Science Fiction Awards Watch

The Science Fiction/Fantasy Writers of America have announced the Honorees of the 2012 SFWA Solstice Awards, given out to authors who have “consistently had a positive, transformative influence on the genre of science fiction and fantasy.” (Full announcement here)

The Honorees for 2012 are:

photo credit: SFWA

Octavia Butler (6/22/47 – 2/24/2006) “was a giant in the field of science fiction and fantasy; her work was awarded Nebula and Hugo awards, and she was the first science fiction writer to be granted the MacArthur Foundation Genius Grant. ” (J Scalzi, SFWA President).

A webpage on the SFWA site provides additional information here

photo credit: Wikipedia

John Clute (1940 – ) “a Canadian-born author and critic. Clute’s most notable contribution to the field consists of his work on a trio of reference works: the Encyclopedia of Science Fiction, the Encyclopedia of Fantasy, and the Illustrated Encyclopedia of Science Fiction, all of which won Hugo Awards in the category of Best Related Work.”

John’s webpage can be found here.

(Personal note:  John has referenced some of my work in SF3E, which can be found here: search under A. Bertram Chandler for my stuff.)

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Voting for The Ursa Major Awards for the Best Anthropomorphic Literature and Art of 2011 are now open:

Voting for the Ursa Major Awards for the Best Anthropomorphic Literature and Art of 2011 is now open, and takes place until May 4.  The winners will be announced at a presentation ceremony at CaliFur VIII in Irvine, CA on June 2.  Anyone may vote, and you are encouraged to ask your friends to vote also — please help spread the word!  To vote, go to http://www.ursamajorawards.org/Voting.htm

There are five nominees in each of eleven categories, except where there was a tie for fifth place.

To be eligible, a work must have been released during the calendar year 2011; must include a non-human being given human attributes (anthropomorphic), which can be mental and/or physical; and must receive more than one nomination.

Best Motion Picture

Live-action or animated feature-length movies.

Bitter Lake (Directed by Shay)

Kung Fu Panda 2  (Directed by Jennifer Yuh)

Puss in Boots  (Directed by Chris Miller)

Rango  (Directed by Gore Verbinski)

Rio  (Directed by Carlos Saldanha)

Best Dramatic Series or Short Work

TV series or one-shots, advertisements or short videos.

Mongrels  (Directed by Adam Millar, Jon Brown, Daniel Peak)

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic  (Directed by James Wootton)

Regular Show  (Directed by Benton Conor, Calvin Wong, Kat Morris, Sean Szeles, J. G. Quintel, Minty Lewis, and others)

Simon’s Cat  (Directed by Simon Tofield)

ThunderCats  (Directed by Michael Jelenic, Todd Casey, Tab Murphy, and others)

Best Novel

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

Black Dogs, Part 2, by Ursula Vernon

Death Drop, by Sean Allen

Isolation Play, by Kyell Gold

Red Sails in the Fallout, by Paul Kidd

Smiley and the Hero, by Ryan Campbell

Best Short Fiction

Stories less than 40,000 words, poetry and other short written works.

A Safety Weasel Christmas, by Gene Breshears

Argo, by Rick Griffin

Fetching Asteroids, by Mary E. Lowd

How to Get Through the Day, by Kyell Gold

Let’s Play Musical Chairs, by K. M. Hirosaki

Shreddy and the Zomb-Dogs, by Mary E. Lowd

Where the Heart Is, by Mary E. Lowd and Daniel Lowd

Best Other Literary Work

Story collections, comic collections, graphic novels, non-fiction works, and convention program books.

Dragon’s Hoard #1, by various (Rabbit Valley)

Fur-Piled #5, by Leo Magna

In the Doghouse of Justice, by Kyell Gold

Nordguard, Book One, by Tess Garman & Teagan Gavet

Tales of the Tai-Pan Universe, Omnibus 1, by various (Tai-Pan Literary & Arts Project)

Best Graphic Story

Includes comic books and serialized online stories.

Endtown, by Aaron Neathery

Fur-Piled, by Leo Magna

Furthia High, by QuetzaDrake

Lackadaisy, by Tracy J. Butler

Red Lantern, by Rukis and Alector Fencor

Best Comic Strip

Newspaper-style strips, including those with ongoing arcs.

Ballerina Mafia, by Immelmann

Doc Rat, by Jenner

Faux Pas, by Robert & Margaret Carspecken

Housepets!, by Rick Griffin

Sandra and Woo, by Powree and Oliver Knörzer

Best Magazine

Professional magazines, amateur zines, fanzines, internet-only magazines.

Alasso

Anthro

Flayrah

South Fur Lands

Tales of the Tai-Pan Universe

Best Website

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

Equestria Daily

Fur Affinity

Furry Writers’ Guild

Inkbunny

WikiFur

Best Published Illustration

Illustrations for books, magazines, convention program books, cover art for such, coffee table portfolios.

Blotch, cover of Isolation Play

Blotch, cover of Nordguard, Book One

Jason Chan, cover of Red Sails in the Fallout

Sara Palmer, cover of Weasel Presents

Best Game

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

O-kamiden

Pokemon: Black and White

Solatorobo: Red the Hunter

Sonic Generations

Star Fox 64 3D

Note:  There was some confusion over whether Nordguard, Book One should go into the Best Other Literary Work or the Best Graphic Story category.  It was pointed out that previous book collections of graphic stories have been collected reprints of works already serialized separately, whereas Nordguard, Book One is the first publication of this graphic story.  After consideration, the majority of the ALAA has decided to leave it in the Best Other Literary Work category.

More formally known as the Annual Anthropomorphic Literature and Arts Awards, the Ursa Major Awards are presented annually for excellence in the furry arts. They are intended as Anthropomorphic (a.k.a. Furry) Fandom’s equivalent of the Hugo Awards presented by the World Science Fiction Society, mystery fandom’s Anthony Awards, horror fandom’s Bram Stoker Awards, and so forth.

The Ursa Major Awards are administered by the Anthropomorphic Literature and Arts Association (ALAA), a membership organization dedicated to promoting anthropomorphic literature and arts. Discussions are ongoing to improve their effectiveness and expand their presence throughout furry fandom. All suggestions are invited via the Ursa Major Awards website.  The Ursa Major Awards are now on Facebook. http://www.facebook.com/UrsaMajorAwards

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