{"id":8509,"date":"2025-02-07T00:03:31","date_gmt":"2025-02-07T06:03:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/?p=8509"},"modified":"2025-02-22T14:56:12","modified_gmt":"2025-02-22T20:56:12","slug":"introducing-the-prometheus-awards-collection-for-libraries","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/introducing-the-prometheus-awards-collection-for-libraries\/","title":{"rendered":"Introducing the Prometheus Awards Collection for Libraries"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Michael Grossberg<\/a><\/b><\/p>\n

One of the most exciting and promising Libertarian Futurist Society outreach projects in years is our new Prometheus Awards Collection for Libraries.<\/p>\n

The ambitious project offers a carefully curated selection of Prometheus-winning novels to be donated and mailed to interested libraries across the country upon their request.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The set of brand-new books was chosen to expand the range and variety of notable and acclaimed science fiction on library shelves across the country – especially to aid smaller libraries, which may have more limited resources.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

JOHN CARMACK\u2019S GREAT IDEA
\n<\/b>
\n\u201cAs a lifelong supporter of libraries, I\u2019ve seen many grand and inspiring institutions, but also many small and struggling ones, scraping by on a shoestring budget with an aging collection. In these smaller ones, my scan for Science Fiction, both classic and modern, often comes up nearly empty. I want to help!,\u201d said John Carmack, the well-known video game developer and computer programmer.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
John Carmack (Creative Commons license)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Carmack initially proposed the project to the LFS and is generously funding the purchase and distribution of the books.<\/p>\n

Carmack\u2019s full pitch, along with the list of 20 Prometheus-winning novels selected to meet the needs and requirements of libraries, can be found at the new Prometheus Library Collection page<\/a> on the LFS website.<\/p>\n

Each book in the set will include a newly designed small sticker, identifying The Prometheus Awards Collection while also including our LFS.org<\/a> website address, with hopes that it will spark the curiosity and interest of at least some library readers.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Following Carmack\u2019s recent announcement of the donated-books offer on X and elsewhere, two U.S. libraries responded promptly with a request for the set of books to be donated and mailed to their address.<\/p>\n

HOW THE PROJECT EVOLVED
\n<\/b>
\nThrough several months of discussion and research among LFS Board of Directors members and Carmack, the LFS evolved the project and focused its scope. In the process, they confirmed that most libraries have very specific requirements for donated books as well as strong preferences regarding any books added to their shelves.<\/p>\n

For instance, we learned that libraries only want donations of new books, not used, and preferably hardbound. Most libraries also strongly prefer more-recent and more-popular titles, given their limited shelf space and \u00a0library users\u2019 reading patterns, which tend to focus on newer books.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Yet, the LFS and Carmack didn\u2019t want to duplicate the books already on the shelves of most libraries, either, preferring to send some titles that may be lesser-known – such as Johanna Sinisalo’s dystopian-feminist and anti-authoritarian The Core of the Sun<\/a> – <\/em>but that represent the strong variety and quality of Prometheus winners.<\/p>\n

Thus, we opted not to include several widely known Prometheus winners that continue to be significant bestsellers and widely available, such as George Orwell\u2019s 1984 <\/i>or J.R.R. Tolkien\u2019s The Lord of the Rings.<\/i><\/p>\n

WHO IS CARMACK?
\n<\/b>
\nCarmack may be best known for co-founding the video game company id Software, for his later work at Oculus VR, and for his innovative 3D computer graphics as lead programmer of its 1990s games Commander Keen, Doom, Quake, Wolfenstein 3D<\/i> and their sequels.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>According to Wikipedia, Carmack has pioneered or popularized the use of many techniques in computer graphics. Among them: “adaptive tile refresh” for Commander Keen<\/i>, ray casting for Hovertank 3D,<\/i> Catacomb 3-D,<\/i> and Wolfenstein 3D,<\/i> binary space partitioning which Doom<\/i> became the <\/i>first game to use, and surface caching which he invented for Quake.<\/i><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Carmack’s engines have also been licensed for use in other influential first-person shooters such as Half-Life, Call of Duty<\/i> and Medal of Honor: Allied Assault.<\/i><\/p>\n

He received the Lifetime Achievement Award during the 10th annual Game Developers Choice Awards ceremony in 2010.<\/p>\n

A science fiction fan, Carmack first became aware of the Prometheus Award several years ago when he read Travis Corcoran\u2019s two Best Novel winners: The Powers of the Earth<\/i><\/a> and Causes of Separation<\/i>. (Both titles are included on the selective Prometheus Library Collection list.)<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>His interest in the Prometheus Awards and the LFS was further piqued, he said, after enjoying Theft of Fire,<\/i><\/a> the 2024 Best Novel finalist by Devon Eriksen.<\/p>\n

Carmack requests that only libraries, or librarians, directly contact him for more information or to request the set of donated books.<\/p>\n

All others, including LFS members and other freedom-loving SF\/fantasy fans who may have personal connections with your local library to share or recommendations for specific libraries to contact, should email LFS Secretary Michael Grossberg at bestnovelchair@lfs.org<\/a> or mgrossberg1@gmail.com<\/a><\/p>\n


\n\"\"<\/a>
\nIF YOU WANT TO KNOW MORE ABOUT THE PROMETHEUS AWARDS:<\/b><\/p>\n

* Prometheus winners:\u00a0<\/b>For the full list of Prometheus winners, finalists and nominees \u2013 including the annual Best Novel and Best Classic Fiction (Hall of Fame) categories and occasional Special Awards \u2013 visit the enhanced\u00a0Prometheus Awards page<\/a>\u00a0on the LFS website, which now 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\u2019 distinctive dual focus on both quality and liberty.<\/p>\n

* Read \u201cThe Libertarian History of Science Fiction,\u201d<\/a> an essay in the international magazine\u00a0Quillette<\/i>\u00a0that favorably highlights the Prometheus Awards, the Libertarian Futurist Society and the significant element of libertarian sf\/fantasy in the evolution of the modern genre.<\/p>\n

*\u00a0Watch videos of past Prometheus Awards ceremonies (including the recent 2023 ceremony<\/a> with inspiring and amusing speeches by Prometheus-winning authors Dave Freer<\/a> and Sarah Hoyt)<\/a>, Libertarian Futurist Society panel discussions with noted sf authors and leading libertarian writers, and other LFS programs on the Prometheus Blog\u2019s\u00a0Video page.<\/a><\/p>\n

* Check out the Libertarian Futurist Society\u2019s Facebook page<\/a> for comments, updates and links to Prometheus Blog posts.<\/p>\n

*\u00a0Join us!<\/b> To help sustain the Prometheus Awards and support a cultural and literary strategy to appreciate and honor freedom-loving fiction, \u00a0join<\/a> the Libertarian Futurist Society, a non-profit all-volunteer association of freedom-loving sf\/fantasy fans.<\/p>\n

Libertarian futurists believe that culture matters. We understand that the arts and literature can be vital in envisioning a freer and better future – and in some ways can be even more 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\u2019s rights, human dignity, individuality and peaceful choices.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Michael Grossberg One of the most exciting and promising Libertarian Futurist Society outreach projects in years is our new Prometheus Awards Collection for Libraries. The ambitious project offers a carefully curated selection of Prometheus-winning novels to be donated and mailed to interested libraries across the country upon their request. The set of brand-new books … Continue reading Introducing the Prometheus Awards Collection for Libraries<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1854,1910,2203,1124,1125,10,1861,1860,2561,2021],"tags":[594,2532,936,2531,521,135],"class_list":["post-8509","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-ayn-rand","category-f-paul-wilson","category-l-neil-smith","category-lfs-programs","category-updates","category-news","category-poul-anderson","category-robert-heinlein","category-ursula-k-le-guin","category-vernor-vinge","tag-best-novel","tag-john-carmack","tag-libraries","tag-prometheus-awards-collection","tag-the-core-of-the-sun","tag-the-powers-of-the-earth"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pe8nGl-2df","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8509","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8509"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8509\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8555,"href":"https:\/\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8509\/revisions\/8555"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8509"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8509"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8509"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}