{"id":9816,"date":"2025-09-13T00:04:18","date_gmt":"2025-09-13T05:04:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/?p=9816"},"modified":"2025-09-04T20:53:04","modified_gmt":"2025-09-05T01:53:04","slug":"celebrating-the-45th-prometheus-awards-michael-flynns-publisher-shahid-mahmuds-acceptance-speech-about-one-of-our-most-underrated-sf-authors","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/celebrating-the-45th-prometheus-awards-michael-flynns-publisher-shahid-mahmuds-acceptance-speech-about-one-of-our-most-underrated-sf-authors\/","title":{"rendered":"Celebrating the 45th Prometheus Awards: Michael Flynn\u2019s publisher Shahid Mahmud\u2019s acceptance speech about one of our most underrated sf authors\u2028"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cI think Michael was one of the most underrated authors in the genre\u2026 his work holds up to some of the best science fiction I\u2019ve ever read.
\n\u2014 Shahid Mahmud, publisher of CAEZIK SF & Fantasy
\n<\/b><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Novelist Michael Flynn at an sf convention several decades ago (File photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Introduction:<\/em> CAEZIK SF & Fantasy, a company led by Shahid Mahmud, published Michael Flynn\u2019s last and posthumous novel In the Belly of the Whale, <\/i>the 2025 Prometheus winner for Best Novel – and the first novel originally published by CAEZIK to win a Prometheus Award.<\/p>\n

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

In his comments during the 45th Prometheus Awards ceremony, Mahmud paid tribute to Flynn, who died in 2023 at 75 after an impressive career writing science fiction. Winner of the Robert A. Heinlein Award, Flynn was nominated seven times for the Hugo Award (including Best Novel for Eifelheim)<\/em> and eight times for the Prometheus Award, winning three times for Best Novel.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

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

Here is the slightly edited transcript from Mahmud\u2019s acceptance speech Aug. 30, 2025, which followed the very personal, inspiring and amusing family-oriented speech by Michael\u2019s brother Kevin Flynn during the 45th Prometheus Awards ceremony.<\/p>\n

By Shahid Mahmud<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Publisher Shahid Mahmud, of CAEZIK SF & Fantasy (File photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I have very different political views than Michael (Flynn) did, and we loved having some debates. But he never ever took offense at anything I said.<\/p>\n

Especially In this day and age, it is so refreshing to be able to argue with someone when you know you are actually having a discussion.<\/p>\n

A WILLINGNESS TO EXPLORE IDEAS<\/b><\/p>\n

That was all Michael. He would relish, in fact, some of my opinions so he could argue against them, but in a friendly manner, like two adults having a discussion.<\/p>\n

I really loved that about him, because it showed true respect – not for me in particular, but for ideas and his willingness to explore ideas even if he didn\u2019t agree with them.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Michael Flynn, a three-time Prometheus Best Novel winner (Creative Commons license)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

We were two people, just sitting and having a discussion. That\u2019s something that we all can learn from in this day and age.<\/p>\n

ONE OF THE MOST UNDERRATED SF AUTHORS
\n<\/b>
\nI am not saying this because I published him: Michael was one of my favorite authors. I think he was one of the most underrated authors in the genre, in terms of how well he was known among the readers. I think his work holds up to some of the best science fiction I\u2019ve ever read.<\/p>\n

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

He was known as a hard science fiction writer, but I think the term does him an injustice. Don\u2019t get me wrong. The science in his book is immaculate. And I know how hard he worked at that, but I think his work is a lot more.<\/p>\n

FLYNN\u2019S STORY \u201cMELODIES OF THE HEART\u201d
\n<\/b>
\nObviously, Michael spun good stories. But he had that secret power to make characters that we really cared about. I rarely have felt more empathy for characters than I have for some of his.<\/p>\n

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

If you have any doubts about that, just read the absolutely stunning novella he wrote called \u201cMelodies of the Heart,\u201d published in The Forest of Time <\/i>collection that Kevin (Flynn, Michael\u2019s brother) mentioned.<\/p>\n

To me, in that story, the science even becomes irrelevant. It\u2019s about the human condition, about grief and loss. I don\u2019t know anyone who can read that story without shedding a tear.<\/p>\n

FLYNN\u2019S HUGO-NOMINATED NOVEL <\/b>EIFELHEIM
\n<\/i><\/b>
\nHis prose, when he was at the top of his form, I don\u2019t think could be bested. The use of language in Eifelheim,<\/i> published by TOR, is almost lyrical in the poetic use of language. Parts of his book are almost poetry written as prose.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>(Editor\u2019s note:<\/em> A Hugo Awards Best Novel finalist, Eifelheim <\/i>is a science fiction alien-first-contact novel that alternates between 1348 in Europe during the Black Death and today, when a contemporary historian and his physicist girlfriend become interested in solving the mystery of how a small German town disappeared in 1348 and has never been resettled.<\/p>\n

Eifelheim<\/i> also incorporates some libertarian and anti-authoritarian themes, as reflected in this quote: \u201c\u201cI fear the hands of all those neighbors, raised together, may impose one day a tyranny weightier than the hand of a single lord. With a lord, at least you know who to bring to account, but when a mob raises its many hands, which holds the blame?\u201d)<\/p>\n

If you haven\u2019t read anything by Flynn, do yourself a favor and read him. You will find some of the best science fiction stories and in some of the best-written works out there.
\n\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

CHARACTERS TO CARE ABOUT
\n<\/b>
\nBut let me warn you about something.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ll close with this: He loved killing characters.<\/p>\n

If you remember his novel The Wreck of the River of Stars<\/i>, nearly everybody dies. You get invested in his characters, because he wrote good characters, and then he kills them almost all off.<\/p>\n

And this is an absolutely true story. I once asked him to write a number of novellas for me for a collection. And I told him, \u2018please, please, Michael, just don\u2019t kill off your characters.\u2019<\/p>\n

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

DON\u2019T KILL THE BABY!<\/b><\/p>\n

Soon enough, I got a message from him: \u2018Shahid, I have to kill off the baby.\u2019<\/p>\n

I said: \u2018No, no, Michael, you can\u2019t kill the baby! You can\u2019t kill off babies in stories. People don\u2019t like it.\u2019<\/p>\n

But he insists.\u00a0 <\/span>And then he sends me the story\u2026. and he had to kill off the baby.<\/p>\n

So rest in peace, Michael, and thank you for all the joy – and the sadness, with his onus for killing off those characters.<\/p>\n

And thank you to the Prometheus people for recognizing his outstanding talent.<\/p>\n

WATCH THE 45TH PROMETHEUS AWARDS CEREMONY
\n<\/b><\/b><\/p>\n

* <\/i>Watch the full 45-minute video of the 45th Prometheus Awards ceremony, which was recorded Aug. 30, 2025 with six eloquent, thought-provoking, occasionally poignant or amusing speeches by David D. Friedman, Astrid Anderson Bear, Kevin Flynn, LFS President William H. Stoddard and LFS co-founder Michael Grossberg. The ceremony is posted on YouTube and available to see here.<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
\nNote: Michael Flynn won his first Prometheus Award for Best Novel in 1991 for In the Country of the Blind<\/em><\/a> and his second in 1992 for Fallen Angels,<\/em><\/a> co-written with Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle.<\/p>\n

Read the Prometheus Blog appreciation for Flynn’s In the Belly of the Whale, the 2025 Best Novel winner.<\/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":"

\u201cI think Michael was one of the most underrated authors in the genre\u2026 his work holds up to some of the best science fiction I\u2019ve ever read. \u2014 Shahid Mahmud, publisher of CAEZIK SF & Fantasy Introduction: CAEZIK SF & Fantasy, a company led by Shahid Mahmud, published Michael Flynn\u2019s last and posthumous novel In … Continue reading Celebrating the 45th Prometheus Awards: Michael Flynn\u2019s publisher Shahid Mahmud\u2019s acceptance speech about one of our most underrated sf 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":[687,31,2665,37],"tags":[594,1197,2707,2129,2708,204,46,2691],"class_list":["post-9816","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-award-acceptance-speech","category-awards-news","category-michael-flynn","category-memorial-tributes","tag-best-novel","tag-ceremony","tag-eifelheim","tag-in-the-belly-of-the-whale","tag-melodies-of-the-heart","tag-michael-flynn","tag-prometheus-awards","tag-shahid-mahmud"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pe8nGl-2yk","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9816","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=9816"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9816\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9869,"href":"https:\/\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9816\/revisions\/9869"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9816"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9816"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9816"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}