2006 Prometheus Award Finalists

The Libertarian Futurist Society has announced finalists and special recommendations for this year’s Prometheus Awards, which will be presented during Worldcon August 23-27 in Anaheim, California.

Prometheus finalists for Best Novel recognizes pro-freedom novels published in 2005:

• Chainfire, by Terry Goodkind (TOR)
• Learning the World, by Ken MacLeod (TOR)
• 47, by Walter Mosley (Little, Brown, and Company)
• The Hidden Family, by Charles Stross (TOR)
• The Black Arrow, by Vin Suprynowicz (Mountain Media)
• RebelFire: Out of the Gray Zone, by Claire Wolfe & Aaron Zelman (RebelFire Press)

Prometheus finalists for Best Classic Fiction (Hall of Fame), a category that honors novels, novellas, stories, graphic novels, anthologies, films, TV shows/series, plays, poems, music recordings and other works of fiction first published or broadcast more than five years ago

• A Clockwork Orange, a novel (1963) by Anthony Burgess
• “As Easy as A.B.C.,” a short story (1912) by Rudyard Kipling
• It Can’t Happen Here, a novel (1936) by Sinclair Lewis
• V for Vendetta, a graphic novel (1990) by Alan Moore
• The Lord of the Rings, a trilogy of novels (1954) by J.R.R. Tolkien

The Special Awards committee, chaired by Rick Triplett, has approved a recommendation for all LFS members to consider:

To Serenity, writer-director Joss Whedon’s fun-loving and pro-freedom movie that portrays resistance fighters struggling against oppressive collectivism (based on the short-lived TV series Firefly).

The Best Novel judging committee, chaired by Michael Grossberg, read 14 novels nominated by LFS members. The other Best Novel nominees: Reflex, by Stephen Gould (TOR); Noble Vision, by Gen LaGreca (Winged Victory Press); 3000 Years, by Richard Mgrdechian (iUniverse, Inc.); Accelerando, by Charles Stross (Ace/Putnam); Resurrection of Liberty, by Michael L. Wentz (Novalibre Publishing); Infernal, by F. Paul Wilson (Forge Books); The Weapon by Michael Z. Williamson (Baen Books); and Mists of Everness, by John C. Wright (TOR).

The Hall of Fame judging committee, chaired by Lynn Maners, selected the finalists after whittling down almost 20 nominees to a preliminary slate of 10 semifinalists. The other semifinalists: Circus World, a novel (1981) by Barry Longyear; Infinity Hold, a novel (1989) by Barry Longyear; The Girl Who Owned a City, a young-adult novel (1977) by O.T. Nelson; Subspace Explorers, a novel (1965) by Edward E. Smith; and “Even the Queen,” a short story (1992) by Connie Willis.

Fred Moulton will spearhead the Worldcon’s Prometheus Awards ceremony, tentatively scheduled for Friday afternoon August 25. Any LFS member planning to attend the Worldcon should contact Moulton (programming@lfs.org) for updates.To register for the Worldcon, visit www.laconiv.org/

Ballots should be mailed to LFS members by late May with a final voting deadline of July 1. Members who haven’t received a ballot by June 1 should contact Grossberg (ballots@lfs.org or 614-236-5040.)

All three awards committees are seeking new judges for the 2006-2007 judging cycle, which begins in September. Please volunteer before August 1. Contact the awards committee chairs (via www.lfs.org) or Board President Chris Hibbert (president@lfs.org)