{"id":9406,"date":"2025-07-25T00:03:28","date_gmt":"2025-07-25T05:03:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/?p=9406"},"modified":"2025-07-05T01:13:37","modified_gmt":"2025-07-05T06:13:37","slug":"ark-press-new-genre-sf-publisher-aims-to-offer-authentic-storytelling-and-upcoming-novels-by-two-prometheus-recognized-authors","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/ark-press-new-genre-sf-publisher-aims-to-offer-authentic-storytelling-and-upcoming-novels-by-two-prometheus-recognized-authors\/","title":{"rendered":"Ark Press: New genre\/SF publisher aims to offer \u201cauthentic storytelling\u201d – and upcoming novels by two Prometheus-recognized authors\u2028"},"content":{"rendered":"

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

Ark Press, <\/b>a new publisher, aims to offer science fiction and other genre fiction that appeals to fans of \u201cauthentic storytelling.\u201d
\n\"\"<\/a>\u201cWe\u2019re done with boring, heavy-handed fiction that lectures instead of entertains,\u201d said Tony Daniel, editor-in-chief of Ark Press.<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cOur goal is to bring back fiction worth reading\u2014stories that ignite the imagination, celebrate the human spirit, and reflect the values and experiences of everyday Americans.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhether it\u2019s gripping adventure tales, hard-hitting thrillers, thought-provoking sci-fi, crime, and mystery, or heartfelt stories of triumph and resilience, Ark Press aims to deliver works that inspire, entertain, and connect with readers across the country, not just the coasts,\u201d Daniel said.<\/p>\n

Among the first works to be published by Ark Press, in 2026, are contracted but as-yet-unannounced novels by Prometheus winner Travis Corcoran and Prometheus nominee Larry Correia.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

TARGETTING AN UNDERSERVED AUDIENCE<\/strong><\/p>\n

Ark Press plans to publish genre novels with broad and classic appeal, especially to what the publisher views as a currently underserved market of readers: men and teenage boys.<\/p>\n

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

 <\/p>\n

Ark Press, led by editor D.J. Butler (a former editor at Baen Books), reportedly has made deals with several award-winning SF authors to write novels that will be among the first the press will publish, according to Graham Bradley on the Upstream Reviews Substack column.<\/p>\n

The publisher plans to release novels on an annual and seasonal model, starting in 2026. The first season will feature two books, with Ark Press gearing up to publish far more in 2027.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Travis Corcoran wins his first Prometheus Award (photo Courtesy of author)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

TRAVIS CORCORAN AND LARRY CORREIA TO WRITE NOVELS<\/strong><\/p>\n

According to an Upstream Reviews post<\/a>, the first two writers contracted to write for Ark Press are Corcoran and Correia.<\/p>\n

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

Both are of interest to Libertarian Futurist Society members as writers who have been recognized to different extents within the Prometheus Awards.<\/p>\n

Most prominently, Corcoran\u2019s The Powers of the Earth<\/i><\/a> won the Prometheus Award for Best Novel in 2018 – the first self-published novel to ever do so.<\/p>\n

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

Corcoran\u2019s Causes of Separation, <\/i><\/a>a direct sequel to The Powers of the Earth<\/em> within his Aristillius series focusing on a libertarian colony on the moon, won the Prometheus Award for Best Novel in 2019 – the first time an author won the Best Novel category in two consecutive years, and the first time both a book and its sequel won.<\/p>\n

While Correia has not won a Prometheus award yet, one of his novels has been nominated for our award – and two more of his novels have been suggested as candidates to consider this year.<\/p>\n

Correia was nominated for Best Novel in 2020 for Monster Hunter Guardian<\/i>, co-written with Prometheus winner Sarah Hoyt (Darkship Thieves<\/a>.)<\/i><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Author Larry Correia (Creative Commons license)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Correia, who has written or co-authored more than 30 novels, was nominated for the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer in 2011 and is a four-time winner of the Dragon Award for Best Fantasy Novel or Best Military Science Fiction. He is best known for his bestselling Monster Hunter, Grimnoir Chronicles and Saga of the Forgotten Warrior series.<\/p>\n

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

Coincidentally, among the more than two dozen potential candidates for Best Novel nomination that have come to our attention so far this year – and are being read by Prometheus judges and other LFS members to confirm whether they in fact fit the distinctive dual focus of our award on both literary quality and liberty – are the last two novels in Correia\u2019s popular Saga of the Forgotten Warrior series.<\/p>\n

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

Graveyard of Demons <\/i>and Heart of the Mountain, <\/i>respectively Book 5 and the concluding Book 6 of Correia\u2019s series, attracted the interest to Libertarian Futurist Society members because they focus on an oppressed caste struggling for freedom and against slavery in a world dominated by an authoritarian Law based on enforced castes, violence and war.<\/p>\n

THE FOCUS OF ARK PRESS – AND A CONTEST<\/b>
\n<\/b>
\n\u201cBreaking away from New York publishing,\u201d Ark Press styles itself as an alternative.<\/p>\n

The new publisher plans to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the United States by \u201cbringing back the Great American Novel, giving the Land of the Free the literature she deserves\u2014and exporting our freedom-loving, frontier-taming brand of storytelling to the rest of the globe,\u201d according to its website.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Putting its money where its mouth is, Ark Press is launching with a contest, open to published and emerging authors.<\/p>\n

The Ark Press website<\/a> offers guidelines for the submission of novels exploring the theme of \u201cAmerica 2076.\u201d<\/p>\n

The winning author will receive a $10,000 advance, with publication of his or her winning novel planned for July 4th, 2026.<\/p>\n

According to the contest description: \u201cWe want stories as big as the Great Plains, the Rocky Mountains, Teddy Roosevelt\u2019s grin. Stories the size of Texas and Alaska\u2014put together!\u00a0Stories so expansive\u00a0they reach from sea\u00a0to shining sea and so deep they fill the\u00a0Grand Canyon\u2026. But don\u2019t send us your tired, poor, huddled masses of warmed-over trunk stories.\u201d<\/p>\n

For further reading:<\/strong> See our recent Prometheus Blog post exploring the issue of publishers failing to consider works that appeal to men and boys.<\/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","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Michael Grossberg Ark Press, a new publisher, aims to offer science fiction and other genre fiction that appeals to fans of \u201cauthentic storytelling.\u201d \u201cWe\u2019re done with boring, heavy-handed fiction that lectures instead of entertains,\u201d said Tony Daniel, editor-in-chief of Ark Press. \u201cOur goal is to bring back fiction worth reading\u2014stories that ignite the imagination, … Continue reading Ark Press: New genre\/SF publisher aims to offer \u201cauthentic storytelling\u201d – and upcoming novels by two Prometheus-recognized authors\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":[10,2664],"tags":[2662,2663,2268,42],"class_list":["post-9406","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","category-travis-corcoran","tag-ark-press","tag-larry-correia","tag-publishing","tag-travis-corcoran"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pe8nGl-2rI","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9406","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=9406"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9406\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9483,"href":"https:\/\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9406\/revisions\/9483"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9406"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9406"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9406"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}