Dragon Con, the internationally known pop culture, sci fi, fantasy, and gaming convention, announced the winners of its 8th annual Dragon Awards, a fan’s choice awards program to recognize the best in books, comics, games, and filmed entertainment.
Dragon Con also announced four other convention awards, recognizing achievement in short fiction and lifelong contributions to the profession and fandom.
Rich Larson and his work, “Quandary Aminu vs The Butterfly Man”, 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 Sarah Pinsker (2022), Elaine Cuyegkeng (2021), and Simone Heller (2019). No award was given in 2020.
The Julie Award, given to an industry professional for universal achievement spanning multiple genres, was awarded to television creator and producer Marty Krofft, of Sid & Marty Krofft Pictures. Their best-known works were Saturday morning staples, including H.R. Pufnstuf, Lidsville, Sigmund & The Sea Monsters, and Land of the Lost plus primetime variety shows including Donny & Marie, The Brady Bunch Variety Hour, and Barbara Mandrell and the Mandrell Sisters.
Daniel Burnbridge was awarded the Mike Resnick Memorial Short Story Award for his work, “For the Great and Immortal.” The Resnick award, sponsored by Galaxy’s Edge anthologies (published by Arc Manor) and Dragon Con, celebrates new, unpublished authors and is given in the memory of Mike Resnick, a prolific publisher who was widely known for helping new writers start their careers.
And, Amanda Makepeace was recognized with the Hank Reinhardt Fandom Award, given each year to an individual who has made significant contributions to fandom in Georgia. Makepeace, an award-winning fantasy and science fiction illustrator and a champion for new and upcoming artists, has also been an integral part of the Dragon Con Arts Show for more than 15 years and was instrumental in revitalizing it in 2018.
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 67 properties in 11 categories covering the full range of fiction, comics, television, movies, video gaming, and tabletop gaming. Winners were announced on Sept. 3 at Dragon Con 2023 in downtown Atlanta.
Final voting was held via the dedicated Dragon Awards website, and the voting period ran from mid-August to Sept. 2. The ballot was selected in an open nomination process in which fans nominated their favorite properties. The nomination period ran from early November 2022 until July 2023. The best and most popular of the nominated properties were elevated to the ballot.
And the Dragon Award winners are …
Best Fantasy Novel (Including Paranormal) The Witch King by Martha Wells
Best Young Adult / Middle Grade Novel The Golden Enclaves by Naomi Novik
Best Alternate History Novel Lost In Time by A.G. Riddle
Best Horror Novel A House With Good Bones by T. Kingfisher
Best Illustrative Cover Tower of Silence by Kurt Miller
Best Comic Book or Graphic Novel Dune: House Harkonnen by Brian Herbert, Kevin J Anderson, Michael Shelfer
Best Science Fiction or Fantasy TV Series, TV or Internet The Sandman, Netflix
Best Science Fiction of Fantasy Movie Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves by Jonathan Goldstein, John Francis Daley
Best Science Fiction or Fantasy Digital Game The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, Nintendo EPD
Best Science Fiction of Fantasy Tabletop Game Magic the Gathering: The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth, Wizards of the Coast
Best Science Fiction Novel The Icarus Plot by Timothy Zahn