DRAGON AWARDS RECOGNIZE FANS’ FAVORITES IN FICTION, GAMES, AND OTHER ENTERTAINMENT

James S.A. Corey’s Leviathan Falls Recognized as Best Science Fiction Novel

Comic Book Legend Jim Starlin, Short Fiction Author Sarah Pinsker, and Fandom Champion

John Carroll Honored for Contributions to Writing, Fandom, and the Industry

ATLANTA – September 4, 2022 – Dragon Con, the internationally known pop culture, sci fi, fantasy, and gaming convention, announced the winners of its 7^th annual Dragon Awards, a fan’s choice awards program to recognize the best in books, comics, games, and filmed entertainment.

Leading this year’s Dragon Awards, Leviathan Falls by James S.A. Corey was the fans’ choice in the Best Science Fiction Novel category. This is Corey’s second Dragon, with Babylon’s Ashes winning in 2017.

Dragon Con also announced three other convention awards, recognizing achievement in short fiction and lifelong contributions to the profession and fandom.

Where Oaken Hearts Do Gather by Sarah Pinsker 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 Elaine Cuyegkeng (2021), Simone Heller (2019), and Fran Wilde (2018).  No award was given in 2020.

The Julie Award, given to an industry professional for universal achievement spanning multiple genres, was awarded to comic book writer and artist Jim Starlin, who created Thanos, Shang-Chi, Dreadstar, and many other best-recognized characters. Starlin was also a pioneer in securing creator ownership for comics artists and writers.

And, John Carroll 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 15-year volunteer at Dragon Con, working in the convention’s Tech Ops and other departments, but also has supported several other science fiction and fantasy conventions around metro Atlanta including sister convention MomoCon.     

The Dragon Awards were created in 2016 as part of Dragon Con’s 30^th 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. 4 at Dragon Con 2022 in downtown Atlanta.

Final voting was held via the dedicated Dragon Awards website, and the voting period ran from mid-August to Sept. 3. The ballot was selected in an open nomination process in which fans nominated their favorite properties. The nomination period ran from early November 2021 until July 2022. The best and most popular of the nominated properties were elevated to the ballot.

And the Dragon Award winners are …

Best Science Fiction Novel          

Leviathan Falls by James S.A. Corey

Best Fantasy Novel (Including Paranormal)         

Book of Night by Holly Black

Best Young Adult / Middle Grade Novel

A Dark and Starless Forest by Sarah Hollowell

Best Military Science Fiction or Fantasy Novel  

A Call to Insurrection by David Weber, Timothy Zahn, Thomas Pope

Best Alternate History Novel     

The Silver Bullets of Annie Oakley by Mercedes Lackey

Best Media Tie-In Novel              

Star Wars: Thrawn Ascendancy: Lesser Evil by Timothy Zahn

Best Horror Novel          

The Book of Accidents by Chuck Wendig

Best Comic Book             

Immortal X-Men by Kieron Gillen, Mark Brooks

Best Graphic Novel        

Dune: House Atreides Volume 2 by Brian Herbert, Kevin J. Anderson, Dev Pramanik

Best Science Fiction or Fantasy TV Series             

Stranger Things, Netflix

Best Science Fiction of Fantasy Movie   

Dune by Denis Villeneuve

Best Science Fiction or Fantasy PC / Console Game         

Elden Ring, Bandai Namco Entertainment

Best Science Fiction of Fantasy Mobile Game    

Diablo Immortal, Blizzard

Best Science Fiction or Fantasy Board Game      

Star Wars Outer Rim: Unfinished Business, Fantasy Flight Games

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

Magic: The Gathering, Dungeons & Dragons: Adventures in the Forgotten Realms, Wizards of the Coast

About Dragon Con

Dragon Con is the internationally known pop culture convention held each Labor Day in Atlanta. Organized for fans, Dragon Con features more than about 3,500 hours of comics, film, television, costuming, art, music, and gaming over five days. For more information, please visit www.dragoncon.org and follow us on Facebook and Twitter.