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Dragon Award for Best Science Fiction Novel

Dragon Con (fan-voted award presented at Dragon Con in Atlanta, Georgia)

An annual fan-voted literary award presented at Dragon Con recognizing the best science fiction novel published during the eligibility period, part of the broader Dragon Awards established in 2016 to celebrate excellence across speculative fiction genres.

Latest winner · 2026

Next · expected July 2027

Shortlist announced Full award calendar

Search through 7,609 books

2026

  1. Operation Bounce House

    Matt Dinniman

    Won
  2. God’s Junk Drawer

    Peter Clines

    Shortlisted
  3. Radiant Star

    Ann Leckie

    Shortlisted
  4. Slow Gods

    Claire North

    Nominated for 1 more award

    Shortlisted
  5. The Faith of Beasts

    James S.A. Corey

    Shortlisted
  6. The Shattering Peace

    John Scalzi

    Nominated for 1 more award

    Shortlisted

2025

  1. This Inevitable Ruin

    Matt Dinniman

    Won
  2. Absolution

    Jeff VanderMeer

    Nominated for 2 more awards

    Shortlisted
  3. Alliance Unbound

    C.J. Cherryh & Jane Fancher

    Nominated for 1 more award

    Shortlisted
  4. Extremophile

    Ian Green

    Nominated for 1 more award

    Shortlisted
  5. Nether Station

    Kevin J. Anderson

    Shortlisted
  6. The Folded Sky

    Elizabeth Bear

    Nominated for 1 more award

    Shortlisted
  7. The Mercy of Gods

    James S.A. Corey

    Nominated for 1 more award

    Shortlisted

2024

  1. Starter Villain

    John Scalzi

    Nominated for 2 more awards

    Won
  2. Beyond the Ranges

    John Ringo, James Aidee

    Shortlisted
  3. System Collapse

    Martha Wells

    Won 1 more award

    Shortlisted
  4. The Jinn-Bot of Shantiport

    Samit Basu

    Nominated for 1 more award

    Shortlisted
  5. The Saint of Bright Doors

    Vajra Chandrasekera

    Won 2 more awards · Nominated for 1 more award

    Shortlisted
  6. Theft of Fire

    Devon Eriksen

    Nominated for 1 more award

    Shortlisted
  7. These Burning Stars

    Bethany Jacobs

    Won 1 more award

    Shortlisted

2023

  1. The Icarus Plot

    Timothy Zahn

    Won
  2. Children of Memory

    Adrian Tchaikovsky

    Shortlisted
  3. Eversion

    Alastair Reynolds

    Nominated for 1 more award

    Shortlisted
  4. Neom

    Lavie Tidhar

    Nominated for 1 more award

    Shortlisted
  5. The Daughter of Moreau

    Silvia Moreno-Garcia

    Shortlisted
  6. The Spare Man

    Mary Robinette Kowal

    Nominated for 2 more awards

    Shortlisted
  7. Translation State

    Ann Leckie

    Nominated for 3 more awards

    Shortlisted

2022

  1. Leviathan Falls

    James S. A. Corey

    Nominated for 1 more award

    Won
  2. Goliath

    Tochi Onyebuchi

    Nominated for 1 more award

    Shortlisted
  3. Shards of Earth

    Adrian Tchaikovsky

    Won 1 more award · Nominated for 1 more award

    Shortlisted
  4. The Kaiju Preservation Society

    John Scalzi

    Won 1 more award · Nominated for 1 more award

    Shortlisted
  5. You Sexy Thing

    Cat Rambo

    Nominated for 1 more award

    Shortlisted

2021

  1. Project Hail Mary

    Andy Weir

    Nominated for 1 more award

    Won
  2. A Desolation Called Peace

    Arkady Martine

    Won 2 more awards · Nominated for 3 more awards

    Shortlisted
  3. Attack Surface

    Cory Doctorow

    Nominated for 1 more award

    Shortlisted
  4. Black Sun

    Rebecca Roanhorse

    Won 1 more award · Nominated for 3 more awards

    Shortlisted
  5. Machine

    Elizabeth Bear

    Nominated for 1 more award

    Shortlisted
  6. Ready Player Two

    Ernest Cline

    Shortlisted
  7. The Ministry for the Future

    Kim Stanley Robinson

    Nominated for 2 more awards

    Shortlisted

2020

  1. The Last Emperox

    John Scalzi

    Nominated for 1 more award

    Won
  2. Gideon the Ninth

    Tamsyn Muir

    Nominated for 3 more awards

    Shortlisted
  3. Network Effect

    Martha Wells

    Won 3 more awards

    Shortlisted
  4. The Future of Another Timeline

    Annalee Newitz

    Nominated for 1 more award

    Shortlisted
  5. The Rosewater Redemption

    Tade Thompson

    Nominated for 1 more award

    Shortlisted
  6. The Ten Thousand Doors of January

    Alix E. Harrow

    Nominated for 5 more awards

    Shortlisted
  7. The Testaments

    Margaret Atwood

    Won 1 more award · Nominated for 2 more awards

    Shortlisted
  8. Wanderers

    Chuck Wendig

    Nominated for 2 more awards

    Shortlisted

2019

  1. A Star-Wheeled Sky

    Brad R. Torgersen

    Won
  2. A Memory Called Empire

    Arkady Martine

    Won 1 more award · Nominated for 2 more awards

    Shortlisted
  3. Europe at Dawn

    Dave Hutchinson

    Nominated for 1 more award

    Shortlisted
  4. Record of a Spaceborn Few

    Becky Chambers

    Nominated for 2 more awards

    Shortlisted
  5. Red Moon

    Kim Stanley Robinson

    Nominated for 1 more award

    Shortlisted
  6. Tiamat's Wrath

    James S. A. Corey

    Shortlisted

2018

  1. Artemis

    Andy Weir

    Nominated for 1 more award

    Won
  2. It Takes Death to Reach a Star

    Gareth Worthington and Stu Jones

    Shortlisted
  3. Persepolis Rising

    James S. A. Corey

    Nominated for 1 more award

    Shortlisted
  4. Sins of Her Father

    Mike Kupari

    Shortlisted

  5. The Mutineer's Daughter

    Chris Kennedy and Thomas A. Mays

    Shortlisted
  6. Win

    Vera Nazarian

    Shortlisted

2017

  1. Babylon's Ashes

    James S. A. Corey

    Nominated for 1 more award

    Won
  2. A Closed and Common Orbit

    Becky Chambers

    Nominated for 3 more awards

    Shortlisted
  3. Death's End

    Cixin Liu

    Won 1 more award · Nominated for 1 more award

    Shortlisted
  4. Escaping Infinity

    Richard Paolinelli

    Shortlisted
  5. Rise

    Brian Guthrie

    Shortlisted
  6. Space Tripping

    Patrick Edwards

    Shortlisted
  7. The Collapsing Empire

    John Scalzi

    Won 1 more award · Nominated for 1 more award

    Shortlisted
  8. The Secret Kings

    Brian Niemeier

    Shortlisted

2016

  1. Somewhither: Being the First Part of A Tale of the Unwithering Realm

    John C. Wright

    Won
  2. Agent of the Imperium

    Marc Miller

    Shortlisted
  3. Ancillary Mercy

    Ann Leckie

    Won 1 more award · Nominated for 2 more awards

    Shortlisted
  4. Aurora

    Kim Stanley Robinson

    Nominated for 1 more award

    Shortlisted
  5. Raising Caine

    Charles E. Gannon

    Nominated for 1 more award

    Shortlisted
  6. The Life Engineered

    J-F. Dubeau

    Shortlisted

Frequently asked questions

Who won the Dragon Award for Best Science Fiction Novel in 2026?
“Operation Bounce House” by Matt Dinniman won the Dragon Award for Best Science Fiction Novel in 2026.
Who are the most recent Dragon Award for Best Science Fiction Novel winners?
2026: “Operation Bounce House” by Matt Dinniman; 2025: “This Inevitable Ruin” by Matt Dinniman; 2024: “Starter Villain” by John Scalzi; 2023: “The Icarus Plot” by Timothy Zahn; 2022: “Leviathan Falls” by James S. A. Corey.
Has anyone won the Dragon Award for Best Science Fiction Novel more than once?
Yes - 4 authors have: James S. A. Corey (2017, 2022); Andy Weir (2018, 2021); John Scalzi (2020, 2024); Matt Dinniman (2025, 2026).