Dragon Con will be celebrating its 40th anniversary as Atlanta’s internationally known pop culture, fantasy, sci-fi, and gaming convention. The convention has announced the following:
- Selected Hope Atlanta, Georgia’s longest-standing nonprofit committed to preventing and ending homelessness, as its 2026 official charity.
- Named author Timothy Zahn and artist Tony DiTerlizzi as its 2026 Literary and Artist Guests of Honor.
- Game designer and astronaut Richard Garriott, a guest at Dragon Con’s first convention in 1987, will discuss his efforts to regain control of his pioneering video game Ultima.
- Celebrity Dungeon Master Mark Meer will lead a new D&D Live with the cast of Hades II, including Amelia Tyler, Erin Yvette, Jason Marnocha, Judy Alice Lee, Becca Q. Co, and Ashley Barrett.
- Game designer and Origins Hall of Famer David “Zeb” Cook will draw on his 18 years of designing Dungeons & Dragons campaigns to lead fans in discussions of game design.
- Peter Bramhill, Sena Bryer, and Javier Prusky, voice actors from Final Fantasy XIV, will be on hand to talk about their experiences creating the game.
- Popular Twitch streamer AnEternalEnigma returns to perform his Silent Hill speedrun showcase.
These are just a few of the announcements that the popular festival has made, with more expected to come.
Dragon Con’s 2026 convention runs from Thursday, Sept. 3 through Monday, Sept. 7, with events and activities across five host hotels – Hyatt Regency Atlanta, Marriott Marquis, Hilton Atlanta, Westin Peachtree, and Courtland Grand Hotel – and AmericasMart Buildings 2 and 3.
Now in its 11th year, the Dragon Awards have become a mainstay of the science fiction and fantasy literature landscape, with authors and publishers using the recognition to boost marketing, book sales, and fan engagement. Winners of the Dragon Awards are selected by fans – not just Dragon Con members or convention attendees – and voting is free. View the ballot here.
Earlier this year, Dragon Con announced a partnership with the Fulton County Library System, serving the City of Atlanta and Fulton County. As part of the partnership, fans are encouraged to explore the library system’s collection of physical books, e-books, audiobooks, graphic novels, comics, streaming services, and physical DVDs and Blu-rays, or participate in one of the system’s tabletop and video gaming programs. To check out materials, fans will need a Fulton County Library card.
All voting is done electronically, via a ballot emailed to each confirmed voter. To vote, fans must first register on the Dragon Awards website: Register Here. Ballots are then emailed in batches every few days through August.
Fans have until Friday, Sept. 4 at 11:59 p.m. Eastern to register. Voting ends 24 hours later on Saturday, Sept. 5 at 11:59 p.m. Eastern. Winners will be announced on Sunday, Sept. 6 at Dragon Con. The annual Labor Day convention is scheduled this year from Sept. 3 to Sept. 7.
Nearly 6,000 fans cast ballots in last year’s Dragon Awards, selecting winners from among 67 entries in 11 categories covering the full range of fiction, comics, television, movies, video gaming, and tabletop gaming. Further details are available on the awards website: awards.dragoncon.org. Please direct all inquiries to dcawards@dragoncon.org.
Grab your passes for Dragon Con 2026 HERE