“Back in Homer’s day, people lived within an oral culture, then humans slowly developed a literate culture. Now we seem to be moving to a screen culture. Civilization was fun while it lasted.” – David Brooks
Liberty and literacy.
Both are admirable goals and crucial civilized values – and something to respect and remember as we celebrate Independence Day on July 4.
Both are difficult to achieve consistently and sustain over generations. And both, in my view, are deeply connected. In the long run, one may not be possible without the other.
Whether one studies history or philosophy, it becomes clear that the spread of literacy and the spread of liberty are deeply interwoven – and perhaps inextricably intertwined.
In the 21st century, when millions of people average three hours or more on their smartphones daily, most people claim they don’t have time to read. That’s a shame – and perhaps also a long-range problem for our civilization.
Certainly, reading is necessary to educate oneself in liberty and the liberal arts – and crucial to the Prometheus Awards.
While reading can be deeply rewarding, it’s also time-consuming, which is why the Libertarian Futurist Society wishes to express its gratitude to all of this past year’s LFS members and Prometheus Awards judges.
In particular, as chair of the Prometheus Best Novel Finalist-Selection Judging Committee, I’d like to personally thank those judges for their willingness to read and discuss the nominees, as well as quite a few other candidates that seemed to fit the distinctive dual focus of our awards on liberty and literary quality.
Here are the Best Novel judges who are serving in this cycle: Carolyn Blakelock, John Christmas, Steve Gaalema, Chris Hibbert, Tom Jackson, Lowell Jacobson, Charlie Morrison, Eric S. Raymond, William H. Stoddard, Rick Triplett and Adam Tuchman.
We especially appreciate their service, since many judges are devoting time to the Prometheus awards while pursuing careers, raising families and, in some cases, writing books themselves.
Among the Prometheus judges who are published writers:
* John Christmas (author of the novels Democracy Society and KGB Banker)
* Eric S. Raymond (author of several non-fiction books, including The Cathedral & The Bazaar: Musing on Linux and Open Source by an Accidental Revolutionary and The New Hacker’s Dictionary)
* Editor-writer William H. Stoddard (GURPS Social Engineering, GURPS Steam-Tech, GURPS Fantasy, GURPS Supers and other gaming guides and reference works).
Plus, several Best Novel judges are journalists, including Tom Jackson, who also posts daily as a writer-editor on the RAWIllumination.net blog, celebrating the fiction and nonfiction, life and philosophy of Robert Anton Wilson, co-author with Robert Shea of Illuminatus!, the Prometheus Hall of Fame-winning satirical trilogy.
In addition, LFS President William H. Stoddard chairs the Prometheus Hall of Fame judging committee, which annually selects a slate of Best Classic Fiction finalists for the other annual Prometheus category.
Thanks to all Prometheus Awards judges, past and present, for their yeoman work considering a wide variety of fantastical fiction over the 46 years since the first Prometheus award was presented.
ABOUT THE LFS AND PROMETHEUS AWARDS
* Join us! To help sustain the Prometheus Awards and support a cultural and literary strategy to appreciate and honor freedom-loving fiction, join the Libertarian Futurist Society, a non-profit all-volunteer association of freedom-loving sf/fantasy fans.
Libertarian futurists understand that culture matters. We believe that literature and the arts can be vital in envisioning a freer and better future.
In some ways, culture can be even more influential and powerful than politics in the long run, by imagining better visions of the future incorporating peace, prosperity, progress, tolerance, justice, positive social change, and mutual respect for each other’s rights, human dignity, individuality and peaceful choices.
* Prometheus winners: For a full list of Prometheus winners, finalists and nominees – including in the annual Best Novel and Best Classic Fiction (Hall of Fame) categories and occasional Special Awards – visit the enhanced Prometheus Awards page on the LFS website. This page includes convenient links to all published essay-reviews in our Appreciation series explaining why each of more than 100 past winners since 1979 fits the awards’ distinctive dual focus on both quality and liberty.
* Watch videos of past Prometheus Awards ceremonies, Libertarian Futurist Society panel discussions with noted sf authors and leading libertarian writers, and other LFS programs on the Prometheus Blog’s Video page.
* Read “The Libertarian History of Science Fiction,” an essay in the international magazine Quillette that favorably highlights the Prometheus Awards, the Libertarian Futurist Society and the significant element of libertarian sf/fantasy in the evolution of the modern genre.
* Check out the Libertarian Futurist Society’s Facebook page for comments, updates and links to the latest Prometheus Blog posts.
Yes, thank you to the judges. Also thank you to Michael for his indefatigable work on this blog and for the LFS. As a first-time voter (about time after half a century of SF reading), I appreciate the reviews and notices of books that I have been eagerly reading. I have read all this years finalists and many of those from previous years. Thanks, again.