Hey furries! The Ursa Major Awards for the best anthropomorphic media of 2017 are now open for voting. Go vote between March 1st – March 31st on the UMA website: http://www.ursamajorawards.org

Can you imagine running these fandom awards for 15 years and not having enough help? I recently covered the story of financial difficulty and understaffing. Rod O’Riley, a key member of the award committee, is a fandom founder who organized the first furry parties and conventions in the 1980’s. He’s been covering costs out of his pocket for 15 years. There’s now an Ursa Major Awards GoFundMe taking donations to cover the costs of running it. Because I don’t just bark about critical stuff, I’m going to contribute $100. Can you give some too?

We are raising money for Ursa Major Awards. Click to Donate: https://t.co/gp1x63d9mT via @gofundme — Ursa Major Awards (@UrsaMajorAwards) January 25, 2018

Before we get to the nominees, here’s some special notices. For Best Dramatic Series or Short Work of 2017, check out OK K.O.! Let’s Be Heroes. This Cartoon Network show got a lot of fandom notice for their episode “We’ve Got Fleas”. It makes a suspiciously cute callout to things we love. Wait for this: an interview with a writer/storyboard artist for OK K.O. is publishing soon on this site and it’s a fandom connection you’ll love.

The banner up top is special art we had made by Mexican furry artist Meteor-05 to give you a suggestion for Best Magazine. And Dogpatch Press isn’t even the only nominee from the culprits who make it happen. Best Other Literary Work has two from Fred Patten. Best Non-Fiction Work has an essay by me in Furries Among Us 2. There’s also Fred’s Furry Fandom Conventions, 1989-2015 … but nobody should worry if your first pick is Furry Nation by Joe Strike, the first formally published fandom history, many years in the making. How did this category get so tough for picking just one?

Here’s the Final Ballot. Winners will be announced at a presentation ceremony at FurDU 2018 at Gold Coast City, Queensland, Australia on May 4-6, 2018.

Best Motion Picture

Live-action or animated feature-length movies.

• Ferdinand (Directed by Carlos Saldanha; December 15)

• Guardians of the Galaxy vol. 2 (Directed by James Gunn; May 5)

• My Little Pony: The Movie (Directed by Jayson Thiessen; October 6)

• Rock Dog (Directed by Ash Brannon; February 24)

• War for the Planet of the Apes (Directed by Matt Reeves; July 14)

Best Dramatic Series or Short Work

TV series or one-shots, advertisements or short videos.

• Doodle Toons (Directed by Jack C; Pilot episode to “Deleted Scene: Fast Food Follies”)

• Duck Tales [2017 reboot] (Directed by John Aoshima, Dana Terrace; Season 1, August 12 to December 2)

• Here’s the Plan (Directed by Fernanda Frick; April 27)

• Kouka and Bibi (by Dan Variano; January 8)

• Mascot Fur Life (Directed by Jens Wernstedt; December 23)

• My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic (Directed by Jim Miller, Tim Stuby, Denny Lu, Mike Myhre; Season 7, episodes 1 to 26)

• OK KO! Let’s Be Heroes (Directed by Hwang Ki-hoo, Chang-woo Shin, Sunjae Lee, Byungjae Oh, Eunyung Byun, Sunhung Kim; Season 1 Episode 1 to 42)

Best Novel

Written works of 40,000 words or more. Serialized novels qualify only for the year that the final chapter is published.

• Always Gray in Winter, by Mark J. Engels (Thurston Howl Publications; August 10)

• Black Friday, by Jan Stryvant (CreateSpace; September 8)

• Kismet, by Watts Martin (Argyll Productions, FurPlanet Productions; January 12)

• Otters in Space III: Octopus Ascending, by Mary E. Lowd (FurPlanet Productions; June 30)

• The Wayward Astronomer, by Geoffrey Thomas (Corvus Publishing; May 9)

Best Short Fiction

Stories less than 40,000 words, poetry, and other short Written works.

• Behesht, by Dwale (in ROAR volume 8; June 30)

• Beyond the Great Divide, by S. H. Mansouri (in Cirsova Heroic Fantasy & Science Fiction Magazine #5; Spring 2017)

• Lieutenant Kruger and the Mistress Jade Trophy Game, by Kathy Garrison Kellogg (in The Cross Time Cafe; October 5)

• The Moon Like an Unhatched Egg, by Mary E. Lowd (in Symbol of a Nation; June 30)

• Rickety V, by Rechan (in Intimate Little Secrets; March 24)

Best Other Literary Work

Story collections, comic collections, graphic novels, non-fiction works, and serialized online stories.

• Arcana: A Tarot Anthology, edited by Madison Scott-Clary (anthology; Thurston Howl Publications; November 9)

• Dogs of War, edited by Fred Patten (anthology; FurPlanet Productions; January 12)

• Intimate Little Secrets, by Rechan (collection; FurPlanet Productions; March 24)

• ROAR volume 8, edited by Mary E. Lowd (anthology; Bad Dog Books; June 30)

• Symbol of a Nation, edited by Fred Patten (anthology; GoAL Publications; June 30)

Best Non-Fiction Work

Includes documentaries, opinion pieces, and news articles.

• Furries Among Us 2; More Essays On Furries By Furries, edited by Thurston Howl (Thurston Howl Productions; August 18)

• Furry Fandom Conventions, 1989-2015, by Fred Patten (McFarland & Co.; January 3))

• Furry Nation, by Joe Strike (Cleis Press; October 10)

• The Shocking Furry Fandom Conversation. Yes, Really! (on YouTube, featuring Stefan Molyneux; October 16)

• 3 Ursa Major-ly Painful Victories, by Rooview (on YouTube; April 23)

Best Graphic Story

Includes comic books, and serialized online stories.

• A&H Club, by Rick Griffin (Internet; January 7 to November 25)

• DreamKeepers, by David & Liz Lillie (Internet; January 2 [#340] to December 18 [#385])

• Endtown, by Aaron Neathery (Internet; January 2 to December 25)

• Lackadaisy, by Tracy J. Butler (internet; Lackadaisy Gimmickry to Lackadaisy Deliria)

• TwoKinds, by Tom Fischbach (internet; January 5 to December 28)

Best Comic Strip

Newspaper-style strips, including those with ongoing arcs.

• Carry On, by Kathy Garrison Kellogg (Internet; January 1 to December 29)

• Doc Rat, by Jenner (Internet; January 4 to December 29)

• DreamKeepers Prelude, by David & Liz Lillie (Internet; January 6 [#350] to December 28 [#393])

• Freefall, by Mark Stanley (Internet; January 2 to December 29)

• Housepets!, by Rick Griffin (Internet; January 2 to December 29)

Best Magazine

Edited collections of creative and/or informational works by various people, professional or amateur, published in print or online in written, pictorial or audio-visual form.

• Dogpatch Press, ed. by Patch Packrat (Internet; January 5 to December 25)

• Flayrah, edited by GreenReaper, Sonious, and Dronon (Internet; January 1 to December 30)

• FurryFandom.es, edited by Mike Retriever (Internet; February 19 to October 9)

• InFurNation, ed. by Rod O’Riley (Internet; January 1 to December 31)

• Typewriter Emergencies: A Journal of Furry Lit, edited by Weasel (Weasel Press; May)

Best Published Illustration

Illustrations for books, magazines, convention program books, cover art for such, coffee-table portfolios.

• Bone, cover for Always Gray in Winter by Mark J. Engels (Thurston Howl Publications; August 10)

• Baron Engel, Prepare to Engage the Enemy, cover for A Different Perspective by Bernard Doove (June 8)

• Ashley Foy, Valentine’s Gifts (February 14)

• Teagan Gavet, cover for Dogs of War, edited by Fred Patten (FurPlanet Productions; January 12)

• Teagan Gavet, cover for ROAR vol, 8, edited by Mary E. Lowd (Bad Dog Books; June 30)

• Idess, cover for Otters in Space III: Octopus Ascending, by Mary E. Lowd (FurPlanet Productions; June 30)

• David Lillie, cover for The Wayward Astronomer, by Geoffrey Thomas (Corvus Publishing; May 9)

Best Game

Computer or console games, role-playing games, board games.

• Cuphead (Developer and Publisher: StudioMDHR Entertainment; September 29)

• Night in the Woods (Developer: Infinite Fall, Publisher: Finji; February 21)

• Sonic Mania (Developer: PagodaWest Games and Headcannon, Publisher: Sega; August 15)

• Star Fox 2 (Developer: Nintendo and Argonaut Games, Publisher: Nintendo; September 29)

• Yooka – Laylee (Developers: Playtonic Games; April 11)

Best Website

Online collections of art, stories, and other creative and/or informational works. Includes galleries, story archives, directories, blogs, and personal sites.

• The Cross Time Cafe (forum for comic discussions, including many on the Recommended List)

• e621.com (art, discussions, etc.))

• Furry Writers’ Guild (Supporting, informing, elevating, and promoting quality anthropomorphic fiction and its creators)

• Inkbunny (furry art community)

• WikiFur (furry fandom encyclopedia)

Voting is open between March 1st – March 31st on the UMA website: http://www.ursamajorawards.org