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

Nominations for the 2011 Awards have opened as of January 12, and will run until February 29. Voting starts March 15 and closes May 4 (to allow last-minute online voting from Morphicon). Furry fans may nominate up to five works in each category. The 2011 Awards will be announced and presented in a ceremony at CaliFur VIII in Irvine, CA, June 1 – 3, 2012.

A new category has been added to the Awards – Best Anthropomorphic Website. This category includes online collections of art, stories, and other creative and/or informational works. It includes galleries, story archives, directories, blogs, and personal sites.

If you cannot think of five worthwhile nominees in each category, see the 2011 Recommended Anthropomorphics List for suggestions. It is not necessary though to fill all five slots. Nominations are not limited to items included on the Recommended Anthropomorphics List, which are merely some people's recommendations. Any works first published during the year under consideration are eligible.

Recommendations for inclusion in the 2011 Recommended Anthropomorphics List have closed.
Please send in your recommendations for the 2012 list to recommended@ursamajorawards.org

The winners of the 2010 Awards were announced on Friday May 13, 2011 at an Awards presentation held at Morphicon in Columbus, Ohio.

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 her contribution.

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