See Dragon Con Fandom Tracks Change From 1997-2024

As a longtime Dragon Con attendee now measuring my time there in decades, I’m at least as fascinated by the culture surrounding the event as I am any given year’s panels or biggest costumes. I’ve written about aspects of it in the past (including its habit of forming “cults”), but this year I’m bringing you a series of posts of historical information, starting with an update to my 2017 post about the history of the fandom tracks at the con.

You’ll see things are changing a little more slowly these days than over some of the earlier years. In 2017, I wrote that it had grown from a one-hotel-and-convention-center con to spanning the Hyatt Regency, Marriott Marquis, Atlanta Hilton, Sheraton Atlanta Hotel, Westin Peachtree Plaza, and AmericasMart Buildings 1 and 2. That’s still true–although the Sheraton is now the Courtland Grand. Several carpets have changed, and post-pandemic attendance is holding steady around 70,000 attendees. Single-day badges now tend to sell out, but the con has not yet started capping full-weekend memberships. (By the way, now is a good time to go ahead and get your 2025 membership/badge at $115–the rate will progressively go up between now and next Labor Day.)

So what do 70,000 people do for a long Labor Day weekend in Atlanta? More than 3,500 hours of programming. Alas, you cannot see it all, no matter how hard you try. But it’s still worth trying! Here’s how your options of fandom tracks have changed over time, updated through 2024. Click the image to open it in a new tab and see it in its entirety–it was large when I started it, and it just got longer!

For even better zooming (and easier reading!), download this image as a PDF.

A few notes about the track timeline:

• “Main” is no longer listed as a programming track separately on the website, but it is an item you can filter on in the app.
• Other tracks are also reflected somewhat differently in the app.
• Anne McCaffrey’s popular Pern track changed names in the track listings several times, but they were all subtle variations on “Pern,” “Weyrfest,” or “The Worlds of Anne McCaffrey.”
• There have always been gaming and gaming tournaments, but for several years, gaming wasn’t listed as a track topic.
• In 2013, two tracks arose on similar topics with similar descriptions: “Digital Gaming (computers, consoles, and tournaments)” and “Video Gaming (console, PC, and mobile).” The next year, the Digital Gaming track became LAN Gaming.
• The Writers’ Workshop continued to exist past 2004, although it is no longer taught by A. C. Crispin, and today there are many other sorts of workshops. That is the only year it was listed as a track.
• The American Sci-Fi track went through a few subtle name changes not reflected in the image. “American SF and Fantasy on TV” (2005), “American SF and Fantasy” (2006), “American Sci-Fi Media” (2009), then “American Sci-Fi and Fantasy Media” (2014). Other tracks occasionally have these small changes as well, such as “Sci-Fi and Fantasy Literature,” which was just “Sci-Fi Literature” in some years.
• Newer con-goers may wonder about the “Autograph Sessions” track. Its description: “Some guests – usually screen stars – charge for autographs, but autographings staged in our Autograph Area are always free.” The first reference to the Walk of Fame where you now find autographs is in 2004, described as “our autographing area for stars of the big and small screen, and other luminaries.”

Additions and corrections welcome! Especially if you’re able to help fill in the pre-1997 track history with evidence (e.g., old programs), I’d love to hear from you. You can leave a comment here or find me on X, Threads, or BlueSky.