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Happy Birthday USA!  Now get out there and blow a bit of the place up!    
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More from BOOM! Studios. Mouse Guard creator David Petersen has a new project: The Mouse Guard Alphabet Book. It’s coming soon in hardcover, written by Mr. Petersen and illustrated by Serena Malyon. Comic Book Resources has a preview. “Learn the ABCs in the world of David Petersen’s Mouse Guard where brave mice protect one another from predators large and small, explore the expansive nature around them, and thrive in harsh conditions. Hand-painted by Serena Malyon (Magic in the City, Button Hill), this is a look into a beautiful world with rich culture and stalwart friendships, worth exploring one letter at a time.” Look for it at book and comic stores in September.

image c. 2017 BOOM! Studios

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I 'm torn between blowing stuff up this 4th or hiding under the bed. WHAT WAS THAT?  
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OH HEY, WE HAVE A WEBSITE NOW TOO www.thedraggetshow.com Patreons will get episodes first right after recording. Just a buck gets you early access and a downloadable mp3 file! www.patreon.com/thedraggetshow Serathin's amazing Dragget Show story! - docs.google.com/document/d/1AYkJR…y8RCsCK0NjEw/edit ALSO, we're not just on SoundCloud, you can also subscribe to this on most podcast services like iTunes! ep. 168 - Anthrocon 2017 LIVE! - OH HEY, WE HAVE A WEBSITE NOW TOO www.thedragget…

Apologies for doubling up this month. It’s been a bit hectic!

New members

We had two new members join the FWG in May, and two in June: welcome to Tyler David “T.D.” Coltraine, Tom “Killick” Mullins, Jelliqal, and Terry Michael Gildow! If you’d like more information about joining, read our membership guidelines.

2016 Cóyotl Awards

The 2016 Coyotl Awards, the literary awards voted on by the Furry Writers’ Guild Members, were awarded May 28 at Furlandia in Portland, Oregon. Winners were:

• Best Novel: The Digital Coyote, Kris Schnee
• Best Novella: The Goat, Bill Kieffer
• Best Short Story: “400 Rabbits,” Alice “Huskyteer” Dryden (appearing in the anthology Gods With Fur)
• Best Anthology: Gods With Fur, edited by Fred Patten

The Cóyotl Award web site has the full list of nominees and video of the ceremony.

Member news

Madison Keller’s book Dragon Fried Cheese, the third in her Dragon Tax series, was released in May.

Werewolves vs. Fascism contains stories by several guild members, including NightEyes DaySpring, Amy Fontaine, Gullwolf, Mary E. Lowd, Televassi, and Allison Thai.

Frances Pauli’s story “Interviewing Dora” appeared in Daily Science Fiction in May, and her flash piece “Owning the Dragon” appeared in Flash Fiction Online in June.

Mary E. Lowd’s story “True Feast” appeared in the first issue of Typewriter Emergencies, the “furry lit” magazine from Weasel Press. In addition, her story “An Aldebaran Sugar Cookie for Star Shaker” appeared in Fantasia Divinity Magazine and her flash piece “Birthday” appeared in Every Day Fiction.

Allison Thai’s flash story “Tucked in the Folds of Our Eyes” was accepted at Remixt Magazine, and her story “The Same Within” was accepted to Wolf Warriors IV.

Bruno Schafer’s story “Divide Between Light and Shadow” was accepted for Wolf Warriors IV.

CopperSphinx’s illustration and poem were printed in Furlandia 2017’s program book.

New markets

The third volume of Civilized Beasts, the furry poetry anthology, is open for submissions. Payment: copies only (profits are donated to charity). Deadline: November 1, 2017. Editor: Laura Govednik. Publisher: Weasel Press. Details.

A Sword Master’s Tale is an anthology looking for furry stories whose primary characters are expert sword-wielders. (All genres are acceptable if those conditions are met). Length: 3,000–12,000 words. Payment: ½¢/word. Deadline: November 1, 2017. Details.

Typewriter Emergencies is an ongoing market (published twice a year worth highlighting again). Payment: 1¢/word. Deadline: September 29, 2017. Publisher: Weasel Press. Details.

We update the listings on the FWG web site fairly frequently, so check to see what is (and isn’t) listed there:

• Paying short story markets
• Non-paying short story markets
• Novel/novella markets

Also, Thurston Howl maintains a Google Calendar with submission opening and closings for both furry and “furry-friendly” anthologies.

Remember to keep an eye on the Calls for Submissions thread on the forum, as well as other posts on the Publishing and Marketing forum!

Odds and ends

The Tuesday Coffeehouse Chats continue to take place on the FWG Slack channel, while the Thursday chats continue to take place on the shoutbox.

As usual, we’d like to keep recruiting you to the FWG Goodreads group: add things to our members’ bookshelf (see the instructions here on how to do that), start conversations, draw rabbit ears on other authors’ head shots, and so on.

Have a terrific month! Send news, suggestions, feedback, and cute fursuit pictures to furwritersguild@gmail.com, or leave a comment below.

Since 2001, the Ursa Major awards have promoted public choice for the best furry stuff in many categories (movies, art, books, magazines, and etc.)  Since 2011, The Coyotl Awards have featured the Furry Writer’s Guild choice for best fiction – “an anthropomorphic Nebula equivalent to the Ursas’ Hugos.”

The Ursas are popular and the Coyotls are juried by merit.  Both are an awesome way for fans to discover works by each other, and prove how furries are more than underdogs compared to other fandoms anchored on central media properties.  They can help furries to Be The Media.

The Ursas will have a new Fursuit category next year. That has been demanded for many years but not added while there was debate about defining it. Designers, builders, wearers, and even photographers have some claims about inclusion – how do you award a team? Find out when voting starts for 2017.

The staff of Dogpatch Press (Fred, Pup Matthias, and I) are honored to win the 2016 Ursa for Best Magazine. That helps to keep cool stuff coming. Give yourselves pats for inspiring it.  If you want more good stuff in the furry news niche, try these: Flayrah, Culturally F’d, Furry.Today, InFurNation, Fur Media, Furrymedia, [adjective][species], Furry News Network, Gaming Furever, Furryfandom.es, and Furry Stammtische.

Fred Patten tells more. (- Patch)  

The 2016 Ursa Major Awards were announced on Friday, June 30th at the Anthrocon convention in Pittsburgh. The Ursa Major Awards, for best anthropomorphic works of the past calendar year, are presented by the Anthropomorphic Literature and Arts Association (ALAA) in twelve categories, and are voted upon by the public on the Ursa Major Awards website. There were 1,446 votes this year, most from the U.S. but some from throughout the rest of the world. Below are listed the winners and nominees of the 2016 Ursa Major Awards.

Best Anthropomorphic Motion Picture

Winner

• 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

Winner

• 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

Winner

• 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

Winner

• 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

Winner

• Gods With Fur, ed. 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

Winner

• 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

Winner

• 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)

New UMA lucite trophy that replaced framed certificates last year.

Best Anthropomorphic Comic Strip

Winner

• 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

Winner

• Dogpatch Press, ed. 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

Winner

• Tracy J. Butler, cover of Anthrocon 2016 Souvenir Book

Runners-Up (in descending number of votes)

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

Best Anthropomorphic Game

Winner

• 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

Winner

• 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])

Next year’s presentation venue will be at the FurDU convention, May 4-6, 2018, in Surfers Paradise, Queensland, Australia. In addition, the Ursa Major Awards are adding a thirteenth category beginning this year, for Best Anthropomorphic Fursuit, but with special rules. See the UMA website.

2016 Cóyotl Awards

The 2016 Cóyotl Awards, for the best anthropomorphic fiction of 2016, were announced on Saturday, May 15th at the Furlandia convention in Portland. They’re posted online at the Cóyotl Awards website and Twitter account (@TheCoyotlAwards).

Below are listed the winners and nominees of the 2016 Cóyotl Awards.  The winners are listed first and in bold.

Best Novel

• The Digital Coyote by Kris Schnee
• Black Angel by Kyell Gold
• Dog Country by Malcolm F. Cross
• Flower’s Curse by Madison Keller
• Memoirs of a Polar Bear by Yoko Tawada

Best Novella

• The Goat by Bill Kieffer
• Culdesac by Robert Repino
• The Time He Desires by Kyell Gold

Best Short Story

• 400 Rabbits by Alice “Huskyteer” Dryden
• A Gentleman of Strength by Dwale
• Old-Dry-Snakeskin by Ross Whitlock
• The Torch by Chris “Sparf” Williams

Best Anthology

• Gods with Fur edited by Fred Patten
• Claw the Way to Victory edited by AnthroAquatic
• Hot Dish #2 edited by Dark End

The Gods with Fur anthology has the Best Short Story winner, “400 Rabbits” by Alice Dryden.  Gods with Fur also won the 2016 Ursa Major Award.

– Fred Patten

Like the article? It takes a lot of effort to share these. Please consider supporting Dogpatch Press on Patreon, where you can access exclusive stuff for just $1.

Critics (and many other movie geeks) are already getting excited for the upcoming feature War For The Planet Of The Apes, coming to theaters July 14th. Before that though, BOOM! Studios have a new full-color prequel comic set to premier. According to Slashfilm.com, “War for the Planet of the Apes takes place two years after the events of Dawn of the Planet of the Apes. And to help bridge that time jump, 20th Century Fox has teamed up with BOOM! Studios to present a new comic book miniseries… The War for the Planet of the Apes comic book miniseries will be written by David F. Walker (Power Man and Iron Fist and Shaft) and illustrated by Jonas Scharf (Warlords of Appalachia).” It’s perhaps a bit confusing that the prequel comic book has the same title as the upcoming film that follows it, so remember to keep your continuity straight!

image c. 2017 BOOM! Studios

Moonstruck is a new full-color fantasy comic series coming our way later this month from Image. Here’s what they say: “A new ongoing series from Lumberjanes creator Grace Ellis and talented newcomer Shae Beagle that tells a story of monsters, romance, and magical hijinks! The first arc also includes an additional short story with artist Kate Leth! Fantasy creatures are living typical, unremarkable lives alongside humans, and barista Julie strives to be the most unremarkable of all. Normal job, normal almost-girlfriend, normal… werewolf transformations that happen when she gets upset? Yikes! But all bets are off when she and her centaur best friend Chet find themselves in the middle of a magical conspiracy. Will Julie and Chet be able to save their friends? Is Julie’s dogged determination to be normal a lost cause? Who’s going to watch the coffee shop while our heroes are out saving the world??” Find out July 19th.

image c. 2016 Image Comics

With all this talk about the ducks lately, let’s remember the mouse… IDW have collected issues #16 through #18 of their Mickey Mouse full-color comic as a new single-story-arc graphic novel called Mickey Mouse: Darkenblot. “The future is now! The high-tech city of Avantgarde has a cutting-edge robot police force – but it’s just become the Phantom Blot’s deadly private army! Can Mickey brave high-tech horrors to stop his old foe? Or will Avantgarde decide Mickey is part of the problem?” Created by Andrea Castellan, Jonathan Gray, and Lorenzo Pastrovicchio, it’s available exclusively at comic book retailers in July.

image c. 2017 IDW

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It's been ages since I put up anything with foxes so it's #FoxFriday today. Also I'm a sucker for a good mouse jump.    
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Submitted by Fred Patten, Furry’s favorite historian and reviewer. 

Plowed, edited by Andres Cyanni Halden.
Dallas, TX, FurPlanet Productions, December 2014, trade paperback $19.95 (212 pages), e-book $9.95.

This is a mature content book.  Please ensure that you are of legal age to purchase this material in your state or region. (publisher’s advisory)

The catchphrase for Plowed is “Ten Foxes – Ten Farms – Loads of Plowing”. This is an anthology of “ten saucy stories” all featuring foxes on farms with much explicit m/m sex.

The fox in “A Little Drop of Poison” by editor Andres Cyanni Halden is narrator Taslim Hajjar, a 20-year-old fennec. Since fennecs are North African foxes, it makes sense that Taslim is a Muslim. He’s the son of a rich Saudi father who is specializing in acquiring European vineyards and selling expensive wines to restaurants. (The Qur’an just says that Muslims shouldn’t drink alcohol; not that they can’t raise and sell it to unbelievers.) Tas is with his father inspecting a vineyard he intends to buy. The bored youth sneaks off to relax alone in the solitude of the vineyard’s wine cellars. He’s found there by one of the vineyard’s workers, “a very large, jet black bull setting down a wine cask beside one of the large racks.” The massive bull, Leeroy, can scent that the little fennec is very aroused by him. And Leeroy is a dom while Tas is a sub.

“‘Now,’ he said, his free paw trailing up my arm, across my shoulder, all the way up to lightly brush across one of my ears. ‘I’ve always been told fennec foxes like having their ears rubbed.’ He ran his rough finger along the edge, his touch surprisingly delicate. ‘Friend of mine told me it gets ‘em all hot and heavy.’” (p. 12)

That’s only the beginning of a very NSFW scene.

“Academic Fulfillment” by Danath is almost the opposite. The two main characters are Gerrard, a large Falkland Islands fox (extinct since 1876 in real life) often mistaken for a wolf (“Gerrard was handsome. Tall at six-foot-three, he was mostly muscle, topping in at 210 pounds. Despite the thickness of his pelt, his muscles were visible underneath […]” – p. 23), taking time out from college to work at a large North American ranch that caters to tourists; and Anthony, the bored 20-year-old, cute, openly-gay mouse son of a couple of the tourists. (“Anthony stared at the fox’s chest for a few moments before he realized he was almost drooling. Dragging his eyes away from the display, he blushed and returned to pick at the salad on his tray.” – p. 29) Gerrard and Anthony get to talking, and Gerrard invites Anthony to join some of the other genuine ranchhands. They get high smoking pot, and after the others leave, get into their NSFW romance; but as equals, not dom/sub. Gerrard decides to return to college as Anthony’s roommate.

“Aspirations” by K. M. Hirosaki also has a college fox working on a ranch. Sitka is an arctic fox interning on a ranch for the summer. But he’s afraid he’s made a mistake.

“Then, of course, there was the heat. He knew it would be uncomfortable, and he’d thought he’d braced himself for it, and he’d been wrong. Being an arctic fox in the middle of the desert was bad enough, and having to wear denim pants over his fur, and then leather chaps over the denim made him feel like he was broiling underneath all his clothes.” (p. 41)

Besides roasting and having harder labor than he’d expected, Sitka had hoped to get some m/m action with one of the handsome regular ranchhands — Checo, a coyote; Javier, a kit fox, or Greaser, another coyote. But it doesn’t look at first like any of them is gay. Boy, is he wrong! This is another dom/sub tale, with Sitka as the sub.

The protagonist of “Foxtrot” by Tym is Harold Allende, a Darwin’s fox. This is another college-student-at-a summer-job-on-a-ranch. The difference is that it isn’t entirely voluntary, and the setting is the Argentine Pampas. Harold’s grandparents came to San Francisco from Chile. He decided to see where they came from during summer vacation; took a ship to Buenos Aires and was taking a train to Santiago; was robbed partway and took a job on a ranch in the Pampas to make enough money to either finish his journey or go back to Buenos Aires and call his parents to bail him out.

Harold meets Llewellyn Sinclair, a brown horse globetrotting after being discharged (honorably) from the U.S. Army. The two English-speakers get together, and NSFW erotica ensues. After, Llewellyn leaves to continue his globetrotting, but he gives Harold enough money to return to Buenos Aires. Under other circumstances, this could be a Most Unforgettable Character I Ever Met story.

“Irony and Woodwork” by Whyte Yoté is the first real story here, rather than just an erotic incident. The setting is the rural Midwest shortly after the Civil War. The narrator is Zach, an adolescent maned wolf farmboy. Maned wolves are really tall foxes, whose visible sexual differences are so small that it’s difficult to tell the males and females apart except by a close look. Whyte Yoté takes advantage of this for his story.

“‘Sir, please,’ I protest, paws up in defense, though I’m still smiling. ‘It’s my fault you’ll be up late. Pop’s already fit to skin me if I don’t get a move on. He’d be awful pleased to find out I helped. Even more if we get done early.’ I can’t keep the double meaning from sneaking in, but no point in trying to cover it up. We both know my reputation, even if Pop’s oblivious. Thank the Lord.” (p. 79)

Other characters besides Zach are Spiller, a big black stallion, and Morgan, a bison. Will it be a threesome, or will they take turns?

“Services Rendered” by Jeeves takes advantage of modern farming, which is no longer profitable except for large, commercial farms. Dale is a late-20s bat-eared fox (fennec?) auto mechanic answering a call from Carmichael, a 41-year-old Doberman farmer. His tractor engine has died; he’s frightened tat the old engine can’t be repaired any more; he can’t afford a new engine and without his tractor he can’t save his crops… It’s lucky that the two characters are gay and can commiserate with each other.

In “Sticky” by D. J. Fahl, Charlie DeCroix is a gray fox recently hired as a cook on a Vermont farm. The farm is snowed in during winter, but the kitchen is warm and Charlie doesn’t worry while he prepares dinner. Then Tom, the farmer, comes in.

“The wolverine got closer to the fox as he growled lowly, ‘The hands are stuck in town. Road is closed down.’

‘Oh dear,’ Charlie looked at the oven. ‘Then I made way too much food for just the two of us.’

Charlie jumped as he felt a large paw land on his shoulder and squeezed. ‘You didn’t hear me right, fox boy. I said the hands are stuck in town.’

‘Uh,’ Charlie gulped a bit, feeling the wolverine pressing closer into his big bushy gray tail.” (pgs. 139-140)

Tom is a dom. It’s lucky that Charlie is a sub.

The protagonist of “The Fox Says Neigh” by Ajax B. Coriander is Layton, a chubby red fox who is steaming because “his ex decided to run off with a dumb blonde twink whore and torch three years of their life together” (p. 151), also leaving him with a reservation for a weekend of kinky sex at a farm bed and breakfast for doubles. Even though Layton is no longer part of a couple, he goes alone. “Owner” is a Saint Bernard dom with a whip who calls Layton a pony and whips him on all fours into the barn with the rest of the ponies – King, a husky, and Little Princess, a big stallion. Much NSFW BDSM horseplay ensues.

The fox in “Weekend Pass”, by Andres Cyanni Halden again, is Siberian with black and silver fur, but he’s American. His name is only “Mrs. Samson” because he’s married to Mr. Samson, a giant stallion, and he likes “Mrs. Samson” to wear a dress and play the wife of the farm. But there doesn’t seem to be any secret about “her” real sex, and when Mr. Samson, Carson, is away from the farm on business, “Mrs. Samson” runs everything – and “she’s” free to share sex with any of the farmhands, who include handsome horses, dogs, wolves, cougars, and “her” favorite, Carlos, a ram. Sometimes Mr. and Mrs. Samson have a threesome, and M. Samson lets “her” pick the third.

“Weeping Bear Valley” by Ajax B. Coriander again features Pablo, a crab fox, thrown out of his home at 19 for being gay, and Jack, a slightly older badger. Jack works on a ranch and gets Pablo a job there, too. Pablo keeps his sexuality a secret. A few years later, some missing cattle are reported seen in far-off Weeping Bear Valley, and Jack and Pablo ride out to fetch them. This story is more active than most, with Jack saving Pablo’s life, but the payoff is the same: Pablo’s gayness is revealed, Jack turns out to swing the same way, and there is a happy NSFW climax.

Okay. I don’t swing the m/m way, so Plowed (cover by Soros) isn’t meant for me. I can say that all ten stories have good writing, but the repetitive fox-on-a-farm/ranch setup becomes tiresome. This reader became more interested in seeing what type of fox and in what role he will appear in the next story. The worst aspect (to me) is that, except for Whyte Yoté’s story, they’re all just setups for extensive explicit m/m erotic scenes; often very brief setups. There’s no followup. Plowed is an anthology for those interested in lots of explicit m/m sex, rather than in stories that go anywhere.

– Fred Patten

• Buy on Furplanet
• Buy at Bad Dog Books
• Cover artist, Soro

Coming in August, Top Shelf Comix bring us this: “Spacebat, the galaxy’s greatest misfit, is pressed into service by three children to battle a mad scientist, his army of ill-mannered robots, and (worst of all) a universe-bending machine. Romp across reality in a wide-ranging escapade for all ages from acclaimed cartoonist Chris Sheridan (Motorcycle Samurai, Plants Vs. Zombies), featuring bold lines, quirky characters, outer-space adventures… and tacos.” Spacebat and the Fugitives Book One: Tacos at the End of the World (whew!) is a full-color graphic novel, available soon in softcover.

image c. 2017 Top Shelf Comix

Meh!  
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Hi Papa Bear! 

I was wondering about your stance on interspecies dating? I identify as a Blood Moon Night Fox. I recently attended a convention where I met a great person who identifies as a Tiger Shark Female. We have been communicating for several months now and I've contracted feelings for her. However, I am more on the conservative side and only believe the only kind of cross breeding can happen when ligers and mules are made. Do you think a fox like me and a shark like her can make this work or stay as friends and keep my morals and stick to land animals? I would very much appreciate your wisdom and input. Please write soon!

Furambe (male, age 23)

* * *

Dear Furambe,

I'm not going to post this on my site because my answer might be a bit blunt for you. [Note: I obviously changed my mind for reasons readers will see below].

Um... you are not really a fox and she is not really a shark, so, are you kidding me? You're both humans. If you like her, see if she will go out on a date with you.

Papabear

* * *

Excuse me but seeing as you're a very noticed character in the furry community how dare you imply I am "just human." That is seen as kinphobic and racially ignorant.  You might take your furry status as serious as a lot of us do "Kevin," but it is seen as phobic to the full extent. I trusted you but shame on you Mr. Hile. 

* * *

Hi,

Not sure why you are putting my name in quotation marks, but okay.  I am not racially ignorant or kinphobic. You are talking about things that don't exist. You are not, in reality, a fox, and she is not, in reality, a tiger shark. To assert that you are is to lose touch with reality.

I realize there are people who identify very closely with their fursonas. I myself feel that bear is my spirit animal. But I don't fail to recognize that we are all, including you, sweetie, Homo sapiens.

To say I am "phobic" is to say I am afraid of furries. No, I am not. 

What I am trying to say is that you are making things unnecessarily complicated with your love interest because you are both humans, like it or not. That's not phobia. That's not racism. That's reality. And you need to get a firm grip on it, hon.
....
Actually, when you think about it, your fears about whether being mates with another "species" is a problem the very definition of racial fear, is it not?

I also note that in your email response you are not actually male, but female [email not printed here, nor is the person's real name]. I am wondering, therefore, whether your original question was really not about furry species but, rather, the fact that you are a female in love with a female? Is that the real issue here? If so, then, again, I would say that you should go with your feelings and pursue the relationship.

Papabear

Dear Readers,

This is a good example of how sometimes people bury their problems in their fursonas. While having a fursona (or several) can be a fun and creative way of expressing oneself, it is worthwhile to note that sometimes getting lost in fantasy is not healthy. That is why I decided to publish this letter exchange.

I never heard back from this writer. I hope I will someday.

Hugs to all....

July 3, 9:30 PM – 2:30 AM

DNA Lounge, 375 11th St, San Francisco

Facebook event page

“Bring a dead stiff squirrel and get in free!”  Yes, that’s a real long-time promise by Death Guild. I can’t say what happens to the squirrels, but I can tell you about this legendary club night. It’s the longest running one for weird dark music in North America. That means gothic rock, industrial, darkwave, EBM and synthpop, with an ambiance like The Addams Family gone cyberpunk:

In Death Guild’s 24+ years of operation, they must have seen a lot of squirrels.  I don’t know if that ever included the patrons, but now it can because of a neat subcultural confluence. See, San Francisco isn’t just a good place for dark aesthetics. It’s also Furry Mecca with the world’s most dense population of furry fans. And furverts. Unapologetic ones who might hide a squirrel where the sun don’t shine. Kidding!!!  I’m joking about the consenting-adult patrons of Wild Things, one of the world’s only open-invite parties for furry kink. It’s usually hosted at The Citadel BDSM club, but this time gets the upstairs at DNA Lounge.

It’s just a dance party.  No wardrobe malfunctions allowed, but otherwise, go wild with costuming – from fur or latex bodysuits to rubber pup masks. “Dressing up is highly encouraged.”

Info for costume changing: Previous parties had a draped area inside. This time you’re on your own, so it’s recommended to use the Costco parking garage down the street for a bit of off-street cover.  If you’re there earlier, try a pre-dance meetup at SOMA Streatfood or Wicked Grounds kink cafe.

This mutant party happened by relationship with Gretchen Weeners, DJ at local goth clubs. Wild Things organizers are fans of the music, and acquainted with the proprietor of DNA Lounge.  The patrons might find it an odd mix… but that’s good, it’s how some of the best fun happens.

Me, having fun at DNA Lounge

Some more unlikely crossover with these subcultures.

• VNV Nation, Skinny Puppy, industrial music and furries: an inexplicable multi-nerd connection
• Freaky Furry Music – from the punk, goth and industrial underground
• The Vietnamese Mariachi Furry Drag Show Goth Club (see half way down)
• At Burning Man, here’s a furry battle in Death Guild’s Thunderdome.

Below is a fresh new tune they should play from Ghost Twin (it has cool lyrics about riding Griffins in space). Then there’s an obscure older gem from Ashtrayhead (side project of industrial band Cubanate.) And a vid from Death Guild past.

To quote flufflepuff, GASP!!!! [1]   [2] [3] [4] [1] https://furry.today/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Untitled-1-15.jpg [2] https://furry.today/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Untitled-5.jpg [3] https://furry.today/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Untitled-6-1.jpg [4] https://furry.today/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Untitled-3.jpg
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Fred Patten’s latest book, which we reviewed in our previous article, begins with a dedication to Mark Merlino and Rod O’Riley for their involvement in the furry fandom. They’re two furries from South California, who are now 64 and 52 years of age respectively. They would host furry parties at sci-fi conventions in the 80s. But once it became clear that furries needed their own separate convention, they were up to the task. And so, they went ahead and organized the first furry convention, ‘ConFurence 0’, in 1989! It was a success, and they stayed in charge of further runs until ConFurence 10 in 1999, at a point when many other cons had sprung as well.

 

Mark and Rod live in a furry house, a private residence where a large number of furries live or gather, with furry decorations, furry media, and furry-related activities. Their house is called The Prancing Skiltaire, after Mark Merlino’s original fictional species the Skiltaire: an intelligent weasel-like alien race he came up with in the 70s. After so many decades of actively taking part in the fandom, The Prancing Skiltaire isn’t just a home, but a library / archive of particularly valuable pre-internet era documents, some not found anywhere else. Encouraged by public interest in the history of furry, Changa Lion, another furry living at The Prancing Skiltaire, has selected and scanned almost 2000 pages (so far) of these historical documents, now open to the public at The ConFurence Archive (ConFurence.com). The digital online archive will continue to grow as he scans & uploads more interesting documents. Great news for anyone interested in the history of our community!

Mark & Rod also host the audio series Two Old Furry Fans, where they speak about their personal experiences as growing furry fans since childhood.

 

Mark Merlino, at the ConFurence 0 conbook, from The ConFurence Archive

Sonic Team announces a striking feature to their upcoming game Sonic Forces, to be released the last quarter of 2017.

How many times have you seen fanmade OCs (original characters) drawn with Sonic-like features on art websites? Maybe you’ve drawn your own! Well, next Sonic’s adventure allows you to customize the main character of the game to your liking, effectively making original characters canon within the Sonic universe!

 

This is the customization shown so far on media released to the press, the species and traits selectable:

•   Bear, blows away enemies with a homing attack.
•   Bird, flies high with double jump abilities.
•   Cat, keeps one ring after being hit.
•   Dog, restarts with five rings after the player dies.
•   Hedgehog, collects rings when getting damaged.
•   Rabbit, has longer invincible time after receiving damage.
•   Wolf, automatically draws in rings when near them.

•   Upper headgear, which includes various hats.
•   Middle headgear, which includes various styles of glasses.
•   Lower headgear, with bandanas, mouthpieces, and mustaches.
•   Gloves, there’ll be fingerless, knuckled and plain.
•   Footwear, with option for boots, and sneakers.
•   Custom body clothing, which includes various jackets, bow ties, backpacks, chains, and other items.
•   Custom body suit (options not shown in trailer).
•   Custom skin color (options not shown in trailer).

Sonic Forces will be multiplatform, available for Windows PC, and also PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch. Gameplay-wise, it’ll be most similar to Sonic Generations: players will run at high speeds in levels with elements such as spring boards, boost pads, and robots and other hazards, in a 3D back view and also in 2.5D side-scrolling fashion.

Joe Strike, a first-wave furry greymuzzle (in the fandom since 1989), has taken on the mission of writing the first in-depth insider book about the fandom, to be published October this year: Furry Nation. The book will include profiles of furry artists, published authors, and craftspeople. It’s a journey through the birth of animal anthropomorphism, from prehistoric cave paintings to the modern day; a very human story that takes many forms, from the joyfully public to the deeply personal. His writing style shows to be promising so far, and in his research he’s collaborated with many furs for a quality retrospective and present view. The publisher is Cleis Press, and it’ll be available on Amazon among other book stores. At FurryFandom.es we’ll be keeping a close eye on the work, and tell you all about it when it comes out!

And soon to be announced are the winners of the Ursa Major Awards 2016. We’ll be covering the event with an article very soon. Stay furry-tuned!

Main sources: Dogpatch Press, Flayrah.

The entry News from the World (June 2017) appears first in FurryFandom.Es.

For those with an interest in one of the longest-running (and best-known) funny animal comic strips, Hermes Press have a new Garfield compilation that sure to cat(ch) your eye. According to the publisher: “Hermes Press is proud to announce their second major collaboration with Paws, Incorporated producing another unique title featuring everyone’s favorite orange cat, Garfield! Hermes and Paws have come together to treat the world to a compendium of the greatest examples of original artwork from classic Garfield daily and Sunday comic strips in their original size, including rare unpublished material, that has never been seen before… This historic archival reprint will feature hundreds of pieces of original production art from the comic strip, with an introductory essay from Jim Davis himself! If you love Garfield and want to experience the strips as they were originally drawn, this is the book for you! From the very beginning in 1979 to the last non-digital strip in 2011, this purrfect book shows you Garfield like you’ve never seen him before!” Jim Davis’ Garfield: The Original Daily and Sunday Art Archive is coming in hardcover later this summer.

image c. 2017 Hermes Press

Mei Dym performs Nandemonaiya (it's nothing) by Radwimps [1] from the anime film Your Name [2]. What an amazing performance ... especially with those paws. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radwimps [2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Your_Name
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