Vernor Vinge – Prometheus Blog

Prometheus Hall of Fame nominees, part 3: Capsule reviews of Vinge’s “Conquest by Default” and Schmitz’s The Demon Breed 

Of the 10 works of fiction nominated for the next Prometheus Hall of Fame for Best Classic Fiction, two coincidentally were published in 1968.

One is “Conquest by Default,” a novelette by Vernor Vinge – a frequent Prometheus Award nominee, finalist and winner.

And the other is The Demon Breed, a novel by James H. Schmitz – a first-time Prometheus nominee.

Here, in part 3 of the Prometheus Blog’s series about this year’s candidates for induction into our Hall of Fame, are capsule review-descriptions of each work.

Continue reading Prometheus Hall of Fame nominees, part 3: Capsule reviews of Vinge’s “Conquest by Default” and Schmitz’s The Demon Breed 

From the late great Kipling, Lewis and Clarke to living authors Turtledove and Stross, LFS members nominate 10 classic works for the 2025 Prometheus Hall of Fame 

By Michael Grossberg

Five are novels, two are novelettes, one a novella, one a story and one a song, reflecting the wide range of fiction eligible for consideration in the Prometheus Hall of Fame.

Author Arthur C. Clarke (Creative Commons license)

The authors of these classic works range from the late great Rudyard Kipling, C.S. Lewis and Arthur C. Clarke to still-living authors, such as Harry Turtledove and Charles Stross.

Ten works of speculative fiction, first published or performed more than 20 years ago, have been nominated by LFS members for the next Prometheus Hall of Fame for Best Classic Fiction.

Continue reading From the late great Kipling, Lewis and Clarke to living authors Turtledove and Stross, LFS members nominate 10 classic works for the 2025 Prometheus Hall of Fame 

Economics in science fiction: Aladdin’s Lamps, technocracy and “post-scarcity”

By William H. Stoddard

Science fiction in recent decades has included an extensive exploration of an economic idea, or at least an economic term: The concept of scarcity. In a peculiarly science-fictional dialectical move, this exploration takes place by assuming the absence of scarcity and asking what follows from it.

The late Iain M. Banks is well known for making “post-scarcity” a premise of his Culture series, for example. In effect, this idea makes advanced technology a kind of djinn that can grant human wishes.

Similar ideas actually have a long history in science fiction.

Continue reading Economics in science fiction: Aladdin’s Lamps, technocracy and “post-scarcity”

The late great Vernor Vinge: A major SF writer worth remembering (and reading) on his birthday 

By Michael Grossberg

Today, Oct. 2, is Vernor Vinge’s birthday.

Acclaimed SF writer Vernor Vinge (Creative Commons license)

If he had lived, Vinge would have been 80 years old.

Born Oct. 2, 1944, Vinge died in March, 2024 after struggling for several years with progressive Parkinsons disease.

Yet, Vinge is worth remembering (and likely to be well-remembered) for his consistently brilliant and often prescient science fiction – several works of which have been recognized with Prometheus Awards over the decades.

Continue reading The late great Vernor Vinge: A major SF writer worth remembering (and reading) on his birthday 

2024 Prometheus Awards: Best Novel presenter Victor Koman’s speech on mortality, the awards’ longevity, the diversification of publishing and the future of liberty 

Victor Koman, a veteran libertarian SF writer, had the honor of presenting the Best Novel category Sunday at the 44th Prometheus Awards ceremony.

Prometheus-winning novelist Victor Koman in 2019 Photo courtesy of Koman

Who better to fulfill that role than Koman, one of very few writers to win as many as three Prometheus awards for Best Novel?

Here, for the record, is the transcript of Koman’s speech.

Continue reading 2024 Prometheus Awards: Best Novel presenter Victor Koman’s speech on mortality, the awards’ longevity, the diversification of publishing and the future of liberty 

Three-time Prometheus winner Victor Koman to present Best Novel category at our public 2024 awards ceremony

Victor Koman, a veteran libertarian sf writer who’s won three Prometheus Awards for Best Novel, has agreed to speak and be a presenter at the 44^thPrometheus Awards ceremony.

Prometheus-winning novelist Victor Koman (Courtesy of author)

Koman will present the Best Novel category at the online Zoom ceremony, tentatively planned for a Saturday afternoon in mid- to late August.

Continue reading Three-time Prometheus winner Victor Koman to present Best Novel category at our public 2024 awards ceremony

RIP Vernor Vinge [UPDATED]

Vernor Vinge

Science fiction writer Vernor Vinge, a longtime star in the field, has died. He was 79, the science fiction news site File 770 reports.

Vince (1944-2024) won the Hugo Award multiple times: For the novels A Fire Upon the Deep, A Deepness in the Sky and Rainbows End, and for the novellas Fast Times at Fairmont High and The Cookie Monster.

He also won a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Libertarian Futurist Society, won the Prometheus Award for A Deepness in the Sky and Marooned in Realtime, and won the Prometheus Hall of Fame Award for “True Names” and “The Ungoverned.”

“True Names,” inducted in 2004 into the Hall of Fame, is often cited as the first work of science fiction to depict cyberspace.

Updates:

David Brin on Vernor Vinge.

Tribute from John Scalzi.

Continue reading RIP Vernor Vinge [UPDATED]

TOR Books founder Tom Doherty wins Heinlein Award

Publisher-editor Tom Doherty, who founded TOR Books, has won the 2024 Robert A. Heinlein Award.

Robert Heinlein (Photo courtesy of the Heinlein Trust)

The award, funded by the Heinlein Society and named after the Grand Master who has won more Prometheus Awards than anyone else, is bestowed for outstanding published works in science fiction and technical writings that inspire the human exploration of space.

According to a Heinlein Society press release, the Heinlein award was given to Doherty in recognition of his work “in bringing the inspiring books of hundreds of authors writing about our future in Space to public awareness.”

One of the leading publishers of sf/fantasy, TOR Publishing Group has won every major award in the sf field – including Hugo, Nebula and Prometheus awards.

Continue reading TOR Books founder Tom Doherty wins Heinlein Award

A treasure trove of wisdom, wit and gratitude: Memorable Prometheus Award winners’ speeches

By Chris Hibbert

One of the things I do in my spare time is bring old issues of Prometheus onto the web. Prometheus, the LFS’ former print quarterly, was published from 1982 to 2015, and there are lots of articles of lasting value in this collection. Well more than half the issues are now available on the web.

One thing I noticed a little while ago is that we have transcripts of many of the Prometheus Award acceptance speeches that have been given over the years, and they are worth reading again. We also have recordings of several of the ceremonies, but uploading those will be a separate project.

Here’s a quick guide to all the speeches that appeared in Prometheus:

Continue reading A treasure trove of wisdom, wit and gratitude: Memorable Prometheus Award winners’ speeches

2023 induction of “Free Men” into Hall of Fame confirms Robert Heinlein as a Prometheus Award all-time favorite

By Michael Grossberg

Quite a few writers have won more than one Prometheus award since the awards were launched in the 1970s, but nobody has won more than the late great Robert Heinlein.

Robert Heinlein, a drawing (Creative Commons license)

Libertarian Futurist Society members proved anew how much they remain ardent fans of Heinlein (1907-1988) by voting his 1966 novelette “Free Men” the 2023 Best Classic Fiction winner and thereby inducting it into the Prometheus Hall of Fame.

That marks the ninth novel, novelette or story by Heinlein to be recognized with a Prometheus Award – a record.

Continue reading 2023 induction of “Free Men” into Hall of Fame confirms Robert Heinlein as a Prometheus Award all-time favorite