengths on our top-12 list?

Continue reading The biggest novels in Prometheus history: An annotated list of the top dozen in page length (and why such epic works reward readers) 

The epic power and enduring appeal of the biggest Prometheus-honored novels: The Lord of the Rings, Cryptonomicon and Atlas Shrugged 

By Michael Grossberg

Of the many novels that have won a Prometheus Award over the past 47 years and are still widely read today, a notable few have done so with the help of their longer length and epic scale.

From J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings to Neal Stephenson’s Cryptonomicon and Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged, size does matter in literature.

Or at least size can significantly enhance a novel, if the writers are experts and at the top of their game. If well-structured, well-paced and compelling enough to sustain the reader’s interest, longer novels can attract and retain the reader’s interest even through hundreds of pages.

Continue reading The epic power and enduring appeal of the biggest Prometheus-honored novels: The Lord of the Rings, Cryptonomicon and Atlas Shrugged 

Does size matter? Sarah Hoyt’s unusual three-book novel No Man’s Land achieves epic scope yet is not unprecedented in literary history 

By Michael Grossberg

Does size matter?

The question arises in fiction when authors conceive novels that are noticeably bigger in word count and longer in page length than usual.

In theory, a bigger novel makes possible a larger canvas, allowing for an epic scope, a more complex narrative, richer world-building, more full-bodied characters, greater subtleties and depths.

Whether or not ambitious authors fulfill that potential and achieve their literary goals when writing bigger novels varies, of course. So does whether readers will find it rewarding to invest the extra time needed to read such magnum opuses.

Such questions are interesting and timely to ponder now that Sarah Hoyt’s No Man’s Land has been nominated for the Prometheus Award for Best Novel.

Continue reading Does size matter? Sarah Hoyt’s unusual three-book novel No Man’s Land achieves epic scope yet is not unprecedented in literary history 

New generation of writers dominates this year’s 14 Prometheus nominations for Best Novel 

By Michael Grossberg

Libertarian Futurist Society members have nominated 14 novels for the next Prometheus Award for Best Novel. Of those, nine nominees were written by authors nominated for the first time for a Prometheus Award.

With so many authors new to our awards, the Prometheus Awards may be entering a more hopeful period in which a new generation is writing science fiction, fantasy and other fantastical works informed by a clear awareness of the dangers of tyranny and the benefits of freedom.

The “new” Prometheus-recognized writers include Max Harms, Andrew Knighton, John C. A. Manley, Ewan Morrison, Laura Montgomery, Ray Nayler, J. Kenton Pierce and David A. Price.

Nominated again are three Prometheus-winning authors – Dave Freer (Cloud-Castles), Sarah Hoyt (Darkship Thieves) and Harry Turtledove (The Gladiator) – and one writer, Karl K. Gallagher, whose works often have become Best Novel finalists. In addition, writer R.H. Snow has been nominated several times for Best Novel.

Continue reading New generation of writers dominates this year’s 14 Prometheus nominations for Best Novel 

Time travel and second chances: Sarah Hoyt’s new anthology includes a prequel story to her Prometheus-nominated No Man’s Land

By Michael Grossberg

Prometheus Award winner Sarah Hoyt has published an anthology about time travel and second chances.

Perhaps of greatest interest to LFS members, the six-story collection includes a prequel to Hoyt’s No Man’s Land, a current Best Novel nominee.

Six stories are included in Christmas In Time: Six Stories of Time Travel and Second Chances.

The No Man’s Land prequel is “What Child Is This,” which focuses on how a child’s accidental time-slip can save a man’s life and create the bonds of family love.

Continue reading Time travel and second chances: Sarah Hoyt’s new anthology includes a prequel story to her Prometheus-nominated No Man’s Land

Last call for Prometheus Best Novel nominations: With the mid-February nominating deadline approaching, 13 2025 novels have been nominated so far 

By Michael Grossberg

With the annual nominations deadline for the next Prometheus Award for Best Novel now less than a month away, Libertarian Futurist Society members are encouraged to bring to our attention any eligible candidates they’ve come across.

This is a reminder and last call for nominations for the oldest category of the awards, now 47 years old.

So far, 13 2025 novels have been nominated by LFS members, somewhat less than average for Best Novel, with Feb. 15 the deadline for LFS members to nominate eligible and worthy works.

The current and interim list includes works by three authors who have previously won Prometheus Awards: Dave Freer (Cloud-Castles), Sarah Hoyt (Darkship Thieves) and Harry Turtledove (The Gladiator.)

This year’s interim slate of nominees also includes the latest novel in Karl K. Gallagher’s Fall of the Censor series, which includes quite a few novels recognized as Best Novel finalists.

But it’s also nice to see nominated works by authors who’ve never previously been recognized in our awards. So far this year, more than half of the novels were written by first-time nominees: Max Harms, Andrew Knighton, John C. A. Manley, Ewan Morrison, Laura Montgomery, Ray Nayler and J. Kenton Pierce.

So what are the novels by these authors that have been nominated so far?

Continue reading Last call for Prometheus Best Novel nominations: With the mid-February nominating deadline approaching, 13 2025 novels have been nominated so far 

No Man’s Land: The epic novel that Prometheus winner Sarah Hoyt was born to write 

By Michael Grossberg

Sarah Hoyt views No Man’s Land, nominated for the next Prometheus Award for Best Novel, as the epic story that she was born to write.

So what took her so long? The three-part novel required much of Hoyt’s life to gestate, mature and blossom – and therein lies another epic story.

“It’s been with me since I was 14,” Hoyt told me in an email interview.

Set in an interstellar future where humanity colonized many planets but also lost touch with some for centuries or millennia, the three-part 2025 novel blends tropes of science fiction and fantasy in intriguing ways.

Continue reading No Man’s Land: The epic novel that Prometheus winner Sarah Hoyt was born to write 

Best of the blog: A record year for posts, but also a sad one, in memoriam

By Michael Grossberg

Once again, the Prometheus Blog has posted a record annual number of articles, reviews, essays, trend pieces, interviews, author updates, progress reports and awards news. For the eighth consecutive year since the blog replaced our former printed quarterly newsletter in 2017, the Libertarian Futurist Society has increased the number of articles on our blog – a long-term goal.

By the last day of 2025, we anticipate having posted 120 articles, many quite substantive. That’s roughly double the number we posted in 2021 – raising the visibility of the Prometheus Awards, educating the public about libertarian sf/fantasy and enriching discussions and debate among LFS members about the relative merits of Prometheus Award nominees and finalists, and enhancing our awards process as we choose the winners each year. But which articles ranked among the most notable of the year?

Sadly, some of the most timely and poignant stories we wrote in 2025 were obits – marking the passing of several notable writers who demonstrated a passionate love of liberty – including Tom Stoppard, Barry Longyear, Howard Andrew Jones and Leslie Fish.

Continue reading Best of the blog: A record year for posts, but also a sad one, in memoriam

Light Up the Night: Prometheus-winning novelist Sarah Hoyt recommends a pro-freedom novel by up-and-coming writer Holly Chism 

By Michael Grossberg

It’s understandable and legitimate when a novelist promotes their own work. After all, most do – and in our highly competitive and decentralized era of print and digital publishing and self-publishing, any author would be foolish not to invest significant time and energy beyond their daily writing to raise their visibility.

So it’s all the more impressive when a Prometheus-winning novelist, responding to a routine query to find out if any of their novels in the works might fit our award’s distinctive focus, brings up on her own the work of an up-and-coming novelist previously unknown to us.

That’s what Sarah Hoyt did recently in bringing Holly Chism and her latest novel to our attention.

Writer Holly Chism (Creative Commons license)

“Holly Chism is one of the great, unappreciated authors of our generation. Her work reminds me a lot of Clifford Simak’s,” Hoyt said.

Hoyt, a four-time Prometheus Best Novel finalist and the 2011 Best Novel winner for Darkship Thieves, has recommended in particular Chism’s novel Light Up the Night.

Continue reading Light Up the Night: Prometheus-winning novelist Sarah Hoyt recommends a pro-freedom novel by up-and-coming writer Holly Chism 

Sequels, part 7: Sarah Hoyt, Victor Milan and the Kollins brothers all wrote Best Novel winners (not sequels themselves) that inspired solid sequels

By Michael Grossberg

Quite a few good novels have inspired sequels that won a Prometheus Award – 11, by my latest count and all discussed in previous parts of this ongoing series.

Sarah Hoyt, the 2011 Prometheus winner (File photo)

When SF/fantasy authors conceive original stories that imagine fresh worlds and compelling characters for the first time, it’s not surprising that they occasionally choose to return to those worlds and characters for a sequel – especially if the first novel receives wide readership and acclaim.

One such source of recognition is a Prometheus Award – and quite a few Best Novel winners, while not sequels themselves, have inspired sequels that have gone on to further Prometheus recognition at different levels.

Previous posts in this series on sequels have explored two outstanding Prometheus-winning examples of this pattern: Travis Corcoran’s The Powers of the Earth and its sequel Causes of Separation; and Cory Doctorow’s Little Brother and its sequel Homeland. All four novels ended up winning the top Prometheus Award for Best Novel – a rare feat in our award’s 46-year history.

Yet, several other Prometheus-winning authors have accomplished something approaching that feat – including Sarah Hoyt, Victor Milan and the brothers and co-authors Dani and Eytan Kollins.

Continue reading Sequels, part 7: Sarah Hoyt, Victor Milan and the Kollins brothers all wrote Best Novel winners (not sequels themselves) that inspired solid sequels