ABOUT THE U.M.A. | |||
RECOMMENDATIONS Recommended Anthropomorphics List Closed! Discussion @UrsaMajorAwards Contacts & Links AWARDS Nominations for 2023 Closed! Voting for 2023 Open March 1 24 Past Winners: 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 ALAA's Choice Award ALAA Hall of Fame Award Presentations Articles & Interviews 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. NEWSNominations for the 2023 Ursa Major Awards have CLOSED. Voting has opened and runs from March 1 to 24. The final nominees 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 have reached a fever pitch in the Best Music Category this year. The staff of the ALAA have made the unfortunate observation that the category has been compromised, and so we have 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 Nominees (in alphabetical order)Best Motion Picture
• Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (Directed by James Gunn - May 5) Best Dramatic Short Work
• A Fox in Space - Episode Two - Fixing a Hole (Directed by Matthew Gafford - March 25) Best Dramatic Series
• Adventure Time: Fionna and Cake (Developed by Adam Muto - August 31 to September 28) Best Novel
• Family Matters, by Mitch Marmel, Walter D. Reimer, and E.O. Costello. (FurAffinity - December 8) Best Short Fiction
• Aged Plant Fibers and Ink, by James L. Steele. (Zooscape - April) Best General Literary Work
• Commander Annie and Others Adventures, by Mary E. Lowd. (Deep Sky Anchor Press - short story collection - November,) Best Non-Fiction Work
• A Guide to Drawing Manga Fantasy Furries: and Other Anthropomorphic Creatures, by Ryo Sumiyoshi. (Tuttle Publishing - Art guidebook - April 25) Best Graphic Story
• Silverwing: The Graphic Novel, written by Kenneth Opel, Illustrated by Christopher Steininge. (Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers - September 19) Best Comic Strip
• Carry On, by Kathy Garrison. (Hirezfox - January 2 to December 29) Best Magazine
• Dhole Moments, edited by Soatok. (Internet - January 6 to December) Best Visual Art
• Market Haul by Squiddy (Twitter - February 22) Best Game
• Friends vs Friends (Developer:Brainwash Gang - Publisher: Raw Fury - May 30) Best Website
• e621 - art archive. Best Anthropomorphic Fursuit
• Draco - Maker: The Beastcub. Owner: Draco Deflagro. (Twitter - July 15) Notice: Kyell Gold has indicated that he wishes to withdraw from consideration for the Novel and Short Story categories until further notice. For full details, please read his blog on Fur Affinity. 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. 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. |
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