Dragon*Con is a North America

North America

North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...

 multigenre convention, founded in 1987, which takes place once each year in Atlanta, Georgia

Atlanta, Georgia

Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...

. As of 2011, the convention draws attendance of 46,000, features hundreds of guests, encompasses five hotels in downtown Atlanta near Centennial Olympic Park, and runs thousands of hours of programming for fans of science fiction, fantasy, comic books, and other elements of fan culture. It is operated by a private for-profit corporation

Corporation

A corporation is created under the laws of a state as a separate legal entity that has privileges and liabilities that are distinct from those of its members. There are many different forms of corporations, most of which are used to conduct business. Early corporations were established by charter...

, with the help of a 1,500-member volunteer staff. Dragon*Con has hosted the 1990 Origins Game Fair and the 1995 North American Science Fiction Convention

North American Science Fiction Convention

NASFiC, a.k.a. the North American Science Fiction Convention, is a science fiction convention scheduled only during years where the Worldcon is being held outside of the North American continent. NASFiC bids voted on by the Worldcon membership the year after a non-North American Worldcon site has...

 (NASFiC).

History

Dragon*Con was launched in 1987, as a project of a local science fiction

Science fiction

Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...

 and gaming group, the Dragon Alliance of Gamers and Role-Players (DAGR). It was founded by a board of directors including John Bunnell, David Cody, Robert Dennis, Mike Helba, Pat Henry, and Ed Kramer

Edward E. Kramer

Edward E. Kramer is an American editor of numerous science fiction, fantasy, and horror works, and co-founder of the Dragon Con commercial media convention in Atlanta, Georgia. He lives in Duluth, Georgia, and works as a clinical and educational consultant. He is the former program director of the...

. The name "Dragon" for the club was derived from Kramer's Dragon Computer

Dragon 32/64

The Dragon 32 and Dragon 64 are home computers that were built in the 1980s. The Dragons are very similar to the TRS-80 Color Computer , and were produced for the European market by Dragon Data, Ltd., in Port Talbot, Wales, and for the US market by Tano of New Orleans, Louisiana...

 (a European version of Radio Shack

Radio shack

Radio shack is a slang term for a room or structure for housing radio equipment.-History:In the early days of radio, equipment was experimental and home-built. The first radio transmitters used a noisy spark to generate radio waves and were often housed in a garage or shed. When radio was first...

's Color Computer

TRS-80 Color Computer

The Radio Shack TRS-80 Color Computer was a home computer launched in 1980. It was one of the earliest of the first generation of computers marketed for home use in English-speaking markets...

), which hosted a local Bulletin Board System

Bulletin board system

A Bulletin Board System, or BBS, is a computer system running software that allows users to connect and log in to the system using a terminal program. Once logged in, a user can perform functions such as uploading and downloading software and data, reading news and bulletins, and exchanging...

 ("The Dragon") that initially served as a central hub for both organizations. The inaugural Dragon*Con flyers debuted at the 1986 Atlanta Worldcon

Worldcon

Worldcon, or more formally The World Science Fiction Convention, is a science fiction convention held each year since 1939 . It is the annual convention of the World Science Fiction Society...

, ConFederation

44th World Science Fiction Convention

The 44th World Science Fiction Convention , also known as ConFederation, was held 28 August – 1 September 1986 at the Marriott Marquis and Atlanta Hilton in Atlanta, Georgia, USA.The chairmen were Penny Frierson and Ron Zukowski....

. Within a year, Dragon*Con had been selected to be the host of the 1990 Origins

Origins International Game Expo

Origins Game Fair is one of North America's most prominent annual gaming conventions, second in size only to Gen Con. Origins takes place each year in Columbus, Ohio at the Greater Columbus Convention Center, in late June or early July....

 convention, to take place at the Atlanta Hilton.

The 1987 inaugural Dragon*Con took place at the Piermont Plaza Hotel, drew 1200 fans, and featured Guest of Honor Michael Moorcock

Michael Moorcock

Michael John Moorcock is an English writer, primarily of science fiction and fantasy, who has also published a number of literary novels....

, Lynn Abbey

Lynn Abbey

Lynn Abbey is an American computer programmer and author.-Background:Born in Peekskill, New York, Abbey was daughter of Ronald Lionel and Doris Lorraine . She attended the University of Rochester, where she began as an astrophysics major. She earned a A.B...

 and Robert Asprin

Robert Asprin

Robert Lynn Asprin was an American science fiction and fantasy author and active fan, best known for his humorous MythAdventures and Phule's Company series.- Background :...

, Robert Adams

Robert Adams (science fiction writer)

Franklin Robert Adams was an American science fiction and fantasy writer, formerly a career soldier. He is best known for his "Horseclans" books. He wrote as Robert Adams, an abbreviation of his complete name.-Writings:...

, Ultima creator Richard "Lord British" Garriott, co-creator of Dungeons & Dragons

Dungeons & Dragons

Dungeons & Dragons is a fantasy role-playing game originally designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson, and first published in 1974 by Tactical Studies Rules, Inc. . The game has been published by Wizards of the Coast since 1997...

 Gary Gygax

Gary Gygax

Ernest Gary Gygax was an American writer and game designer best known for co-creating the pioneering role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons with Dave Arneson. Gygax is generally acknowledged as the father of role-playing games....

 and Toastmaster Brad Strickland

Brad Strickland

William Bradley Strickland is an American author known primarily for his fantasy and science fiction. He was born in New Holland, Georgia....

. Miramar recording artist Jonn Serrie

Jonn Serrie

Jonn Serrie is a composer of space music, a genre of ambient electronic music, and New Age music. He has recorded at least eighteen albums and worked on various projects for Lucasfilm, IMAX Corporation, NASA, the United States Navy, Hayden Planetarium, Expo Seville, and CNN.-Musical career:Serrie...

 delivered his keyboard arrangements from within a real NASA

NASA

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...

 flightsuit and Michael Moorcock

Michael Moorcock

Michael John Moorcock is an English writer, primarily of science fiction and fantasy, who has also published a number of literary novels....

 performed onstage with Blue Öyster Cult

Blue Öyster Cult

Blue Öyster Cult, often abbreviated BÖC, is an American rock band, most of whose members first came together in Long Island, NY in 1967 as the band Soft White Underbelly...

's Eric Bloom

Eric Bloom

Eric Bloom is an American singer, songwriter and musician. He is best known as the main vocalist, and "stunt guitar" for the long-running band Blue Öyster Cult, with work on over 20 albums...

, singing "Veteran of the Psychic Wars

Veteran of the Psychic Wars

"Veteran of the Psychic Wars" is a song by the American hard rock band Blue Öyster Cult, written by Eric Bloom and Michael Moorcock . The song first appeared on the album Fire of Unknown Origin. The song also appears on the soundtrack of the 1981 animated film Heavy Metal...

" and "Black Blade

Black Blade

Black Blade is a thriller novel written by Eric Van Lustbader. It was published in 1993.-Plot summary:In New York City, a series of murders begin. In Washington, a plot conceived at the highest levels of American government is at work to bring the nation of Japan to its knees...

". Thomas E. Fuller's Atlanta Radio Theatre Company

Atlanta Radio Theatre Company

The Atlanta Radio Theatre Company. is a 501 non-profit organization dedicated to preserving, promoting, performing, and educating people about the art of audio theatre .-Activities:...

 performed H. P. Lovecraft

H. P. Lovecraft

Howard Phillips Lovecraft --often credited as H.P. Lovecraft — was an American author of horror, fantasy and science fiction, especially the subgenre known as weird fiction....

's "The Call of Cthulhu

The Call of Cthulhu

The Call of Cthulhu is a short story by American writer H. P. Lovecraft. Written in the summer of 1926, it was first published in the pulp magazine Weird Tales, in February 1928.-Inspiration:...

", which was broadcast via radio live from onsite.

The convention grew rapidly. In 1989, it drew 2400 fans (many to see Guest of Honor Anne McCaffrey

Anne McCaffrey

Anne Inez McCaffrey was an American-born Irish writer, best known for her Dragonriders of Pern series. Over the course of her 46 year career she won a Hugo Award and a Nebula Award...

), and the event had moved to the Omni Hotel and Convention Center. In 1990, the convention had doubled again, added a Comics Expo, hosted the Origins convention, this time with Guest of Honor Tom Clancy

Tom Clancy

Thomas Leo "Tom" Clancy, Jr. is an American author, best known for his technically detailed espionage, military science, and techno thriller storylines set during and in the aftermath of the Cold War, along with video games on which he did not work, but which bear his name for licensing and...

, and expanded to include the Atlanta Sheraton hotel. In 1991 the first "Robot Battles" robotic competition event was added to the list of Dragon*Con events, making it the second oldest robotic competition event in the world.

By 1995, when Dragon*Con hosted the North American Science Fiction Convention, attendance had grown to over 14,000 fans, and Dragon*Con was also hosting the International Starfleet Conference. In 1999, Dragon*Con's TrekTrak introduced the first Miss Klingon Empire Beauty Pageant, an annual event that has since garnered national media attention. In 2002, Dragon*Con began hosting a parade through downtown Atlanta, which ran from Centennial Olympic Park

Centennial Olympic Park

Centennial Olympic Park is a 21 acre public park located in downtown Atlanta, Georgia, USA that is owned and operated by the Georgia World Congress Center Authority. The park was built by the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games as part of the infrastructure improvements for the Centennial...

 to the Marriott Marquis

Marriott Marquis

The Atlanta Marriott Marquis is a Marriott hotel and the 14th tallest skyscraper in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. Designed by Atlanta architect John C. Portman, Jr., It is probably one of the most recognized buildings in the city...

, and featured thousands of costumed participants. In 2005, Dragon*Con raised USD $20,000 for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Foundation. At the convention's 20th anniversary in 2006, there were 22,000 attendees, and the convention continued to grow, drawing 27,000 attendees in 2007, 30,000 in 2008, 35,000 in 2009, 40,000 in 2010, and 46,000 in 2011.

Programming

As of 2008, Dragon*Con is a 4-day event comprising approximately 3500 hours of panels, seminars, demonstrations, and workshops, with over 30 specialized programming tracks that include writing

Writing

Writing is the representation of language in a textual medium through the use of a set of signs or symbols . It is distinguished from illustration, such as cave drawing and painting, and non-symbolic preservation of language via non-textual media, such as magnetic tape audio.Writing most likely...

, alternate history, art

Art

Art is the product or process of deliberately arranging items in a way that influences and affects one or more of the senses, emotions, and intellect....

, anime

Anime

is the Japanese abbreviated pronunciation of "animation". The definition sometimes changes depending on the context. In English-speaking countries, the term most commonly refers to Japanese animated cartoons....

, gaming

Role-playing game

A role-playing game is a game in which players assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within a narrative, either through literal acting, or through a process of structured decision-making or character development...

, Science Fiction

Science fiction

Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...

 and Fantasy

Fantasy

Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...

 Literature, comic books, costuming, space science

Space science

The term space science may mean:* The study of issues specifically related to space travel and space exploration, including space medicine.* Science performed in outer space ....

, online media, independent film

Independent film

An independent film, or indie film, is a professional film production resulting in a feature film that is produced mostly or completely outside of the major film studio system. In addition to being produced and distributed by independent entertainment companies, independent films are also produced...

, podcasting

Podcasting

A podcast is a series of digital media files that are released episodically and often downloaded through web syndication...

, Asian

Culture of Asia

The culture of Asia is human civilization in Asia. It features different kinds of cultural heritage of many nationalities, societies, and ethnic groups in the region, traditionally called a continent from a Western-centric perspective, of Asia...

 cinema and culture, robotics

Robotics

Robotics is the branch of technology that deals with the design, construction, operation, structural disposition, manufacture and application of robots...

, filk, scientific skepticism

Scientific skepticism

Scientific skepticism is the practice of questioning the veracity of claims lacking empirical evidence or reproducibility, as part of a methodological norm pursuing "the extension of certified knowledge". For example, Robert K...

, Star Trek

Star Trek

Star Trek is an American science fiction entertainment franchise created by Gene Roddenberry. The core of Star Trek is its six television series: The Original Series, The Animated Series, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and Enterprise...

, Star Wars

Star Wars

Star Wars is an American epic space opera film series created by George Lucas. The first film in the series was originally released on May 25, 1977, under the title Star Wars, by 20th Century Fox, and became a worldwide pop culture phenomenon, followed by two sequels, released at three-year...

, Stargate

Stargate

Stargate is a adventure military science fiction franchise, initially conceived by Roland Emmerich and Dean Devlin. The first film in the franchise was simply titled Stargate. It was originally released on October 28, 1994, by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and Carolco, and became a hit, grossing nearly...

, X-Files, Joss Whedon

Joss Whedon

Joseph Hill "Joss" Whedon is an American screenwriter, executive producer, director, comic book writer, occasional composer and actor, founder of Mutant Enemy Productions and co-creator of Bellwether Pictures...

 creations, apocalyptic themes, Anne McCaffrey

Anne McCaffrey

Anne Inez McCaffrey was an American-born Irish writer, best known for her Dragonriders of Pern series. Over the course of her 46 year career she won a Hugo Award and a Nebula Award...

's Pern

Pern

Pern is a fictional planet created by Anne McCaffrey for the Dragonriders of Pern series of fantasy and science fiction books. It is said to be "Rukbat 3", the third planet in orbit around the star Rukbat, counting outward....

, Robert Jordan

Robert Jordan

Robert Jordan was the pen name of James Oliver Rigney, Jr. , under which he was best known as the author of the bestselling The Wheel of Time fantasy series. He also wrote under the pseudonyms Reagan O'Neal and Jackson O'Reilly.-Biography:Jordan was born in Charleston, South Carolina...

's Wheel of Time

The Wheel of Time

The Wheel of Time is a series of epic fantasy novels written by American author James Oliver Rigney, Jr., under the pen name Robert Jordan. Originally planned as a six-book series, the length was increased by increments; at the time of Rigney's death, he expected it to be 12, but it will actually...

, J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings

The Lord of the Rings

The Lord of the Rings is a high fantasy epic written by English philologist and University of Oxford professor J. R. R. Tolkien. The story began as a sequel to Tolkien's earlier, less complex children's fantasy novel The Hobbit , but eventually developed into a much larger work. It was written in...

, British

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

 and American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 SF television, the Dark Fantasy track, the Dragon*Con Independent Short Film Festival, and general programming which specific Guests of Honor attend (e.g., Clive Barker

Clive Barker

Clive Barker is an English author, film director and visual artist best known for his work in both fantasy and horror fiction. Barker came to prominence in the mid-1980s with a series of short stories which established him as a leading young horror writer...

's Lost Souls and Storm Constantine

Storm Constantine

Storm Constantine is a British science fiction and fantasy author, primarily known for her Wraeththu series.- Life and work :Since the late 1980s Constantine has written more than 20 novels, plus several non-fiction books...

's Grissecon).

From its origin, music has also been a significant feature of Dragon Con, with performances by groups and artists such as Abney Park

Abney Park (band)

Abney Park is a band based in Seattle that mixes elements of industrial dance, world music, and steampunk influenced lyrics in their work. Their name comes from Abney Park Cemetery in London...

, Blue Öyster Cult

Blue Öyster Cult

Blue Öyster Cult, often abbreviated BÖC, is an American rock band, most of whose members first came together in Long Island, NY in 1967 as the band Soft White Underbelly...

, The Crüxshadows

The Crüxshadows

The Crüxshadows is an Dark Electro group from Florida. Their sound is made up of a combination of male vocals, electric violin, guitar, and synth...

, Celldweller

Celldweller

Celldweller is a Detroit, Michigan-based Electronic Rock project that was created by multi-instrumentalist Klayton, former frontman and songwriter of the bands Circle of Dust, Argyle Park, Angeldust . Celldweller's music is multi-faceted, often labeled electronic rock and more commonly being...

, Ego Likeness

Ego Likeness

Ego Likeness are an American darkwave/industrial rock band from Baltimore, Maryland. They were formed in 1999 by artist Steven Archer and writer Donna Lynch.-Early Work:...

, I:Scintilla

I:Scintilla

I:Scintilla is a post-industrial music band from Chicago, Illinois, consisting of Brittany Bindrim , Jim Cookas , Vincent Grech , and Brent Leitner .- Early Years and The Approach :...

, Black Tape for a Blue Girl

Black tape for a blue girl

Black Tape for a Blue Girl is an American Dark Wave band formed in 1986 by Projekt Records' founder Sam Rosenthal. Their music takes on elements of dark cabaret, Dark Wave, ethereal, ambient and neoclassical music. Director David Lynch...

, Bella Morte

Bella Morte

Bella Morte is a gothic band that was formed in 1996 in Charlottesville, Virginia. They also incorporate elements of metal, darkwave, deathrock, alternative, and synthpop. The name is Italian for "beautiful death."...

, Chick Corea

Chick Corea

Armando Anthony "Chick" Corea is an American jazz pianist, keyboardist, and composer.Many of his compositions are considered jazz standards. As a member of Miles Davis' band in the 1960s, he participated in the birth of the electric jazz fusion movement. In the 1970s he formed Return to Forever...

, Edgar Winter

Edgar Winter

Edgar Holland Winter is an American musician. He is famous for being a multi-instrumentalist. He is a highly skilled keyboardist, saxophonist and percussionist. He often plays an instrument while singing. He was most successful in the 1970s with his band, The Edgar Winter Group, notably with their...

, Emerald Rose

Emerald Rose

Emerald Rose is a Celtic folk rock band from Georgia of the United States. The band consists of four members: Brian Sullivan , Larry Morris, Arthur Hinds and Clyde Gilbert. Emerald Rose plays a mix of Celtic, folk, and Pagan tunes.- Biography :...

, Ghost of the Robot

Ghost of the Robot

Ghost of the Robot is a rock band, based in Southern California. It gained a following mainly due to its lead singer, actor James Marsters. Influences include, Nirvana, Weezer, Bob Dylan, The Beatles, David Bowie, Rolling Stones, Pavement, Ben Folds, Pink Floyd, Muse, and Radiohead among...

, Godhead

Godhead (band)

Godhead, occasionally typeset as gODHEAD, is an American alternative rock/metal band from Washington, D.C.. They are most often credited with being the only band signed to musician Marilyn Manson's short-lived vanity label, Posthuman Records.-History:...

, Iced Earth

Iced Earth

Iced Earth is an American heavy metal band from Tampa, Florida. Originally formed under the name "Purgatory" in 1984, Iced Earth has released a total of ten studio albums, one live album, three EP's, two compilations and boxsets...

, Voltaire

Voltaire (musician)

Voltaire , is a popular dark cabaret Cuban-American musician...

, Jefferson Starship

Jefferson Starship

Jefferson Starship is an American rock band formed in the early 1970s. The group is a spin-off from the iconic 1960s psychedelic/folk group Jefferson Airplane. The band has undergone several major changes in personnel and genres through the years while retaining the same Jefferson Starship name...

, The Misfits, GWAR

GWAR

Gwar is a satirical heavy metal band formed in Richmond, Virginia, United States, in 1984. The band is best known for its elaborate science fiction/horror film inspired costumes, obscene lyrics and graphic stage performances, which feature humorous enactments of politically and morally taboo...

, Man or Astroman?, The Bloodhound Gang

The Bloodhound Gang

The Bloodhound Gang may be a reference to:*The Bloodhound Gang , a segment on the program 3-2-1 Contact*The Bloodhound Gang, a band that took its name from the TV show segment...

, Spock's Beard

Spock's Beard

Spock's Beard is a progressive rock band formed in 1992 in Los Angeles by brothers Neal and Alan Morse. Neal played keyboards and was the lead vocalist, as well as being the primary songwriter before leaving the band in 2002 to pursue a solo career. Alan plays electric guitar...

, and Mindless Self Indulgence

Mindless Self Indulgence

Mindless Self Indulgence is an American musical group formed in New York in 1997. Their music has a mixed style including rap, punk rock, alternative rock, electronica, techno and industrial...

.

Award ceremony

In 1998, Dragon Con established the Julie Award, in honor of Julius Schwartz

Julius Schwartz

Julius "Julie" Schwartz was a comic book and pulp magazine editor, and a science fiction agent and prominent fan. He was born in the Bronx, New York...

, bestowed for universal achievement spanning multiple genres, selected each year by a panel of industry professionals. The inaugural recipient was science fiction and fantasy Grandmaster Ray Bradbury

Ray Bradbury

Ray Douglas Bradbury is an American fantasy, horror, science fiction, and mystery writer. Best known for his dystopian novel Fahrenheit 451 and for the science fiction stories gathered together as The Martian Chronicles and The Illustrated Man , Bradbury is one of the most celebrated among 20th...

. Additional recipients of the award, presented by Schwartz each year prior to his death in early 2004, include Forrest Ackerman, Yoshitaka Amano

Yoshitaka Amano

is a Japanese artist. He began his career as an animator and has become known for his illustrations for the anime Vampire Hunter D and for his character designs, image illustrations and title logo designs for the Final Fantasy video game series developed by Square Enix . His influences include...

, Alice Cooper

Alice Cooper

Alice Cooper is an American rock singer, songwriter and musician whose career spans more than four decades...

, Will Eisner

Will Eisner

William Erwin "Will" Eisner was an American comics writer, artist and entrepreneur. He is considered one of the most important contributors to the development of the medium and is known for the cartooning studio he founded; for his highly influential series The Spirit; for his use of comics as an...

, Harlan Ellison

Harlan Ellison

Harlan Jay Ellison is an American writer. His principal genre is speculative fiction.His published works include over 1,700 short stories, novellas, screenplays, teleplays, essays, a wide range of criticism covering literature, film, television, and print media...

, Neil Gaiman

Neil Gaiman

Neil Richard Gaiman born 10 November 1960)is an English author of short fiction, novels, comic books, graphic novels, audio theatre and films. His notable works include the comic book series The Sandman and novels Stardust, American Gods, Coraline, and The Graveyard Book...

, Carmine Infantino

Carmine Infantino

Carmine Infantino Carmine Infantino Carmine Infantino (born May 24, 1925, in Brooklyn, New York is an American comic book artist and editor who was a major force in the Silver Age of Comic Books...

, Anne McCaffrey

Anne McCaffrey

Anne Inez McCaffrey was an American-born Irish writer, best known for her Dragonriders of Pern series. Over the course of her 46 year career she won a Hugo Award and a Nebula Award...

, Jim Steranko

Jim Steranko

James F. Steranko is an American graphic artist, comic book writer-artist-historian, magician, publisher and film production illustrator....

, Peter David

Peter David

Peter Allen David , often abbreviated PAD, is an American writer of comic books, novels, television, movies and video games...

, and Paul Dini

Paul Dini

Paul Dini is an American writer and producer who works in the television and comic book industries. He is best known as a producer and writer for several Warner Bros./DC Comics animated series, including Star Wars: Ewoks, Tiny Toon Adventures, Batman: The Animated Series, Superman: The Animated...

. It is also the host of the Dragon Con Independent Short Film Festival, the Futura Award (paying homage to the Fritz Lang

Fritz Lang

Friedrich Christian Anton "Fritz" Lang was an Austrian-American filmmaker, screenwriter, and occasional film producer and actor. One of the best known émigrés from Germany's school of Expressionism, he was dubbed the "Master of Darkness" by the British Film Institute...

 masterpiece Metropolis), the Parsec Awards

Parsec Awards

The Parsec Awards are a set of annual awards created to recognize excellence in science fiction podcasts and podcast novels. The awards were created by Mur Lafferty, Tracy Hickman and Michael R. Mennenga and awarded by FarPoint Media...

, and the Georgia Fandom Award, renamed in 2008 as the Hank Reinhardt Award, after its first recipient

Hank Reinhardt

Julius Henry Reinhardt was an American author, editor, science fiction fan, and noted armorer and authority on medieval weaponry. He wrote as Hank Reinhardt, the nickname by which he was widely known...

.

Economic impact

According to statistics provided by Georgia State University

Georgia State University

Georgia State University is a research university in downtown Atlanta, Georgia, USA. Founded in 1913, it serves about 30,000 students and is one of the University System of Georgia's four research universities...

, Robinson College of Business, Dragon*Con brought in over $21 million of direct economic impact to Atlanta in 2007, and an estimated $25 million in 2008. It also raises tens of thousands of dollars for charities and hosts a large blood drive.

External links