Acknowledging Greatness
EAGLE CON has several awards it gives out each year, celebrating a variety of contributions to sci-fi/fantasy in media.
Imaginator Award
This award is given each year honor wondrous achievement in visual conceptualization.
Harrison Ellenshaw (2024)
Harrison Ellenshaw is a legendary matte painter and video effects designer who is recognized for creating some of the most iconic visuals in speculative fictions from the past half-century. His work in visual effects began with the iconic The Man Who Fell to Earth (1976) starring David Bowie. He combined his talents as a matte painter and optical effects wizard while working with the fledgling Industrial Light and Magic on films such as Star Wars: A New Hope (1977) and Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back (1980). He pioneered new visual techniques with Disney on films such as The Black Hole (1979) and Tron (1982), and contributed to fan-favorite speculative movies such as Ghost (1990), Escape from LA (1996), and Xena: Warrior Princess (1999-2000).
Previous Winners
Dawn Brown (2021)
Martin T. Charles (2024)
Prism Award
The Prism Award is given every year for outstanding contributions to diversity in science fiction and fantasy across media.
Edward James Olmos
Edward James Olmos (2024)
Edward James Olmos has achieved extraordinary success as an actor, producer and humanitarian. The Tony®, Emmy® and Academy Award®-nominated actor is likely best known to young audiences for his work on the SyFy television series Battlestar Galactica as the iconic “Admiral William Adama.” Although the series kept the actor busy during its run from 2003 through 2009, it didn’t stop him from directing the HBO movie Walkout in 2007, for which he earned a Directors Guild of America (DGA) nomination in the “Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Movies for Television” category.
Olmos’ career in entertainment spans more than 50 years. In that time, he created a signature style and aesthetic that he applies to every artistic endeavor, often grounding his characters in reality and gravitas. His dedication to his craft has brought him attention across the industry and with audiences worldwide.
Olmos’ passion for the arts grows every year, but he never forgets to give back to the communities that support him. He is an international advocate, spokesman and humanitarian working with organizations such as Thank You Ocean, Project HOPE, Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, the Boys and Girls Club of America, the River Keepers, Dr. Andros’ Diabetic Foot Global Conference, and he speaks up to 150 times a year in schools, universities and corporations.
Past Winners
Gilbert and Jaime Hernandez (2023)
Octavia E. Butler Award
This award is given out in honor of Cal State LA alumna Octavia E. Butler to celebrate a creator whose writing exemplifies the spirit of her work.
Dr. Dawnn Lewis (2024)
Dr. Dawnn Lewis, a multi-talented and multifaceted individual: President & CEO of Morning Jewel Inc. – a multi-platform production company in the areas of film, television, animation, music / music publishing & experiential events. She is also the Founder & CEO of the A New Day Foundation – a nonprofit 501(c)3 organization, that provides financial & programmatic support to underprivileged youth and grassroots community based nonprofit organizations.
In 2019, Dawnn received an Honorary Doctorate in the Humanities for her more than 40 years of unwavering service and support to under-served youth and communities across the county and abroad. She is a: Trumpet Award, Grammy Award-winning singer, multiple NAACP Image Award, BMI & ASCAP Award-winning songwriter, film, television & stage actor, a Series TV creator/producer and an inductee into the Women Songwriters Hall of Fame 2021.
Dawnn was added to the cast for season 3 of the hit series YOUNG ROCK, about the life of Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. She also co-stars in the NETFLIX animated series: KARMA’S WORLD, created by Chris “Ludacris” Bridges – now in it’s 4th season, FUTURAMA as “LaBarbara”, as well as STAR TREK: LOWER DECKS as “Captain Carol Freeman”, (Winner of Woman’s Image Award & nominated for a Best Voice Actor NAACP Image Award 2021).
She has served for several years on the National Advisory Board of the NATIONAL CENTER FOR CIVIL & HUMAN RIGHTS & the SAG-AFTRA National Board of Directors, while also serving as the Chair of the SAG-AFTRA Singers Committee. She currently serves as a Trustee for the SAG Pension Plan.
Past Winners
John Jennings (2021)
Lemonade Award
The Lemonade Award is for acts of kindness by individuals that further science fiction community, and was created by author Nalo Hopkinson with support from the Speculative Literature Foundation.
Dr. Jaymee Goh
Photo by Francesca Myman
Dr. Jaymee Goh is a Malaysian-Chinese writer, reviewer, editor, and essayist of speculative fiction. Her work has been published in a number of magazines and anthologies, such as Lightspeed Magazine, Beneath Ceaseless Skies, and New Suns: Original Speculative Fiction by People of Color, and reprinted in LeVar Burton Reads and Best American Science Fiction & Fantasy. Her reviews and nonfiction have appeared on Tor.com, The Los Angeles Review of Books, and Strange Horizons. She co-edited The Sea Is Ours: Tales of Steampunk Southeast Asia (Rosarium 2015), and edited The WisCon Chronices Vol. 11: Trials by Whiteness (Aqueduct 2017). A graduate from the Clarion Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Workshop in 2016, she received her PhD in Comparative Literature from the University of California, Riverside, where she dissertated in science fiction studies and critical race theory. She is an editor for Tachyon Publications.
K Tempest Bradford
Photo by K. Tempest Bradford
K. Tempest Bradford is a teacher, media critic, and author of fantasy and science fiction steeped in Black Girl Magic. Her short fiction has appeared in multiple anthologies and magazines, including In The Shadow of the Towers and Strange Horizons. Her media criticism and essays on diversity and representation have been published at NPR, io9, Ebony Magazine, and more.
Tempest began giving talks and teaching classes on representation and creating diverse narratives in 2014 for Writing the Other and has been invited to teach at Clarion West, LitReactor, universities, and gaming companies. Her debut middle grade novel will be out in Fall of 2022 from FSG for Young Readers.
The 501st Legion
501st Legion Logo
The 501st Legion is the world's definitive imperial Star Wars costuming organization, with over 14,000 members in over 60 countries. An all-volunteer organization, the members celebrate STAR WARS™ through the creation and use of quality costumes that portray the villainous, morally ambiguous, or non-partisan characters from the universe. The local unit of The 501st Legion is the Southern California Garrison with almost 500 members. The local garrison spans the width of the state from San Luis Obispo County to Riverside County and is organized into 5 regional Squads: Channel Islands, Inland Empire, Los Angeles, Orange, and San Joaquin. The 501st Legion works with and promotes the causes of the American Cancer Society, Starlight Foundation, Make a Wish Foundation, and various children's hospitals worldwide. They are the bad guys doing good.