Prometheus Award
The Prometheus Award is an award for libertarian science fiction novels given annually by the Libertarian Futurist Society. L. Neil Smith established the award in 1979, but it was not awarded regularly until the newly founded Libertarian Futurist Society revived it in 1982. The Society created a Hall of Fame Award in 1983, and also presents occasional one-off Special Awards.
Multiple recipients
Some authors have won the award for best novel more than once:Thrice
- Cory Doctorow
- Victor Koman
- Ken MacLeod
- L. Neil Smith
Twice
- Travis J I Corcoran
- James P. Hogan
- Neal Stephenson
- Vernor Vinge
- F. Paul Wilson
- Poul Anderson
- Robert Heinlein
- George Orwell
- Ayn Rand
- F. Paul Wilson
Process
- All members may nominate novels for the award.
- Members of the Best Novel Committee read at least 10-12 of the nominated novels and vote for a slate of 5 finalists.
- Full members then vote on the finalists.
Step 3 happens in early summer of the following year.
The awards are given at the Annual Worldcon.
Prometheus Award winners and finalists
* Winners+ No winner selected
| Year | Author | Novel | Publisher | Ref. |
| * | ' | Doubleday | ||
| ' | Berkley Books | |||
| The Genesis Machine | Del Rey Books | |||
| * | ' | Del Rey Books | ||
| Alongside Night | Crown Publishers | |||
| An Enemy of the State | Doubleday | |||
| Songs from the Stars | Simon & Schuster | |||
| Tales of Nevèrÿon | Bantam Books | |||
| The Watcher | Ace Books | |||
| * | Voyage from Yesteryear | Del Rey Books | ||
| Fire Dancer | New American Library | |||
| Friday | Holt, Rinehart and Winston | |||
| The Many-Colored Land | Houghton Mifflin | |||
| and | Oath of Fealty | Phantasia Press | ||
| * | The Rainbow Cadenza | Simon & Schuster | ||
| Double Crossing | Putnam | |||
| The Nagasaki Vector | Del Rey Books | |||
| Orion Shall Rise | Phantasia Press | |||
| and | Thendara House | DAW Books | ||
| + | ||||
| The Final Encyclopedia | Tor Books | |||
| Manna | Analog Science Fiction and Fact | |||
| The Peace War | Analog Science Fiction and Fact | |||
| Tom Paine Maru | Del Rey Books | |||
| The Tomb | Berkley Books | |||
| * | The Cybernetic Samurai | Arbor House | ||
| Elegy for a Soprano | Severn House | |||
| The Gallatin Divergence | Del Rey Books | |||
| A Matter of Time | Ace Books | |||
| Radio Free Albemuth | Arbor House | |||
| * | Marooned in Realtime | Analog Science Fiction and Fact | ||
| Circuit | Berkley Books | |||
| The Crystal Empire | Tor Books | |||
| A Door into Ocean | Arbor House | |||
| The Handmaid's Tale | McClelland & Stewart | |||
| * | The Jehovah Contract | Franklin Watts | ||
| Circuit Breaker | Berkley Books | |||
| First Citizen | Baen Books | |||
| The Uplift War | Phantasia Press | |||
| Way of the Pilgrim | Ace Books | |||
| * | Moon of Ice | Arbor House | ||
| David's Sling | Baen Books | |||
| Falling Free | Analog Science Fiction and Fact | |||
| Final Circuit | Ace Books | |||
| To Sail Beyond the Sunset | Ace Books | |||
| * | Solomon's Knife | Franklin Watts | ||
| The Boat of a Million Years | Tor Books | |||
| Henry Martyn | Tor Books | |||
| Infinity Hold | Questar | |||
| The Mirror Maze | Bantam Spectra | |||
| * | In the Country of the Blind | Baen Books | ||
| The Cybernetic Shogun | William Morrow and Company | |||
| The Tery | Baen Books | |||
| Under the Yoke | Baen Books | |||
| and | V for Vendetta | Warner Books | ||
| , and * | Fallen Angels | Baen Books | ||
| Distant Drums | Domain | |||
| D'Shai | Ace Books | |||
| The Infinity Gambit | Bantam Books | |||
| ' | Baen Books | |||
| The Silicon Man | Bantam Spectra | |||
| Star Trek #57: The Rift | Pocket Books | |||
| A Tale of the Wind | Villard | |||
| * | The Multiplex Man | Bantam Spectra | ||
| The Memory of Earth | Tor Books | |||
| Snow Crash | Bantam Spectra | |||
| Steel Beach | Ace Books | |||
| Timemaster | Tor Books | |||
| A Woman's Place | American West Books | |||
| * | Pallas | Tor Books | ||
| Beggars in Spain | AvoNova/William Morrow | |||
| Rainbow Man | Tor Books | |||
| The Silicon Man | Bantam Spectra | |||
| Virtual Girl | Ace Books | |||
| * | The Stars Are Also Fire | Tor Books | ||
| Dark Rivers of the Heart | Charnel House | |||
| Deadly Care | Vantage Press | |||
| The Select | Headline | |||
| Solis | Hodder & Stoughton | |||
| * | The Star Fraction | Legend Books | ||
| ' | AvoNova | |||
| and | Design for Great-Day | Tor Books | ||
| The Diamond Age | Bantam Spectra | |||
| Four Ways to Forgiveness | Harper Prism | |||
| * | Kings of the High Frontier | Pulpless.com | ||
| Firestar | Tor Books | |||
| Paths to Otherwhere | Baen Books | |||
| Sliders: the Novel | Boulevard Books | |||
| Wildside | Tor Books | |||
| * | The Stone Canal | Legend Books | ||
| Bretta Martyn | Tor Books | |||
| Finity's End | Warner Books | |||
| The Fleet of Stars | Tor Books | |||
| Nanotime | Avon Books | |||
| * | The Golden Globe | Ace Books | ||
| and | Masque | Aspect/Warner Books | ||
| Moonwar | Hodder & Stoughton | |||
| Rogue Star | Tor Books | |||
| ' | Xlibris | |||
| * | A Deepness in the Sky | Tor Books | ||
| The Cassini Division | Orbit Books | |||
| Cradle of the Sun | Baen Books | |||
| Cryptonomicon | Avon Books | |||
| The Martian Race | Aspect/Warner Books | |||
| * | The Forge of the Elders | Baen Books | ||
| Eagle Against the Stars | Baen Books | |||
| Lodestar | Tor Books | |||
| The Sky Road | Orbit Books | |||
| The Truth | HarperCollins | |||
| * | Psychohistorical Crisis | Tor Books | ||
| The American Zone | Tor Books | |||
| Enemy Glory | Tor Books | |||
| Falling Stars | Tor Books | |||
| Hosts | Tor Books | |||
| * | Night Watch | Doubleday | ||
| Dark Light | Orbit Books | |||
| Escape from Heaven | Pulpless.com | |||
| The Haunted Air | Tor Books | |||
| Schild's Ladder | Gollancz | |||
| * | Sims | Tor Books | ||
| Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix | Bloomsbury Publishing | |||
| Naked Empire | Tor Books | |||
| The Pixel Eye | Tor Books | |||
| Spin State | Bantam Spectra | |||
| * | The System of the World | William Morrow | ||
| and | Anarquia | Sense of Wonder Press | ||
| Marque and Reprisal | Del Rey Books | |||
| ' | Orbit Books | |||
| State of Fear | HarperCollins | |||
| * | Learning the World | Orbit Books | ||
| 47 | Little, Brown | |||
| ' | Mountain Media | |||
| Chainfire | Tor Books | |||
| The Hidden Family | Tor Books | |||
| and | ' | Rebelfire Press | ||
| * | Glasshouse | Ace Books | ||
| Empire | Tor Books | |||
| The Ghost Brigades | Tor Books | |||
| Harbingers | Tor Books | |||
| Rainbows End | Tor Books | |||
| * | The Gladiator | Tor Books | ||
| * | Ha'penny | Tor Books | ||
| The Execution Channel | Orbit Books | |||
| and | Fleet of Worlds | Tor Books | ||
| Ragamuffin | Tor Books | |||
| * | Little Brother | Tor Books | ||
| Half a Crown | Tor Books | |||
| The January Dancer | Tor Books | |||
| Matter | Orbit Books | |||
| Opening Atlantis | Roc Books | |||
| Saturn's Children | Ace Books | |||
| * | The Unincorporated Man | Tor Books | ||
| Hidden Empire | Tor Books | |||
| Liberating Atlantis | Roc Books | |||
| Makers | Tor Books | |||
| The United States of Atlantis | Roc Books | |||
| * | Darkship Thieves | Baen Books | ||
| Ceres | Phoenix Pick | |||
| For the Win | Tor Books | |||
| The Last Trumpet Project | Lulu | |||
| Live Free or Die | Baen Books | |||
| * | Ready Player One | Random House | ||
| * | The Freedom Maze | Big Mouth House | ||
| The Children of the Sky | Tor Books | |||
| and | In the Shadow of Ares | Amazon Kindle | ||
| The Restoration Game | Orbit Books | |||
| Snuff | Doubleday | |||
| * | Pirate Cinema | Tor Books | ||
| Arctic Rising | Tor Books | |||
| The Unincorporated Future | Tor Books | |||
| Darkship Renegades | Baen Books | |||
| Kill Decision | Dutton | |||
| * | Homeland | Tor Books | ||
| * | Nexus | Angry Robot | ||
| A Few Good Men | Baen Books | |||
| Crux | Angry Robot | |||
| Brilliance | Thomas & Mercer | |||
| * | Influx | Dutton | ||
| The Three-Body Problem | Tor Books | |||
| Raising Steam | Doubleday | |||
| A Better World | Thomas & Mercer | |||
| * | Seveneves | William Morrow and Company | ||
| Golden Son | Del Rey Books | |||
| Apex | Angry Robot | |||
| The Just City | Tor Books | |||
| A Borrowed Man | Tor Books | |||
| * | The Core of the Sun | Grove Press | ||
| ' | Orbit Books | |||
| ' | Orbit Books | |||
| The Mandibles: A Family, 2029–2047 | HarperCollins | |||
| Blade of p’Na | Phoenix Pick | |||
| * | The Powers of the Earth | Morlock Publishing | ||
| and | ' | High Ground Books | ||
| Torchship, Torchship Pilot and Torchship Captain | Kelt Haven Press | |||
| Darkship Revenge | Baen Books | |||
| ' | Orbit Books | |||
| Artemis | Crown Books | |||
| Causes of Separation | Morlock Publishing | |||
| Kingdom of the Wicked | Ligature Pty Limited | |||
| State Tectonics | Tor Books | |||
| The Fractal Man | Steve Heller Publishing | |||
| The Murderbot Diaries | Tor Books | |||
| and | Alliance Rising | DAW | ||
| The Testaments | Random House: Nan A. Talese | |||
| Ruin's Wake | Titan Books | |||
| ' | Tor Books | |||
| Ode to Defiance | LMBPN Publishing |
Hall of Fame Award inductees
- 1983 Robert A. Heinlein, The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress | Ayn Rand, Atlas Shrugged
- 1984 George Orwell, Nineteen Eighty-Four | Ray Bradbury, Fahrenheit 451
- 1985 Poul Anderson, Trader to the Stars | Eric Frank Russell, The Great Explosion
- 1986 Cyril Kornbluth, The Syndic | Robert Anton Wilson / Robert Shea, Illuminatus! trilogy
- 1987 Robert A. Heinlein, Stranger in a Strange Land | Ayn Rand, "Anthem"
- 1988 Alfred Bester, The Stars My Destination
- 1989 J. Neil Schulman, Alongside Night
- 1990 F. Paul Wilson, The Healer
- 1991 F. Paul Wilson, An Enemy of the State
- 1992 Ira Levin, This Perfect Day
- 1993 Ursula K. Le Guin, The Dispossessed
- 1994 Yevgeny Zamyatin, We
- 1995 Poul Anderson, The Star Fox
- 1996 Robert A. Heinlein, Red Planet
- 1997 Robert A. Heinlein, Methuselah's Children
- 1998 Robert A. Heinlein, Time Enough for Love
- 1999 H. Beam Piper / John J. McGuire, A Planet for Texans
- 2000 Hans Christian Andersen, "The Emperor's New Clothes"
- 2001 Jerry Pournelle / John F. Carr, The Survival of Freedom
- 2002 Patrick McGoohan, The Prisoner
- 2003 Robert A. Heinlein, "Requiem"
- 2004 Vernor Vinge, "The Ungoverned"
- 2005 A. E. van Vogt, The Weapon Shops of Isher
- 2006 Alan Moore / David Lloyd, V for Vendetta
- 2008 Anthony Burgess, A Clockwork Orange
- 2009 J. R. R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings
- 2010 Poul Anderson, "No Truce with Kings"
- 2011 George Orwell, Animal Farm
- 2012 E. M. Forster, "The Machine Stops"
- 2013 Neal Stephenson, Cryptonomicon
- 2014 Lois McMaster Bujold, Falling Free
- 2015 Harlan Ellison, ""Repent, Harlequin!" Said the Ticktockman"
- 2016 Donald Kingsbury, Courtship Rite
- 2017 Robert A. Heinlein, "Coventry"
- 2018 Jack Williamson, "With Folded Hands"
- 2019 Kurt Vonnegut, "Harrison Bergeron"
- 2020 Poul Anderson, "Sam Hall"
Special Award recipients
- 1998 – Brad Linaweaver and Edward E. Kramer: editors, Free Space
- 2001 – Poul Anderson, Special Prometheus Award for Lifetime Achievement
- 2005 – Mark Tier and Martin H. Greenberg: editors, Give Me Liberty and Visions of Liberty
- 2005 – L. Neil Smith and Scott Bieser, The Probability Broach: The Graphic Novel
- 2006 – Joss Whedon, Serenity
- 2007 – James McTeigue and the Wachowski brothers, V for Vendetta
- 2014 – Vernor Vinge, Special Prometheus Award for Lifetime Achievement
- 2014 – Leslie Fish, "Tower of Horses" and "The Horsetamer's Daughter".
- 2015 – F. Paul Wilson, Special Prometheus Award for Lifetime Achievement
- 2016 – L. Neil Smith, Special Prometheus Award for Lifetime Achievement
- 2016 – Jonathan Luna and Sarah Vaughn, Alex + Ada
- 2017 – Mark Stanley, Freefall