2003 Ursa Major Awards winners

[This news was e.mailed as a press release from the Internet Room at ConFurence 2003 last Friday. Now that I am home and using my own computer, here it is again from me.]

The winners of the second annual Ursa Major Awards (formally the Anthropomorphic Literature & Arts of the Year Awards), for the Best in anthropomorphic/"funny animal" literature and art first published during the calendar year 2002, were announced at a presentation ceremony on Friday, April 25 at ConFurence 2003, the 15th annual International Anthropomorphic Convention held at the Hilton Burbank Airport and Convention Center in Burbank, California on April 25 - 27, 2003.

Editor's note: this piece refers to what are now known as the 2002 Ursa Major Awards.

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 ConFurence Group, a membership organization dedicated to promoting anthropomorphic fandom-related events. Nominations for the awards are open to the public, but voting on the final ballot is limited to members of the annual ConFurence convention. The physical award consists of an illustrated trophy certificate or plaque, designed each year by one of the ConFurence Artist Guests-of-Honor. This year's plaque was designed by Roy Pounds II.

Eligibility in nine categories is for works featuring intelligent &/or talking animals first published during the calendar year 2002. 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 the ConFurence's membership from five finalists in each category.

Best Anthropomorphic Motion Picture: "Lilo & Stitch" (Disney, released June 21, 2002)

Best Anthropomorphic Television Series: "Greg the Bunny" (Steven Levitan Productions for 20th Century Fox Television; 13 episodes, March 27 - August 25, 2002)

Best Anthropomorphic Novel: "Rescue Ferrets at Sea", by Richard Bach (Scribner/Ferret House Press, June 2002)

Best Anthropomorphic Short Story: "Familiars", by Michael H. Payne (in "Sword and Sorceress XIX", edited by Marion Zimmer Bradley; DAW Books, January 2002)

Best Anthropomorphic Other Literary Work: "Ozy and Millie IV: Authentic Banana Dye", by David Simpson (Plan Nine Publishing, November 2002)

Best Anthropomorphic Comic Book or Strip: "Usagi Yojimbo", by Stan Sakai (Dark Horse, monthly comic book; 2002 issues include vol. III #54, January, through #62, November)

Best Anthropomorphic Fanzine: "Yarf!" (Published by Jeff Ferris & others; irregular; 2002 issues include #63, January, through #65, July)

Best Anthropomorphic Published Illustration: the front cover by Natasha Mleynek (Dark Natasha) of "Furrlough" #109, January 2002 (Published by Radio Comix)

Best Anthropomorphic Game: "Star Fox Adventures" (Designer: Rare, Ltd.; Publisher: Nintendo; released September 23, 2002)

For futher information, contact The ConFurence Group, P. O. Box 84721, San Diego, California 92138-4721; http://confurence.net; or Awards Committee
Chairman Fred Patten at fredpatten[AT]earthlink[DOT]net