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# Here are the finalists for the 2023 Dragon Awards
- URL: https://www.andrewliptak.com/dragon-awards-con-2023-finalists-leckie-kuang-tchaikovsky-zahn/
- Published: 2023-08-10T12:58:46.000Z
- Updated: 2023-08-10T12:58:46.000Z
- Description: A nice snapshot of the SF/F of 2023
- Author: Andrew Liptak
- Tags: News, Science Fiction

Dragon Con, the enormous, multimedia convention that takes place annually in Atlanta, Georgia, is coming this Labor Day weekend. In advance of that, it's [announced](https://www.dragoncon.org/awards/2023-dragon-award-ballot/?ref=andrewliptak.com) its finalists for the annual Dragon Award, now in its eighth year. 

The award [originated as something of a populist, counter-Hugo Award project](https://www.theverge.com/2016/8/13/12461038/dragon-awards-shortlist-dragoncon-science-fiction-fantasy?ref=andrewliptak.com) from certain segments of fandom, then roiling in a bad-faith controversy over the Hugo from a bunch of right-wing jackasses looking to advance a culture war front. It had some [stumbling points](https://www.theverge.com/2017/8/9/16118054/john-scalzi-alison-littlewood-dragon-awards-controversy-sci-fi-horror?ref=andrewliptak.com), but in the years since, it's become something of a wide-ranging award that hasn't devolved into the sort of alt-right vanity prize that most people expected. (Here are the finalists from [2021](https://www.andrewliptak.com/here-are-the-2021-dragon-award-finalists/) and [2022](https://www.andrewliptak.com/dragon-awards-2022-dragoncon-sci-fi-fantasy/).) The award does have a different flavor than that of the Hugo and Nebula, and it's – in my mind – a good demonstration that the science fiction community isn't a monolith of tastes and preferences. 

This year's awards feels like it's a good snapshot of big parts of the SF/F world: you've got some critical heavyweights like Ann Leckie, Martha Wells, and R.F. Kuang, as well as some super-popular authors like Brandon Sanderson and Timothy Zahn. Overall, it feels like a ballot that aligns nicely with my own tastes and that of this newsletter's, and I hope that it'll remain that way. 

The nice thing about it is that you don't need to be attending the con to take part: [voting is now open to the general public](https://application.dragoncon.net/dc%5Ffan%5Fawards%5Fsignup.php?ref=andrewliptak.com). 

Here's the full list of finalists: 

### Best Science Fiction Novel

- **Eversion* by Alastair Reynolds
- **The Spare Man* by Mary Robinette Kowal
- **Children of Memory* by Adrian Tchaikovsky
- **Translation Slate* by Ann Leckie
- **Neom* by Lavie Tidhar
- **The Daughter of Doctor Moreau* by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
- **The Icarus Plot* by Timothy Zahn

### Best Fantasy Novel (Including Paranormal)

- **The Witch King* by Martha Wells
- **Tower of Silence* by Larry Correia
- **Babel* by R. F. Kuang
- **Tress of the Emerald Sea* by Brandon Sanderson
- **Into the Vortex* by Charles E. Gannon
- **The Atlas Paradox* by Olivie Blake

### Best Young Adult / Middle Grade Novel

- **The Golden Enclaves* by Naomi Novik
- **The Scratch Daughters* by H. A. Clarke
- **Rust in the Root* by Justina Ireland
- **Academy Arcanist* by Shami Stovall
- **Foul Lady Fortune* by Chloe Gong
- **Bloodmarked* by Tracy Deonn

### Best Alternate History Novel

- **Lost In Time* by A.G. Riddle
- **Hidden Voices* by Dan Willis
- **Halcyon* by Elliot Ackerman
- **The Mother* by B.L. Blanchard
- **The Revolutionary War* by Christopher G. Nuttall

### Best Horror Novel

- **The Devil Takes You Home* by Gabino Iglesias
- **Reluctant Immortals* by Gwendolyn Kiste
- **A House With Good Bones* by T. Kingfisher
- **No Gods For Drowning* by Hailey Piper
- **The Pallbearers Club* by Paul Tremblay
- **The Only One Left* by Riley Sager

### Best Illustrative Cover

- **Ashes of Man* by Kieran Yanner
- **River of Ashes* by Sam Shearon
- **But Not Broken* by Cedar Sanderson
- **Titan Mage: Apocalypse* by Jackson Tjota
- **Tower of Silence* by Kurt Miller
- **Wraithbound* by Jeff Brown

****Best Comic Book or Graphic Novel**

- **Dune: House Harkonnen* by Brian Herbert, Kevin J Anderson, Michael Shelfer  
**Kaya* by Wes Craig
- **Dawn of DC: Green Arrow* by Joshua Williamson, Sean Izaakse
- **Wolverine* by Benjamin Percy, Juan Jose Ryp
- **X-Men* by Gerry Duggan, Joshua Cassara
- **Night Fever* by Ed Brubaker, Sean Phillips, Jacob Phillips

****Best Science Fiction or Fantasy TV Series, TV or Internet**

- **Andor*, Disney+
- **The Last of Us*, HBO
- **The Sandman*, Netflix
- **Strange New Worlds*, Paramount+
- **The Mandalorian*, Disney+
- **Picard*, Paramount+
- **House of the Dragon*, HBO

### Best Science Fiction or Fantasy Movie

- **Avatar: The Way of Water* by James Cameron
- **Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves* by Jonathan Goldstein, John Francis Daley
- **Everything Everywhere All at Once* by Daniel Kwan, Daniel Scheinert
- **Guardians of the Galaxy 3* by James Gunn
- **Puss in Boots: The Last Wish* by Joel Crawford
- **Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse* by Joaquim Dos Santos, Kemp Powers, Justin K. Thompson

### Best Digital Game

- **Diablo IV*, Blizzard Entertainment
- **Hogwarts Legacy*, Avalanche Software
- **Star Wars Jedi: Survivor*, Respawn Entertainment
- **The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom*, Nintendo EPD
- **Overwatch 2*, Blizzard Entertainment
- **Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II*, Infinity Ward

### Best Tabletop Game

- *Frosthaven*, Cephalofair Games
- *Earth*, Inside Up Games
- *Magic the Gathering: The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth*, Wizards of the Coast
- *Dorfromantik – The Boardgame*, Pegasus Spiele
- *Turing Machine*, Scorpion Masque
- *Alien Role-playing Game: Heart of Darkness*, Free League