Eugie Foster working on the Daily Dragon at Dragon Con.
Dragon Con has announced the creation of the Dragon Awards, which will "recognize outstanding achievement in science fiction and fantasy literature, comics, gaming and filmed entertainment." The awards will be selected by fans in an open nomination and voting process.
Complete information is available on the award's website.
I think this is a great idea and look forward to taking part as a genre fan. I also think this will go a long way toward raising awareness about the different literary subgenres recognized in the award.
In fact, my only criticism of the award is that it lacks a short fiction category. On one level I understand this decision since short fiction is not as popular as novel-length fiction. However, short fiction is still a powerful force in our genre and one well worth honoring and recognizing.
My hope is that in the future Dragon Con will consider adding a short fiction category or two to the Dragon Awards. And perhaps they could do so while also honoring a short fiction author who devoted so much of her life to the convention: Eugie Foster.
For many years Eugie edited the Daily Dragon, the official publication of Dragon Con. Eugie deeply loved Dragon Con, perhaps as much as she loved writing short fiction. If Dragon Con decides to create a short fiction award in the future it would be a fitting honor if they named or hosted the award in Eugie's name.