The Libertarian Futurist Society has announced the finalists for this year’s Prometheus Awards. The award ceremony will be held at the World Science Fiction Convention (this year, 30 August-3 September in Yokohama, Japan).
The Prometheus 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.”
This year’s finalists in the Best Novel category are:
* Empire by Orson Scott Card (published by Tor)
* The Ghost Brigades by John Scalzi (Tor)
* Glasshouse by Charles Stross (Ace)
* Rainbows End by Vernor Vinge (Tor)
* Harbingers by F. Paul Wilson (Forge)
The finalists for the Prometheus Hall of Fame award for Best Classic Fiction are:
* A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess (a novel first published in 1963)
* “As Easy as A.B.C.” by Rudyard Kipling (a short story first published in 1912)
* It Can’t Happen Here by Sinclair Lewis (a novel first published in 1936)
* Animal Farm by George Orwell (a novel first published in 1946)
* The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien (a trilogy of novels first published in 1954)
* “True Names” by Vernor Vinge (a novella first published in 1981)
The Prometheus Award was established in 1979. Since 1982, it has been presented annually at the World Science Fiction Convention. The award includes a gold coin and a plaque. For a list of past winners, see www.lfs.org.
[Edited 1 September 2007: The winners have been announced, and are listed on this page.]