Here are the finalists for the 2024 Dragon Awards

Over the last couple of years, I've been following the rise of the Dragon Awards, a newish prize in the SF/F world from fans at Atlanta Georgia's DragonCon that was founded in 2016.

It had something of a complicated history: it came right at the moment that the Hugo Awards and SF Fandom were grappling with some big issues about the nature of fandom, with one side (the "Sad Puppies" making some bad-faith arguments about just wanting good stories – which came in response to more women and authors of color earning top prizes from Hugo voters). For a moment, it seemed as though the Dragon Awards would be the Sad Puppy's consolation prize: an award that they could give themselves.

That hasn't actually been the case: voting is open to anyone, and over the last couple of years, I've been impressed with the range of books that have been making it onto the final ballots. There's a real mix of critical favorites and bestsellers and crowd-pleasers, and I think it's a good indication that most of the arguments from the Puppies were pretty dumb: people aren't generally gravitating towards ideology when they reach for their next book, and the stuff that they were complaining about? They're broadly enjoyed by more than just traditional fans!

I've also come to generally think of the Dragon Awards as the type of readership that I sort of think about when I'm writing for this newsletter: a broad swath of fandom that extends beyond traditional print fandom and including fans who're also consuming things across mediums, genres, and franchises. Overall, I think this is a pretty good reading list if you're looking for something interesting to pick up.

Voting is open to the public and starts today: you can sign up to vote here. The winners will be announced on Sunday, September 1st at Dragon Con.

Here's the full list of finalists:

Best Science Fiction Novel

• The Jinn-Bot of Shantiport by Samit Basu
• The Saint of Bright Doors by Vajra Chandrasekera
• Theft of Fire by Devon Eriksen
• These Burning Stars by Bethany Jacobs
• Beyond the Ranges by John Ringo, James Aidee
• Starter Villain by John Scalzi
• System Collapse by Martha Wells

Best Fantasy Novel (Including Paranormal)

• Three Kinds of Lucky by Kim Harrison
• The Water Outlaws by S.L. Huang
• He Who Drowned the World by Shelley Parker-Chan
• My Brother’s Keeper by Tim Powers
• House of Open Wounds by Adrian Tchaikovsky
• Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros

Best Young Adult / Middle Grade Novel

• Homecoming in Black by J.M. Anjewierden
• So Let Them Burn by Kamilah Cole
• Midnight at the Houdini by Delilah S. Dawson
• Hideki Smith, Demon Queller by A.J. Hartley, Hisako Osako, Kuma Hartley
• Death Lord Arcanist by Shami Stovall
• The Spirit Bares Its Teeth by Andrew Joseph White

Best Alternate History Novel

• Devil’s Battle by Taylor Anderson
• 1638: The Sovereign States by Eric Flint, Paula Goodlett, Gorg Huff
• All the Dead Shall Weep by Charlaine Harris
• Dirty Water by Tom Kratman
• Cahokia Jazz by Francis Spufford
• The Wages of Sin by Harry Turtledove

Best Horror Novel

• The Hollow Dead by Darcy Coates
• The Reformatory by Tananarive Due
• Dead Storm Rising by Shane Gries
• The Dead Take the A Train by Richard Kadrey, Cassandra Khaw
• Black River Orchard by Chuck Wendig
• Double Dose by F. Paul Wilson

Best Illustrative Book Cover

• Dragonesque by Justin Adams
• The Silverblood Promise by Jeff Brown
• Yumi and the Nightmare Painter by Aliya Chen
• Of Jade and Dragons by Kelly Chong
• Beyond Enemies by Sam R. Kennedy

Best Comic Book / Graphic Novel

• X-Men: Forever by Kieron Gillen, Luca Maresca
• Wonder Woman by Tom King, Daniel Sampere
• Monstress by Marjorie Liu, Sana Takeda
• Canary by Scott Snyder, Dan Panosian
• Nightwing by Tom Taylor, Bruno Redondo
• Batman by Chip Zdarsky, Jorge Jimenez

Best Science Fiction or Fantasy TV Series, TV or Internet

• 3 Body Problem, Netflix
• Ahsoka, Disney+
• Fallout, Amazon Prime Video
• For All Mankind, Apple TV+
• Good Omens, Amazon Prime Video
• House of the Dragon, HBO
• Loki, Disney+
• Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, Apple TV+
• Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, Paramount+

Best Science Fiction or Fantasy Movie

• Dune: Part Two by Denis Villeneuve
• Barbie by Greta Gerwig
• Godzilla Minus One by Takashi Yamazaki
• Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga by George Miller
• The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Francis Lawrence
• Wonka by Paul King

Best Digital Game

• Alan Wake 2, Remedy Entertainment
• Baldur’s Gate 3, Larian Studios
• Dragon’s Dogma 2, Capcom
• Elden Ring: Shadow of the Erdtree, FromSoftware
• Starfield, Bethesda Game Studios
• Helldivers 2, Arrowhead Game Studios

Best Tabletop Game

• Cascadia: Landmarks, Flatout Games
• D&D The Deck of Many Things, Wizards of the Coast
• Disney Lorcana, Ravensburger
• Dune: Imperium – Uprising, Dire Wolf
• Gloomhaven: Buttons & Bugs, Cephalofair Games
• Magic: The Gathering Wilds of Eldraine, Wizards of the Coast