The Dragon Awards are a set of literary and media awards presented annually since 2016 for excellence in various categories of science fiction, fantasy, and horror novels, movies, television, and games. The Dragon Awards are among the few awards nominated and voted on directly by fans.

BEST SCIENCE FICTION NOVEL
The Icarus Plot by Timothy Zahn

There wasn’t much money to be made as a Trailblazer, searching out new worlds for possible development. Still, it was safer than the bounty hunter career that had cost Gregory Roarke his left arm six years ago. And thanks to his Kadolian partner Selene’s ultrasensitive sense of smell, they occasionally discovered a medically promising seed or spore they could sell under the table. It was a quiet life, uneventful and mostly legal. 

Until Roarke was approached by two men with a proposal: track down a mysterious woman named Tera and, through her, locate a secret project called Icarus. 

The challenge was intriguing. The unlimited budget was tempting. But Roarke had a more personal reason to accept the job. The chance for long-delayed payback.

BEST FANTASY NOVEL
Witch King by Martha Wells

After being murdered, his consciousness dormant and unaware of the passing of time while confined in an elaborate water trap, Kai wakes to find a lesser mage attempting to harness Kai’s magic to his own advantage. That was never going to go well.

But why was Kai imprisoned in the first place? What has changed in the world since his assassination? And why does the Rising World Coalition appear to be growing in influence?

Kai will need to pull his allies close and draw on all his pain magic if he is to answer even the least of these questions. He’s not going to like the answers.

BEST YOUNG ADULT / MIDDLE GRADE NOVEL
The Golden Enclaves by Naomi Novik

The one thing you never talk about while you’re in the Scholomance is what you’ll do when you get out. Not even the richest enclaver would tempt fate that way. But it’s all we dream about, the hideously slim chance we’ll survive to make it out the gates and improbably find ourselves with a life ahead of us, a life outside the Scholomance halls.

And now the impossible dream has come true. I’m out, we’re all out–and I didn’t even have to turn into a monstrous dark witch to make it happen. So much for my great-grandmother’s prophecy of doom and destruction. I didn’t kill enclavers, I saved them. Me, and Orion, and our allies. Our graduation plan worked to perfection: we saved everyone and made the world safe for all wizards and brought peace and harmony to all the enclaves of the world.

Ha, only joking! Actually it’s gone all wrong. Someone else has picked up the project of destroying enclaves in my stead, and probably everyone we saved is about to get killed in the brewing enclave war on the horizon. And the first thing I’ve got to do now, having miraculously got out of the Scholomance, is turn straight around and find a way back in.

BEST ALTERNATE HISTORY NOVEL
Lost In Time by A.G. Riddle

One morning, Dr. Sam Anderson wakes up to discover that the woman he loves has been murdered.

For Sam, the horror is only beginning. He and his daughter are accused of the crime. The evidence is ironclad. They will be convicted. And so, Sam does what he must: he confesses to the crime.

But in the future, murderers aren’t sent to prison. They’re sent to the past. Two hundred million years into the past—to the age of the dinosaurs—to live out their lives alone, in exile from the human race. Sam accepts his fate.

But his daughter doesn’t.

BEST HORROR NOVEL
A House With Good Bones by T. Kingfisher

“Mom seems off.” Her brother’s words echo in Sam Montgomery’s ear as she turns onto the quiet North Carolina street where their mother lives alone.

She brushes the thought away as she climbs the front steps. Sam’s excited for this rare extended visit, and looking forward to nights with just the two of them, drinking boxed wine, watching murder mystery shows, and guessing who the killer is long before the characters figure it out.

But stepping inside, she quickly realizes home isn’t what it used to be. Gone is the warm, cluttered charm her mom is known for; now the walls are painted a sterile white. Her mom jumps at the smallest noises and looks over her shoulder even when she’s the only person in the room. And when Sam steps out back to clear her head, she finds a jar of teeth hidden beneath the magazine-worthy rose bushes, and vultures are circling the garden from above.

To find out what’s got her mom so frightened in her own home, Sam will go digging for the truth. But some secrets are better left buried.

BEST ILLUSTRATIVE COVER
Tower of Silence by Larry Correia, art by Kurt Miller

The assassination of the Chief Judge has pushed the Capitol to the edge. The Great Extermination has spread to all the land. The casteless must be annihilated. Their only hope is the fallen Protector Ashok Vadal. But Vadal is being held prisoner on the island of Fortress. In order to save those who need him most, he must escape and find his way across the demon-infested sea and return to Thera, the prophet of an illegal and forgotten god. It is she who has sent the Sons of the Black Sword to war against the warrior caste, hoping to buy time until Vadal’s return. But as the chaos swirls, Grand Inquisitor Omand Vokkan launches a coup to install Lord Protector Devedas as his puppet king. Devedas has no intention of being anyone’s puppet, but it may not matter. For Vokkan has struck a secret bargain with a demon. Vokkan will destroy the casteless for this ancient being; in exchange, he will be granted the power of the ancient gods. Ashok Vadal, Thera, and the Sons of the Black Sword face foes both human and supernatural, Byzantine political intrigue and bloody hand-to-hand combat, gods and demons alike. But Vadal is a warrior with a warrior’s heart, and woe to those who would stand in his way—man, god, demon, or otherwise! 

BEST COMIC BOOK OR GRAPHIC NOVEL
Dune: House Harkonnen by Brian Herbert, Kevin J Anderson & Michael Shelfer

Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson return to the vivid universe of Frank Herbert’s Dune, bringing a vast array of rich and complex characters into conflict to shape the destiny of worlds….

As Shaddam sits at last on the Golden Lion Throne, Baron Vladimir Harkonnen plots against the new Emperor and House Atreides — and against the mysterious Sisterhood of the Bene Gesserit. For Leto Atreides, grown complacent and comfortable as ruler of his House, it is a time of momentous choice: between friendship and duty, safety and destiny. But for the survival of House Atreides, there is just one choice — strive for greatness or be crushed.

BEST SCIENCE FICTION OR FANTASY MOVIE
Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves

A charming thief and a band of unlikely adventurers undertake an epic heist to retrieve a lost relic, but things go dangerously awry when they run afoul of the wrong people in this hilarious and action-packed adventure.

BEST SCIENCE FICTION OR FANTASY TV SERIES, TV OR INTERNET
The Sandman

After years of imprisonment, Morpheus — the King of Dreams — embarks on a journey across worlds to find what was stolen from him and restore his power.