The winners of Dragon Con’s sixth annual Dragon Awards were announced during the internationally known pop culture, sci fi, fantasy, and gaming convention held over Labor Day weekend, and here are the winners:
The Genetic Alchemist’s Daughter by Elaine Cuyegkeng was honored with the Eugie Foster Memorial Award for Short Fiction, established in the memory of the Nebula-award winning author and long-time Dragon Con volunteer director. A juried award, the “Eugie” celebrates the best in innovative fiction. Past winners include Simone Heller (2019), Fran Wilde (2018), and N.K Jemisin (2017).
The Julie Award, given to an industry professional for universal achievement spanning multiple genres, was awarded to comic book writer Chris Claremont, best known for his 16 years at the helm of Uncanny X-men and creating several of the best-known characters such as Rogue and Mystique, lifting Wolverine into one the most popular characters of all time, and turning the notion of mutants into a metaphor for the way America treats minorities and migrants.
And, Jeffrey Moore was recognized with the Hank Reinhardt Fandom Award, given each year to an individual who has made significant contributions to fandom. Moore has not only been a 25-year volunteer at Dragon Con, working each year in the convention’s Safety department, but also has supported several other science fiction and fantasy conventions around metro Atlanta.
The Dragon Awards were created in 2016 as part of Dragon Con’s 30th anniversary celebration. All fans – not just Dragon Con members or attendees – were invited to nominate their favorite properties for the awards and then select Dragon Award winners by voting on the annual Dragon Awards ballot.
More than 7,000 fans cast ballots for this year’s Dragon Award winners, selected from among 93 properties in 15 categories covering the full range of fiction, comics, television, movies, video gaming, and tabletop gaming. Winners were announced on Sept. 5 at Dragon Con 2021 in downtown Atlanta.
Final voting was held via the dedicated Dragon Awards website, and the voting period ran from August 13 to Sept. 4. The ballot was selected in an open nomination process in which fans nominated their favorite properties. The nomination period ran from early November 2020 until late July. The best and most popular of the nominated properties were elevated to the ballot.
And the Dragon Award winners are …
Best Science Fiction Novel
Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir
I just finished reading this book and highly recommend it! Fans of Weir’s The Martian will undoubtedly love it. This is Weir’s second Dragon, following his 2018 win for Artemis.
Best Fantasy Novel (Including Paranormal)
Battle Ground by Jim Butcher
Best Young Adult / Middle Grade Novel
A Wizard’s Guide to Defensive Baking by T. Kingfisher
Best Military Science Fiction or Fantasy Novel
Gun Runner by Larry Correia, John D. Brown
Best Alternate History Novel
1637: No Peace Beyond The Line by Eric Flint, Charles Gannon
Best Media Tie-In Novel
Firefly: Generations by Tim Lebbon
Best Horror Novel
The Hollow Places by T. Kingfisher
Best Comic Book
X-Men by Jonathan Hickman, Mahmud Asrar
Best Graphic Novel
The Magicians: New Class by Lev Grossman, Lilah Sturges, Pius Bak
Best Science Fiction or Fantasy TV Series
The Expanse, Amazon
Best Science Fiction or Fantasy Movie
The Old Guard by Gina Prince-Bythewood
Best Science Fiction or Fantasy PC / Console Game
Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla, Ubisoft
Best Science Fiction or Fantasy Mobile Game
Harry Potter: Puzzles and Spells, Zynga
Best Science Fiction or Fantasy Board Game
Dune: Imperium, Dire Wolf Games
Best Science Fiction or Fantasy Miniatures / Collectible Card / Role-Playing Game
Warhammer: Age of Sigmar: Soulbound Role-Playing Game, Cubicle 7