2003 Ursa Major Awards final ballot

Nominations for the 2003 Ursa Major Awards for the Best Anthropomorphic Literature and Art of that year have been tabulated, and the final ballot has been prepared. These are the five finalists in each category. (In case of a tie for fifth place, all tied nominees have been included resulting in six or seven finalists in some categories.)

Over 300 ballots are being mailed this week to those fans who submitted nominations with their mailing address to receive a final ballot, plus those members of Conifur Northwest and of C-ACE who requested a final ballot. Due to circumstances beyond our control, none of the address forms signed at Further Confusion 2004 to get a final ballot were received by the Awards Committee. If you requested a final ballot at FC 2004, please send your name & mailing address again to fredpatten[AT]earthlink[DOT]net, or to Ursa Major Awards c/o Fred Patten, 11863 West Jefferson Boulevard, Culver City, CA 90230-6322. This goes for anyone else who wishes to vote for the 2003 Awards. Voting must be on the official ballot form, which we will mail to anyone whose request is received by 20 April. The postmark deadline for voting is 30 April. The Awards will be presented at C-ACE in Ottawa, Ontario on June 4-6.

Best Anthropomorphic Motion Picture

= Brother Bear (Disney, November 1, 2003)
= Finding Nemo (Disney/Pixar, May 30, 2003)
= Jungle Emperor Leo [English-language release] (Media Blasters, October 28, 2003)
= 101 Dalmations II: Patch's London Adventure (Disney, January 21, 2003)
= Stitch! The Movie (Disney, August 23, 2003)

Best Anthropomorphic Dramatic Series

= Between the Lions (WGBH Boston and Sirius Thinking, Ltd. for PBS syndication; 2003 new episodes, 4th season, #66 - #70, September 15 - September 19)
= Gary the Rat (Grammnet Productions for TNN/Spike TV; 2003 episodes, Season One, #1 (June 26) through #13 (Dec. 11)
= Lilo & Stitch: The Series (Walt Disney Television Animation for ABC Kids TV, 2003 episodes, 1st season, #1 (September 20) - #27 (December 29) [#28 shown out of sequence on December 12])
= Silverwing (Bardel Entertainment for Teletoon; 2003 episodes, Season One, #1 (September 6) through #13 (December 14)
= Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles [2003] (4Kids Entertainment Inc./Dong Woo Animation Co., Ltd. for 4Kids' FoxBox Saturday morning block on the FoxKids network; 2003 episodes, Season One, #1 (February 8) - #26 (November 1), Season Two, #27 (November 8) - #31 (December 6)

Best Anthropomorphic Novel

= Between Darkness and Light, by Lisanne Norman. (DAW Books, January 2003)
= Callahan's Con, by Spider Robinson. (Tom Doherty Associates/Tor Books, July 2003)
= Cerulean Sins: An Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter Novel, by Laurell K. Hamilton. (Berkeley Publishing Group, April 2003)
= The Iron Star, by Brock Hoagland. (Shanda Fantasy Arts, July 2003)
= Long Hot Summoning, by Tanya Huff. (DAW Books, May 2003)

Best Anthropomorphic Short Fiction

= "Doggy Love", by Scott Bradfield, in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, August 2003.
= "In the Line of Duty", by M. C. A. Hogarth, in Anthrolations #7, November 2003.
= "Kiss and Tell", by Gene Breshears, in Tales of the Tai-Pan Universe #32, March 2003.
= "Law and Justice", by Michael H. Payne, in Black Gate: Adventures in Fantasy Literature #5, Spring 2003.
= "Riding the Lady", by Charles P. A. Melville, in Tales of the Tai-Pan Universe #33, July 2003.

Best Anthropomorphic Other Literary Work

= Arctic-Nation, by Juan Diaz Canales (story) & Juanjo Guarnido (art). (Blacksad vol. 2) (Dargaud, March 2003; graphic art novel)
= The Art of "Herbie", by Herbie. (Sofawolf Press, July 2003; art book)
= Best in Show: Fifteen Years of Outstanding Furry Fiction, edited by Fred Patten. (Sofawolf Press, July 2003; short story anthology)
= Blacksad, by Juan Diaz Canales (story) & Juanjo Guarnido (art) [English translation]. (Blacksad vol. 1) (iBooks, December 2003; graphic art novel)
= Carrots and Sticks, by Bill Holbrook. (Kevin & Kell vol. 8). (Plan Nine Publishing, August 2003; comic strip collection)
= Faux Pas: Book 1, by Robert & Margaret Carspecken. (Plan Nine Publishing, November 2003; comic strip collection)
= Moreau Omnibus: Forests of the Night, Emperors of the Twilight, Specters of the Dawn, by S. Andrew Swann. (DAW Books, August 2003; collection of three novels)

Best Anthropomorphic Comic Book

= Circles, by Andrew French, Steve Domanski and Scott Fabianek. (Rabbit Valley Artists Cooperative Association, irregular, 2003 issues include #4 (dated Winter 2001 but published July 11, 2003)
= Extinctioners, by Shawntae L. Howard. (Shanda Fantasy Arts, irregular, 2003 issues include #12, January)
= Furrlough, by various. (Radio Comix, monthly, 2003 issues from #121, January to #131, November)
= Genus: Male, by Mike Vega, Daria McGrain, John Barrett & Terrie Smith. (Sin Factory, annual, 2003 issues include #2, January 2003)
= Usagi Yojimbo, by Stan Sakai. (Dark Horse, monthly, 2003 issues from v. III #63, January to #71, November)

Best Anthropomorphic Comic Strip

= Freefall, by Mark Stanley. (Internet, tri-weekly, 2003 strips from January 1 to December 31)
= Jack, by David Hopkins. (Comic strip, Internet, tri-weekly, 2003 strips from January 1 (#297) to December 31 (#453))
= Kevin & Kell, by Bill Holbrook. (Internet, daily, 2003 strips from January 1 to December 31)
= Ozy and Millie, by David Craig Simpson. (Internet, daily, 2003 strips from January 1 to August 23; reprints with extensive new commentary from August 25 to December 31)
= Unicornography, by Tanamin! (Internet, weekly, 2003 strips from January 1 to August 3)
= Vinci & Arty, by Candy Lewin. (Internet, weekly, 2003 strips from February 21 to December 29)

Best Anthropomorphic Fanzine

= Anthrolations (2003 issues include #7, November)
= Fur Visions (2003 issues from #27, January, to #29, July)
= Huzzah! (2003 issues from #49, February, to #50, May [final])
= South Fur Lands (2003 issues from #28, March, to #31, December)
= Tales of the Tai-Pan Universe (2003 issues from #32, March, to #34, November)
= Yarf! (2003 issues from #66, January, to #69, September)

Best Anthropomorphic Published Illustration

= Cover of Best in Show: Fifteen Years of Outstanding Furry Fiction (by Fred Patten), by Ursula Vernon. Sofawolf Press, July 2003.
= "Busker at Pike Place Market", interior illustration by C. D. (Bluesman) Woodbury, in Conifur Northwest 2003 Program Book, September 2003, page 41.
= Cover of Genus #62, October 2003, by Yamaneko-ya.
= "Husky in Buddhist Robes", interior illustration by Sky Rigdon, in North American Fur #11, January 2003.
= Cover of The Iron Star (by Brock Hoagland), by Terrie Smith. Shanda Fantasy Arts, July 2003.
= Cover of South Fur Lands #30, September 2003, by Peta Hewitt.

Best Anthropomorphic Game

= Impossible Creatures. (Developer: Relic Entertainment, Inc.; Publisher: Microsoft Game Studios, January 7, 2003)
= Jak II. (Developer: Naughty Dog, Inc.; Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment America, Inc., October 14, 2003)
= Ratchet and Clank: Going Commando. (Developer: Insomniac Games, Inc.; Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment America, Inc., November 11, 2003)
= Wallace & Gromit in Project Zoo. (Developer: Frontier Developments, Ltd.; Publisher: BAM! Entertainment Inc., Oct 8, 2003)
= Whiplash. (Developer: Crystal Dynamics; Publisher: Eidos Interactive, Ltd., November 18, 2003)