Dragon Awards

Not to be confused with the Dragon Awards at the Gothenburg Film Festival.

The Dragon Awards are a set of literary and media awards presented annually by Dragon Con. Voted on by fandom, the awards highlight excellence in the speculative categories of science fiction, fantasy, horror, and alternate history across various media — novels, comic books, movies, television series, video games, and tabletop enterprises.

Dragon Awards
Awarded for	Best science fiction, fantasy, horror, and alternate history works of previous year
Location	Atlanta, Georgia
Country	United States
Presented by	Dragon Con
First award	2016
Website	awards.dragoncon.org

History

The Dragon Awards were first presented in 2016,^[1][2] created on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of Dragon Con to "recognize excellence in all things Science Fiction and Fantasy."^[3][4] By 2018, 11,000 voters cast a ballot,^[5] given out annually at Dragon Con in Atlanta, Georgia.

A distinct feature of the awards, there is a diverse set of subgenera on the ballot.^[6]

The finalists for the first Dragon Awards were announced on August 11, 2016,^[7] and the winners were announced on September 4 that year.^[8]

In 2017, nominated authors Allison Littlewood, John Scalzi, and N. K. Jemisin asked Dragon Con to remove their names from the ballot; Scalzi subsequently reconsidered and remained in the contest. However, the coordinators of the Dragon Awards initially refused to remove the other authors' names from the running, which generated criticism across blogs and science fiction related publications, ultimately leading the organizers to comply with nominee wishes when they desire to abstain.^[9][10][11]

Nomination and voting processes

The nominations and votes are collected electronically. Participation is available to everyone, requiring only an e-mail address, but no membership or other fees, to vote.^[12] The Dragon Awards website states that they "[reserve] the right to invalidate suspect or questionable ballots without notice,"^[13] and that "All decisions regarding the voting process and selection of winners shall be made by DRAGON CON in its sole discretion, shall be final, and shall not be subject to challenge or appeal."^[14] Language describing the review of nominations does not state that nominations are counted numerically but are "gathered and reviewed to create a final ballot."^[15] Neither counts of nominations nor votes have ever been made public.

The award process consists of two steps:

• a nomination step where each voter nominates one work of choice in each category. The nominations are "gathered and reviewed to create a final ballot."^[15]
• a voting step where the finalists selected from the nominated works are voted on by each voter.

Reception

The Dragon Awards have been criticized because of the appearance that the awards were created in conjunction with campaigns by the Rabid and Sad Puppies to attack the Hugo Award.^[12] Another concern raised is regarding the opaqueness of the nomination and voting process.^[11]

Winners

The full list of last-stage nominees can be found at List of Dragon Award finalists.

Best Science Fiction Novel

Year	Work	Author(s)	Publisher(s)	Ref.
2016	Somewhither: Being the First Part of A Tale of the Unwithering Realm	John C. Wright	Castalia House	[16]
2017	Babylon's Ashes	James S. A. Corey	Orbit Books	[17]
2018	Artemis	Andy Weir	Crown Publishing Group	[18][19]
2019	A Star-Wheeled Sky	Brad R. Torgersen	Baen Books	[20]
2020	The Last Emperox	John Scalzi	Tor Books	[21]
2021	Project Hail Mary	Andy Weir	Ballantine Books	[22]
2022	Leviathan Falls	James S. A. Corey	Hachette Book Group	[23][24]
2023	The Icarus Plot	Timothy Zahn	Baen Books	[25]
2024	Starter Villain	John Scalzi	Tor Books	[26]

Best Fantasy Novel

Year	Work	Author(s)	Publisher(s)	Ref.
2016	Son of the Black Sword	Larry Correia	Baen Books	[16]
2017	Monster Hunter Memoirs: Grunge	Larry Correia, John Ringo	Baen Books	[17]
2018	Oathbringer	Brandon Sanderson	Tor Books	[18]
2019	House of Assassins	Larry Correia	Baen Books	[20]
2020	The Starless Sea	Erin Morgenstern	Doubleday	[21]
2021	Battle Ground	Jim Butcher	Ace Books	[22]
2022	Book of Night	Holly Black	Tom Doherty Associates	[23][24]
2023	Witch King	Martha Wells	Tordotcom	[25]
2024	Iron Flame	Rebecca Yarros	Red Tower Books	[26]

Best Horror Novel

Year	Work	Author(s)	Publisher(s)	Ref.
2016	Souldancer	Brian Niemeier	self-published	[16]
2017	The Changeling	Victor LaValle	Spiegel & Grau	[17]
2018	Sleeping Beauties	Stephen King and Owen King	Scribner	[18]
2019	Little Darlings	Melanie Golding	Crooked Lane Books	[20]
2020	The Twisted Ones	T. Kingfisher	Saga	[21]
2021	The Hollow Places	T. Kingfisher	Saga	[22]
2022	The Book of Accidents	Chuck Wendig	Del Rey Books	[23][24]
2023	A House with Good Bones	T. Kingfisher	Tor Books	[25]
2024	Black River Orchard	Chuck Wendig	Del Rey Books	[26]

Best Alternate History Novel

Year	Work	Author(s)	Publisher(s)	Ref.
2016	League of Dragons	Naomi Novik	Del Rey Books	[16]
2017	Fallout	Harry Turtledove	Del Rey Books	[17]
2018	Uncharted	Kevin J. Anderson and Sarah A. Hoyt	Baen Books	[18]
2019	Black Chamber	S. M. Stirling	Baen Books	[20]
2020	Witchy Kingdom	D. J. Butler	Baen Books	[21]
2021	1637: No Peace Beyond the Line	Eric Flint and Charles E. Gannon	Baen Books	[22]
2022	The Silver Bullets of Annie Oakley	Mercedes Lackey	DAW Books	[23][24]
2023	Lost In Time	A. G. Riddle	Head of Zeus	[25]
2024	All the Dead Shall Weep	Charlaine Harris	Saga Press	[26]

Best Military Science Fiction or Fantasy Novel

The category "Best Military Science Fiction or Fantasy Novel" was removed from the awards in 2023.

Year	Work	Author(s)	Publisher(s)	Ref.
2016	Hell's Foundations Quiver	David Weber	Tor Books	[16]
2017	Iron Dragoons	Richard Fox	Triplane Press	[17]
2018	A Call to Vengeance	Timothy Zahn, David Weber and Thomas Pope	Baen Books	[18]
2019	Uncompromising Honor	David Weber	Baen Books	[20]
2020	Savage Wars	Jason Anspach & Nick Cole (author)	Galaxy's Edge	[21]
2021	Gun Runner	Larry Correia & John Brown	Baen Books	[22]
2022	A Call to Insurrection	David Weber, Timothy Zahn, and Thomas Pope	Simon & Schuster	[23][24]

Best Apocalyptic Novel

The category "Best Apocalyptic Novel" was removed from the awards in 2018.

Year	Work	Author(s)	Publisher(s)	Ref.
2016	Ctrl Alt Revolt!	Nick Cole	self-published	[16]
2017	Walkaway	Cory Doctorow	Tor Books	[17][27]

Best Media Tie-In Novel

The category "Best Media Tie-In Novel" was first introduced in 2018 and removed from the awards in 2023.

Year	Work	Author(s)	Publisher(s)	Ref.
2018	Leia: Princess of Alderaan	Claudia Gray	Disney-Lucasfilm	[18]
2019	Thrawn: Alliances	Timothy Zahn	Penguin Random House	[20]
2020	Firefly: The Ghost Machine	James Lovegrove	Titan Books	[21]
2021	Firefly: Generations	Tim Lebbon	Titan Books	[22]
2022	Star Wars: Thrawn Ascendancy: Lesser Evil	Timothy Zahn	Random House Worlds	[23][24]

Best Young Adult / Middle Grade Novel

Year	Work	Author(s)	Publisher(s)	Ref.
2016	The Shepherd's Crown	Terry Pratchett	Doubleday	[16]
2017	The Hammer of Thor	Rick Riordan	Disney-Hyperion Books	[17]
2018	Children of Blood and Bone	Tomi Adeyemi	Henry Holt and Company	[18][28]
2019	Bloodwitch	Susan Dennard	Tor Books	[20]
2020	Finch Merlin and the Fount of Youth	Bella Forrest	Nightlight Books	[21]
2021	A Wizard's Guide to Defensive Baking	T. Kingfisher	Argyll Productions	[22]
2022	A Dark and Starless Forest	Sarah Hollowell	HMH Books for Young Readers	[23][24]
2023	The Golden Enclaves	Naomi Novik	Del Rey Books	[25]
2024	Midnight at the Houdini	Delilah S. Dawson	Delacorte Press	[26]

Best Illustrative Cover

The category "Best Illustrative Cover" was first introduced in 2023.

Year	Work	Artist(s)	Author(s)	Publisher(s)	Ref.
2023	Tower of Silence	Kurt Miller	Larry Correia	Baen Books	[25]
2024	Of Jade and Dragons	Kelly Chong	Amber Chen	Viking Books for Young Readers	[26]

Best Comic Book

The categories "Best Comic Book" and "Best Graphic Novel" were combined into a single category in 2023.

Year	Work	Author(s)/ Artist(s)	Publisher(s)	Ref.
2016	Ms. Marvel	Sana Amanat, Stephen Wacker, G. Willow Wilson, Adrian Alphona	Marvel Comics	[29]
2017	The Dresden Files: Dog Men	Jim Butcher, Mark Powers	Dynamite Entertainment	[30][31]
2018	Mighty Thor	Jason Aaron and Russell Dauterman	Marvel Comics	[18][32]
2019	Saga	Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples	Image Comics	[20][32]
2020	Avengers	Jason Aaron & Ed McGuinness	Marvel	[21]
2021	X-Men	Jonathan Hickman & Mahmud Asrar	Marvel	[22]
2022	Immortal X-Men	Kieron Gillen and Mark Brooks	Marvel	[23][24]

Best Graphic Novel

The categories "Best Comic Book" and "Best Graphic Novel" were combined into a single category in 2023.

Year	Work	Author(s)/ Artist(s)	Publisher(s)	Ref.
2016	The Sandman: Overture	Neil Gaiman, J. H. Williams III	Vertigo Comics	[16]
2017	The Dresden Files: Wild Card	Jim Butcher, Carlos Gomez	Dynamite Entertainment	[17]
2018	White Sand, Volume 1	Brandon Sanderson, Rik Hoskin and Julius M. Gopez	Dynamite Entertainment	[18][33]
2019	X-Men: Grand Design – Second Genesis	Ed Piskor	Marvel Comics	[20][33]
2020	Battlestar Galactica: Counterstrike!	John Jackson Miller & Daniel HDR	Dynamite Entertainment	[21]
2021	The Magicians: New Class	Lev Grossman, Lilah Sturges & Pius Bak	Archaia Entertainment	[22]
2022	Dune: House Atreides Volume 2	Brian Herbert, Kevin J. Anderson, and Dev Pramanik	BOOM! Studios	[23][24]

Best Comic Book/Graphic Novel

"Best Comic Book" and "Best Graphic Novel" existed as separate categories before 2023.

Year	Work	Author(s)/ Artist(s)	Publisher(s)	Ref.
2023	Dune: House Harkonnen	Brian Herbert, Kevin J. Anderson, and Michael Shelfer	BOOM! Studios	[25]
2024	Monstress	Marjorie Liu and Sana Takeda	Image Comics	[26]

Best Science Fiction or Fantasy Movie

Year	Work	Creator(s)	Studio	Ref.
2016	The Martian	Ridley Scott (director), Drew Goddard (writer)	Scott Free Productions, Kinberg Genre, TSG Entertainment	[29]
2017	Wonder Woman	Patty Jenkins (director), Allan Heinberg (writer), Zack Snyder (writer), Jason Fuchs (writer)	RatPac-Dune Entertainment, DC Films, Tencent Pictures, Wanda Pictures, Atlas Entertainment, Cruel and Unusual Films	[30]
2018	Black Panther	Ryan Coogler (director, writer), Joe Robert Cole (writer)	Marvel Studios	[18]
2019	Avengers: Endgame	Russo brothers (directors)	Marvel Studios	[34]
2020	Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker	J. J. Abrams	Disney	[21]
2021	The Old Guard	Gina Prince-Bythewood	Netflix	[22]
2022	Dune	Denis Villeneuve	Legendary Pictures	[23][24]
2023	Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves	Jonathan Goldstein (director, writer), John Francis Daley (director, writer), Michael Gilio (writer)	Paramount Pictures	[25]
2024	Dune: Part Two	Denis Villeneuve (director, writer), Jon Spaihts (writer)	Legendary Pictures	[26]

Best Science Fiction or Fantasy TV Series

Year	Work	Creator(s)	Released on	Ref.
2016	Game of Thrones	David Benioff and D. B. Weiss	HBO	[29]
2017	Stranger Things	The Duffer Brothers	Netflix	[30]
2018	Game of Thrones	David Benioff and D. B. Weiss	HBO	[18]
2019	Good Omens	Neil Gaiman	Amazon Prime Video	[34]
2020	The Mandalorian	Jon Favreau	Disney+	[21]
2021	The Expanse	Mark Fergus and Hawk Ostby	Amazon Prime Video	[22]
2022	Stranger Things	The Duffer Brothers	Netflix	[23][24]
2023	The Sandman	Neil Gaiman, David S. Goyer and Allan Heinberg	Netflix	[25]
2024	Fallout		Amazon Prime Video	[26]

Best Science Fiction or Fantasy PC/Console Game

The categories "Best Science Fiction or Fantasy PC/Console Game" and "Best Science Fiction or Fantasy Mobile Game" were combined into a single category in 2023.

Year	Work	Publisher(s)	Ref.
2016	Fallout 4	Bethesda Softworks	[35]
2017	The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild	Nintendo	[36]
2019	Middle-earth: Shadow of War	Monolith Productions	[18]
2019	Red Dead Redemption 2	Rockstar Games	[20]
2020	Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order	Respawn Entertainment	[37]
2021	Assassin's Creed: Valhalla	Ubisoft	[22]
2022	Elden Ring	Bandai Namco Entertainment	[23][24]

Best Science Fiction or Fantasy Mobile Game

The categories "Best Science Fiction or Fantasy PC/Console Game" and "Best Science Fiction or Fantasy Mobile Game" were combined into a single category in 2023.

Year	Work	Developers(s)	Ref.
2016	Fallout Shelter	Bethesda Softworks	[35]
2017	Pokémon Go	Niantic	[36]
2018	Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery	Jam City	[18]
2019	Harry Potter: Wizards Unite	Niantic, WB Games San Francisco	[20]
2020	Minecraft Earth	Mojang Studios	[37]
2021	Harry Potter: Puzzles and Spells	Zynga	[22]
2022	Diablo Immortal	Blizzard	[23][24]

Best Digital Game

"Best Science Fiction or Fantasy PC/Console Game" and "Best Science Fiction or Fantasy Mobile Game" existed as separate categories before 2023.

Year	Work	Publisher(s)	Ref.
2023	The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom	Nintendo	[25]
2024	Baldur's Gate 3	Larian Studios	[26]

Best Science Fiction or Fantasy Board Game

The categories "Best Science Fiction or Fantasy Board Game" and "Best Science Fiction or Fantasy Miniatures / Collectible Card / Role-Playing Game" were combined into a single category in 2023.

Year	Work	Publisher(s)	Ref.
2016	Pandemic: Legacy	Z-Man Games	[35]
2017	Betrayal at House on the Hill: Widow's Walk	Avalon Hill	[36]
2018	Red Dragon Inn 6: Villains	Slugfest Games	[18]
2019	Betrayal Legacy	Avalon Hill Games	[20]
2020	Tapestry	Stonemaier Games	[37]
2021	Imperium	Dire Wolf Games	[22]
2022	Star Wars Outer Rim: Unfinished Business	Fantasy Flight Games	[23][24]

Best Science Fiction or Fantasy Miniatures / Collectible Card / Role-Playing Game

Year	Work	Publisher(s)	Ref.
2016	Call of Cthulhu Roleplaying Game (7th edition)	Chaosium	[35]
2017	Magic: The Gathering: Eldritch Moon	Wizards of the Coast	[36]
2018	Magic: The Gathering: Unstable	Wizards of the Coast	[18]
2019	Call of Cthulhu: Masks of Nyarlathotep Slipcase Set	Chaosium	[20]
2020	Magic: The Gathering: Throne of Eldraine	Wizards of the Coast	[37]
2021	Warhammer: Age of Sigmar: Soulbound Role-Playing Game	Cubicle 7	[22]
2022	Magic: The Gathering, Dungeons & Dragons: Adventures in the Forgotten Realms	Wizards of the Coast	[23][24]

Best Tabletop Game

"Best Science Fiction or Fantasy Board Game" and "Best Science Fiction or Fantasy Miniatures / Collectible Card / Role-Playing Game" existed as separate categories before 2023.

Year	Work	Publisher(s)	Ref.
2023	Magic the Gathering: The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth	Wizards of the Coast	[25]
2024	D&D The Deck of Many Things	Wizards of the Coast	[26]