Dragon Con 2025
Atlanta, GA – August 28 through September 1, 2025
Dragon Con!
It’s an annual tradition for me. It’s also a family reunion of sorts as I catch up with dear friends from around the world. This year will be my sixteenth time attending and my eighth year as an attending professional.
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, 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 National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI). NAMI started as a small group of families gathered around a kitchen table in 1979 has blossomed into the nation’s leading voice on mental health. Today, it is an association of more than 500 local affiliates who work in the community to raise awareness and provide support and education that was not previously available to those in need. Dragon Con will match every donation up to $125,000.
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 2025.
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 – 20 Aug 2025: Initial post.
The Schedule
Attendees start rolling in up to a week before the convention and start 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-4:00p: Dragon Con Newbies Walking and Rolling Tours (4 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
10:00a: 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
1:00p: Fragmented Selves: Memory, Identity, and Humanity in Modern SF Media (1 hour)
American Science Fiction and Fantasy Media
Marriott Marquis, M302-M303
‘Who am I?’ is a core question in modern SF. From Murderbot seeking autonomy to Severance’s split identities, memory shapes the self. Bucky Barnes battles brainwashing in the MCU, while N.A.T.A.L.I.E. in Ironheart blurs lines between AI and humanity. Let’s explore identity’s frontiers.
Panelists include: Alli Martin, Chelsey Bogan
5:30p: Webs, Wit, and Reboots: Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man (1 hour)
American Science Fiction and Fantasy Media
Marriott Marquis, M301
Peter Parker returns to animation exploring the early days of the beloved hero. We’ll look into the show’s style, story, and how it reimagines classic characters for a new generation. How does it stand apart from past versions and what makes this Spidey so friendly?
Panelists include: Anthony Liggins, Joshua Lapin-Bertone, Michael Collins
7:00p: Box Office Blues (1 hour)
American Science Fiction and Fantasy Media
Marriott Marquis, M301
Theaters are still recovering from COVID, streaming shifts, industry strikes, and pressure for opening weekend hits. Even big successful movies don’t stay in the theaters long. We’ll explore how these forces reshape what gets made, what gets shown, and why audiences return — or don’t.
Panelists include: Stuart Grosse, Joshua Lapin-Bertone, Jon-Paul Estes
11:30a: Rewind and Rewatch: Farscape
Military Science Fiction
Westin, Chastain DE
We’ve done a rewatch of the series and recruited new viewers (and fans)! Do your own rewatches and come talk with us about how it holds up, and how it feels to encounter for the first time.
Panelists include: James Henson, Lacee Aderhold, Laura Jae
4:00p: MCU: Fantastic (4) Futures
American Science Fiction and Fantasy Media
Marriott Marquis, M302-M303
Marvel’s First Family finally enters the cinematic stage of the MCU. How were they reimagined? Did the cast do the characters justice? What did you think of the retro future vision? From multiversal wrap-ups to cosmic threats, does it set the stage for the next era of the franchise?
Panelists include: Kevin Cafferty, Hanako Ricks, Abigail Hart, Marx Pyle
5:30p: Doctor Who: New Series Review
BritTrack
Hilton Atlanta, Galleria 5
Ncuti Gatwa’s second season as the Doctor was a cosmic rollercoaster — thrilling, emotional, and occasionally a bit dizzying. With a finale that left fans gasping and a regeneration twist that rewrote the rulebook, it’s clear: the TARDIS isn’t the only thing that’s changing.
Panelists include: Ryan Carey, Caro McCully, Ralph Lawson, Moe Hemmi
7:00p: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Anniversary Pizza Par-taaaaay
American Science Fiction Classics
Marriott Marquis, M103-M105
You’re sadly mistaken if you think you’re leaving this panel without A) enjoying delightful pizza to celebrate the first live-action Ninja Turtles movie. and 2) doing a very dramatic reading of Partners in Kryme’s “Turtle Power.”
Panelists include: Nick Frutiger, Keith R.A. DeCandido
No panels scheduled at this time.
No panels scheduled at this time.
Creative Criticality 