Are you one of the masses with a crush on Disney’s Robin Hood?
That fox may have created more furries than any other beloved character, and they create huge amounts of fan art. Sexy, sexy fan art.
Ursa art by Foxenawolf.
Go HERE to vote, and don’t wait, the deadline is TODAY March 24!
The Ursa Major Awards celebrate and recognize great works that resonate with the furry fandom, whether they are made within, by a member, or are simply favorite creations from the mainstream. Anything goes as long as people like it, and there’s a lot of opportunity to lift things up that people haven’t seen. Vote to spread your personal fandom and help others feature theirs!
Nominees are in 14 categories, and the Ursa Majors site has more details about each one. The newer Music category is removed, but Best Fursuit has re-activated after not enough notice previously.
Volunteers run the Ursa Major Awards. Please support them. Since 2001, these awards have been run with unpaid work. They appreciate support to defray costs for a website, making and mailing awards, and more. Click the button to donate >
The 2023 Nominees (in alphabetical order):
Ursa art by Foxenawolf.
For over two decades, the Ursa Major Awards have recognized the furry fandom’s favorite creations every year. For the 2023 awards, anything with anthropomorphic animals is eligible to win by popular vote. Want your favorite works represented?
Go HERE to nominate, and don’t wait, the deadline is today (February 17)!
NOTE: article topic is not to be confused with inside fandom-made documentaries. Please send confidential tips to: patch.ofurr@gmail.com
In June, Dogpatch Press was approached by a company “developing a documentary that takes place in the world of furries.” True-crime was mentioned. This is something that Dogpatch Press covers — and isn’t a bad thing to ask, by itself.
Whenever media producers make contact, first they are checked to see if they’re real people with a history of solid work. If they are, they may get cooperation and support. I had already checked this company before they contacted me (with advance notice from others they contacted) and got a middling impression. Making some innocuous airtime filler isn’t so bad, because work is work.
I told them: “One long lasting annoyance about furries as a group is their dogma against “the media,” as if Fox News and PBS are the same thing. Actually I started my news site to push back on that. But I will be picky on what outlets I talk to, and look at their work before considering it.”
Then I gave an opinion that their proposed topic had low chances to get fandom cooperation — and got no further reply.
This September I was surprised to hear about more furries being approached by the same company. Here’s a snippet:
The gall of these people.
Peter S. Beagle created The Last Unicorn, made millions of fans happy, then got dragged through elder abuse and had to go to court to stop it.
In his 70’s, Peter was supposed to be making his magic and enjoying the golden years. Instead he had to spend years of battling his former manager, Connor Cochran, who was found liable for financial elder abuse, fraud, breach of fiduciary duty, and defamation.
Before his disgrace, Cochran would try to sue critics for saying what he was doing, and wanted to shut me up that way. He failed when I sued him before Peter did.
Now Peter is back in control of his career. His official Beagleverse site has an FAQ about his battle with the court judgement showing the black-and-white truth.
But the Beagleverse site warns: “Unfortunately, there are still several websites controlled by Peter’s former manager. Beagleverse® is the best source for all things Peter S. Beagle.”
Peter doesn’t control a Last Unicorn Facebook page with an official check mark. It was made in 2008 before Peter sued Cochran, and is now being used to manipulate 182,000 followers.
Hello, I’m Gamepopper, a British furry author of the newly released book Furtannia: The History of the Furry Fandom in the United Kingdom. Buy it at the link from Uncle Bear Publishing.
I’ve mentioned this book on Dogpatch Press in a guest article calling for preserving the furry fandom’s history, when it was under the (admittingly cheeky) working title of Furry Kingdom. This book tells a long and multi-faceted account of that history, but this time from the perspective of British furries.
The origins of the modern furry phenomenon can be traced to America — specifically, California — and it eventually grew and spread to other countries. The United Kingdom was one of the first places outside the United States to embrace Furry, but it wasn’t just a new discovery; a lot of media that inspired the modern-day fandom originated in England.
Furtannia covers that growth from the first housecons and furmeets in the UK, to conventions like ConFuzzled, and how they differ from American furcons. Along the way it covers unique British Furry media and events.
That growth was influenced by California fandom reaching towards an international presence almost since the beginning. In 1987, Mark Merlino, Rod O’Riley, and a few American fans hosted a furry hotel party in Brighton during the 45th World Science Fiction Convention. A handful of British science fiction and comic book fans travelled to the United States or purchased imported American comics, discovered the fandom, and kept in touch with each other.
UPDATE: DEADLINE EXTENDED TO AUGUST 15!
Each June, millions of people see the San Francisco Pride parade. Hundreds of thousands of attendees cheer for over 200 contingents. For 2023, five contingents are shortlisted to win the Best Overall Contingent award. Northern California Furries have the huge honor of being one of the five.
You can help win big positive recognition for furries everywhere. Spread the message and get everyone you know to vote!
Voting Poll is here: https://forms.gle/QvVoPoBd82ajMcUV9 – Don’t wait, the poll is open until August 15.
For members who completed an RSVP
Photo: AniMajor
The SF Pride Parade – Sunday June 25, 2023 – General info at SFpride.org
Let’s go! The parade is on Market Street, from Embarcadero to the Celebration area at Civic Center. Spectators will be watching from 10:30 a.m. until late afternoon. ABC7 will be broadcasting the parade to watch from home.
Be there with 150 furries. Be there for the GO moment when the crowd roars. Hundreds of thousands of people will make the street your stage. Many furries will march and interact with watchers, while some will ride the float. It isn’t just for fun and photos, but also to say that we’re not going away. That’s Pride for LGBT people and allies, while we help bring the diversity of it all.
Northern California Furries first joined the parade in 2002, and last year marked their 20-year anniversary. This year brings more interest than ever. Thousands of furries will also join Pride events internationally — see other news and history in the Pride tag.
Check out the winners in 14 categories for the 2023 Ursa Major Awards. The awards feature the furry fandom’s favorite media and other anthropomorphic animal creations they love, with popular voting by anybody. This year there were 1350 voters, with their vote count broken down here.
See the current Recommended Anthropomorphics List — it is maintained year-round — you can discover and submit this year’s works eligible for the next awards now if you have something to share. This helps make community, discovery for new creations, and opportunity with campaigning. A nominee can win by simply mentioning it, because few do. Consider donating to support this service via paypal@ursamajorawards.org.
If you like making friends laugh and/or wasting company time, and have been on the net for 10-15 years, then you probably know The Onion, CollegeHumor, Funny or Die – and Cracked. At one point it was the world’s most visited comedy site.
Papa Bear is a movie in development from heads of the Cracked video department at its peak. It’s about a furry in the family, and its climax will be filmed at a furry convention. Papa Bear promises to be dramatic, funny, daring, boldly LGBT-positive, and full of heart.
