At this point, many of you have no doubt heard about the recently-announced Dragon Awards.  These awards will be hosted by Dragon Con, of Atlanta, GA.

Why is this such a big thing?  Well, if you’ve been paying attention to the Hugos, the fix is in.   Last year’s Hugo “no award” votes were a slap in the face to readers everywhere, when a voting bloc decided that they would rather no one receive an award than allow people they didn’t like to get it.

Why this matters is that the Hugos became an award that was given by “the right people” to those they thought deserved it.  Most of the literature picked over the past few decades is stuff that very few people read for enjoyment.

The Dragon Awards, on the other hand, is an award for readers and fans.  More than that, unlike the Hugos, it has a variety of categories that fits the actual fan demographics, with categories for Fantasy, Science Fiction, Military Science Fiction/Fantasy, Computer Gaming, Board Gaming, etc.  All you need to vote and nominate is an email address.  Unlike the Hugos, there’s no application/membership fee.  The award is open to all fans… and in the rules it says the trophy has no monetary value.

I like it.  I like Dragon Con too, so I’ll be nominating and voting authors that I like and enjoy.  For that matter, if anyone wants to nominate me, I have four books that would qualify: Wrath of the Usurper, The Prodigal Emperor, Renegades: Out of the Cold, and Odin’s Eye.  (Please note, I encourage you to vote for who you genuinely think should win, I’m not asking you to vote for me).

Thanks for reading and feel free to support the Dragon Awards!