ABOUT THE U.M.A.
UMA logo part 3

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Nominations for 2023
Closed!

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Logo by Foxenawolf
 
 

      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 entirely by the fans, not by the ALAA committee or a panel of judges.


      NEWS

The first Recommended List for 2024 has been posted, but we need your recommendations to fill it out a lot more! Send them to recommended@ursamajorawards.org

The A.L.A.A. is seeking someone to take over resposibility for website maintenance and social media. Please email expressions of interest to info@ursamajorawards.org

Voting for the 2023 Awards concluded as of March 24. The winners were announced in a special presentation at Golden State Fur Con on Sunday April 7 at 11:30am PST.

The winners are listed below.


It's important to remember that the Ursa Major Awards (like so many other awards) are designed to celebrate and recognize great works, not to judge the character or personality of creators. Unfortunately, the personal squabbling, attacks, and counter-attacks reached a fever pitch in the Best Music Category this year. The staff of the ALAA made the unfortunate observation that the category was compromised, and so we made the difficult decision to cancel the Best Music category for works from last year (2023). We fully intend to attempt the award in that category again next year (for works from 2024), hopefully with some better controls in place. We apologize to all the music creators out there, and we thank all of our nominators and voters for their patience.


We would like to respectfully remind everyone that the Anthropomorphic Literature & Arts Award committee is a non-profit organization run by a skeleton crew of volunteers, and the Ursa Major Awards are completely funded by donations which need to cover operational costs, production of the physical trophies, and shipping to the winners. When donations are insufficient, the balance comes out of the committee members' pockets.

Last year, we came out in the black for the first time due to the many generous donations for which we were very grateful. However, not much is left in the kitty and it's time to start the ball rolling once more. So, whether you consider yourself a furry or just a fan of anthropomorphic works, and you like the idea of your favorite stuff in that category getting awards, if at any point over the last two decades you've heard of the UMAs or you're just learning about them now, we humbly ask that you consider tossing a donation our way via PayPal - whatever you can afford - and to spread the word around.

 


A special shout-out to Xanni who hosts and troubleshoots the UMA website. Your help is very much appreciated!



The 2023 Winners

Best Anthropomorphic Costume a.k.a. Fursuit

Forlorn Raven - Maker: Lemonbrat. Owner: Forlorn Raven

    Runners-Up (in descending number of votes)

Pig in Dress - Maker/Owner/Wearer: Suolaxierr.
Vauk - Maker: Kkes and Vauk. Owner: Vauk.
Draco - Maker: The Beastcub. Owner: Draco Deflagro.
Sandey - Maker/Owner/Wearer: Misplaced_Spigot.

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

Fur Affinity

    Runners-Up (in descending number of votes)

e621
Wikifur
Wolfery
Kemono Café
 

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

Laika: Aged Through Blood

    Runners-Up (in descending number of votes)

Super Mario Bros Wonder
Friends vs Friends
Pseudoregalia
 

Best Visual Art
Illustrations for books, magazines, convention program books, cover art for such, coffee-table portfolios.

Squiddy, The Record Store

    Runners-Up (in descending number of votes)

• ARVEN92, Our Furry City - Anthrocon 2023
• Squiddy, Market Haul
• Glopossum, Pines
• Bubblewolf, Winterrock Oasis
 

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.

Dogpatch Press, by Patch Packrat

    Runners-Up (in descending number of votes)

Flayrah, edited by GreenReaper
InFurNation, edited by Rod O'Riley
Dhole Moments, edited by Soatok
Zooscape, edited by Mary E. Lowd
 

Best Comic Strip
Newspaper-style strips, including those with some ongoing arcs.

Foxes in Love, by Toivo Kaartinen.

    Runners-Up (in descending number of votes)

Carry On, by Kathy Garrison Kellogg.
Lauren Ipsum, by Charles Brubaker.
Freefall, by Mark Stanley.
The Whiteboard, by Doc Nickel.
 

Best Graphic Story
Includes comic books, and serialized online stories.

Tamberlane, by Caytlin Vilbrandt and Ari Noble.

    Runners-Up (in descending number of votes)

Two Kinds, by Thomas Fischbach.
Slightly Damned, by Chu.
Silverwing: The Graphic Novel, written by Kenneth Opel, Illustrated by Christopher Steininge.
Would Have Bit You, by Inanimorphs.
 

Best Non-Fiction Work
Includes opinion pieces and news articles.

Furscience, by Dr. Courtney N. Plante.

    Runners-Up (in descending number of votes)

Furry Planet, by Joe Strike.
On Furries and the Media, by Soatok.
A Guide to Drawing Manga Fantasy Furries: and Other Anthropomorphic Creatures, by Ryo Sumiyoshi.
TFTuesday Podcast - A Measured Response: Saberspark's TF Video Essay, by Zilepo and K-Libra.
 

Best General Literary Work
Story collections, comic collections, graphic novels, and serialized online stories.

Gnoll Tales, by NightEyes DaySpring.

    Runners-Up (in descending number of votes)

Lauren Ipsum, by Charles Brubaker.
Zooscape, Volume 1, edited by Mary E. Lowd.
Some Words Burn Brightly: An Illuminated Collection of Poetry, by Mary E. Lowd.
Commander Annie and Others Adventures, by Mary E. Lowd.
 

Best Short Fiction
Stories less than 40,000 words, poetry, and other short Written works.

On the Difference Between AI Cats and Actual Cats: A Love Story, by Daniel Lowd and Mary E. Lowd.

    Runners-Up (in descending number of votes)

Rhapsody of Stolen Feathers, by Frank Alvarez.
How Pepper Learned Magic, by Renee Carter Hall.
Of Heart and Stone, by Solomon Harries.
Aged Plant Fibers and Ink, by James L. Steele.
 

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

Wolf of Withervale by Joaquín Baldwin.

    Runners-Up (in descending number of votes)

Rafts (ebook), by Utunu.
Otters In Space 4: First Moustronaut, by Mary E. Lowd.
Family Matters, by Mitch Marmel, Walter D. Reimer, and E.O. Costello.
You're Cordially Invited to Crossroads Station, by Mary E. Lowd.
 

Best Dramatic Series
TV, streaming, or YouTube series.

Helluva Boss (Created by Vivienne "VivziePop" Medrano - Season 2 Episode 3 to Midseason Special)

    Runners-Up (in descending number of votes)

The Owl House (Created by Dana Terrace; "For the Future" & "Watching and Dreaming")
Bluey (Created by Joe Brumm - Season 3)
Adventure Time: Fionna and Cake (Developed by Adam Muto - August 31 to September 28)
Sonic Prime (Created by Man of Action - Season 2)
 

Best Dramatic Short Work
One-shots, advertisements or short videos.

Lackadaisy (Pilot) (Directed by Fable Siegel)

    Runners-Up (in descending number of votes)

Tamberlane (Directed by Ashley Nichols and Caytlin Vilbrandt)
A Fox in Space - Apisode Two - Fixing a Hole (Directed by Matthew Gafford)
Once Upon a Studio (Directed by Dan Abraham and Trent Correy)
The Meeps - Love Louder (Official music video. Created in partnership with XIX Entertainment and T&B Media Global)
 

Best Anthropomorphic Motion Picture
Live-action or animated feature-length movies.

Nimona (Directed by Nick Bruno and Troy Quane)

    Runners-Up (in descending number of votes)

Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (Directed by James Gunn)
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem (Directed by Jeff Rowe and Kyler Spears)
Leo (Directed by Robert Marianetti, Robert Smigel and David Wachtenheim)
Migration (Directed by Benjamin Renner and Guylo Homsy)
 


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.

While we have yet to do so, 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. Note, this refers ONLY to works, not the character of the creator thereof.

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.


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.