-- Prometheus Award finalists!!
Libertarian Futurist Society
For immediate release: March 31, 1998
LFS chooses finalists for Prometheus Award, Hall of Fame
Celebrating the 20th anniversary of the Prometheus Awards, the Libertarian
Futurist Society has chosen five novels as 1998 finalists:
* "The Fleet of Stars," by Poul Anderson (TOR Books)
* "Finity's End" by C.J. Cherryh (Warner Books)
* "Nanotime" by Bart Kosko (Avon Books)
* "The Stone Canal," by Ken MacLeod (Orbit Books, Little Brown, England)
* "Bretta Martyn," by L. Neil Smith (TOR Books)
The LFS also has chosen five classic novels as finalists for the Prometheus
Hall of Fame:
* "Orion Shall Rise," by Poul Anderson (1983)
* "Time Enough for Love" by Robert Heinlein (1973)
* "The Mirror Maze" by James Hogan (1989)
* "Planet for Texans" ("Lone Star Planet") by H. Beam Piper, cowritten with
John McGuire (1958)
* "WASP" by Eric Frank Russell (1957)
Winners, who receive a gold coin and plaque, will be announced in the
Libertarian Futurist Society's annual awards ceremony at the 1998 World
Science Fiction Convention in early August in Baltimore.
This marks the 20th anniversary of the Prometheus Award, which was founded in
1979 when a group led by L. Neil Smith presented the first award to F. Paul
Wilson for "Wheels Within Wheels." In 1982, the Libertarian Futurist Society
was founded by Michael Grossberg to continue the Prometheus Awards, so this is
the 18th awards presentation. Previous winners include Vernor Vinge, James P.
Hogan, Brad Linaweaver, Victor Koman, F. Paul Wilson, Poul Anderson, and Smith
(who since 1981 has not been associated with the awards judging.)
Fourteen novels were nominated by LFS members this past year for the
Prometheus Awards; and 21 novels were nominated for the Hall of Fame. Other
Prometheus Award nominees: "In The Shadow of Omen," by Steven Burgauer (Zero-G
Press); "Lightpaths," by Howard Hendrix (Ace Science Fiction); "Atlantis," by
Robert Klassen (White Knight Publishing, Internet only),; "Freedom's Choice"
by Anne McCaffrey (Ace/Putnam); "A Mind for Trade" by Andre Norton and
Sherwood Smith (TOR); "Exiles: The Mageborn Traitor by Melanie Rawn (DAW
Books); "The Merro Tree," by Katie Waitman (Del Rey Discovery); "City on
Fire," by Walter Jon Williams (Harper Prism); and "Deep as the Marrow," by F.
Paul Wilson (TOR).
Both LFS awards honor outstanding science fiction/fantasy that explore the
possibilities of a free future, champion human rights (including personal and
economic liberty), dramatize the perennial conflict between individuals and
coercive governments, or critique the tragic consequences of abuse of power--
especially by the State. Past awardwinners range from Robert Heinlein and Ayn
Rand to Ray Bradbury and Ursula LeGuin.
For the first time last fall, the Society established two annual judging
committees to choose finalists for the Prometheus Award and Hall of Fame. LFS
Director Victoria Varga chaired the Hall of Fame committee, whose members
included Tod Casasent, Charles Curley, John Fast, Chris Hibbert, Carol B. Low,
Lynn Maners, William Stoddard, Fran Van Cleave. LFS founder /Life member
Michael Grossberg chaired the Prometheus Awards committee. Members: Fast,
Steve Gaalema, Hibbert, Victor Koman, Tom Lauerman, Maners, Adam Starchild,
and Claire Wolfe. The 1999 Prometheus committee, for novels published in
1998, will be appointed in July. As always, all LFS Advisory members will read
the finalists and choose the Prometheus Award winner. and all Basic and
Advisory members will read the Hall finalists and vote for the Hall of Fame
winner.
Since 1982, the Prometheus Award has been presented each year at the World
Science Fiction Convention, 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. The Hall of Fame, established in 1983, focuses on older classics.
The Society, which publishes the quarterly Prometheus, made history last year
when Victor Koman's "Kings of the High Frontier" won the 1997 Prometheus
Award. In a living embodiment of libertarian futurism, it was the first time
an electronic/Internet-only novel won a major award.
For more information, contact Prometheus Editor Anders Monsen
(amonsen@aol.com, 512-388-2423), LFS Director Victoria Varga
(vvarga@compuserve.com, 716-248-5646) or LFS co-founder Michael Grossberg (
614-291-1441, mikegrossb@aol.com). Publishers may submit 1998 novels for
consideration and review to Monsen (602 Purple Sage Dr., Round Rock, TX
78681), Varga ( 89 Gebhardt, Penfield, NY 14526) and Grossberg (c/o The
Dispatch, 34 S. Third St., Columbus, OH 43215).
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