Many publishers and authors may not be aware of the newest category of Special Prometheus Awards, set up to recognize Young Adult (YA) fiction. Even some Libertarian Futurist Society members may be unaware of the award, only added as a possibility a few years ago.
Yet, that could be about to change, with the recent nomination of Dave Freer’s YA novel Storm-Dragon for a Special Award.
Inspired by a suggestion and donation by two-time Prometheus winner Travis Corcoran (the 2018 and 2019 Best Novel winner for The Powers of the Earth and its sequel Causes of Separation), the LFS board of directors approved a motion in 2021 to establish a Special Prometheus Award for Young Adult Fiction.
At the same time, the LFS created a Prometheus Award Young Adult Honor Roll to list all the previous Prometheus winners that were written specifically for teenagers or children or that were written for adults but that have a broad and clear appeal to younger readers.
Admittedly, there’s a good reason why most YA-oriented publishers and authors may not be aware of this relatively fresh opportunity for recognition. That’s simply because no Young Adult-oriented work of fantastical fiction has received this type of Special Prometheus Award – at least, so far.
DAVE FREER’S YA NOVEL STORM-DRAGON
Happily, that awareness should increase, with the greater visibility resulting from the nomination of Storm-Dragon.
Under our award rules, this 2025 novel also can be, and has been nominated for next year’s Prometheus Award for Best Novel.
Freer, who won the Prometheus Award for Best Novel in 2023 for Cloud-Castles, wrote Storm-Dragon specifically for young readers between the ages of 8 and 18.
Set centuries from now in a small human colony on a harsh “frontier” planet dominated by complex and dangerous sea life, the science-fiction adventure story revolves around Skut, a young boy and a new kid in town who struggles with grade-school bullies.
His life and social situation changes when Skut rescues a small, mysterious creature with telepathic powers – and both will play key roles as their town, led by corrupt leaders, comes under threats from within and without.
Published by Raconteur Press in April 2025, the 200-page novel is available as a paperback ($14.99) and a Kindle ebook ($4.99).
OTHER YA SF-FANTASY FICTION
Suggestions about other YA novels that might fit the distinctive dual focus of the Prometheus Awards on both literary quality and liberty are welcome.
Whether a submission by an outside publisher or author or a formal nomination by an LFS member, please bring potentially worthy and eligible YA fiction to our attention.
Under our awards rules, the LFS board of directors is responsible for considering all Special Awards. Whenever a work is nominated for a Special Award, the LFS board reads and considers it at its May meeting, to confirm its eligibility and judge its overall focus and quality. If the board approves a nomination, a recommendation is submitted to the full LFS membership for a Yes/No vote on the final Prometheus Awards ballot.
If you are aware of any new 2025 YA work that might fit the Prometheus Awards, please send the book’s title, author, publication date and page length, along with a brief description of the work, to LFS President William H. Stoddard at president@LFS.org
Who knows? If the Special Prometheus Award for Young Adult Fiction becomes more widely known and sparks more freedom-loving sf/fantasy aimed at younger readers, then the occasional award might be expanded by the LFS Board to become more frequently presented.
ABOUT THE PROMETHEUS AWARDS AND THE LFS
* 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.
