The results of the 2014 Ursa Major Awards have been announced:
http://www.ursamajorawards.org/UMA_2014.htm
There are also voting statistics which are quite interesting. The FWG website got more than 100 votes for it as the first place website. I think that’s pretty good.
Also… My Otters In Space spin-off novella, “When a Cat Loves a Dog,” won Best Short Fiction! ::happiness:: Thank you so much to Fred Patten for asking me to write it!
Abandoned Places got top runner up spot.
Getting nominated and getting Second is still something to be proud of. 
I’m… kinda horrified that the Furry Force things won. The first one was nasty.
Its a good, healthy sign to be able to laugh at ourselves…
I think they won in part because they’ve actually engaged with furrydom to some degree – they’ve talked with Dogpatch Press a couple times and it turns out one of their writers actually hung around FurryMUCK in the late '90s. I believe they even did a little animated short celebrating the Ursa Major nomination.
(Having said that, I’ve personally been afraid to watch it.)
They are both damn perfect. Just the right mix of discomfort and satire
I haven’t seen it either, but yes, I believe they were actively campaigning for the award and apparently mobilizing a large fanbase. Which is a winning strategy, considering how the Ursa Majors are set up. Which is about all I think I should say in public on the subject, all things considered.
Another interesting crop of winners, and I’m sure that the UMAs will continue to help furries discover new art.
Looking at those voting statistics, it’s clear that some 1500 voters turned up as part of the Furry Force campaign, and voted only in that category and the immediately preceding (and first) category, motion picture. I think it’s reasonable to say that the awards given to mainstream non-furry works - the likes of My Little Pony and Pokemon - have no value to anyone.
I’d argue that Furry Force’s humour is asinine sub-Macfarlane unsatire, but then I’m not the arbiter of furry taste and culture. Like MLP and the winning Marvel movie, these are all a known quantity and I don’t think that anyone is going to discover them via the UMAs.
The real value, I think, is where the UMAs highlights lesser-known works, such as in the literary categories. It’s nice to think that prospective furry readers can treat UMA wins and nominations as a recommendation, and discover some new writers and works. The same goes, of course, for the Cóyotls.
On a related note, I think it’s a pity that the Anthropomorphic Literature and Arts Association didn’t opt to give a “Choice Award” this year. It feels like a missed opportunity to highlight something of real artistic merit, but without a big fanbase.
Agreed.
Congrats Ryffnah!
I second the comment about the Choice award, but my feeling about it is that they don’t go looking for something to give that out to each year; rather, it’s a fallback in case there’s something they all feel very strongly about, if that makes sense.
Thanks!
I had no idea there was a massive campaign for Furry Force. It got my vote within its category because it made me cry with laughter.
(Just to demonstrate that there is indeed a wide range of tastes within furry.)
Congratulations!! (Sorry I’m late to the party!)
I may have been ‘last’ in the Best Novel category, but to be just 120 votes behind the winner, in a group of such high quality competition, I must say I’m pretty happy!
And I must say Furry Force got many a giggle-cringe from me.
I don’t know why I didn’t look at the voting stats when I initially looked at this.
;D
There is one question which I assume cannot be asked or answered at this point, and that is, “In each category, how many voters actually viewed or read the competing entries (at least several of the entries if not all) ?” In other words, how many voters make a real comparison between the possible choices?
Personally, I don’t have much to choose from. In the categories in which I voted, i.e. the literature and websites, I voted for what little furry lit that I have. I purchased Five Fortunes last year at our local con, Unthrocon (now renamed FurryUnlocked) so I voted for the book and its individual stories. Thank you all who contributed to that book. I consider it worth the money.