The 2026 Prometheus Nominations: When reality went dystopian, fiction writers got busy

Blazing Reader,

All of the nominations are in for the 2026 Prometheus Award for the best pro-freedom sci-fi and fantasy novel of 2025.

There are fourteen books in total — nine of which are written by authors nominated for the first time (including my story about a farmer, a robot and the end of the world, All the Humans Are Sleeping).

"With so many authors new to our awards," writes Michael Gloosberg, co-founder of the Libertarian Futurist Society, "the Prometheus Awards may be entering a more hopeful period in which a new generation is writing science fiction, fantasy and other fantastical works informed by a clear awareness of the dangers of tyranny and the benefits of freedom."

There's nothing like a global lockdown, a fake pandemic, endless wars and a million emails exposing our pedophile overlords, to transform a new generation of speculative fiction authors into modern-day Prometheans—stealing fire from the tyrants one liberating page at a time.

For a complete list of this year's competing titles and authors, check out: New generation of writers dominates this year’s 14 Prometheus nominations for Best Novel and consider becoming a member so you can vote for the winner.

—John C.A. Manley

John C. A. Manley is the author of Much Ado About Corona, All The Humans Are Sleeping and other works of philosophical fiction that are "so completely engaging that you find yourself alternately laughing, gasping, hanging on for dear life." Get free samples of his stories by becoming a Blazing Pine Cone email subscriber.