Celebrating a Decade of Dragon Awards: Honoring Fan Favorites in Fiction and Entertainment

Dragon Con, the internationally known pop culture, sci fi, fantasy, and gaming convention, announced the winners of its 10^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, The Inevitable Ruin by Matt Dinniman was the fans’ choice in the Best Science Fiction Novel category.

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

Mary Robinette Kowal was honored for work, “Marginalia,” 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 Rachael K. Jones (2024), Rich Larson (2023), and Sarah Pinsker (2022).

The Julie Award, presented to an industry professional for universal achievement spanning multiple genres, was awarded to Muppeteer David Goelz. Best known for performing Gonzo the Great, Dr. Benson Honeydew, and other beloved Muppet characters, Goelz joined The Jim Henson Company in 1973 and quickly became a key performer in many Muppet productions, including The Muppet Show, Fraggle Rock, and various movies and television specials. Goelz won an Emmy Award for The Muppet Show and two Grammy Awards, one each for The Muppet Show and The Muppet Movie.

Anaïs Godard received the Mike Resnick Memorial Award for Short Fiction for her work, “Elsewhere.” The Resnick award, sponsored by Galaxy’s Edge anthologies (published by Arc Manor) and Dragon Con, celebrates new, unpublished authors and is given in the memory of Mike Resnick, a prolific publisher who was widely known for helping new writers start their careers.

Finally, Mike Henigan was recognized with the Hank Reinhardt Fandom Award, given each year to an individual who has made significant contributions to fandom in Georgia. Henigan, who died earlier this summer, spent more than 30 years as a volunteer at Dragon Con and several other conventions, providing invaluable service to fan communities. He also invested himself in the wider community, earning significant volunteer honors from Intown Food Pantry and the Jaycees. His husband, Kelly Hilliard, accepted the award on his behalf.

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 – are invited to nominate their favorite properties for the awards and then select Dragon Award winners by voting on the annual Dragon Awards ballot. 

Nearly 6,000 fans cast ballots for this year’s Dragon Award winners, selected from among 67 entries in 11 categories covering the full range of fiction, comics, television, movies, video gaming, and tabletop gaming. Winners were announced on Aug. 31 at Dragon Con 2025 in downtown Atlanta.

Final voting was held via the dedicated Dragon Awards website, and the voting period ran from Aug. 4 to Aug. 30. The ballot was selected in an open nomination process in which fans nominated their favorite properties. The nomination period ran from early November 2024 until July 2025. The highest-rated nominations were elevated to the final ballot. 

And the Dragon Award winners are …

Best Science Fiction Novel

This Inevitable Ruin by Matt Dinniman

Best Fantasy Novel (Including Paranormal)

The Devils by Joe Abercrombie

Best Young Adult / Middle Grade Novel

Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins

Best Alternate History Novel

The Martian Contingency by Mary Robinette Kowal

Best Horror Novel

Bury Your Gays by Chuck Tingle

Best Illustrative Book Cover

Wind and Truth by Michael Whelan

Best Comic Book / Graphic Novel

Daredevil: Cold Day in Hell by Charles Soule, Steve McNiven

Best Science Fiction or Fantasy TV Series (TV or Internet)

Andor, Disney+

Best Science Fiction or Fantasy Movie

Deadpool & Wolverine by Shawn Levy

Best Digital Game

Assassin's Creed Shadows, Ubisoft Quebec

Best Tabletop Game

Magic: the Gathering – Final Fantasy, Wizards of the Coast

About Dragon Con

Dragon Con is the internationally known pop culture convention held each Labor Day Weekend (Aug. 28 - Sept. 1, 2025) in Atlanta. Organized for fans, Dragon Con features more than 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, Instagram and X.