Dogpatch Press

Fluff Pieces Every Week

Category: announcements

March 24, 2024

It’s the last day to vote for the Ursa Major Awards

by Patch O'Furr

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):

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February 17, 2024

LAST DAY to nominate for the Ursa Major Awards; Nominations open for the Good Furry Award.

by Patch O'Furr

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)! 

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September 18, 2023

Have you been approached by media producers about making a “dark” furry docu-series?

by Patch O'Furr

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:

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September 5, 2023

Peter S. Beagle warns fans not to trust The Last Unicorn movie page on Facebook

by Patch O'Furr

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 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. Peter issued a support statement during my legal battle for vindication, and I prevailed in 2019 with a judgement in my favor for $32,000. Peter sent me a signed Last Unicorn hardcover with a hand-written thank you for helping him.

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.

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August 24, 2023

Gamepopper releases book Furtannia: The History of the Furry Fandom in the United Kingdom

by Dogpatch Press Staff

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.

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August 4, 2023

Vote now! NorCal Furries shortlisted for Best Contingent award in San Francisco Pride Parade.

by Patch O'Furr

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.

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June 23, 2023

How to join San Francisco Pride 2023 with the Northern California Furries

by Patch O'Furr

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.

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June 19, 2023

The 2023 Ursa Major Awards and Good Furry Award feature the best of furry fandom

by Patch O'Furr

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.

  • Dogpatch Press was voted Best Magazine. Thank you to everyone who votes, and the volunteer team who manages the voting process and sends physical awards. I’ll post a photo when it arrives.
  • The best novel stood out as unlike other furry fantasy and romance nominees; it’s a young adult novel by an author of other non-furry writing with crossover appeal that isn’t locked to the furry scene. Watch for an upcoming article with the author.
  • The best fursuit category had no award due to low participation, but there’s already eligible fursuits listed for the next awards.

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.

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June 13, 2023

Papa Bear: Indie furry movie nears funding deadline

by Patch O'Furr

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.

There’s a crowdfunding campaign for Papa Bear that ends in a few days, on June 16 – don’t wait to check it out! 

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May 3, 2023

Voting For The Good Furry Awards Is Open Until May 5 – Deadline Soon!

by Patch O'Furr

Time is short, go HERE to vote now! The fifth annual Good Furry Awards are closing soon on May 5, 2023. Anyone who wants to vote can do so, with 30 nominees to choose from, including four group nominees.

This award recognizes furries who make outstanding positive contributions to the fandom. The first one in 2019 went to Tony “Dogbomb” Barrett. In 2020 the award went to Ash Coyote. In 2021, Cassidy Civet won and in 2022 it went to Soatok Dhole.

Four prizes will be awarded based on voting. Three honorable mentions will receive trophies. A first-place winner will receive a trophy and a check for $500 from sponsor Uncle Bear Publishing.

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