DRAGON CON ANNOUNCES DRAGON AWARD WINNERS

Over 8,000 Voters Cast Ballots in the 2^nd Annual Dragon Awards Recognizing

the Best in Books, Comics, Games and Filmed Entertainment

ATLANTA – September 3, 2017 – Dragon Con, the internationally known pop culture, sci fi, fantasy, and gaming convention, announced the winners of its 2^nd annual Dragon Awards, a fan’s choice awards program to recognize the best in books, comics, games and filmed entertainment.

More than 8,000 fans cast ballots for Dragon Award winners among 88 properties in 15 categories covering the full range of fiction, comics, television, movies, video gaming and tabletop gaming.  Winners were announced on Sept. 3 at Dragon Con, which runs September 1 to September 4, 2017 in Atlanta.

Final voting was held via the dedicated Dragon Awards website, and the voting period ran from August 3 to September 2.  The ballot was selected in an open nomination process in which fans nominated their favorite properties.  The nomination period ran from early April until July 25. The best and most popular of the nominated properties were elevated to the ballot.

The Dragon Awards were introduced in 2016 as part of the 30^th Anniversary of Dragon Con, Atlanta’s internationally known pop culture, fantasy, sci-fi and gaming convention.

And the winners are …

Best Science Fiction Novel

Babylon’s Ashes, by James S.A. Corey

Best Fantasy Novel (Including Paranormal)

Monster Hunter Memoirs: Grunge, by Larry Correia and John Ringo

Best Young Adult / Middle Grade Novel

The Hammer of Thor, by Rick Riordan

Best Military Science Fiction or Fantasy Novel

Iron Dragoons, by Richard Fox

Best Alternate History Novel

Fallout: The Hot War, by Harry Turtledove

Best Apocalyptic Novel

Walkaway, by Cory Doctorow

Best Horror Novel

The Changeling, by Victor LaValle

Best Comic Book

The Dresden Files: Dog Men, by Jim Butcher, Mark Powers, Diego Galindo

Best Graphic Novel

Jim Butcher’s The Dresden Files: Wild Card, by Jim Butcher, Carlos Gomez

Best Science Fiction or Fantasy TV Series

Stranger Things, by Netflix

Best Science Fiction or Fantasy Movie

Wonder Woman directed, by Patty Jenkins

Best Science Fiction or Fantasy PC / Console Game

The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, by Nintendo

Best Science Fiction or Fantasy Mobile Game

Pokemon GO, by Niantic

Best Science Fiction or Fantasy Board Game

Betrayal at House on the Hill: Widow’s Walk, by Avalon Hill

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

Magic the Gathering: Eldritch Moon, by 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 3,000 hours of comics, film, television, costuming, art, music, and gaming over four days. For more information, please visit www.dragoncon.org and follow us on Facebook and Twitter.

Table of Contents

• How to Contact Media Relations
• Dragon Con Media Relations has limited availability 8/29-8/31
• How to Get your Badge
• Not Coming to Dragon Con?
• Media Events at Dragon Con
  • Pub Crawl
  • New Reporter Walk Through
  • Parade
  • Podcast Opportunities
  • Interview Dragon Con Spokesperson
  • Parade
• Cancellations
• Updates

(more…)

Dragon Con Media Relations will be closing our home offices on 8/29 and beginning our epic journey to the Hyatt Regency.  We will open our doors as close to Noon as possible on Thursday 8/31. If you need to reach us between 8/29 and 9/31, email is the best method.  After 2PM on 9/31 the best way to reach is is to the call the Hyatt Regency We are watching it and will respond as soon as we can.

Email: MediaRelations@dragoncon.org

Hyatt Phone: 404 577 1234

Interview Update: 

These are the Official Logos of Dragon Con 2017! We actually changed them a bit ago, but some folks still have the old ones. Now you have the new ones!

Thumbnail: 196×142

Medium Size – 300 x 218

High Res: 1024 x 744 (Click for Full Size)

Please do not use the personal social media images from any Dragon Con Volunteer, including Media Relations Staff, for any content creation or promotions material for your outlet. We had an incident were a local radio station pieced a collage pictures of Dragon Con Director that were clearly not related to Dragon Con with were humorous photoshops. These are not Dragon Con promotional materials, and the personal social media of all Dragon Con volunteers are their own property and not available to anyone. Please respect this principle.

The images you can use are found on this website in two locations:

• Press Kit Photos
• Meet the Dragon Con Media Relations Team

Further, when referring to the Dragon Con Media Relations Director, or the Dragon Con Media Relations Team, please use the @DragonConMedia twitter handle, and not our personal identities, our podcasts, our blogs or other individually identifying means.

For immediate release:

 ATLANTA – August 17^th, 2017 – Star Wars at Dragon Con is pleased to announce that we will be celebrating the release of the Journey to Star Wars: The Last Jedi books “LEIA, PRINCESS OF ALDERAAN” and “PHASMA” with an official book launch, Friday September 1^st, at 8:30pm in the Marriott A706. The Missing Volume book seller will have copies available for purchase on site and authors Claudia Gray and Delilah S. Dawson will be in attendance to sign copies purchased at the event. This book launch is closed to the public and all attendees must have a valid Dragon Con membership to attend.

For more information, please contact Brandy Roatsey, Director of Star Wars Programming for Dragon Con, at swatdc@dragoncon.org.

SWATDC 2017 book poster v3 PDF File

Cancellations

Due to professional commitments, the following previously confirmed guests will not be able to attend Dragon Con this year.

• Taylor Anderson
• Kate Baker
• Ric Flair
• Lena Headey
• Jon Heder

Dragon Con 2017 Media Access Applications are closed. Onsite approval is provided only in the following cases:

• Broadcast media with a significant signal
• Press with a wide distribution
• Significant national media

We thank all the reporters who have applied for media access.

If you have questions about this or anything regarding Dragon Con Media Relations, please email mediarelations@dragoncon.org with your questions or concerns.

To Press Attending Dragon Con 2017:

Starr Long and Richard “Lord British” Garriott will once again be guests at this year’s Dragon Con and are currently accepting appointments for press interviews. They will be appearing on over 10 different panels on the Gaming and Space tracks including talks about Crowdfunding, Richard’s biography Explore/Create, and a panel about their latest game: Shroud of the Avatar. If you are interested in scheduling an interview please contact Starr Long at his email address: slong@portalarium.com .

Shroud of the Avatar is a fantasy RPG that combines a single player narrative with a sandbox MMO. It is being created by a team that includes: Richard “Lord British” Garriott the creator of the Ultima series, Starr Long the original Director of Ultima Online, and Tracy Hickman the author of the beloved Dragonlance Novels and Dungeons & Dragons modules. It is currently the second highest crowdfunded videogame ever.

Richard Garriott de Cayeux is a founding father of the videogame industry and the commercial spaceflight industry, a flown astronaut, and an accomplished explorer. He has been inducted into the computer gaming hall of fame and has received the industry lifetime achievement award. He is credited with creating the now ubiquitous term “avatar” for one’s virtual self and the category of massively multiplayer games (MMORPGs). He authored the acclaimed Ultima Series and has built 3 leading gaming companies: Origin Systems (sold to Electronic Arts), Destination Games (sold to NCsoft) and Portalarium where he is building Shroud of the Avatar, the successor to his previous works. As a principal shaper of the commercial spaceflight industry, he cofounded Space Adventures, the only company to arrange space flights for private citizens and is the sixth private astronaut to live aboard the International Space Station. The son of a NASA astronaut, he became the first second-generation astronaut and has been a key leader in civilian and commercial space as an investor and Board member of institutions such as the X-Prize Foundation, Space Adventures, and Planetary Resources. Richard is an avid explorer, having traveled around the globe from the jungles of the Amazon to the South Pole, the deep seas of the Titanic and hydrothermal vents to orbiting the earth aboard the International Space Station. His non-profit and philanthropic works include serving on the boards of The Explorers Club and The Challenger Center for Science Education. Richard Garriott has been a regular guest at Dragon Con ever since the very first one!

Starr Long has been making video games for twenty-five years, partnering with visionaries like Richard Garriott and Lane Merrifield. Starr started his career at the legendary studio Origin Systems, where he was the director of Ultima Online, the longest running MMO in history. In 2010, UO was inducted into the Online Game Developers Conference Hall of Fame, the first MMO to be so honored. In 2000 Starr co-founded Destination Games with Richard and Robert Garriott, and later that year it was acquired by NCsoft. Starr was named one of the Top 20 Most Influential People in the Massively Multiplayer Online Industry in 2008 by Beckett Massive Online Gamer Magazine. Starr joined The Walt Disney Company as an executive producer in 2009, where he produced the Disney Parent App for Facebook, 8 mini-games in Club Penguin, Club Penguin mobile 1.0, 5 Educational Game apps for iOS and the Disney Connected Learning Platform. In early 2013, Starr joined Portalarium to work on Shroud of the Avatar, currently the second highest crowd funded videogame ever.

Dragon Con is a large, crowded event. Dragon Con Media Relations does not have the space or resources to properly store and protect your equipment.  Because of this we ask that you make arrangements for protecting your equipment on your own.  We would love to be able to accommodate your requests to watch equipment, but this service is not available.