2017 Ursa Major Awards nominations open now!
by Patch O'Furr
On Sunday evening at Further Confusion, I chatted with Mark Merlino and Rod O’Riley of the Prancing Skiltaire furry house, founders of ConFurence, the first furry con. We talked about how a certain fandom controversy today is dragging on one that started all the way back with the divide between fans and “lifestylers”. That is, people who only liked furry stuff – vs. people who dared call themselves Furries, with a community beyond simply being a consumer for anthropomorphic animal media. It looks out for its members like any other.
This community recognizes contributors with annual awards. The awards are funded by Rod and Mark, and they need help. It’s a modest 3-digit cost… but still the help has to happen. We discussed the monthly model of Patreon vs. a one-time cost of GoFundMe or IndieGogo. Expect more info on that soon. Furry readers: is this something you would contribute to? Please speak up in the comments! – Patch
Fred Patten tells more about those awards:
Nominations for the 2017 Ursa Major Awards opened on January 11, the first day of Further Confusion 2018. The awards celebrate the best anthropomorphic literature and art first published during the previous calendar year.
Visit their site to participate: http://www.ursamajorawards.org/
The awards are selected through a two-stage process of nomination and voting. Members of the public send in up to five nominations in each of the twelve categories. The top nominations in each category are then presented for a public vote.
Award categories:
- Motion Picture
- Dramatic Short Work or Series
- Novel
- Short Fiction
- Other Literary Work
- Non-Fiction Work
- Graphic Story
- Comic Strip
- Magazine
- Published Illustration
- Game
- Website
Many nominations are likely to come from the ALAA’s Recommended Anthropomorphics List, which has been built up through prior suggestions; however, inclusion on the list is not necessary nor sufficient for a work to be nominated.
Nominations close on February 15, and will be tallied during the end of February. The final ballot will be announced on March 1 and voting will take place until the end of March. All those who register for nominations may use the same registration key to vote in the final ballot. Those people who did not send in nominations may still vote on the final ballot. The ballots will be counted, the trophies made, and the results will be announced at the award presentations in Surfer’s Paradise, Queensland, at FurDU 2018, scheduled for May 4-6.
Please note that the nominations period has been shortened to only the first half of February, instead of the entire month of February as is usual. This is so the final ballot may be concluded at the end of March.
The awards are sponsored by the independent Anthropomorphic Literature and Arts Association.
Fred added that the Fursuit category is not active at this time because substantiating information is needed, and only one person made the effort to provide it since the time of the category started, so it will not be on the Recommended List for 2018.
The statement that, “The awards are funded by Rod and Mark”, implies that Rod and Mark are the only ones who have ever paid the Ursa Major Awards’ expenses. I know that Bernard Doove in Melbourne has donated small sums (under $100) on several occasions, and I think a few more people have from time to time.
Still, it would certainly help if a few of the furry conventions that regularly donate to animal-themed charities could donate just $100 each every year to the Ursa Major Awards’ costs. That would keep the UMAs funded nicely.