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Ursa Major Award

Vote for the Ursa Major Awards!

Once again, it’s time for you the fans to vote for the best that anthropomorphics have to offer with the annual Ursa Major Awards. From the web site: “More formally known as the Annual Anthropomorphic Literature and Arts Awards, the Ursa Major Awards are presented annually for excellence in the furry arts. They are intended as Anthropomorphic (a.k.a. Furry) Fandom’s equivalent of the Hugo Awards presented by the World Science Fiction Society, mystery fandom’s Anthony Awards, horror fandom’s Bram Stoker Awards, and so forth.” For 2009, the nominees in 10 categories include:

Best Motion Picture - Live-action or animated feature-length movies.
*	"Avatar"
*	"Fantastic Mr Fox"
*	"The Princess and the Frog"
*	"Up"
*	"Where the Wild Things Are"

Best Dramatic Short Work or Series - TV series or one-shots, advertisements or short videos.
*	"The Cat Piano"
*	"Partly Cloudy"
*	"The Penguins of Madagascar"
*	"Prep and Landing"
*	"The Secret Saturdays"

Best Novel - Written works of 40,000 words or more. Serialized novels qualify only for the year that the final chapter is published.
*	"Bone Crossed" by Patricia Briggs
*	"Cheetah's Win" by Phil Geusz
*	"Jazmyn" by Bernard Doove
*	"Out of Position" by Kyell Gold
*	"Return to the Hundred Acre Wood" by David Benedictus
*	"The Unscratchables" by Cornelius Kane

Best Short Fiction - Stories less than 40,000 words, poetry, and other short written works.
*	"Drifting" by Kyell Gold
*	"Moonthief" by Not Tube
*	"Stop the World" by Kyell Gold
*	"Thou Shalt Not Make Wrongful Use Of The Name Of Thy Lord" by Whyte Yote
*	"Trading Wishes" by Kevin Frane

Best Other Literary Work - Story collections, comic collections, graphic novels, non-fiction works, and convention program books.
*	"Bloom County - The Complete Library, Volume 1" by Berke Breathed
*	"Draw Furries: How to Create Anthropomorphic and Fantasy Animals" by Lindsay Cibos and Jared Hodges
*	"The First Book of Lapism" by Phil Geusz
*	"Who Are The Furries?" by Denise Winterman
*	"X" edited by Kyell Gold

Best Graphic Story - Includes comic books and serialized online stories.
*	"Concession" by Immelman
*	"Furthia High" by QuetzaDrake
*	"Jack" by David Hopkins
*	"Lackadaisy" by Tracy J. Butler
*	"Twokinds" by Tom Fischbach

Best Comic Strip - Newspaper-style strips, including those with ongoing arcs.
*	"Dan and Mab's Furry Adventures" by Amber M. Williams
*	"Doc Rat" by Jenner
*	"Freefall" by Mark Stanley
*	"Housepets!" by Rick Griffin
*	"Kevin and Kell" by Bill Holbrook

Best Magazine - Professional magazines, amateur zines, fanzines, and internet-only magazines.
*	"ANTHRO" edited by Quentin Long
*	"Heat" published by Sofawolf
*	"New Fables" edited by Tim Susman
*	"South Fur Lands" edited by Bernard Doove
*	"Tales of the Tai-Pan Universe" edited by Gene Breshears

Best Published Illustration - Illustrations for books, magazines, convention program books, cover art for such, coffee table portfolios.
*	"Gaia's Strange Seedlike Brood (Homage to Lynn Margulis)" by Patrick Farley
*	"It's Beautiful" by Jailbird
*	"Jazmyn" by Sara Palmer
*	"New Coyote" by Kenket
*	"Out of Position" by Blotch

Best Game - Computer or console games, role-playing games, board games.
*	"Earth Eternal"
*	"G-Force: The Video Game"
*	"Predation: The Board Game"
*	"Ratchet and Clank: A Crack in Time"
 
Voting is open now, and will close on April 18th -- with the 
awards to be presented in early summer. Visit the Ursa Major 
Awards web site to find out more about the nominees -- or, 
more importantly, to vote! Make your voice heard!

Awards Season Kicks Off

The International Animated Film Society (ASIFA) announced the nominees for the 37th annual Annie Awards, presented every year to the best in animated feature films, TV shows, commercials, short films, and more. Walt Disney Animation Studios dominated the nominees 2009 with 17, including eight for the traditional 2D film The Princess and the Frog. That film was nominated for Best Animated Feature, as well as earning individual nominations for animated effects, character animation, production design, and voice acting. Joining Princess in the Best Animated Feature category are Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs, Coraline, Fantastic Mr. Fox, The Secret of Kells, and Up. Notice: Six nominees instead of the usual five.  There’s a lot to choose from this year! Check out all of the 2009 Annie Awards nominees at the Annie Awards web site.

Did you also notice that all of the Best Feature nominees have anthropomorphic animals in either lead or supporting roles?  There’s a lot to choose from for furry fans this year too! Especially when one looks further and finds numerous nominations for the Penguins of Madagascar TV series and Merry Madagascar special (both from Dreamworks Animation, of course), plus nominations for Curious George: A Very Monkey Christmas, Open Season 2, Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, The Wonder Pets, Ponyo, Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs, Monsters vs. Aliens, and more.

With that many to chose from this year, it’s time for furry fans around the world to get serious thinking about The Ursa Major Awards for 2009, too. Remember, this is the Peoples’ Choice awards for furry fandom! Visit the Ursa Major Awards web site to add items to the Recommended Reading and Viewing List, things that furry fans might want to remember and keep in mind when they’re getting ready to nominate — which, by the way, will begin in January of 2010!

Peter Laird Speaks!

The June 2009 issue of Previews magalog featured an interview with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles co-creator Peter Laird. Among other things, they asked him “What are you reading?”. Here’s what Peter had to say: “I don’t read many comics these days, but the two that stick out are Usagi Yojimbo by Stan Sakai and Runners by Sean Wang. UsagiYojimbo has been around as long as the Turtles, and Stan Sakai has performed the admirable feat of doing it all himself for the last twenty-five years, and just getting better at it as he continues. I’d say Usagi Yojimbo is pretty much the gold standard for serious anthropomorphic comics. [Might have something to do with why it won the Ursa Major Award for Best Anthropomorphic Comic Book for five years running — Ye Ed-Otter] Runners is a much younger book — I think Sean Wang has only been doing it for the last decade or so — and it doesn’t come out on a regular basis. But when it does, I eagerly read it, as it combines great, detailed art with a very clever science fiction storyline. [Visit Sean’s web site to find out more.] At the risk of sounding self-serving, there’s another book (published by Mirage Studios) that, in my opinion, is worth checking out — Tales of the TMNT. It’s not a series with an ongoing continuity like my TMNT comic, but rather a more free-ranging exercise in which pretty much each issue is a single story. This series features a wide array of different artists and writers, some Mirage veterans, and others new to the business. It’s an exciting mix.” So says one of the originals, folks.

Ursa Major Awards for 2008 Announced!

[From www.ursamajorawards.org:]

The winners of the eighth annual Ursa Major Awards (formally the Annual Anthropomorphic Literature & Arts Awards), for the Best in anthropomorphic/”funny animal” literature and art first published during the calendar year 2008, were announced at a presentation ceremony on Saturday, May 16, 2009 at All Fur Fun in Spokane, Washington.

The Ursa Major Awards are Anthropomorphic (a.k.a. Furry) Fandom’s equivalents of s-f fandom’s Hugo Awards, mystery fandom’s Anthony Awards, horror fandom’s Bram Stoker Awards, and so forth.  The Ursa Majors are administered and presented by the Anthropomorphic Literature and Arts Association (ALAA), an organization dedicated to promoting anthropomorphic literature and arts both within and outside of the fandom.  Nominations and voting for the awards are open to the public.  The physical award consists of an illustrated trophy certificate or plaque, designed by the artist Heather Bruton.

Eligibility in ten categories is for works featuring intelligent &/or talking animals first published during the calendar year 2008.  This can include new compilations of older works, such as a new collection of previously-published separate works.  The winners are chosen by popular vote among those participating in Anthropomorphic Fandom who, first, submitted their nominations for the winners, and then voted upon a final ballot consisting of the five finalists (those receiving the most nominations) in each category. The voting for the awards was open to all furry fandom via the Internet; and took place between March 14th and April 19th; and received votes from countries as diverse as Australia, Austria, Bulgaria, Canada, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Laos, Mexico, New Zealand, Philippines, Russia, Spain, Sweden, the UK, and the USA.

The Winners in each category:

Best Anthropomorphic Motion Picture: Bolt, from Walt Disney Pictures

Best Anthropomorphic Dramatic Short Work or Series: There She Is, from SamBakZa

Best Anthropomorphic Novel: Waterways, by Kyell Gold

Best Anthropomorphic Short Fiction: In Between, by Kyell Gold (from Out of Position)

Best Anthropomorphic Other Literary Work: Dog’s Days of Summer, by Blotch

Best Anthropomorphic Graphic Story: Heathen City, by Alex Vance and others

Best Anthropomorphic Comic Strip: Fur-Piled, by Leo Magna and A. Husky

Best Anthropomorphic Magazine: Heat

Best Anthropomorphic Published Illustration: Suhl, by Blotch (Cover of the Eurofurence 14 souvenir book)

Best Anthropomorphic Game: Spore, by Maxis and Electronic Arts

[For a complete list of winners and nominees, as well as how you can nominate and vote for your favorite furry stuff for 2009, visit www.ursamajorawards.org]

Voting is Open for the 2008 Ursa Major Awards!

[From www.ursamajorawards.org:]

Public voting is now open for the annual Ursa Major Awards, which highlight excellent works in the anthropomorphic community appearing during 2008 as decided by the fans. Nominees range from Hollywood movies such as Bolt and Kung Fu Panda, to works published in the furry fandom such as Alone in the Dark and Tales of the Tai-Pan Universe, to single illustrations and webcomics.

Voting is open to everyone and will close on April 19. Please go to
http://www.ursamajorawards.org/Voting.htm
to get the ballot. The ballot includes a URL link for each nominee that has one. Click on the links for further information about the nominees.

Best Motion Picture   (Live-action or animated feature-length movies.)
* Bolt
* Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian
* Kung Fu Panda
* Madagascar 2
* Wall-E

Best Dramatic Short Work or Series   (TV series or one-shots, advertisements or short videos.)
* Big Buck Bunny
* Nine Lives and Counting
* Presto
* There She Is
* Wallace & Gromit: A Matter of Loaf and Death

Best Novel   (Written works of 40,000 words or more. Serialized novels qualify only for the year that the final chapter is published.)
* Iron Kissed, by Patricia Briggs
* Ratha’s Courage, by Claire Bell
* Stick and Bones, by Phil Geusz
* Thousand Leaves, by Kevin Frane
* Waterways, by Kyell Gold

Best Short Fiction   (Stories less than 40,000 words, poetry and other short written works.)
* Earth Rise by Ivor W. Hartmann
* Candy and Music (in Heat #5), by K. M. Hirosaki
* In Between by Kyell Gold
* It’s a Beautiful World by Kyell Gold
* Secrets by Kyell Gold
* Third Date by Kyell Gold

Best Other Literary Work   (Story collections, comic collections, graphic novels, non-fiction works, and convention program books.)
* Alone in the Dark, edited by Will Sanborn
* ANTHROlogy TWO, edited by Quentin Long
* Behind the Sofa, interview conducted by Phil Geusz
* Dog’s Days of Summer, by Blotch
* Sabrina On-Line: The Story, by Chris Yost

Best Comic Book   (Traditional comic books, one-shots or ongoing series, printed or online.)
* Finding Avalon
* Gargoyles
* Heathen City
* i.s.o.
* Sandman: The Dream Hunters

Best Comic Strip   (Internet or regular newspaper strips.)
* Faux Pas, by Robert and Margaret Carspecken
* Freefall, by Mark Stanley
* Fur-Piled, by Leo Magna and A. Husky
* Housepets!, by Rick Griffin
* Lackadaisy, by Tracy J. Butler

Best Magazine   (Professional magazines, amateur zines, fanzines, internet-only magazines.)
* ANTHRO (#15, January-February to #20, November-December)
* Heat (#5, June)
* New Fables (Summer 2008)
* Softpaw Magazine (#3 & #4)
* Tales of the Tai-Pan Universe (#44, January to #45, September)

Best Published Illustration   (Illustrations for books, magazines, convention program books, cover art for such, coffee table portfolios.)
* Blotch: Suhl, cover of Eurofurence 14 program book, August
* Heather Bruton: “Slumber Party, cover of ANTHRO #16, March-April
* Dark Natasha: Centerfold of Eurofurence 14 program book
* Kacey Miyagami: Cover for “More Terrible Than Chains”
* John Nunnemacher: Cover for “Waterways”

Best Game   (Computer or console games, role-playing games, board games.)
* Kung Fu Panda The Video Game
* Mouse Guard roleplaying game
* Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood
* Sonic Unleashed
* Spore