Furry Tales is now available here from McFarland Books.

Fred Patten, a fandom historian and one of the best supporters that furry literature ever had, passed away one year ago at age 78. Here’s a rememberance post for Fred. But he left more than good memories and a lot of his news and reviews here at Dogpatch Press. His last book is finally here.

From McFarland Books:

Tales featuring anthropomorphic animals have been around as long as there have been storytellers to spin them, from Aesop’s Fables to Reynard the Fox to Alice in Wonderland. The genre really took off following the explosion of furry fandom in the 21st century, with talking animals featuring in everything from science fiction to fantasy to LGBTQ coming-out stories. In his lifetime, Fred Patten (1940–2018)—one of the founders of furry fandom and a scholar of anthropomorphic animal literature—authored hundreds of book reviews that comprise a comprehensive critical survey of the genre. This selected compilation provides an overview from 1784 through the 2010s, covering such popular novels as Watership Down and Redwall, along with forgotten gems like The Stray Lamb and Where the Blue Begins, and science fiction works like Sundiver and Decision at Doona.

Inside is a Foreword by Kyell Gold, almost 200 pages about the books, and lists of Nonfiction Works, Author and Chronological Lists, Awards, and Furry Specialty Publishers.

If you plan to get any furry gifts this season, put this on top of your list. Go get a great gift for yourself. Get one for that curious friend in your life. Get one for your mom. Get one for your dog. Get one for your bathroom. Get one for your guest room, waiting room, cloakroom, mud room, rumpus room, glove compartment, first aid kit, time capsule, library, study, conservatory, observatory, vestibule, boudoir, garret, grotto, dungeon, keep, and all the other rooms in the castle you’ll soon rule if you have the great taste to own this fine literature. Get one and hollow it out to hide contraband squirt guns or BD toys from the busybodies at church. Get 20 copies and bundle them into a festive Yule Log to spread warmth and cheer to your loved ones who are too busy to read.

Oh yeah, and read it! It has what this fandom is all about, from classic storytelling for the ages to the indie creativity of fans themselves. You’ll grow whiskers and a tail within an hour of cracking it open. (*Results may vary, if it doesn’t work try buying more.)

Fred’s sister, Sherry Patten, wrote in:

Can’t believe this Tuesday, Nov. 12th, will be the anniversary of Fred’s unexpected death. I seem to have devoted most all of 2019 to “Fred activities”… packing up all his additional books, printed reviews, DVDs, framed pictures, awards and misc… to bring it all to the UCR librarians to add to The Fred Patten Collection there, and, replying to some correspondence re Fred. Since FURRY TALES was officially published by McFarland Books, I don’t have any idea “how well” it is selling… but… I hope fans of Fred’s… will eventually learn about the book… and, purchase a copy. A McFarland editor had told me that Furry Tales would be sold in printed book form and also in an e-book version. [Not sure if/when there will be an ebook! – Patch]

Would you like to say anything else about Fred or the book?

Fred never cared much for celebrating specific holidays…but, he did like me to drive him around neighborhoods at night to see the colorful XMAS LIGHTS each December. Per the recent email sent to me, you might want to POST the 20% book sale they are offering at Mcfarlandbooks.com.

Through Cyber Monday (December 2), use coupon code HOLIDAY19 to receive 20% off your entire purchase. Get it here.

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