The Libertarian Futurist Society announced the winners of this year’s Prometheus Awards, which will be handed out in a ceremony at Renovation, this year’s WorldCon (in Reno, Nevada, 17-21 August). We detailed the nominees in this article.
The winner of the Best Novel award is Darkship Thieves, by Sarah Hoyt (published by Baen Books). The Hall of Fame award winner is Animal Farm, a short novel written by George Orwell in 1945. Sarah Hoyt will receive a plaque and a one-ounce gold coin, while a smaller gold coin and a plaque will be presented to Orwell’s estate.
Chris Hibbert, president of the Libertarian Futurist Society, says “Darkship Thieves features an exciting, coming-of-age saga in which a heroic woman fights for her freedom and identity against a tyrannical Earth. Hoyt’s novel, dedicated to Robert A. Heinlein, depicts a plausible anarchist society among the asteroids. Hoyt is a prolific writer of novels and short fiction, though this is her first time as Prometheus finalist.
“Orwell won the Hall of Fame award for his novel 1984, fittingly, in 1984, the second year the award was given. Animal Farm has been a finalist for the Hall of Fame award multiple times. Animal Farm, a short novel, retells the story of the Russian Revolution in the literary form of a beast fable, reflecting the post-World War II disillusionment of many communists. The story introduced the phrase ‘All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others,’ which has been borrowed innumerable times to pillory many political movements that claimed to be fighting for equality. Orwell’s story is widely considered both a classic work, and a devastating critique of Stalinism.”
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.” They were established—and are sponsored by—the Libertarian Futurist Society in 1979.