2007 Prometheus Award Finalists Announced

The Libertarian Futurist Society will present its Prometheus Awards ceremony in August at the World Science Fiction Convention, which will be held in Yokohama, Japan from August 30th to September 3rd, 2007. We are happy to announce the finalists for the Best Novel award and the Hall of Fame award for Best Classic Fiction.

The finalists in the Best Novel category of this year’s Prometheus Award for the best pro-freedom novel of 2006:

• Empire, by Orson Scott Card (Tor Books)
• The Ghost Brigades, by John Scalzi (Tor Books)
• Glasshouse, Charles Stross (Penguin Group)
• Rainbows End, by Vernor Vinge (Tor Books)
• Harbingers, by F. Paul Wilson (Forge)

The finalists for the Prometheus Hall of Fame award for Best Classic Fiction:

• A Clockwork Orange, novel by Anthony Burgess
• “As Easy as ABC,” short story by Rudyard Kipling
• It Can’t Happen Here, novel by Sinclair Lewis
• Animal Farm, novel by George Orwell
• The Lord of the Rings, novels by J.R.R. Tolkien
• “True Names,” novella by Vernor Vinge

Ten novels published in 2006 were nominated for this year’s Best Novel category. The other nominees were Harald, by David D. Friedman (Baen Books); Variable Star, by Robert Heinlein and Spider Robinson (Tor Books); Engaging the Enemy, by Elizabeth Moon (Ballantine Books/Del Rey); The Clan Corporate, by Charles Stross (Tor Books); and Red Lightning, by John Varley (Ace Books).

Of the many works nominated for the Hall of Fame award, ten were selected as early semifinalists, ranging from novels and short stories to a music album. The other semifinalists were Courtship Rite, a 1982 novel by Donald Kingsbury; Ensign Flandry, Volume 1: The Saga of Dominic Flandry, Agent of Imperial Terra, a 1966 novel by Poul Anderson; That Hideous Strength, a 1946 novel by C.S. Lewis; and 2112, a 1976 music album/set of songs, by Rush.

Both awards honor outstanding science fiction/fantasy that explores the possibilities of a free future, champions human rights (including personal and economic liberty), dramatizes the perennial conflict between individuals and coercive governments, or critiques the tragic consequences of abuse of power—especially by the state.

The Prometheus Award, sponsored by the Libertarian Futurist Society (LFS), was established in 1979, making it one of the most enduring awards after the Nebula and Hugo awards, and one of the oldest fan-based awards currently in sf. Presented annually since 1982 at the World Science Fiction Convention, the Prometheus Awards include a gold coin and plaque for the winners.

For more information, contact LFS Board President Chris Hibbert (Publicity@lfs.org); Best Novel awards coordinator Michael Grossberg (BestNovelChair@lfs.org) or Worldcon awards ceremony coordinator Fred Moulton (programming@lfs.org).

For a full list of past Prometheus Award winners in three categories, visit www.lfs.org.