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The Ursa Major Awards (UMAs) are the furry fandom’s awards for outstanding achievement in animal-anthropomorphic literature and arts, similar in spirit to the Hugo Awards from the science fiction fandom. Their first iteration was in 2001 at ConFurence 12, California. Since then, they have been presented yearly at several different furry conventions. The awards are run by the ALAA (Anthropomorphic Literature and Arts Association), a group of experienced furries; however, the winners are decided not by a committee, but by fans all around the globe.

Each year the ALAA invites people to nominate and vote for what they may consider the best furry works that have been published or released the previous year, fitting a number of categories. Any furry who wishes to vote can easily register at their website, UrsaMajorAwards.org , and follow their simple steps. Alternatively, you can also vote by e-mail or snail mail. Votes can be made for any, or all, categories; so make sure to vote yearly for the candidates you consider the best!

Up until the 2014 awards, the UMAs consisted of a framed certificate with an illustration of the award logo by Heather Bruton. Last year, they changed to an acrylic glass trophy that stands upright.

 

  Rod O’Riley (editor of InFurNation.com), and Sam Kirkpatrick (co-creator of ‘Furry Force’, College Humor), with their UMA 2014 plaques, at CaliFur 11 (California).   The UMA 2015 for Best Anthropomorphic Comic Strip awarded to Housepets!. The illustration by Heather Bruton has a timeless and elegant artistry.

This year, the Ursa Major Awards for 2016 were granted. The ceremony took place at the Anthrocon in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (North-East USA), the 30th of June. There were 1,446 votes (by comparison, the Hugo Awards have had, the last years, between 3,000 and 6,000 votes.) There are five nominees for each category, one of which gets the rank of winner. There are a total of 12 categories. Congratulations to the winners!

Beginning next year, a thirteenth category will be added for Best Anthropomorphic Fursuit, to be awarded to the fursuit maker (not the wearer), with a number of additional rules that can be checked at the ALAA’s website.

Ursa Major Awards 2016

  Best Anthropomorphic Motion Picture

Zootopia
Directed by Byron Howard, Rich Moore, and Jared Bush; February 11


Runners-Up (in descending number of votes)

• Finding Dory (Directed by Andrew Stanton and Angus MacLane; June 17)
• Sing (Directed by Garth Jennings and Christophe Lourdelet; December 21)
• Kung Fu Panda 3 (Directed by Jennifer Yuh Nelson and Alessandro Carloni; January 29)
• The Secret Life of Pets (Directed by Chris Renaud and Yarrow Cheney; July 8)

  Best Anthropomorphic Dramatic Short Work or Series

My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic
Directed by James Thiessen, Jim Miller, Tim Stuby, and Denny Lu; Season 6 episodes 1 to 143 [TV]


Runners-Up (in descending number of votes)

• The Lion Guard (Directed by Howy Parkins; Season 1 episodes 1 to 22 [TV])
• Bunnicula (Directed by Jessica Borutski, Maxwell Atoms, Robert F. Hughes, Matthew Whitlock, and Ian Wasseluk; Season 1 episodes 1 to 8 [TV])
• Littlest Pet Shop (Directed by Joel Dickie, Steven Garcia, and Mike Myhre; Season 4 episode 10 to Season 4 episode 26 [TV])
• Petals (Directed by Andrea Gallo and Alvaro Dominguez; November 29 [student film])

  Best Anthropomorphic Novel

My Diary, by Fredrick Usiku Kruger, Lieutenant of the Rackenroon Hyena Brigade
By Kathy Garrison Kellog (The Cross Time Cafe; April 2)


Runners-Up (in descending number of votes)

• Sixes Wild: Echoes, by Tempe O’Kun (FurPlanet Productions; June 30)
• Dog Country, by Malcolm F. Cross (Amazon Digital Services; March 28)
• Fracture, by Hugo Jackson (Inspired Quill; September 1)
• The Origin Chronicles: Mineau, by Justin Swatsworth (Dolphyn Visions; June 14)

  Best Anthropomorphic Short Fiction

400 Rabbits
By Alice “Huskyteer” Dryden, in Gods With Fur (FurPlanet Productions; June 30)


Runners-Up (in descending number of votes)

• A Gentleman of Strength, by Dwale, in Claw the Way to Victory (Jaffa Books; January 24)
• Questor’s Gambit, by Mary E. Lowd, in Gods With Fur (FurPlanet Productions; June 30)
• Marge the Barge, by Mary E. Lowd, in Claw the Way to Victory (Jaffa Books; January 24)
• Sheeperfly’s Lullaby, by Mary E. Lowd, in GoAL #2 (Goal Publications; March 27)

  Best Anthropomorphic Other Literary Work

Gods With Fur
Edited by Fred Patten (FurPlanet Productions; June 30 [anthology])


Runners-Up (in descending number of votes)

• Claw the Way to Victory, ed. by AnthroAquatic (Jaffa Books; January 24 [anthology])
• ROAR volume 7, ed. by Mary E. Lowd (Bad Dog Books; June 30 [anthology])
• The Muse, by Alex Cockburn (Rabbit Valley Publishing; March [background booklet for Lucid’s Dream])
• Hot Dish #2, ed. by Dark End (Sofawolf Press; December 1 [anthology])

  Best Anthropomorphic Non-Fiction Work

The Art of Zootopia
By Jessica Julius (Chronicle Books; March 8 [book; making of feature film])


Runners-Up (in descending number of votes)

• Fursonas (Directed by Dominic Rodriguez; May 10 [documentary film])
• 17 Misconceptions About Furries and the Furry Fandom (Culturally F’d #23; February 11 [podcast])
• CSI: Fur Fest; The Unsolved Case of the Gas Attack at a Furry Convention, by Jennifer Swann (VICE Media; February 10 [Internet])
• Burned Furs and How You Perceive Porn (Culturally F’d: After Dark; October 6 [podcast])

  Best Anthropomorphic Graphic Story

TwoKinds
By Tom Fischbach (Internet; January 6 to December 25)


Runners-Up (in descending number of votes)

• Swords and Sausages, by Jan (Internet; January 10 to December 25)
• Lackadaisy, by Tracy J. Butler (Internet; Lackadaisy Sabbatical to Lackadaisy Headlong)
• Lucid’s Dream, by Alex Cockburn (Rabbit Valley Publishing; March)
• Endtown, by Aaron Neathery (Internet; January 1 to December 30)

  Best Anthropomorphic Comic Strip

Housepets!
By Rick Griffin (Internet; January 1 to December 30)


Runners-Up (in descending number of votes)

• Savestate, by Tim Weeks (Internet; January 6 to December 28)
• Carry On, by Kathy Garrison (Internet; January 1 to December 30)
• Kevin & Kell, by Bill Holbrook (Internet; January 1 to December 31)
• Doc Rat, by Jenner (Internet; January 1 to December 29)

  Best Anthropomorphic Magazine

Dogpatch Press
Edited by Patch Packrat (Internet, January 4 to December 20)


Runners-Up (in descending number of votes)

• Fur What It’s Worth (Podcast; Season 5 episode #8 to Season 6 episode #8)
• InFurNation, ed. by Rod O’Riley (Internet; January 1 to December 31)
• Flayrah, ed. by crossaffliction and GreenReaper (Internet; January 1 to December 29)
• Fangs and Fonts (Podcast; episodes #57 to #72)

  Best Anthropomorphic Published Illustration

Cover of Anthrocon 2016 Souvenir Book
By Tracy J. Butler


Runners-Up (in descending number of votes)

• Cover of Gods With Fur, by Teagan Gavet, ed. by Fred Patten (FurPlanet Productions, June 30)
• Autumn, by Iskra, FurAffinity, October 22
• Cover of Claw the Way to Victory, by Jenn ‘Pac’ Rodriguez, ed. by AnthroAquatic (Jaffa Books, January 24)
• Hey Baby, You’re the Cat’s Meow!, by Dolphyn, in Anthrocon 2016 Souvenir Book

  Best Anthropomorphic Game

Major / Minor
Developer: Klace; Publisher: Steam; October 11


Runners-Up (in descending number of votes)

• Pokémon Sun & Moon (Developer: Game Freak; Publishers: Nintendo and The Pokémon Company; November 18)
• Overwatch (Developer and Publisher: Blizzard Entertainment; May 24)
• Stories: The Path of Destinies (Developer and Publisher: Spearhead Games; April 12)
• Bear Simulator (Developer and Publisher: Farjay Studios; February 26)

  Best Anthropomorphic Website

Fur Affinity
(Internet, [furry art & discussion])


Runners-Up (in descending number of votes)

• E621 (Internet [furry art & discussion])
• WikiFur (Internet [furry wiki])
• The Furry Writers’ Guild (Internet [FWG news & discussion])
• Culturally F’d, ed. by Arrkay and Underbite (YouTube [furry history & sociology])

The entry The Ursa Major Awards (2016) appears first in FurryFandom.Es.

Submitted by Fred Patten, Furry’s favorite historian and reviewer.

Murrin Road, by L. B. Kitty
Seattle, WA, CreateSpace, October 2016, trade paperback $9.00 (171 pages), Kindle $3.00.

This is an Irish novel with funny animals. It begins:

“Lexy stood hunched and huddled by a billboard as the rain came streaking down, sometimes blowing along Murrin Road in waves. His fur matting where the moisture had penetrated, droplets resting on his whiskers and breathing heavily, he looked at the gleam of shining rails before him, and as he took a step out from the end of the road he could hear the hum of the vibrating steel.” (p. 1)

Lexy is a black cat in the gritty industrial part of London. While he is standing out and getting soaked in the rain, a truck roars up, throws something out, and speeds away.

“He walked slowly towards whatever it was the moved in curled flicking motions like a leech sucking goodness from the gutter. The rain was now really running through his clothes, it felt like it was pouring through his soul, could it cleanse him? He stood two foot away and looked down; in the faint orange glow of a distant street-lamp he saw a familiar shape. Except for its lumpy looking end, he recognized a Feline figure, he leaned down and saw that whoever it was looked like they had been beaten, bloodied, tied up and even had a sack placed over their head. He reached his paw slowly down ‘Just a little further…’” (p. 2)

Excuse me for not putting [sic.] throughout that quotation. The something is a sack with a white cat in it, who says to just call him Kitty. Brian O’Connor, “The Celtic Tiger” (he’s a Tiger – Kitty the author capitalizes all animal nouns), a mob boss, has ordered that Kitty be disposed of. Lexy objects to having trash dumped on his doorstep, so he takes Kitty and marches into Brian’s working-class pub headquarters to complain. Brian tells all his lieutenants to shoot Lexy. Kitty saves him, and the black and white cats become an Odd Couple-type best friends and eventually very chaste gay lovers.

Murrin Road is a good example of how not to write a furry novel – or a novel at all. The characters are unusually superficially funny animals. A couple of major supporting characters are Terri, a barmaid, and Lee, a biker. Terri and Lee are identified as a Fox and a Tiger when they are introduced, and then their species is hardly mentioned for the rest of the novel. They might as well be humans. “By this time Lee was awake and making coffee, Junior was sitting up eating plain toast.” (p. 92) That’s a tiger drinking coffee and a wolf eating toast. Inconsistently, some characters are named by species almost every time they are mentioned, like Marriot, an Otter:

“Sat the other side of the table was a young Otter who was smartly dressed in a pale yellow suit jacket, a tight t-shirt which showed his abs well and his muscled legs were pressed against tight grey trousers. He held in his paws a black cane that was topped with a well polished silver ball, Lexy thought he looked rather strange. Behind him were casually dressed dock workers, a few Otters and some various Canines but it was difficult to make them out in the shadows the other side of the room.” (p. 12)

(Scatter more [sic’s] through there.) There is fantasy in Murrin Road. Lexy can burst into flame:

“‘Don’t!’ cried a young blue haired Arctic Fox.

The Vixen came through the door just in time to see the Husky’s paw make contact with Lexy, and then she heard him yelp in pain as his the material of his glove melted and his clothes caught fire.

‘Too late’ she said, turning to the rest of the unit, ‘Call for back up’.

Lexy felt like he was a raging fire, he felt like he was going to burn away, until suddenly the feeling that had been building exploded. A fireball spun from him in the middle of the room, his clothes turned to ash in an instant, his fur emblazoned with red circular patterns all over. Kitty watched in amazement as the fireball expanded in the centre of his lounge, this was his cue to leave and he started running down the levels of the fire escape. As he did so he found he was being shot at through the windows in the stairwell but cowering as he ran he made it to the bottom and finally he jumped and landed swiftly amongst the bushes.” (p. 25)

Who is Lexy? For that matter, who is Kitty? Why does the Mob want to get rid of him? Why does Kitty befriend Lexy before anyone notices anything unusual about him? Who are the mysterious government agents who want Lexy back?

It’s not really worth plowing through Murrin Road to find out. Some other errors throughout the novel are site for sight, thrown for throne, draws for drawers, “An few hours later”, “Meanwhile, stood in the Italian Gardens in Hyde Park, Brian O’Connor paced up and down” (should be “standing”, not “stood”), the cats have prehensile tails – how many bad examples do you want?

According to his Twitter account, L. B. Kitty stands for LexyBadKitty. His photo is on DeviantArt; he’s 24 and lives in Ireland. The cover artist, Larry Walker-Tonks, also has a website. Kitty needs a proofreader, or a Beta reader, or something.

–Fred Patten

• Buy on Amazon

We had more mail so we went back and kept answering it. We love hearing from you. We talk about what it means to be mainstream, marketing, song of summerking, feral as a concept in furry, and other topics.

Original Air Date: July 5, 2017

Ep 74 – Xmas Mailbag – Pt.2 - We had more mail so we went back and kept answering it. We love hearing from you. We talk about what it means to be mainstream, marketing, song of summerking, feral as a concept in furry, and other topics. Original Air Date: July 5, 2017

It may be four months late, but we went through some of our mailbag right before Christmas and here it is. We go through some emails and talk about feedback from previous episodes. Also we dabble a bit about if you wrote something that would infringe copyright.

Original Air Date: April 9, 2017

Ep 73 – Xmas Mailbag – Pt.1 - It may be four months late, but we went through some of our mailbag right before Christmas and here it is. We go through some emails and talk about feedback from previous episodes. Also we dabble a bit about if you wrote something that would infringe c...

How much does species have to matter to make a story furry? Does each story require an origin tale to explain why anthropomorphic animals are walking around? Or can we just have walking talking animals for no reason at all? We discuss our origins that pushed us into furry, what that means for furry for all, and if there’s a line drawn between zipperbacks and true anthros for stories.

Original Air Date: December 16, 2016

Ep 72 – Fur For All - How much does species have to matter to make a story furry? Does each story require an origin tale to explain why anthropomorphic animals are walking around? Or can we just have walking talking animals for no reason at all?

Want to know what your fellow authors do when they’re not writing their next best-selling book? Then come by the Furry Writer’s Guild! Fangs and Fonts tackle the topic of the Furry Writer’s Guild, why you should join, and how you can use it to get in touch with your inner author/editor/whatever.

FWG main site link: Furry Writers’ Guild

Original Air Date: November 1, 2016

Ep 71 – Furry Writer’s Guild - Want to know what your fellow authors do when they’re not writing their next best-selling book? Then come by the Furry Writer’s Guild! Fangs and Fonts tackle the topic of the Furry Writer’s Guild, why you should join,

Lead Heat editor, Dark End, recently ranted about his latest slushpile, coming up with a list of twenty-five erotic cliches he sees too often in submissions. We go through each of them and discuss their validity, the core of them and how to avoid them. All while having fun doing it!

Check out the list here: https://storify.com/KyellGold/dark-end-s-tips-for-erotic-stories

Original Air Date: October 8, 2016

Ep 70 – Twenty-Five Erotic Cliches - Lead Heat editor, Dark End, recently ranted about his latest slushpile, coming up with a list of twenty-five erotic cliches he sees too often in submissions. We go through each of them and discuss their validity,

Your beloved Fangs and Fonts crew talk about everything dirty, get wildly off topic, and discuss some of the not-so-fine points of eroticism. Join the cast for fun and adventure into the cavernous depths of furry eroticism and kinky hijinks!

Original Air Date: September 12, 2016

Ep 69 – Fun Bags! - Your beloved Fangs and Fonts crew talk about everything dirty, get wildly off topic, and discuss some of the not-so-fine points of eroticism. Join the cast for fun and adventure into the cavernous depths of furry eroticism and kinky hijinks!

Ocean runs off to AC 2016 and ends the con in a hotel room sitting around with other authors, editors and publishers. The gloves are off, the drinks are out and we’re ready to unwind and shoot the breeze. As usual, there’s an explicit advisory warning with our SWS shows. Otherwise, enjoy!

Original Air Date: August 1, 2016

Ep 68 – ACSWS - Ocean runs off to AC 2016 and ends the con in a hotel room sitting around with other authors, editors and publishers. The gloves are off, the drinks are out and we’re ready to unwind and shoot the breeze. As usual,

Ever tell yourself “I don’t have time for reading”, or encounter someone with similar excuses? Join Fangs and Fonts as we talk about the merits of being a reading writer!

Original Air Date: July 22, 2016

Ep 67 – Reading Writing - Ever tell yourself “I don’t have time for reading”, or encounter someone with similar excuses? Join Fangs and Fonts as we talk about the merits of being a reading writer! Original Air Date: July 22, 2016

What makes a scene? In writing, not that mess of animals who record this podcast. We discuss about how scenes are set up, what entails them, how to start one, end another and chain them all together.

Original Air Date: May 22, 2016

Ep 66 – Scene it, Wrote it - What makes a scene? In writing, not that mess of animals who record this podcast. We discuss about how scenes are set up, what entails them, how to start one, end another and chain them all together. Original Air Date: May 22, 2016

We are joined this week by DalanTiger and Kirisis! Join us as we talk about ferals vs. anthros and other distracted topics!

Find Dalan: @Robotechtiger
Outcast Podcast

Find Kirisis: @SwirlyTales

Original Air Date: April 25, 2016

Ep 65 – A Feral Scene - We are joined this week by DalanTiger and Kirisis! Join us as we talk about ferals vs. anthros and other distracted topics! Find Dalan: @Robotechtiger Outcast Podcast Find Kirisis: @SwirlyTales Original Air Date: April 25, 2016

Characters, plots and themes are all important but all require glue to put them together. We discuss that glue which is known as the aspects of writing technically well: sentence and paragraph structure, grammar, word choice, punctuation, etc. How can you learn to write technically well and how will it help your stories? To help tackle this topic we bring on Sofawolf editor, Fugue, to sit down with us and discuss.

Fugue’s editing can be found in various works sold through Sofawolf Press

Original Air Date: May 2, 2016

Ep 64 – Technically Correct - Characters, plots and themes are all important but all require glue to put them together. We discuss that glue which is known as the aspects of writing technically well: sentence and paragraph structure, grammar, word choice, punctuation, etc.

This week’s episode is all about balancing your writing life, with your working one. Bonus topics include: What makes writing racist/prejudice, authors who are/were racist/prejudice, and various insights into our convoluted lives.

Original Air Date: April 5, 2016

Ep 63 – Work Life Balance - This week’s episode is all about balancing your writing life, with your working one. Bonus topics include: What makes writing racist/prejudice, authors who are/were racist/prejudice, and various insights into our convoluted lives.

This week we talk about the niche we write in: furry. The “bubble” that surrounds our niche among others, how to push out, how to look in. Are we really as different and unique as we think we are? How do others see us?

Original Air Date: March 12, 2016

Ep 62 – Furry Niche - This week we talk about the niche we write in: furry. The “bubble” that surrounds our niche among others, how to push out, how to look in. Are we really as different and unique as we think we are? How do others see us? Original Air Date: March 12, 2016

Enjoy hearing Voice, Yanarra, and Roland talk about romance and slice of life. Listen to amusing anecdotes, life experiences, and our take on romance sub-genres and slice of life stories.

Original Air Date: March 15, 2016

Ep 61 – Slice of Romance - Enjoy hearing Voice, Yanarra, and Roland talk about romance and slice of life. Listen to amusing anecdotes, life experiences, and our take on romance sub-genres and slice of life stories. Original Air Date: March 15, 2016

This week the group talks about literary awards in the fandom. Are they useful? Should you participate?

Find out more information about:
The Ursa Major Awards
The Coyotl Awards

Original Air Date: February 14, 2016

Ep 60 – Awarding Work - This week the group talks about literary awards in the fandom. Are they useful? Should you participate? Find out more information about: The Ursa Major Awards The Coyotl Awards Original Air Date: February 14, 2016

Suspend your disbelief this week with Ocean, Yanarra, and Tarl! We disccuss how far you can walk that suspension bridge of disbelief and what will cause it to collapse. Listen as the crew relays Roland’s well thought out notes and be dismayed by his lack of counter-arguments!

Original Air Date: January 31, 2016

Ep 59 – Suspend Your Disbelief - Suspend your disbelief this week with Ocean, Yanarra, and Tarl! We disccuss how far you can walk that suspension bridge of disbelief and what will cause it to collapse. Listen as the crew relays Roland’s well thought out notes and be dismayed by his la...

This week the group talks about what’s different between movies and books as a medium. We like seeing flashy things on the screen but can that translate well to the page? What advantages does a book have that a movie doesn’t?

Original Air Date: January 21, 2016

Ep 58 – Your Book Is Not A Movie - This week the group talks about what’s different between movies and books as a medium. We like seeing flashy things on the screen but can that translate well to the page? What advantages does a book have that a movie doesn’t?

This week Fangs and Fonts takes some time to reflect on 2015 and all of it’s wonders, failures and successes. Join us as we talk about things that have passed, and things yet to come. We look forward to another exciting year, and hope you do too.

Original Air Date: January 4, 2016

Ep 57 – 2015 Year End Review - This week Fangs and Fonts takes some time to reflect on 2015 and all of it’s wonders, failures and successes. Join us as we talk about things that have passed, and things yet to come. We look forward to another exciting year, and hope you do too.