Dave Freer's "Storm-Dragon" Wins First-Ever Prometheus Special Award For Young Adult Fiction
Astro Bug/10352243
Trending...
- Heritage at South Brunswick Introduces New Ferndale Floorplan: The Largest Single-Family Home Design in the Community
- RAS AP Consulting Expands Managed AP Governance™ Ecosystem, Launches Trademark Process, and Secures IFOL Speaker Invitation
- KT Medical Staffing Addresses the Questions Families Forget to Ask Before Bringing Private Nursing Care Home
Freer's novel is the first in a category the Libertarian Futurist Society created years ago and had never used — until now.
WICHITA FALLS, Texas - AstroBug -- Raconteur Press is proud to announce that Storm-Dragon, the debut Boys' Adventure novel by Dave Freer, has won the 2026 Special Prometheus Award for Young Adult Fiction — the first time this specific award has ever been presented to any book. The Libertarian Futurist Society's board approved a Special Award category for Young Adult Fiction several years ago but had not yet found a work it considered worthy of the honor. Storm-Dragon is that book.
Special Prometheus Awards are occasional, not annual, and reserved for outstanding work outside the parameters of the Society's two annual categories, Best Novel and the Prometheus Hall of Fame. Only ten Special Awards have been given since the category was established in 1998, and the Society has not presented one since 2017, making this both a rare honor and a first.
The win comes on the heels of Raconteur Press's first-ever Prometheus Award, announced last week when J. Kenton Pierce's A Kiss for Damocles took Best Novel. That makes two Prometheus Awards for Raconteur Press in the same award cycle, a significant milestone for a press now in its second year of publishing novels and its first year of publishing Boys' Adventure fiction.
Storm-Dragon follows Skut, a refugee kid on a rough ocean colony world, who rescues a small alien creature — an electrosensitive, six-limbed "dragon" that turns out to be a lot smarter and a lot more dangerous than anyone expected. His friend Podge, new in town, gets dragged into it, right as the whole settlement starts facing a threat nobody can explain. The boys navigate bullies, bad teachers, a town government that's gotten comfortable pushing people around, and eventually a raid that forces the whole colony to figure out what it actually stands for. The novel sits in the tradition of Robert Heinlein's and Andre Norton's classic adventure fiction for young readers: story first, with its themes of self-reliance and mutual respect emerging naturally rather than as argument.
More on Astro Bug
"Rita and I are thrilled and honored to have not one, but two of our novels recognized by the Prometheus Awards this year," said Ian McMurtrie. "Dave Freer's Storm-Dragon receiving the inaugural Special Award for Young Adult Fiction, alongside J. Kenton Pierce winning Best Novel with A Kiss for Damocles, demonstrates that engaging and entertaining stories that celebrate freedom, self-reliance, and adventure still have a place on bookshelves. We're incredibly proud of our little press publishing fiction that speaks to young readers and adults alike — great storytelling is always in vogue."
Storm-Dragon is Freer's first novel for Raconteur Press's Boys' Adventure line, launched to address what the Press has called a reading crisis among boys: a shortage of adventure fiction written to entertain young male readers rather than instruct them. Freer previously won the Prometheus Award for Best Novel in 2023 for Cloud-Castles, making him one of a small number of authors recognized by the Libertarian Futurist Society across multiple award cycles. A former marine biologist based in Tasmania, Australia, Freer's career has included work as a commercial shark fishery scientist, salvage diver, and steeplejack. He has authored or co-authored more than twenty novels.
"I was actually a little worried that Storm-Dragon would win the Prometheus," said Freer. "That was not what it was written for. It was written to get boys reading for pleasure, as a gateway. By recognizing Storm-Dragon in this way, it means they think it follows in the footsteps of Heinlein Juvies — exactly what I was in my usual inept fashion trying to do. I am delighted, and hope they make it a regular Prometheus feature, because firstly, it is fun to read, and secondly humans need our boys reading."
The Prometheus Award, first presented in 1979 and awarded annually by the Libertarian Futurist Society since 1982, is one of the longest-running fan-based awards in science fiction. Past winners include Neal Stephenson, Poul Anderson, Vernor Vinge, Terry Pratchett, and Cory Doctorow.
More on Astro Bug
This year's awards will be presented at the Libertarian Futurist Society's 46th annual online ceremony, open to the public, on Sunday afternoon, Aug. 16, 2026. Freer has confirmed he will deliver his acceptance remotely from Tasmania despite a fourteen-hour time difference from the ceremony's Eastern-time slot.
Storm-Dragon is available in paperback and ebook at Amazon and in paperback at IngramSpark. Parents, educators, and librarians are encouraged to contact pr@raconteurpress.com to request a review copy.
About Raconteur Press
Raconteur Press is a Texas-based independent publisher founded in 2022. The press publishes genre fiction anthologies, novels, and a Boys' Adventure line, with all books unapologetically designed to entertain. Raconteur operates on a philosophy of radical transparency, publishing sample contracts publicly and sharing its operational playbook openly with the indie publishing community. Learn more at raconteurpress.substack.com.
About the Libertarian Futurist Society
The Libertarian Futurist Society is a nonprofit organization dedicated to honoring science fiction and fantasy that explores themes of individual liberty. The Prometheus Award has been presented annually since 1982. Learn more at lfs.org.
Available for Media
Mr. Freer is available for interviews via email/video given the Tasmania time difference; scheduling can accommodate. Review copy, press kit, author bio, cover image, and award logo available on request. Contact pr@raconteurpress.com.
Special Prometheus Awards are occasional, not annual, and reserved for outstanding work outside the parameters of the Society's two annual categories, Best Novel and the Prometheus Hall of Fame. Only ten Special Awards have been given since the category was established in 1998, and the Society has not presented one since 2017, making this both a rare honor and a first.
The win comes on the heels of Raconteur Press's first-ever Prometheus Award, announced last week when J. Kenton Pierce's A Kiss for Damocles took Best Novel. That makes two Prometheus Awards for Raconteur Press in the same award cycle, a significant milestone for a press now in its second year of publishing novels and its first year of publishing Boys' Adventure fiction.
Storm-Dragon follows Skut, a refugee kid on a rough ocean colony world, who rescues a small alien creature — an electrosensitive, six-limbed "dragon" that turns out to be a lot smarter and a lot more dangerous than anyone expected. His friend Podge, new in town, gets dragged into it, right as the whole settlement starts facing a threat nobody can explain. The boys navigate bullies, bad teachers, a town government that's gotten comfortable pushing people around, and eventually a raid that forces the whole colony to figure out what it actually stands for. The novel sits in the tradition of Robert Heinlein's and Andre Norton's classic adventure fiction for young readers: story first, with its themes of self-reliance and mutual respect emerging naturally rather than as argument.
More on Astro Bug
- 5.6 Million EUR in Q1 Project Awards for Integrated IoT Solutions / Data Analytics Subsidiary of Smart City Developer: Affluence (Stock Symbol: AFFU)
- Merger Advancement For Embodied AI Co in Robotic Systems Serving High Value Hospitality, Gaming & Real Estate Sectors: MBody AI Corp. (NAS DAQ: MBAI)
- Hollywood In Pixels Announces Honorees for The 9th Silver PIXel Awards
- New Research Finds a Good Deal Is All It Takes to Get Americans Booking a Last-Minute Vacation — and Most Already Have One on Their Mind
- GitKraken Introduces GitLens 19, Bringing Human and AI Workflows Together in One Workbench
"Rita and I are thrilled and honored to have not one, but two of our novels recognized by the Prometheus Awards this year," said Ian McMurtrie. "Dave Freer's Storm-Dragon receiving the inaugural Special Award for Young Adult Fiction, alongside J. Kenton Pierce winning Best Novel with A Kiss for Damocles, demonstrates that engaging and entertaining stories that celebrate freedom, self-reliance, and adventure still have a place on bookshelves. We're incredibly proud of our little press publishing fiction that speaks to young readers and adults alike — great storytelling is always in vogue."
Storm-Dragon is Freer's first novel for Raconteur Press's Boys' Adventure line, launched to address what the Press has called a reading crisis among boys: a shortage of adventure fiction written to entertain young male readers rather than instruct them. Freer previously won the Prometheus Award for Best Novel in 2023 for Cloud-Castles, making him one of a small number of authors recognized by the Libertarian Futurist Society across multiple award cycles. A former marine biologist based in Tasmania, Australia, Freer's career has included work as a commercial shark fishery scientist, salvage diver, and steeplejack. He has authored or co-authored more than twenty novels.
"I was actually a little worried that Storm-Dragon would win the Prometheus," said Freer. "That was not what it was written for. It was written to get boys reading for pleasure, as a gateway. By recognizing Storm-Dragon in this way, it means they think it follows in the footsteps of Heinlein Juvies — exactly what I was in my usual inept fashion trying to do. I am delighted, and hope they make it a regular Prometheus feature, because firstly, it is fun to read, and secondly humans need our boys reading."
The Prometheus Award, first presented in 1979 and awarded annually by the Libertarian Futurist Society since 1982, is one of the longest-running fan-based awards in science fiction. Past winners include Neal Stephenson, Poul Anderson, Vernor Vinge, Terry Pratchett, and Cory Doctorow.
More on Astro Bug
- LĪNA Universal Balm Nominated for "Best Clean Skincare Product" at CertClean Beauty Awards
- Bronze Stevie Award Recognizes Satyadhar Joshi for AI Research and Public Policy Engagement
- synseer Nominated for Best Startup in 2026 Prix Galien USA Awards Following Record Breaking Applicant Pool
- Leading PDR Training Courses in Canada: Learn Paintless Dent Repair with PDR Academy & Tint Academy
- Move in this Fall! New Released Quick Move-In Townhomes at Heritage at South Brunswick with Limited-Time Incentives
This year's awards will be presented at the Libertarian Futurist Society's 46th annual online ceremony, open to the public, on Sunday afternoon, Aug. 16, 2026. Freer has confirmed he will deliver his acceptance remotely from Tasmania despite a fourteen-hour time difference from the ceremony's Eastern-time slot.
Storm-Dragon is available in paperback and ebook at Amazon and in paperback at IngramSpark. Parents, educators, and librarians are encouraged to contact pr@raconteurpress.com to request a review copy.
About Raconteur Press
Raconteur Press is a Texas-based independent publisher founded in 2022. The press publishes genre fiction anthologies, novels, and a Boys' Adventure line, with all books unapologetically designed to entertain. Raconteur operates on a philosophy of radical transparency, publishing sample contracts publicly and sharing its operational playbook openly with the indie publishing community. Learn more at raconteurpress.substack.com.
About the Libertarian Futurist Society
The Libertarian Futurist Society is a nonprofit organization dedicated to honoring science fiction and fantasy that explores themes of individual liberty. The Prometheus Award has been presented annually since 1982. Learn more at lfs.org.
Available for Media
Mr. Freer is available for interviews via email/video given the Tasmania time difference; scheduling can accommodate. Review copy, press kit, author bio, cover image, and award logo available on request. Contact pr@raconteurpress.com.
Source: Raconteur Press
0 Comments
Latest on Astro Bug
- Michael Maertens Hired as Century Fasteners Corp. – Chief Financial Officer
- Built to Last: Why BSI Is Among the Nation's Fastest-Growing Companies, and One of Its Best Places to Work
- Bent Danholm's The Architecture of Demand Reaches No. 2 in Amazon Real Estate Sales
- XYZReptiles.com Expands Selection with Three New Banana Ball Python Morphs
- Contracting Resources Group Named to Inc. 5000 for the Ninth Time
- ImagineX Named to 2026 Inc. 5000 List of America's Fastest-Growing Private Companies
- ASSIST Software Becomes One of the First European Companies Certified to ISO/IEC 42001
- The World's No.1 Superstar® Enters the Occult with New Track and Cinematic Visual "Under Your Spell"
- PricZone Launches Online Shopping Platform Offering Electronics, Gaming, and More
- Heritage at South Brunswick Introduces New Ferndale Floorplan: The Largest Single-Family Home Design in the Community
- Lineus Medical Elevates Leadership to Accelerate Growth After Breakthrough Clinical Results
- Gateway Center Arena Announces Duane Curry as General Manger
- XRPPower Expands Platform Security With Enhanced Brand Protection and Official Verification Standards
- Cuvo Health, the #1 White Label Telehealth Platform, Surpasses 300 Exclusive Providers Serving All 50 States
- RAS AP Consulting Expands Managed AP Governance™ Ecosystem, Launches Trademark Process, and Secures IFOL Speaker Invitation
- UK Financial Ltd Makes History: Chainlink CRE Circulating Supply Verification Goes Live Across Its Complete Ecosystem Of Nine Exchange-Traded Tokens
- International Rights Groups Raise Alarm Over Freedom of Religion and Expression in South Korea
- The City's Most Elegant Open-Air Dinner Party Returns September 12, 2026
- Local groomer Katlin Molina earns Fear Free Groomer Certification
- FDA Clears Major Regulatory Hurdle as Preservative-Free Ketamine Program Moves Within Reach of Commercialization: NRx Pharmaceuticals: (NAS DAQ: NRXP)