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Guest post by Thurston Howl. Thurston is the editor-in-chief of Thurston Howl Publications. The author of several novels, short stories, and poems, he prides himself in the Ursa Major Award winning essay collection he edited, Furries Among Us. He received his BA in English at Vanderbilt University and his MA in English at Middle Tennessee State University. Aside from running a publishing house, he teaches English at a local college, plays piano, dances, and is actively training to be a coffee connoisseur.

The past several years, a growing trend has entered the furry publishing market: the anthology. While anthologies became a most popular form of literature, particularly in genre fiction in the mid-twentieth century, it wasn’t until the 1990s that the furry anthology became a popular form of furry literature (explicitly marketed to the furry community). By now, however, almost every furry publishing house has their own signature annual anthology. FurPlanet has its Bad Dog Books anthologies, FANG and ROAR (both having just published their seventh volume). SofaWolf has the mostly erotic collection, HEAT (now with thirteen volumes), and New Fables. Rabbit Valley Press publishes the annual Tales from the Guild, featuring writers from the Furry Writers Guild. Thurston Howl Publications recently started its series, SPECIES, in which each volume centers on a different furry species. Note that most, if not all, of these houses publish many other anthologies every year, with Altered States; Inhuman Acts; and Gods with Fur coming to mind immediately. These types of furry anthologies have been the recipients of many awards, including the Ursa Major Award and the Coyotl Award.

Perhaps, it is no wonder that the genre has reached such popularity. Anthologies, especially in the furry fandom, have a myriad of strengths:

1. They allow multiple authors a simultaneous chance at publication, drawing in a clientele for publishing houses.
2. They allow readers diversity when they buy the books.
3. They are easier ways for authors to build their writing credits; easier than a full-on novel contract.
4. They are much easier to market as fifteen authors are sharing with friends and family, rather than just one.
5. Having an annual anthology series builds a repeating fanbase, with fans who want Volume 2, Volume 3, etc.

Plus, the anthologies give incredibly unique flavor to the personas of each publishing house. Fred Patten has written numerous articles on the various differences between the houses, and many of these differences are reflected in their anthologies. While one favors sci fi and fantasy, another favors more erotic elements.

In essence, furry anthologies are great for the publishers, the writers, and the readers: a win-win-win scenario.

With the end of the year fast approaching and with the rise of new smaller houses, such as Thurston Howl Publications and Weasel Press, it is often a challenge for writers to either find the right calls-for-submissions (CFS) or keep up with the constant barrage of deadlines. Here is a link for a general schedule of CFS until the end of the year. This schedule provides all links to the submission guidelines as well as provides the same basic information listed below.

Below are some details for the upcoming anthologies:

Civilized Beasts – Poetry — October 1

• Publisher: Weasel Press
• Payment: Print copy
• Editors: Dwale and Munchkin
• Theme: This is a not-for-profit poetry anthology about animals with the following sub-theme in mind: “outside observation of animals, in the mind of animals, symbolism of animals.”

The Dogs of War — October 1

• Reprints allowed: no
• Word count: 4,000-20,000
• Editor: Fred Patten
• Payments $0.005/wd and print copy; future discount on print copies
• Publisher: FurPlanet
• Theme: “These can range from actual warfare to peacetime training-camp scenarios (which may be humorous) to recruiting; from large division operations to small commando actions. They can range from funny-animal multispecies armies to armies of one species versus another; from fighting in animal civilizations to uplifted animal soldiers fighting in human wars. The emphasis should be on military action, not politics; but as Clausewitz defined war as “the continuation of politics by other means”, a story may be heavily political as long as military action is at least threatened. Despite the title, which is a Shakespeare reference (to Julius Caesar), we want stories with a variety of anthropomorphic animals; not just dogs.”

Zoomorphic Anthology of Oceanic Life – Fiction and Nonfiction — October 10

• Multiple subs: no
• Word count: 500-3,000
• Publisher: Zoomorphic
• Theme: This will be ZOAC’s first printed anthology and centers around marine life.

Seven Deadly Sins: Furry Confessions — November 1

• Word count: 2,500-8,000
• Payment: Print copy
• Reprints: acceptable
• Multiple subs: up to three
• Editor: Thurston Howl
• Publisher: Thurston Howl Publications
• Theme: Seven Deadly Sins has been a literary trope for centuries, popularized by Italian poet Dante. They are as follows: pride, greed, lust, wrath, gluttony, envy, and sloth. This collection will be divided respectively into the seven parts. We want to see anthro-animal characters at their darkest and weakest moments: at the whorehouse, at the chopping block, in the morgue, in the dining room with the candlestick. It is perfectly fine but not required if submissions are NSFW. We are honestly expecting a fair amount of horror—especially in Wrath—and erotica—especially in Lust. However, again, adult stories are by no means required for acceptance. All story submissions must be “furry” in nature.

Purrfect Tails — November 1

• Editor: Tarl Hoch
• Word count: 3,000-10,000
• Payment: $0.005/wd
• Simultaneous subs: no
• Multiple subs: yes
• Theme: Nekos: A neko is a female or male character with cat traits, such as cat ears, a cat tail, or other feline characteristics on an otherwise human body. These can range from just having the ears and tail, to having a light downy fur, slitted eyes, retractable claws, pointed teeth, etc. What we are NOT looking for is anthropomorphic feline characters. (ala: Furries) Neko girls and boys have been a staple in manga and anime for as long as those have been a thing. Ranging from saucy sex kittens to innocent pet characters, these nekos have been engaging readers, pulling them into fascinating stories of all types. This anthology is centered on engaging erotic stories that are about these feline beings. The story MUST have a neko character (boy or girl) who is either the main character or a major character. The neko character MUST be involved in the sex, and the sex has to be hot, explicit and needed to move the plot and story forward. The erotic content can be straight, bi, gay, or some combination thereof. The erotic content does not need to be vulgar or super graphic, but if that style fits the story then go for it. We are looking for erotica, not porn. Romance is welcome but not a requirement for the erotica. Ideally, we are looking for positive ending stories. This does not mean you cannot have a sad ending, just that there won’t be as many of those stories accepted into the anthology.

Equus — November 30

• Payment: $10.00; print copy
• Reprints: no
• Simultaneous subs: acceptable
• Multiple subs: no
• Word length: under 7,500
• Publisher: World Weaver Press
• Theme: “Horses are represented in mythology and folklore from Paleolithic right up to modern times. What is it about these magnificent creatures that fascinates us and captures our hearts? Is it their intelligence, their power, their beauty or something else that draw us to them? That is just one of the questions we’re going to explore in Equus. I will be looking for stories about every kind of horse from the earthly to the mythological and though I’ll be placing a special emphasis on horses, unicorns and Pegasus, every kind of magical equine is welcome (and really, aren’t they all magical?). Stories with a strong sense of place will have an advantage, as will those which explore the connection (for better or for worse) between equines and humans.”

The Symbol of a Nation — December 1

• Publisher: GOAL Publications
• Editor: Fred Patten
• Word count: 2,000-15,000
• Reprints: no
• Payments $0.01/wd; print copy
• Note: email editor before starting story
• Theme: “Furries that are the national animals of countries, such as Afghanistan’s snow leopard, Algeria’s fennec, Bangladesh’s tiger, Canada’s beaver, Denmark’s mute swan, Estonia’s barn swallow, France’s rooster (fighting cock), Gambia’s hyena, Honduras’ white-tailed deer, Italy’s wolf, the U.S.’s bald eagle … There are over 200 countries and most of them have a national animal or bird. For this anthology, we are extending the theme to the official animals of provinces and states. There are several animals such as the koala (Queensland) and platypus (New South Wales) of Australia, or the giant squirrel (Maharashtra) and red panda (Sikkim) of India, or the coyote (South Dakota) and raccoon (Tennessee) of North America that are not national animals, but are the official animals of provinces or states. But: this is limited to the officially adopted animals (including birds) of national or sub-national entities only. No sports team mascots, corporate mascots like the NBC peacock, political party mascots, or breakfast cereal mascots. No fictional official animals or countries like Transylvania and vampire bats. However, some countries have both a national animal and a national bird, such as Chile – its animal is the huemal, an Andean deer, and its bird is the Andean condor. We will accept stories featuring either or both. Please make sure that they are official. There are many animals that are often associated with countries, such as the eagle & snake on the Mexican flag, or Mexico’s Chihuahua, but they are not official animals. (Mexico’s official animal is the xoloitzcuintli. Don’t know what that is? Look it up.) If you would like to submit a story, write to the managing editor (Fred Patten) first to find out if that animal or country is already claimed. If you would like to use an animal or country but don’t know what to pair it with, ask the editor or look it up. Stories sent to the editor without checking first may be wasted effort. The rules are more complex than for most furry anthologies. (1) There must be a connection between the animal and the country. If you feature a tapir, the national animal of Belize, make sure that there is something about Belize in the story. (2) No funny animal stories where the characters could just as easily be humans. Make your characters feel like uplifted or evolved animals. Most animals with fur don’t sweat. (3) Try to match the animals to their environments. If they have thick fur, don’t have them wearing thick clothing in humid tropical lands. (Or justify the discrepancy.) Stories may be humorous or serious. There may be humans in the story as secondary characters, but the main character(s) should be furry.”

If you are considering submitting to any anthology, always remember to look closely at the guidelines to make sure you send the proper file format to the right editor. Hell hath no fury like an editor’s scorn at seeing their pet peeves. If ever you have questions / concerns, you can generally feel free to email an editor to seek advice on a particular concern. Plus, seeing your willingness to open a line of communication only speaks praise of your ability to communicate effectively if they do accept your work.

Ah, the joys of nerdy people playing mix-and-match with their favorite media. Such is the origin of Godzilactus, a new animation project created by the team of Bryce Abood (a writer and musician) and Jeff Fuller (an artist), collectively known as Sick Bird. In essence, the mighty Godzilla discovers the helmet of Galactus while venturing through space… and he returns to Earth in search of the only thing which can fill his ravenous hunger: Hip hop beats!  Unfortunately, the ultimate beat was stolen by a robot known as Ernest Cyborg-Nine, and now Godzilactus will destroy whole cities and even whole planets in his quest to get his beat back! Any of this making any sense? No? Good. It’s all good fun created as a throw-back to the Marvel Comics motion-comics of the late 1960’s, with a lot of other fannish references tossed in. The Sick Bird guys got a lot of help from some animations veterans who worked on shows like SeaLab 2021, Saturday Night Live, and Metalocalypse. Check out the first short over on YouTube, and be prepared for more! The beat has only begun…

image c. 2016 Sick Bird

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Hello Everyone!

We open this week's show with a discussion on how BDSM participants might have the right idea in combatting victim shaming and defeating rape culture. Turns out, we're not heartless monsters!

Our main topic is a six panel question show! We go through six of our listener questions and address them at length! With this, hopefully our backlog will stop being a scary, terrifying thing.

We address questions ranging from fitting into the fandom to finding a mate when you're a 30 year old virgin. There's even some Wet and Messy inquiries as well- we help clean up the mess of confusion and will hopefully shed some light on these topics.

We close with some feedback on silicone toys and how to care for them.

For more information, including a list of topics, see our Show Notes for this episode.

Thanks and, as always, be well!

FA 038 All Questions Show Vol. 1 - Is BDSM contributing to rape culture? How many questions can your hosts answer in a 90 minute show? Will Metriko screw up the introduction again this week? All this, and more, on this week's Feral Attraction!

Eric Risher (Pawsome! #22)
The creator of "Furries: A Documentary", Eric Risher, is interviewed on his fandom background and film inspiration. ***NEW EPISODES BIWEEKLY ON WEDNESDAYS*** THANKS FOR SUBSCRIBING!!! FACEBOOK:... From: The Raccoon's Den Views: 1297 14 ratings Time: 14:24 More in Entertainment

Howdy Fluffer Nutters. Hope life is treating you well. Did you like Zootopia? Of course not. You loved it! I bet you have the blu-ray and have watched it ten times over one weekend. I feel Animation is the true place anthro animals thrive. Whenever my mind reads a Furry story it paints it like a cartoon. It’s possible to do it in live action, but unless you have an amazing make up team, it rarely works as well. Although since animation is so time consuming it’s not something you find too often.  But when you find ones that do it well, it can be so much fun.

So that’s why we have this. A combination of five Furry (whether they want to be call that or not) Animation Shorts that I wish to share with you guys.  You may already be familiar with them, or seeing them for the first time. The only thing they have in common is they are all awesome. So lets begin.

A Fox In Space

I’m sure most of you have already seen this, but I cannot stress how amazing this animated series is even though it only has one episode. Created by Matthew Gafford, he has taken the basics of Star Fox and mixed it with a combination of late 70’s/ early 80’s animation of Fantastic Planet, Heavy Metal, and Filmation cartoons. I can’t wait to see what they have planned for the series down the line, but I’m positive it will be amazing.

Thatch & Dial

Another show that just debuted, this one doesn’t have much animation. In fact, it’s all still images, but what it has is great voice talent, music, and a tale about the power of music. It’s still kinda hard to know where the series will go – it just focuses on how our two heroes, Thatch and Dial, come together – but it plays out like a classic fantasy story. Check it out for yourself and let me know what you think.

Homo sexual?

I think that’s the title, but I have no idea. This is a completely Japanese production with no subtitles, but you can gain enough with what the story is just by the actions that happen within it. If anyone knows what they’re saying, please caption this. It wouldn’t hurt to know what a bunch of feudal furry firefighters are saying, but it’s still a touching story and yes, by the name of the title, there is some homo content. Nothing graphic, but… oh just watch for yourself. It’s anime furries. You’ll love it.

Kiwi

I’m not going to say anything. This was a thesis short, an old school YouTube video, and if you’ve never seen it then I just have one word: tissues.

Dogtor

I’m going to end this with a sweet look at three friends wondering if they made the right choices in their life, that happen to be about dogs. It’s another college film, but one that I’m sure will speak to many whom sometime wonder if they have made the right choice.

And there you go. I hope you enjoyed. I might do another one of these if I find more worth sharing. If you know any, then leave a comment below. Art should be shared as much as possible. You never know what will speak to you. Till then Fluffer Nutters. Remember to stay awesome, stay amazing, stay you.

-Matthias

Daniel de Sosa, creator of the very odd comic Kitty Jenkins: Purrvana (which we reviewed before) is back with another interesting full-color project proposal. This new one is called Kitty Jenkins: A Song of Mice and Fur [You’re a true fan if you get that pun…], and there’s currently a Kickstarter campaign to make it a reality. “A Song of Mice and Fur is an absurdist fantasy story set in the realm of Nyania where kitty lords and canine rulers lord over the rodent peasantry. After a surprise Meowgol attack, the fragile peace between the kingdoms of Nyania is broken, and the land descends in to chaos. Red panda mercenaries, authoritarian cats, a sad fat pug and many more all fight tooth, nail and claw to come out on top!” Visit the campaign page to find out more.

image c. 2016 by Daniel de Sosa

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SoCal Furs on Twitter

Please visit this GoFundMe campaign for expenses for surviving kids.

There has been a lot of talk about a tragedy this weekend in Southern California.

• ABC: Suspects, Victims in California Killings Were ‘Furries’
• Orange County Register: 4 connected in Fullerton triple homicide have ties to furry community
• NY Daily News: California couple found killed in home mourned by furry community

I wanted to say something about these ties:

This is very sad for everyone. There might be unusual headlines about it, but the social connection could happen with a group of workers, students or anyone else. Killing is against everything our little fan group is for. Thanks are due to the OC Register for telling the purpose in the bottom line, with a quote from a local member: “People come to us to get away from the negative stuff in life.” 

This is a niche interest, so when something like this happens, it’s personal tragedy to us beyond just a news story to others. Many members have lost friends or have very close ties to those who did.  Please send thoughts to them, and the surviving kids most of all.

I felt a little responsible for saying something, because of the way things started to happen when news started coming out.  At first, it was just a call to locate a Missing Person (a fur) who was soon located.  I tweeted that and got a high amount of views.

When more came out, I looked into it deeply to write a big story.  I talked to people close to it, with personal knowledge that nobody else had.  Some info came out that was directed to the police.  Then I saw people local to the story asking for space.  They asked for it to be kept as their story, given time to process, and handled by professionals and cops.  That was when I decided this is beyond fan level.  I removed all my tweets and passed on their message.

I think it really is the worst thing that ever happened with ties to this community. It’s not that unusual compared to other crimes that happen in cities, but I think it’s disproportionately big to a niche group.  It might have to do with 2016’s explosion of interest and positive activity as well – things are just growing.

That wasn’t quite the end of it. The OC Register reporter had a lot of conversation with me due to my initial notice.  They were puzzled about what furries are and what they do. Of course they already knew this was part of the story – that wouldn’t be overlooked.  It made a dilemma – I thought that if tabloids were going to exploit this, maybe a real member should say something to real news.

So I sent the best info I could about the definition of “Furry” and referred the reporter to the same local person who I saw asking for space and respect.  I thought he was already doing a good job of handling it.  So when you see Bandit speaking in the piece, it’s not for attention, it’s because he was asked. Remember that he lost friends, like everyone else close to this story, and that’s the real deal.

There were a few missteps from the OC Register piece (nobody said anything about “sensitive” topics,) but Bandit seems to be getting many thank-you’s for doing a good job from local members.  He mentioned turning down other interviews, and I think that’s a good idea. Say it once and let it go.

I have been checking around to see what comes out. I expect tabloids to try riding this, but most of the few I have seen so far seem pretty negligible, and I hope they get little mileage.  They can say there’s weird stuff with misfit people, but nobody did a crime while participating in one of our activities. In the end it’s just between regular humans.

TL;DR: Was going to write a big report. Stopped to let locals and pros process. I think it’s beyond fan level. It’s awful and sad. There hasn’t been anything this bad in fandom before. Let it process and share good words to anyone who lost friends and family.

UPDATE 9/29/16:

Thank you to the OC Register and reporter Scott Schwebke for linking here.  And thank you to Scott for being professional and sensitive, and doing good detective work.  I believe that Scott’s reporting has helped to stop rumors and confusion.  There was a screenshot of a supposed murder confession that was degraded enough that you could see it was shared hundreds or thousands of times, before it was posted out-of-context on some trashy tabloid blogs.  Scott dug up the source and provided context that I think shows it could NOT have been a reasonable clue of real danger before the incident.  Thank you to everyone in the community who stepped up to provide such info to aid police investigation.  Everyone’s concern will help heal this incident to heal in time.

Very few things can serve as a shortcut to an emotional response as a name. Everyone has one and everyone has an opinion. Legal? Preferred? Other? What's a so-called "real name", anyway? Roo and Tugs are joined by guest Icarus to explore this topic and read everyone's email on this sensitive topic. We also have Space News and a new episode of "Get Psyched", after which we crack open the mailbag and hear what's going on with you!



NOW LISTEN!

Show Notes

Special Thanks

Icarus, our guest!
Christian (aka Bassblitzed)
Lumeo
Vlad
Zuka Zalad
Hachi Shibaru
Kyn
Kira - both email and ident!
Cane McKeyton
Addi the Fennet
EpicRive
Miski
November Dingo
Finney
Mav
Lesli Reed
Moss - for the postcard!

Music

Opening Theme: Husky In Denial – Cloud Fields (Century Mix). USA: Unpublished, 2015. ©2015 Fur What It’s Worth and Husky in Denial. Based on Fredrik Miller– Cloud Fields (Radio Mix). USA: Bandcamp, 2011. ©2011 Fur What It’s Worth. (Buy a copy here – support your fellow furs!)
Game Round 1: Mystery Skulls – Ghost. USA: Warner Bros Records, 2011. Used with permission.
Some music was provided by Kevin MacLeod at Incompetech.com. We used the following pieces: Phantom from Space, Leopard PRint Elevator, Secret of Tiki Island . Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License.
Space News Music: Fredrik Miller – Orbit. USA: Bandcamp, 2013. Used with permission. (Buy a copy here – support your fellow furs!)
Get Psyched Music: Fredrik Miller – Universe, USA: Bandcamp, 2013. Used with permission. (Buy a copy here – support your fellow furs!)
Closing Theme: Husky In Denial – Cloud Fields (Headnodic Mix). USA: Unpublished, 2015. ©2015 Fur What It’s Worth and Husky in Denial. Based on Fredrik Miller – Cloud Fields (Chill Out Mix). USA: Bandcamp, 2011. ©2011 Fur What It’s Worth. (Buy a copy here – support your fellow furs!)

Next episode: Convention roommates - both picking them and times it has gone horribly wrong! Let us know your strategies and stories by October 5, 2016!

Heads up!: We're accepting stories for the Halloween episode! Send them before October 19!

Lumeo's Fox Dollar! S6 Episode 4 – What’s in a Name? - Very few things can serve as a shortcut to an emotional response as a name. Everyone has one and everyone has an opinion. Legal? Preferred? Other? What's a so-called "real name", anyway? Roo and Tugs are joined by guest

UPDATE: This post was written and scheduled to go out before news of a tragedy this weekend posted above it. Please don’t connect the two stories.

Do you know John Waters? He’s “the Pope of Trash” – a movie maker, author, performer and beloved icon of freaks everywhere. In the 1970’s, his no-budget, LSD-infused comedy took John and his cast into Midnight Movie superstardom and beyond.  In 2013, at a stage show, I got him to talk about Furries to the audience. My article about it mentioned giving him an invitation to San Francisco’s legendary Frolic fur dance.

This week, that got attention from another creative force, the organizers of Mortified. They were looking for help to invite John to a project.  They reached out to Dogpatch Press and I was happy to hook them up with info.  I wanted to help (with furry hugs on top) when I saw what they do:

“Mortified celebrates stories revealed through the strange and extraordinary things we created as kids.

Witness adults sharing their most embarrassing childhood artifacts (journals, letters, poems, lyrics, plays, home movies, art) with others, in order to reveal stories about their lives. Hear grown men and women confront their past with tales of their first kiss, first puff, worst prom, fights with mom, life at bible camp, worst hand job, best mall job, and reasons they deserved to marry Jon Bon Jovi.”

I’ll bet that might strike a chord with some furry fans. Do you have an old Livejournal you cringe about?  RP chat logs?  A horrible Durrsuit? A story about wanting to marry Robin Hood? Would you share some of it, if we promise to be nice about it or keep it anonymous if you ask?

Please send your submission for an article! Email: patch.ofurr@gmail.com.

Remember, this needs artifacts first of all – journals, letters, art, videos etc with entertainment value.  Then tell a personal story about it.  And I know that mocking is one thing furries get sensitive about, because it’s tiresome from others.  This is to laugh with you, not at you.

And maybe more. If it’s beyond in-joke, and regular people might enjoy it too, I could ask Mortified to share or retweet.  Think about it… being “cringey” is already a topic furries share with each other.   How about in front of regular people? Everyone can have it in common.  Mortified is there to celebrate that, and I think it could bring some love from people who have never met a furry and only hear about them from mean people.

It’s silly to be a talking animal.  That’s why furries are charming.  No need to be overdefensive about it. This isn’t to feed attacks, it’s about owning your own image, warts and all, without apologizing.  Enjoying a hobby doesn’t depend on impressing people who don’t.  If others want to pick on your sensitivities, they’ll just be slow and dumb if you beat them to it.

The mission of Dogpatch Press: “Expect bold claims, jaunty opinions, and lots of love (and fleas).” Here’s a jaunty opinion. Furries don’t need validation to be cool – other people are just missing out if they don’t appreciate what’s here.  I hope we never lose stuff like this.

Don’t think I would ask you to do it without doing it myself first.  It was so much fun to be in an outrageous Rap CD and a live comedy show!  It got outsider appreciation. Show Review: Live Sex (10/16/15).  I think there’s tons of potential for furries to perform outside of fandom, and I hope to see more of it.

MORE AMAZING FURRY TRASH:

Exchanging Fluids on PBS: Your eyes will bug out at this WTF furry video from 1992! – and – Q&A with Biohazard of the infamous “Too Hot for PBS” video.

Here’s another find from the Long Beach Comic Con.”Adorkable” is how the artist Jeff Victor describes much of his own work, and indeed his cartoon creations tend toward the “chibi” side of things. A veteran of Warner Brothers TV Animation and Nickelodeon Games, Jeff now works as a freelance illustrator — and a quick glance at his web site will show you what he’s been up to lately. Cartoon characters and yes, funny animals abound.

image c. 2016 by Jeff Victor

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Dear Papabear,

How have you been?

Well, I'm here because I really need some help, and need to express what I'm feeling recently.

I became a furry 3 years ago ( 4 with this year), and unfortunately my country or dont know what the furry fandom is or have the wrong ideia about what's the furry fandom, I live in Portugal and in my whole life I never found a furry here.

I really love this fandom, create my fursona was a great help in my life, because I didn't like myself, but now that point changed. My problem is, I dont know how to integrate myself more in the fandom, since I never found any furries in my country and I only spoke to a few furries online. 
I like to make new friends but for some reason I feel very shy when I talk with someone in the fandom, I really need some help. This fandom was and is a very important thing in my life, I found it when I was in a deep depression, nobody understood me, I was victim of bullying in school, and one day, someone on twitter raised his paw at me and brought me to the fandom.

I dont know if the countries where the furry fandom is popular know our existence but well, with luck, one day maybe we will have a furry event/conventiom, if that happens my wish will be fulfilled. 

I started recently doing art (furry art/headshots/etc) because I think that's a great hobby and can bring me some extra money, since I'm also saving money to buy a fursuit, so I thought maybe that could help a bit to know new people, but I dont know, I really need help.

Can u give me some help or tips to socialize more in the fandom or just how to have more confidence? Or some way to know if there is some furries in my country?

The best for you!

-Taiga 

* * *

Dear Taiga,

Bear hugs and welcome to the furry fandom :-3  The furry community originated in California, of course, but it is spreading internationally like wildfire. Even so, there are some countries, such as Portugal, where there are not a whole lot of furries (or they just don't know they are furries yet ;-).

I can give you a couple of leads that might help, however. There is a helpful website called FurryMap at https://furrymap.net/ that I checked out, and there are some furries in your area. There are, actually, probably many more than are listed on the map because only a small percentage of furries are registered on FurryMap. However, if you create an account on FurryMap (it is free) you can then click on the little markers you see on the website and try to contact those furries directly.

I also found a couple of furries listed on Wikifur at http://en.wikifur.com/wiki/Category:Portugal. Not sure if you can reach them through there, but it is a start and gives you some leads.

Next, if you are able to travel, there are a number of conventions in Europe (sadly, none in Portugal, Spain, or even France, but many in Germany and some in England, Switzerland, Italy, etc. You don't necessarily have to go to these cons, but you might try contacting some and seeing if they might have some leads (they might know better about European resources than I do here in America).

If you are familiar with the social network Facebook, there is also a Portugal furries group there https://www.facebook.com/groups/820904181332707/ that has 141 members currently. It is a closed group, so you will have to ask them to let you in. Make sure your profile notes you live in Portugal. Facebook is also free to join.

I am unfamiliar with Portugal, but perhaps, too, your country has some popular social networks and perhaps you can create a profile and note you are a furry and try to get some contacts that way, but that's a bit of a stretch. I would try the other options, first.

I hope this helps! I'm sure more and more people will join the fandom in Portugal as you have, and perhaps, yes, there will be a furcon there someday. Perhaps you might even start with a simple furmeet, even organize one yourself and invite people you discover in the fandom online.

Good Luck!

Papabear

RoboCatz vs. ThunderDogs. That’s an almost self-explanatory title, isn’t it? Certainly gets the furry fan’s attention! It’s a new independent full-color comic book series created by Justin Cermak, Donovan Goertzen, and Fabian Cobos. The premise is simple: Cats and dogs have been fighting for millennia, in front of humans and behind their backs. What humans don’t know is that both sides have employed war technology in their battles for some time — and in the not too distant future, both cats and dogs will have developed large anime-style robot fighters to carry out their planned destruction of the other side. Hmm… this maybe makes the whole comic sound a lot more serious than it is. Check out the much more detailed preview at Indie Comics Review.

image c. 2016 Data Red Comics

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Our gray wolf guest joins us once again for some insanity.

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Watch Video Link Roundup:

• NordicFuzzCon Drama
• Sheep and Wolves – Final Trailer
• Australian Man invents Hamdog
• Son of Chinese billionaire bought his dog 8 iPhones
• PCGamer – What’s it’s like to have the fastest internet in the country
• Your Map Of The World Is Wrong. Here’s How Big Everything Actually Is

News:

• Giraffe Wants To Nuzzle Way More Than He Wants To Be On Local News
• Driver Rolls Car After Stowaway Spider Drops Into Her Lap
• Potty-Mouthed Teacher Gets Time Out
• Student emails her college professor a toe-curling assignment written while DRUNK
• This is the cutest dog that ever stabbed its owner with a knife

Emails:

• Artic Fox – “My Mom Hates Furries”
• DiscoStu – “Plant Furries”
• Saber Gray – “Great Show”

FC-246 Through Fire and Legs - Our gray wolf guest joins us once again for some insanity.

Our gray wolf guest joins us once again for some insanity.

Download MP3

Watch Video Link Roundup:

• NordicFuzzCon Drama
• Sheep and Wolves – Final Trailer
• Australian Man invents Hamdog
• Son of Chinese billionaire bought his dog 8 iPhones
• PCGamer – What’s it’s like to have the fastest internet in the country
• Your Map Of The World Is Wrong. Here’s How Big Everything Actually Is

News:

• Giraffe Wants To Nuzzle Way More Than He Wants To Be On Local News
• Driver Rolls Car After Stowaway Spider Drops Into Her Lap
• Potty-Mouthed Teacher Gets Time Out
• Student emails her college professor a toe-curling assignment written while DRUNK
• This is the cutest dog that ever stabbed its owner with a knife

Emails:

• Artic Fox – “My Mom Hates Furries”
• DiscoStu – “Plant Furries”
• Saber Gray – “Great Show”

FC-246 Through Fire and Legs - Our gray wolf guest joins us once again for some insanity.

Our gray wolf guest joins us once again for some insanity.

Download MP3

Link Roundup:

• NordicFuzzCon Drama
• Sheep and Wolves – Final Trailer
• Australian Man invents Hamdog
• Son of Chinese billionaire bought his dog 8 iPhones
• PCGamer – What’s it’s like to have the fastest internet in the country
• Your Map Of The World Is Wrong. Here’s How Big Everything Actually Is

News:

• Giraffe Wants To Nuzzle Way More Than He Wants To Be On Local News
• Driver Rolls Car After Stowaway Spider Drops Into Her Lap
• Potty-Mouthed Teacher Gets Time Out
• Student emails her college professor a toe-curling assignment written while DRUNK
• This is the cutest dog that ever stabbed its owner with a knife

Emails:

• Artic Fox – “My Mom Hates Furries”
• DiscoStu – “Plant Furries”
• Saber Gray – “Great Show”

[Live] Through Fire and Legs

we talk about Alkali's big camping vacation adventure and more! Reminder: We're on Patreon! If you could kick us a buck or two, we'd greatly appreciate it. www.patreon.com/thedraggetshow ALSO, we're not just on SoundCloud, you can also subscribe to this on most podcast services like iTunes! Don't forget to hang out in our telegram chat, now w/ over 100 members!telegram.me/draggetshow Lastly, don't forget to check out our YouTube, where we have many extra vids, Dragget Plays, and live streams & recordings of the podcasts. www.youtube.com/user/DraggetShow/videos ep 137 - Look At The Dick, Dan! - we talk about Alkali's big camping vacation adven…

​Dear Papabear,

Over some time I have felt my childhood dreams will not make me successful in the future, and have had people who try to get me to adopt "you cannot have happiness without sadness" or "there is no such thing as a perfect life" that seem needlessly complex. I also read "your child's genius is within his dreams," so I feel torn.
 
My childhood dreams were to have a secret underground bunker with supplies that lets me go on missions, like what you see in movies. Have a space base that was something like the Enterprise from Star Trek, so my imaginary friends and I could save the universe. Have a big house in an isolated place, being taken care of financially, so I could live a simple life free of doubt, worry, fear, not working from paycheck to paycheck, etc.; and I mean a house in the middle of nature, a forest, rolling hills, or where it snows.
 
Is this normal growing up? What should I believe? One side note is my parents have now divorced and I am living with my dad.
 
I wish the best for you!


Nick Husky 


* * *
 
Dear Nick,
 
It’s very nice to have dreams. Dreams can inspire us to do great things. But to achieve those great things requires work. The first “uh oh” I see in your letter is the phrase that you wish to be “taken care of financially.” You mean, someone will just give you all the money you need to achieve your dreams? I would not count on that.
 
But if you mean you would work hard to take care of your financial needs and then move to your lovely home in the woods, that’s doable, assuming you, again, are willing to work for it.
 
Are there dreams that are too big? Such as having an underground bunker or a space base? Hmm, well, there is a billionaire named Richard Branson who founded the private space travel company Virgin Galactic. But Branson achieved this by a huge drive as an entrepreneur, starting a company that would become the Virgin Group when he was still a teenager. Are you willing to work that hard?
 
Don’t let people tell you that you can’t dream, Nick. But, at the same time, if you really want those dreams to come true you need to be willing to do the legwork.
 
Hugs,
Papabear
 
P.S. Sorry to hear your parents have divorced. I wish you the best, too.

Allen Carter is a writer and comic artist from Hawaii, currently living in Southern California. Among his creations: After finding inspiration from Chuck Jones’ 1975 animated version of Rikki Tikki Tavi, Allen brought us the Figure of Speech Mongoose, who illustrates various well-known sayings (and awful puns) in particularly silly ways. (“Catching a bus” — with a fishing line…) After experimenting with animation, Allen turned the FOS Mongoose into an on-line single-panel comic. Later he collected those works in a series of one-shot comic books, which he sells from his web site along with prints and other works. Allen is another artist making the circuit of Southern California comic cons. Look for him.

image c. 2016 by Allen Carter

Decalzilla is an art project and on-line store created in 2010 by two artists named Jon and Courtney. No prizes for guessing: They create custom hand-made vinyl decals in a variety of designs and colors.  Comic book stuff, anime, and yes lots of cartoons (including cartoon animals!) find there way into the works you find at Decalzilla.com. All of them original designs, mind you, not just copies of official artwork. Based out of Southern California, they travel to anime and comic conventions all around — and they’re hoping to expand their circle into other parts of the country and even internationally as well.

image c. 2016 Decalzilla

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