The Dragon Awards are a set of

literary Literature is any collection of written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially novels, plays, and poems. It includes both print and digital writing. In recent centuries, ...

and media awards voted on by

fandom A fandom is a subculture composed of Fan (person), fans characterized by a feeling of camaraderie with others who share a common interest. Fans typically are interested in even minor details of the objects of their fandom and spend a significan ...

and presented annually since 2016 by Dragon Con for excellence in various categories of

science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction that involves supernatural or Magic (supernatural), magical elements, often including Fictional universe, imaginary places and Legendary creature, creatures. The genre's roots lie in oral traditions, ...

, and horror in various media — novels, movies, television, and games.

History

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

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

. A unique feature of the Awards is that it runs a diverse set of subgenera on the ballot. The finalist short list for the first Dragon Awards was announced on August 11, 2016, and the winners were announced on September 4 that year. In 2017, nominated authors Allison Littlewood,

John Scalzi John Michael Scalzi II (born May 10, 1969) is an American science fiction author and former president of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America. He is best known for his ''Old Man's War'' series, three novels of which have been n ...

, 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.

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. The Dragon Awards website states that they " eservethe right to invalidate suspect or questionable ballots without notice," 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." Language describing the review of nominations does not state that nominations are counted numerically but are "gathered and reviewed to create a final ballot." 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." *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 Sad Puppies was an unsuccessful right-wing anti-diversity voting campaign run from 2013 to 2017 and intended to influence the outcome of the annual Hugo Awards, the longest-running prize (since 1953) for science fiction or fantasy works. It wa ...

to attack the

Hugo Award The Hugo Award is an annual literary award for the best science fiction or fantasy works and achievements of the previous year, given at the World Science Fiction Convention (Worldcon) and chosen by its members. The award is administered by th ...

. Another concern raised is regarding the opaqueness of the nomination and voting process.

Winners

The full list of nominees ("shortlist") can be found at List of Dragon Award nominees.

Best Science Fiction Novel

Best Fantasy Novel

Best Young Adult / Middle Grade Novel

Best Military Science Fiction or Fantasy Novel

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

Best Alternate History Novel

Best Apocalyptic Novel

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

Best Media Tie-In Novel

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

Best Horror Novel

Best Illustrative Cover

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

Best Comic Book

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

Best Graphic Novel

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

Best Comic Book/Graphic Novel

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

Best Science Fiction or Fantasy TV Series

Best Science Fiction or Fantasy Movie

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

References

{{Fantasy fiction 2016 establishments in the United States Awards established in 2016 Board game awards Fantasy awards American fiction awards American film awards Game awards Science fiction awards American television awards Video game awards Comics awards in the United States