The winners of the seventh annual Ursa Major Awards (formally the Annual Anthropomorphic Literature & Arts Awards), for the Best in anthropomorphic/"funny animal" literature and art first published during the calendar year 2007, were announced at a presentation ceremony on Saturday, May 17, 2008 at Morphicon, held at the Columbus-Worthington Holiday Inn, Columbus , OH on May 16-18, 2008.

The Ursa Major Awards are Anthropomorphic (a.k.a. Furry) Fandom's equivalents of s-f fandom's Hugo Awards, mystery fandom's Anthony Awards, horror fandom's Bram Stoker Awards, and so forth.  The Ursa Majors are administered and presented by the Anthropomorphic Literature and Arts Association (ALAA), an organization dedicated to promoting anthropomorphic literature and arts both within and outside of the fandom.  Nominations and voting for the awards are open to the public.  The physical award consists of an illustrated trophy certificate or plaque, designed by the artist Heather Bruton.

Eligibility in ten categories is for works featuring intelligent &/or talking animals first published during the calendar year 2007.  This can include new compilations of older works, such as a new collection of previously-published separate works.  The winners are chosen by popular vote among those participating in Anthropomorphic Fandom who, first, submitted their nominations for the winners, and then voted upon a final ballot consisting of the five finalists (those receiving the most nominations) in each category. The voting for the awards was open to all furry fandom via the Internet; and took place between March 15th and April 20th; and received votes from countries as diverse as Australia, Austria, Bulgaria, Canada, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Laos, Mexico, New Zealand, Philippines, Russia, Spain, Sweden, the UK, and the USA.

The envelope, please...

Best Anthropomorphic Motion Picture

Ratatouille

(Producer: Pixar Animation Studios and Walt Disney Pictures; Distributor: Buena Vista Pictures; June 29)

Also nominated were:
The Golden Compass. (Producers: New Line Cinema, Scholastic Productions, Depth of Field, Ingenious Film Partners, Rhythm and Hues; Distributor: New Line Cinema, December 7)
Shrek the Third. (Producer: DreamWorks Animation and Pacific Data Images; Distributor: DreamWorks SKG and Paramount Pictures; May 18)
Surf's Up (Producer: Sony Pictures Animation; Distributor: Sony Pictures Releasing, Sony Pictures International; June 8)
TMNT. (Producer: Warner Bros. Pictures/The Weinstein Company/Imagi Animation Studios; Distributor: Warner Bros. Pictures; March 23)

Best Anthropomorphic Dramatic Short Work or Series

Gridlock (Doctor Who episode)

(BBC1; series 3, episode 3, April 14)

Also nominated were:
The Natural Order. (DTDigital production studio for Cascade Brewery's Cascade Premium Lager; November 4)
Naturally Juicy. (Psyop production studio and Stink Studio for FFL Paris adv't agency for Orangina; November 16)
Pouring In. (MJZ production studio/Rhythm & Hues for Cutwater adv't agency for Jeep Liberty; October 3)
Shaun the Sheep (Aardman Animations, Ltd. for CBBC; March 5 [season 1 episode 1] to September 14 [season2 episode 20]

Best Anthropomorphic Novel

Life's Dream

by Bernard Doove. (CreateSpace, December 18)

Also nominated were:
Coyote Season, by Michael Bergey. (Five Star/Thomson Gale, November)
Inside the Cage, by Kyell Gold. (in The Prisoner's Release and Other Stories, Sofawolf Press, January)
Inside the Cage, by Kyell Gold. (in The Prisoner's Release and Other Stories, Sofawolf Press, January)Common and Precious, by Tim Susman. (Sofawolf Press, January)
The Hero, by Teiran. (Bad Dog Books, July)
Black Dogs: The House of Diamond, by Ursula Vernon. (Sofawolf Press, April)

Best Anthropomorphic Short Fiction

"Don't Blink"

by Kyell Gold (in Heat #4, Sofawolf Press, July)

Also nominated were:
A Non-Biodegradable Fox, by Ryan Campbell. (in New Fables, Summer 2007, Sofawolf Press, July)
For Love or Family, by Kyell Gold. (in The Prisoner's Release and Other Stories, Sofawolf Press, January)
Putting the Universe Back Together, by Chas. P. A. Melville. (in Tales of the Tai-Pan Universe #43, August)
Chrysanthemum and Cabbage, by Gerald Perkins. (in Renard's Menagerie #4, October)

Best Anthropomorphic Other Literary Work

All the Newshounds Fit to Print

by Thomas K. Dye. (Lulu.com, January, comic strip collection)

Also nominated were:
The Prisoner's Release and Other Stories, by Kyell Gold. (Sofawolf Press, January; short story collection)
Fur-Piled vol. 2, by Leo Magna. (Sofawolf Press, July; comic strip collection)
A Doemain of Our Own. Vol. 2, Shift Happens, by Susan Rankin. (Spit-Take Studios, July; comic strip collection).
Digger vol. 3, by Ursula Vernon. (Sofawolf Press, July; comic strip collection)

Best Anthropomorphic Comic Book

Gargoyles

by Greg Weisman, Gordon Purcell, Dustin Evans, Greg Guler, Nir Paniry, Karine Charlebois, and Stephanie Lostimolo. (Slave Labor Graphics, issues #4 to #6)

Also nominated were:
Captain Carrot and the Final Ark! by Bill Morrison, Scott Shaw!, and Al Gordon. (DC Comics, issues #1 and #2)
Furry Guardians, by Cyberklaw (FurNation Multimedia, issues #1 to #3)
Genus, by various artists. (Sin Factory (Radio Comix), issues #82 to #86)
i.s.o., by Vince Suzukawa (self-published, issues #3 and 4)
Usagi Yojimbo, by Stan Sakai. (Dark Horse, vol. 3, issues #100 to #108)

Best Anthropomorphic Comic Strip

Ozy and Millie

by D.C. Simpson. (Internet strips from January 1 to December 31)

Also nominated were:
Bristled, by Stephanie Mebius. (Internet strips from January 1 [#12] to December 31 [#91])
Dan and Mab's Furry Adventures, by Amber M. Pankyo. (Internet strips from January [#730] to December 31 [#859])
Lackadaisy, by Tracy J. Butler (Internet strips from January [#24] to December 15 [#49])
Newshounds II, by Thomas K. Dye. (Internet strips from January 1 to December 31)

Best Anthropomorphic Magazine

Heat

(#4, July)

Also nominated were:
Anthro. (#9, January-February, to #14, November-December)
New Fables (#1, Summer)
Renard's Menagerie (#1, January, to #4, October)
South Fur Lands. (#44, March, to #47, December)
Spontoon Island. (Internet, entries dated January to December)
Tales of the Tai-Pan Universe (#43, August)

Best Anthropomorphic Published Illustration

"Blotch", cover of Fur Affinity United Convention Souvenir Book

(Fur Affinity United!, July.)

Also nominated were:
Heather Bruton, wrap-around cover of Common and Precious, by Tim Susman.
Heather Bruton, wrap-around cover painting for Life's Dream, by Bernard Doove (CreateSpace, December)
Baron Engel, cover of Further Confusion 2007 Program Book.
Sara Palmer, cover for The Prisoner's Release and Other Stories, Sofawolf Press, January.
Georgi Valchev, cover painting of FurNation Anthology Mag Issue #08, FurNation Multimedia, January.

Best Anthropomorphic Game

Sam & Max: Season Two, Episode 1: Ice Station Santa

(Developer: Telltale Games; Publisher: Telltale Games and Game Tap; November 8)

Also nominated were:
Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters (Developer: High Impact Games, Publisher: SCEA, February 13)
Ratchet & Clank Future: Tools of Destruction (Developer: Insomniac Games; Publisher: Sony Computer Entertainment; October 23)
Sonic Rush Adventure (Developer/Publisher: SEGA, September 18)
Sonic and The Secret Rings (Developer/Publisher: SEGA, February 20)