{"id":9330,"date":"2025-06-15T00:03:40","date_gmt":"2025-06-15T05:03:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/?p=9330"},"modified":"2025-06-15T14:13:45","modified_gmt":"2025-06-15T19:13:45","slug":"danny-kings-cancelled-how-our-best-novel-finalists-are-receiving-broader-attention-part-two","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/danny-kings-cancelled-how-our-best-novel-finalists-are-receiving-broader-attention-part-two\/","title":{"rendered":"Danny King\u2019s Cancelled: How our Best Novel finalists are receiving broader attention (Part Two\u2028)"},"content":{"rendered":"

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

Buoyed by the Prometheus Award recognition for his novel Cancelled: The Shape of Things to Come<\/a>,<\/i> British author Danny King is receiving international attention.<\/p>\n

As the voting period enters its last three weeks to determine the winners of the next Prometheus awards, it\u2019s worth highlighting how King\u2019s novel and other of this year\u2019s Best Novel finalists<\/a> have been gaining recognition and sparking discussions in the broader culture. That includes Lionel Shriver\u2019s <\/span>Mania<\/i><\/a> (the focus of the previous Prometheus blog post in this series.)\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
British writer Danny King (Creative Commons license)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

King recently was interviewed in Australia on the Liberty Itch Podcast<\/a>.<\/p>\n

During the wide-ranging interview, King discussed the anti-authoritarian and libertarian themes of Cancelled,<\/i> what inspired him to make the central character of his \u201cutopian\/dystopian\u201d tale a \u201cwoke\u201d lesbian woman, and the unexpected difficulty he had getting his latest novel published.<\/p>\n

The podcast hails Cancelled<\/i> as \u201ct<\/b>he latest book of multi-award winning writer Danny King\u201d and “a satirical novel set in a future world in which saying or thinking the wrong thing gets you cancelled from mainstream society.\u201d
\n
\n<\/b>According to the description of that podcast (Episode 13), Liberty Itch writer Tom Volcanos ask Danny about \u201cCancelled<\/i>, being cancelled, and writing in our brave new world where being cancelled is all too real,\u201d according to the podcast description.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

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

Volcanos asked King to describe his latest book, \u201ca satirical novel about a woke utopia called New Brittania, that\u2019s identifying and cancelling people with problematic views.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s very funny, but Cancelled<\/i> also could be an instruction manual for a New Brittania in the future,\u201d King said. \u201cIf you took the left\u2019s push for wokeness as far as it could go, where would we end up?\u201d<\/p>\n

IN THE SPIRIT OF GEORGE ORWELL<\/b><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/b>King counts himself an admirer of George Orwell (the literary pseudonym for the British writer Eric Blair), whose Nineteen Eighty-Four <\/i><\/a>and Animal Farm<\/i><\/a> became bestselling classics and later were inducted into the Prometheus Hall of Fame for Best Classic Fiction.<\/p>\n

“I wouldn\u2019t put myself in the same breath as George Orwell, but in Nineteen Eighty-Four<\/em> he was looking 40 years ahead, and in Cancelled<\/i>, I look 60 years ahead,\u201d King said.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>\u201cI take each strand of UK trends and policies and try to be as logical with it as I could, whether it\u2019s policy surrounding gender, or sex, or immigration or meats (banned in the novel\u2019s dystopian future) and peanuts. \u2026It\u2019s insane the rules surrounding nuts,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn some ways, Cancelled<\/i> is a utopian book, and it\u2019s a woke utopia if you\u2019re invested in it. So it\u2019s really a utopian\/dystopian novel.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019ve get to get this stuff out in the open, and discuss it calmly, rationally and without prejudice. That\u2019s how to address issues,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Ironically in retrospect, King was convinced while writing the novel that it would be \u201csnapped up\u201d by one of his British publishers.<\/p>\n

His expectations, to put it mildly, were not met.<\/p>\n

\u201cCancelled <\/i>was, well, cancelled,\u201d King said in the podcast.
\n\u201cI\u2019d had over 20 books published, some won awards and one was adapted into a BBC TV series. Yet, no publisher was interested in publishing it.<\/p>\n

WHY KING WRITES MANY TYPES OF FICTION<\/b><\/p>\n

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

An award-winning British novelist and screenwriter, King has written more than 20 novels as well as for the big and small screen.<\/p>\n

According to his Amazon bio:<\/p>\n

\u201cHis first book, The Burglar Diaries,<\/i> won the 2002 Amazon Writers’ Bursary Award and was the basis of the BBC sitcom, T<\/em>hieves Like Us.<\/i> His debut feature, Wild Bill,<\/i> won the 2012 Writers’ Guild of Great Britain Award and a BAFTA nomination. His second film, Eat Locals<\/i>, was released in 2017 and is available on Prime and DVD\/Blu-ray.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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

His Monster Man<\/i> series of novels were first published in Germany and were nominated for the Vincent Price Horror Awards.<\/p>\n

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

His middle-grade novel, Amy X and The Great Race,<\/em> won the children’s story prize at Wells Festival of Literature. And more recently, Cancelled<\/i> was nominated for the Prometheus Award by the Libertarian Futurist Society.\u201d<\/p>\n

Noting that King has written all types of fiction – crime and detective novels, horror and children\u2019s books, among other genres – Volcanos asked him how he approaches writing so many different types of fiction.<\/p>\n

King responded that he doesn\u2019t want to pigeonhole himself.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m interested in a lot of things\u2026 I\u2019m less interested in kings and queens (than in) ordinary people, small lives, probably because I\u2019m a small man myself,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

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

Some years ago, King wrote a novel called The Ugly Sisters <\/i>(Icarus Publishing, 2013), in part reflecting his strong interest in writing strong female characters.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s basically a Cinderella story but from the ugly sisters point of view. Cinderella is a conniving bitch trying to take over the kingdom and con everyone, but the only two people who see that are her sisters, so they are the heroines,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI always like to flip (perspectives and assumptions)\u2026 Take a traditional villain and see what life is like from their point of view.\u201d<\/p>\n

CENTERING FEMALE CHARACTERS
\n<\/b>
\nThe success of The Ugly Sisters<\/i> led King to write Cancelled, <\/i>which looks at life and Britain\u2019s possible future from the perspective of two other central female characters in a lesbian relationship.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll the (UK) publishers had on their (suggested literary focus) list that they liked stories about women and LGBT characters. All had the same profile\u2026\u00a0 <\/span>So many were interested in representing underrepresented voices that it was hard to understand how they could remain under-represented,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo I decided to write a book about diversity, with all these woke issues and green philosophies in it. Cancelled <\/i>had a strong message, two strong female characters, and it had substance over style. Yet, I literally couldn\u2019t get anywhere with it,\u201d King said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI thought it would get snapped up, but it wasn\u2019t. It wasn\u2019t at all. Most agents and publishers never got back to me. Those that did rejected me instantly, as if I\u2019d sent them a box of spiders. I saw which way the wind was blowing, so I decided to publish it myself.\u201d<\/p>\n

RECEIVING PROMETHEUS RECOGNITION<\/b><\/p>\n

The Prometheus Awards, and King\u2019s recognition as a Prometheus nominee and then as a Best Novel finalist for Cancelled<\/i>, were mentioned several times during the podcast.<\/p>\n

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

\u201cIt popped up out of nowhere,\u201d King said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen the Prometheus Awards nominated my novel, and made it a finalist, and it got glowing reviews and stuff, that reassures me that it\u2019s not that bad,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

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

\u201cEspecially when I\u2019m put in the same crowd with Lionel Shriver\u201d (another Best Novel finalist this year for Mania,<\/i> also a satirical and dystopian cautionary tale set in a future United Kingdom).<\/p>\n

\u201cWith the other finalist names I\u2019m up against, that\u2019s a win straight away. It\u2019s a big honor to be named alongside them, whether I win or I don\u2019t,\u201d King said.<\/p>\n

“Some (Best Novel finalists Wil McCarthy and C.J. Cherryh and Jane Fancher) have won the Prometheus award before, so I feel like a Johnny come lately. Being a finalist may be my high water mark, but I\u2019m very happy to be included.\u201d<\/p>\n

WHY THE LIBERTY ITCH PODCAST INVITED KING
\n<\/b>
\nIt makes sense that King would be invited for a discussion on The Liberty Itch Podcast, which defines its focus as an exploration of \u201cfearless, battle-tested, libertarian ideas.\u201d<\/p>\n

The podcast, founded by Kenelm Tonkin and available on Spotify, features discussions on various topics from a libertarian viewpoint.<\/p>\n

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

According to the podcast description, ongoing topics to explore include the dangers of government overreach and corruption, the importance of individual liberty and free markets, and the challenges and possibilities of implementing libertarian principles in the current political landscape.<\/p>\n

The podcast also features interviews with individuals who have a libertarian perspective, such as politicians, writers, and thinkers.<\/p>\n

For the full recording of the podcast interview and to explore other podcasts, visit the Liberty Itch<\/a> on Spotify.<\/p>\n

For further reading:<\/b> heck out the previous Prometheus blog post,<\/a> part one of this series, about Lionel Shriver\u2019s interview with Ayaan Hirsi Ali about Mania <\/i>and from a Substack column finding all-too-timely parallels between Mania<\/em> and disturbing trends in today’s world.<\/p>\n

Coming up:<\/strong> Highlights of interviews and podcasts with Wil McCarthy, a Best Novel finalist this year for Beggar’s Sky,<\/em> and the other authors of this year’s other Best Novel finalists.<\/p>\n

Editor\u2019s note: <\/b>The Prometheus Blog strives to report widely on all Prometheus-recognized fiction and authors, especially if and when their work is referenced in the popular culture in newspapers, magazines, columns and debates.
\nIf you know about such references, please bring them to our attention right away, so we can highlight them in a timely fashion.<\/p>\n

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

ABOUT THE PROMETHEUS AWARDS AND THE LFS<\/b><\/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 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\u2019s rights, human dignity, individuality and peaceful choices.<\/p>\n

* Prometheus winners:\u00a0<\/b>For a full list of Prometheus winners, finalists and nominees \u2013 including in 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. 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\u2019 distinctive dual focus on both quality and liberty.<\/p>\n

*\u00a0Watch 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\u2019s\u00a0Video page.<\/a><\/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

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

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Michael Grossberg Buoyed by the Prometheus Award recognition for his novel Cancelled: The Shape of Things to Come, British author Danny King is receiving international attention. As the voting period enters its last three weeks to determine the winners of the next Prometheus awards, it\u2019s worth highlighting how King\u2019s novel and other of this … Continue reading Danny King\u2019s Cancelled: How our Best Novel finalists are receiving broader attention (Part Two\u2028)<\/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":[1585,1862,36,39],"tags":[1517,2581,2549,59,629],"class_list":["post-9330","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-fiction-in-the-news","category-george-orwell","category-interviews","category-podcasts","tag-best-novel-finalist","tag-cancelled","tag-danny-king","tag-george-orwell","tag-nineteen-eighty-four"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pe8nGl-2qu","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9330","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=9330"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9330\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9362,"href":"https:\/\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9330\/revisions\/9362"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9330"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9330"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9330"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}