More formally known as the Annual Anthropomorphic Literature and Arts Award, the Ursa Major Award is presented annually for excellence in the furry arts. It is intended as Anthropomorphic (a.k.a. Furry) Fandom's equivalent of the Hugo Award ® presented by the World Science Fiction Society, mystery fandom's Anthony Award, horror fandom's Bram Stoker Award, and so forth. Anyone may nominate and vote for candidates for the Awards. These Awards are decided by the fans, not by a committee.

NEWS

Voting for the Ursa Major Awards for the Best Anthropomorphic Literature and Art of 2011 is now closed. The winners will be announced at a presentation ceremony at CaliFur VIII in Irvine, CA on June 2.

To be eligible, a work must have been released during the calendar year 2011; must include a non-human being given human attributes (anthropomorphic), which can be mental and/or physical; and must receive more than one nomination. There were five nominees in each of eleven categories, except where there was a tie for fifth place. The nominees were:

Best Motion Picture

Live-action or animated feature-length movies.

• Bitter Lake (Directed by Shay)
• Kung Fu Panda 2 (Directed by Jennifer Yuh)
• Puss in Boots (Directed by Chris Miller)
• Rango (Directed by Gore Verbinski)
• Rio (Directed by Carlos Saldanha)

Best Dramatic Series or Short Work

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

• Mongrels (Directed by Adam Millar, Jon Brown, Daniel Peak)
• My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic (Directed by James Wootton)
• Regular Show (Directed by Benton Conor, Calvin Wong, Kat Morris, Sean Szeles, J. G. Quintel, Minty Lewis, and others)
• Simon's Cat (Directed by Simon Tofield)
• ThunderCats (Directed by Michael Jelenic, Todd Casey, Tab Murphy, and others)

Best Novel

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

• Black Dogs, Part 2, by Ursula Vernon
• Death Drop, by Sean Allen
• Isolation Play, by Kyell Gold
• Red Sails in the Fallout, by Paul Kidd
• Smiley and the Hero, by Ryan Campbell

Best Short Fiction

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

• A Safety Weasel Christmas, by Gene Breshears
• Argo, by Rick Griffin
• Fetching Asteroids, by Mary E. Lowd
• How to Get Through the Day, by Kyell Gold
• Let's Play Musical Chairs, by K. M. Hirosaki
• Shreddy and the Zomb-Dogs, by Mary E. Lowd
• Where the Heart Is, by Mary E. Lowd

Best Other Literary Work

Story collections, comic collections, graphic novels, non-fiction works, and convention program books.

• Dragon's Hoard #1, by various (Rabbit Valley)
• Fur-Piled #5, by Leo Magna
• In the Doghouse of Justice, by Kyell Gold
• Nordguard, Book One, by Tess Garman & Teagan Gavet
• Tales of the Tai-Pan Universe, Omnibus 1, by various (Tai-Pan Literary & Arts Project)

Best Graphic Story

Includes comic books and serialized online stories.

• Endtown, by Aaron Neathery
• Fur-Piled, by Leo Magna
• Furthia High, by QuetzaDrake
• Lackadaisy, by Tracy J. Butler
• Red Lantern, by Rukis and Alector Fencor

Best Comic Strip

• Ballerina Mafia, by Immelmann
• Doc Rat, by Jenner
• Faux Pas, by Robert & Margaret Carspecken
• Housepets!, by Rick Griffin
• Sandra and Woo, by Powree and Oliver Knörzer

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.

• Allasso
• Anthro
• Flayrah
• South Fur Lands
• Tales of the Tai-Pan Universe

Best Website

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

• Equestria Daily
• Fur Affinity
• Furry Writers' Guild
• Inkbunny
• WikiFur

Best Published Illustration

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

• Blotch, cover of Isolation Play
• Blotch, cover of Nordguard, Book One
• Jason Chan, cover of Red Sails in the Fallout
• Sara Palmer, cover of Weasel Presents
• Rosenthal, “FBA 2012 season opener” painting
• C. D. Woodbury, cover of Tales of the Tai-Pan Universe #48

Best Game

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

• O-kamiden
• Pokemon: Black and White
• Solatorobo: Red the Hunter
• Sonic Generations
• Star Fox 64 3D

Recommendations for inclusion in the 2012 Recommended Anthropomorphics List are now open.
Please send in your recommendations for the 2012 list to recommended@ursamajorawards.org

To be eligible, a work must have been released between January 1 and December 31 of the calendar year for that award, and must include a non-human being given human attributes (anthropomorphic), which can be mental and/or physical (for example the intelligent rabbits in Watership Down for the former, and Bugs Bunny for the latter.) Simply including an animal character is not sufficient to qualify. Non-animal characters such as Wall-E are also anthropomorphic.

The ALAA reserves the right to exclude from the Recommended Anthropomorphics List, and from contention for an Ursa Major Award, any works it deems to be obscene, libelous, illegal, or otherwise detrimental to the integrity and good standing of the Ursa Major Awards and the anthropomorphics fandom that those awards represent. For example: Works of a predominantly sexual nature, or which include explicit sexual situations involving characters which may be underage or non-anthropomorphic animals.

The Ursa Major Award was administered and presented during its first two years by The ConFurence Group, a membership organization dedicated to promoting anthropomorphic fandom-related events. It is now presented by the Anthropomorphic Literature and Arts Association (ALAA), a membership organization dedicated to promoting anthropomorphic literature and arts through such projects as this List and Award, and others which may be undertaken later. Discussions are currently taking place to improve their effectiveness and expand their presence throughout Furry fandom. All suggestions are invited.

Watch out for SIG meetings at major anthropomorphic conventions!
 

The Ursa Major Award banner was designed and drawn by EosFoxx. The A.L.A.A. much appreciates Eos' contribution.

'Hugo Award,' 'Worldcon,' and 'World Science Fiction Society' are registered service marks of the World Science Fiction Society, an unincorporated literary society.