The head of the English department at Royal Holloway University in Egham is one of the finalists for a prestigious award.

Adam Roberts is up for the 2026 Prometheus Hall of Fame Award for Best Classic Fiction.

His debut novel, Salt, first published in 2000, has earned him the recognition.

It explores the escalating tensions between an anarchist community and its statist neighbour on a harsh, desert-like colony world.

In 1979, science fiction writer L. Neil Smith created the Prometheus Awards to honour libertarian science fiction