Dragon Con 2026
Atlanta, GA – September 3 through September 7, 2026
Dragon Con!
It’s an annual tradition for me. It’s like a geeky family reunion as I catch up with dear friends from around the world. This year will be my eighteenth time attending (participating in various capacities since 2009) and my ninth year as an attending professional (since 2016, excluding 2020 and 2023).
If you plan to be there, you can find me at various places over Labor Day weekend according to the schedule below. The convention app is available now – look for Dragon Con by Core-apps in the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store – and contains the schedule of events. The list of confirmed guests, performers, artists, and attending professionals is available on the official Dragon Con site.
The schedule spans various fan tracks, each of which specializes in topics like Star Wars, Star Trek, military science fiction, horror, literature, and so on. From those hundreds of hours of programming, comprising around 40 different mini conventions, each attendee can play Choose Your Own Adventure and build their ultimate geeky experience.
Dragon Con itself takes place in downtown Atlanta spanning five hotels (Courtland Grand Hotel, Hilton Atlanta, Atlanta Marriott Marquis, Hyatt Regency Atlanta, and Westin Peachtree Plaza) and the AmericasMart Atlanta exhibition center. The convention draws approximately 70,000 to 80,000 attendees (or more) annually and showcases one of the city’s most popular parades on Saturday morning at 10am.
Dragon Con prides itself on contributions to charity and the community. You can find more information about those efforts on their webpage. Each year, the convention partners with a local charity organization and this year’s partner is the Hope Atlanta. Hope Atlanta is Georgia’s longest-standing nonprofit committed to preventing and ending homelessness with 125 years of service beginning in 1900. They help clients obtain housing and achieve security and stability by working alongside them and connecting them to the resources they need to achieve self-sufficiency. To support Hope Atlanta’s mission in 2026, Dragon Con will match every donation up to $150,000.
Dragon Con attendees routinely meet or exceed the donation threshold. Every year we make it a mission to make Dragon Con pay.
The convention hosts the Dragon Con Hustle, a virtual 5K conducted on the honor system. The registration fee is donated to the annual charity and each participant gets a physical medal two weeks after the convention ends. This is probably one of my favorite ways to donate since I routinely log 30 to 35 miles during the convention as I walk to and fro. You can run, walk, roll, or even skip your way to the goal, and all Dragon Con asks is for a progress update on social media with the #DragonConHustle hashtag.
Dragon Con also hosts one of the most successful blood drives with the donations going to the non-profit Lifesouth Community Blood Centers. Lifesouth serves 125 hospitals in Alabama, Georgia, and Florida, and the Dragon Con blood drives routinely outperform those held at that big west coast corporate convention.
If you’re new to the convention, consider stopping by the Dragon Con Newbies group on Facebook. It is run by Kevin Bachelder, Sue Kisenwether, Kim McGibony, and me, and is an in-depth community resource for information about this massive (and sometimes overwhelming) event. Memberships (tickets) for this year’s convention are available, however memberships are limited.
With all that said, here’s where to find me during Dragon Con 2026.
Note: All Dragon Con schedules are tentative until the convention ends on Monday. Even then, things are a bit suspect. As things change before the convention, I’ll update this post.
Revision History:
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- Rev 0 – 26 Aug 2026: Initial post.
The Schedule
Attendees start rolling in up to a week before the convention and commence partying. I don’t have any big plans for Wednesday yet, but I will definitely be in the area on Thursday to check in to the hotel, pick up my badge and Hard Rock Dragon Con gear, and get started with programming.
12:00p-3:30p: Dragon Con Newbies Walking and Rolling Tours (3.5 hours)
Main Programming
Marriott Marquis, Atrium Level, A601-A602
Want to get the lay of the land & find your way around the Dragon Con Campus? Did you know there is even a food court? Meet others new to Dragon Con by touring with veteran con-goers. Guided groups leave every 30 minutes. The last tours of the day will depart at approximately 3:30PM.
Panelists include: Kevin Bachelder, Sue Kisenwether, Kim McGibony
4:00p-5:00p: Dragon Con Newbies Discussion with Q&A (1 hour)
Main Programming
Marriott Marquis, Atrium Level, A601-A602
First Dragon Con, eh? Or, maybe you still find yourself confused or overwhelmed, even if it’s your 2nd or 3rd Dragon Con. Savvy Convention attendees will share tips & tricks to navigate this amazing pop-culture event. Audience Q&A.
Panelists include: Kevin Bachelder, Sue Kisenwether, Kim McGibony
7:00p-8:00p: Aliens 40th Anniversary: Just Start Dealing with It (1 hour)
American Science Fiction Classics
Marriott Marquis, M103-M105
A day at an Aliens anniversary panels is a day on the farm. (The panel only lasts an hour, not a day. We’ve been trained to deal with situations like this.)
Panelists include: Keith R.A. DeCandido, Andrew E.C. Gaska, John Hudgens, Shaun Rosado
11:30a: Starship Troopers: Doing Our Part (1 hour)
American Science Fiction Classics
Marriott Marquis, M103-M105
Starship Troopers arrived in 1997 and Roughnecks from the movie have invaded Dragon Con. All I can say is everyone panels and nobody quits. Or I’ll moderate you myself.
Panelists include: Kevin Stallard, Michael Wesley Collins, Tony Bowers
1:00p: The Unknown Future Rolls Toward Us: Terminator 2’s 35th Anniversary (1 hour)
American Science Fiction Classics
Marriott Marquis, M103-M105
Celebrate the film that depicts how Artificial Intelligence totally makes everything better! Then sit back and relax… Our powerful robots are ready to assist you. (This panel description sponsored by a generours grant from Cyberdyne Systems.)
Panelists include: Gary Mitchel, Derek B. Gayle, John Hudgens, Calvin Watts
2:30p: Space Muppets & CGI: Constructs as Characters in Farscape (1 hour)
Military Science Fiction
Westin, Chastain DE
Pilot, Rigel the XVII, Moya, and more; we’ll discuss some of our favorite (or least favorite) non-flesh-and-blood characters in Farscape, the effects of their use on the audience, and their importance in shaping this beloved series.
Panelists include: Kathleen O’Shea David, James Henson, Amanda J. Tillman, Callie Kelley, Lacee Aderhold, Laura J. Schroeder
4:00p: Batman 66: Holy 60th Anniversary (1 hour)
American Science Fiction Classics
Marriott Marquis, M103-M105
Yes, Commissioner? The all-time classics superhero show has been around for six Bat-decades? Only fleet-footed felons will find that a failure. Celeb-bat good times! (We may have gone too far. We’ll show ourselves out of the cave.)
Panelists include: Michael Bailey, Michael Gordon, ToniAnn Marini, Laura J. Schroeder
10:00a: Smallville: Our Favorite Heroes (1 hour)
American Science Fiction Classics
Marriott Marquis, M103-M105
Clark wasn’t the only good guy in Smallville. Be part of our tribute to the rest of the Super Friends.
Panelists include: Michael Bailey, Derek B. Gayle, Derek Russell
5:30p: Doctor Who: Into the Wilderness Years? (1 hour)
BritTrack
Hilton Atlanta, Galleria 5
So, the 2026 Doctor Who Christmas special has been cancelled, and the show has been put on hiatus, but what does this mean? It’s implied we are entering another “wilderness years” situation, which leaves fans bereft of new episodes. We’ll discuss this possibility and give tips on how you can cope.
Panelists include: Mark Heffernan, Anthony Williams, Rob Bowen
11:30a: Classic Tails of Dragon Con (1 hour)
American Science Fiction Classics
Marriott Marquis, M103-M105
Listen to and tell stories about the weirdest or silliest experiences that have ever happened to you, near you, or all around you at Dragon Con!
Panelists include: Jen “Lil’ Bit” Schleusner, Rob Levy, Ryan Carey
Creative Criticality 