Best Motion Picture
Alpha and Omega
How to Train Your Dragon
Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole
Toy Story 3
The Chronicles of Narnia: Voyage of the Dawn Treader

Editor’s Choice: You gotta go with How to Train Your Dragon on this one, right? Granted, Toy Story 3 is a far superior film, but it’s not a furry film. The other three films in the category are nowhere near as good, despite what certain dragons keep trying to tell me.

Best Dramatic Short Work or Series
Adventure Time With Finn and Jake
“Foxy Bingo”
Mongrels
“Orangina Naturally”
The Regular Show
Wallace & Gromit’s World of Invention

Editor’s Choice: Honestly as long as anything but Foxy Bingo and the Orangina campaign win, I’d be fine. Yes, I know what fox was a dancing machine, and yes, god yes, that gay cougar is hot, but there is no way in hell the fandom should give an award to commercials for gambling and sugar water when some of the smartest written shows on television are in the same category.

Best Novel
Basecraft Cirrostratus by Justin Lamar
Descent by Phil Guesz
Otters in Space by Mary Lowd
Save the Day by DJ Fahl
The Seventh Chakra by Kevin Frane
Shadow of the Father by Kyell Gold

Editor’s Choice: Wow, this is an exciting year for novels, and I can see it being a close race. That said, I’ve got to go with The Seventh Chakra. It’s definitely the most ambitious novel on the list, and Frane pulled off an exciting original thriller, and one of the most unique novels I’ve read from the fandom.

Best Short Fiction
Bridges by Kyell Gold
“False Dawn” by Kyell Gold
“Felis ex Machina” by EO Costello
“Gerty and the Doesn’t-Smell-Like-a-Melon” by Mary E Lowd
The Peculiar Quandary of Simon Canopus Artyle by Kevin Frane

Editor’s Choice: I’m leaning towards Bridges in this category. It was one of those experiments that did something new, even if it was a bit… superfluous. It’s hard to argue the literary merits of writing the same spit-roasting scene three times, but hey, there it is. That said, Simon Canopus also has a cool experimental writing feel to is, as the Cupcake branded books tend to have.

Best Other Literary Work
Furpiled #4 by Leo Magna
Different Worlds, Different Skins edited by Will A Sanborn
Iron Claw Bestiary by Chris Goodwin
i.s.o. #1 by Vince Suzukawa
Squirrel Seeks Chipmunk: A Modest Bestiary by Dave Sedaris

Editor’s Choice: In any other situation I’d automatically say Dave Sedaris, but his latest book is actually one of his weakest, so go for one of the fandom made choices. Furpiled and i.s.o. both are cool for slice of life stuff, and the Iron Claw Bestiary is something that nerds tell me is pretty cool.

Best Graphic Story
Concession by Immelmann
Furthia High by QuetzaDrake
Cruelty by Rukis
Lackadaisy by Tracy J. Butler
Twokinds by Tim Fischbach

Editor’s Choice: Lackadaisy. No question. The others are good, but don;t really compare, except maybe Cruelty for it’s potential. Rukis has the art talent, and if she can tighten up her storytelling I can easily see her winning this award in the future, but not this year.

Best Comic Strip
“Broken Plot Device” by Lis Boriss
“Faux Pas” by Robert and Margaret Carspecken
“Little Tales” by Genesis Eve Whitmore
“Housepets!” by Rick Griffin
“Sandra and Woo” by Powree and Oliver Knörzer

Editor’s Choice: Everyone’s got a favorite, just pick one. They’re all good.

Best Magazine
Anthropomorphic Dreams Podcast by Will A. Sanborn
Heat #7 published by Sofawolf
New Fables Summer 2010 edited by Tim Susman
South Fur Lands edited by Bernard Doove
Tales of the Tai-Pan Universe edited by Gene Breshears

Editor’s Choice: I’m tempted to say go for Anthro Dreams because it might spur an entire Podcast category next year (God knows there are enough of them to warrant it). But there are so many great stories in New Fables that I can’t snub it. Go with that.

Best Published Illustration
Big Red: Lady Sings the Blues by Richard Bartrop
Cenotaph by Susan Rankin-Pollard
The Seventh Chakra by Kamui
Shadow of the Father by Sara Palmer
New Fables Summer 2010 by Mary Mouse

Editor’s Choice: All of these illustrations are fantastic and every one of them is deserving of the award. These are some of the best talent the fandom has to offer. Personally, Kamui’s The Seventh Chakra is one of the most eye catching covers I’ve seen. It also has an array of symbolism that tie it in with the book. Plus it’s bright fucking yellow.

Best Game
Disney Epic Mickey
Furry Basketball Association
Rocket Knight
Sam & Max: Season 3, Episode 1: The Penal Zone
Sonic Colors

Editor’s Choice: There’s only one game on here that is done by the fandom, for the fandom. I don’t care if you like basketball, or like roleplaying, the Furry Basketball Association is a beast that is fueled by talented and dedicated players. Add on to that, it’s fun to follow even if you’re not participating. That’s way cooler than an XBLA game about a franchise everyone forgot about.

Voting for the Ursa Majors ends April 17. Visit the official site to cast your vote.

The Peculiar Quandary of Simon Artyle is the second in FurPlanet’s line of Cupcakes novellas. The Cupcakes series are intended to be “short and sweet” novellas, and for better or worse, this fits the bill. Those familiar with Kevin Frane’s longer works are likely expecting a whirlwind of action, political machinations, subtle manipulations, and a healthy dose of sturm und drang, but if that’s what you’re looking for here, you’ll be disappointed. The stories contained within are both fluffy and sweet.

I say stories because the title of the novella is a bit of a misnomer; it’s not really a novella, but a binding together of two tangentially related short stories, the eponymous “Simon Artyle” being the headliner. The second story, “Changes for the Better,” was originally published in New Fables, but it shares the setting, so it’s included as a bonus, and presumably to pad out the book.

“Simon Artyle” is the story of a somewhat disconnected wizard and his attempt to maintain his relationships with, and eventually choose between, a young vixen he is courting, and his middle-aged raccoon apprentice. The story opens with a rather dense narrative style crammed chock-full of parentheses; it serves well to set the stage, but is a bit forced, and so when it disappeared into Frane’s more comfortable prose by the third page, I wasn’t sad to see it go. The tale dithers a bit in a kind of courtship romance until magical things begin to happen, and this is where the story really becomes interesting. Artyle is disconnected from everyday emotion, and largely unflappable, so his mild-mannered, disaffected way of dealing with extraordinary circumstances, and his attitude toward his two much more affected objects of interest, serve to keep the story whimsical, but also prevent it from having much weight. Nonetheless, the aforementioned quandary itself is interesting, and I found myself reading primarily to see how it would be solved. The story shines most when focusing on its more magical elements, and when Simon is drawn out of his comfort zone and forced to deal with the conflicts in his life.

“Changes for the Better” is set in the same world as the first story, and passing references are made to those characters, but otherwise it is its own beast, and deals with Vanessa, a haughty weasel sorceress living alone in a tower in a rural town. The story revolves around her interactions with a raccoon who asks her to create a companion for him. She apparently loathes him, and seems at first glance to be motivated to help him by boredom. I found resolution to this story a bit iffy; while on subsequent rereads the ending is seeded, it didn’t feel like the surprise at the end was entirely earned.

The two stories do suit each other well, similar in theme, subject, and tone. Frane tells them using his easy, comfortable style that allows you to slip right in. He knows the stories he is trying to tell, and tells them well. His characters are distinct, recognizable, and maintain clear and persistent voices throughout, and his plots compel you to read through to the ending to see how everything turns up. But this Cupcake is a bit too sweet and light for my tastes. It may be a nice follow-up to a meatier novel, but on its own, I found it a bit cloying.

The story is about Simon, a fox and a wizard. He’s not the “expelliarmus!” or “You shall not pass!” kind of wizard, more of a historian/librarian. He’s also a bit of a social reject, which is a bummer since, according to Frane, wizards have a rather high social standing, and the town he lives in really only exists because they built it to be near a wizard.

His inability to pick up on social cues also makes him unaware of the love triangle forming around him with his raccoon assistant and a beautiful vixen that happens to be the mayor’s daughter. Not that he’s uninterested, he just doesn’t even realize people like him.

“Wizards live a long time, and he hasn’t stopped to think about love in a long time,” Frane explained.

The story is described as “lighthearted and whimsical, though not strictly a comedy” a point emphasized by a conversation between Simon and his assistant about recognizing when a lady is flirting that ultimately culminates in: “How can somebody this smart, be so stupid?”

The world Frane has created has been featured in other short stories, including “Sanguine and Clockwork” by KM Hirosaki in FANG Volume 3.

Something about fantasy books seems more romantic than contemporary settings, and it will be interesting to see Frane do a story that doesn’t revolve heavily around people dying a lot. While the story is a romance, this particular entry in the Cupcakes brand won’t be an adults only book (so no triple perspective three-way scenes).

Frane’s novella is set to release this year, either at Anthrocon in July, or RainFurrest in September.

I love it when authors mix things up with their writing styles. Switching genres, or changing from the perspective they normally do can be a risk, but when it works it’s really cool to know an author has more up their sleeve. Kyell Gold’s newest book, Bridges works really well, despite some hangups. And it certainly does some new things, I mean besides having a male/female sex scene.

Bridges is the first book in the Cupcakes line of novellas, and it feels very experimental. Each chapter switches characters (Like those annual Animorphs specials, remember those, guys?), and tells the story through the various characters. It’s a story of a red fox named Hayward, who is quite adept at playing matchmaker, but won’t let people into his own life, for reasons largely unknown by his friends. It’s interesting to see the story told from five different perspectives and really showcases Gold’s ability to develop multiple characters.

The novella starts with a single night told by three different people, on a group date. They’re all very different, and the introspection of each fox gives each chapter a very different feel, despite the same scenarios. Gold leaves out enough details from each one to allow the other characters fill in the blanks, and even scenes of eating at a restaurant or chilling on a couch are interesting, even though paled somewhat by the more engrossing scenes that happen in between.

The same thing that makes the book interesting also makes it drag. It’s not until over halfway through the book that the real plot becomes apparent. It makes me wonder if three chapters about one night was really necessary, especially when two of the three foxes involved are just side characters. The fact that the first third of the book is taken up by character that don’t significantly influence the plot is a little odd. And since the book jumps ahead eight months, and then another month after that, it seems like one of those chapters could have been about the interstitial time, while still allowing the side character to reveal more about Hayward and his situation.

Bridges is a short novella, so the plot dragging is kind of like saying a half hour episode of a TV show dragged. And I should stress that it doesn’t feel gratuitous or unnecessary while it’s happening. It’s exciting, it’s entertaining, and Gold is in top form with his descriptive powers. It speaks highly of an author that he made the same exact sex scene that interesting three times in a row.

Despite the imbalances, the story is heartfelt, and at times heartbreaking. In a single chapter Gold can develop a character, tell their whole arc, and really make the reader care about them, which is more than some authors can do with an entire novel. Bridges is definitely worth picking up, and I like seeing these different writing styles coming from an established author. It shows he’s not in a rut (the noun, not the verb, pervs).

[[Editor's note: One last minor quibble, though it’s just a bugaboo of mine that doesn’t detract at all from the story. Gold can’t seem to figure out how he wants to approach pop culture. He starts with real world things, talking about Shakespeare plays, CSI and Law and Order. Then moves on to made up stuff like a fictional show called Bearly Brothers. Then switches again to the furry parody method, inserting animals into titles, like the hit song, “I Know What Wolves Like.” Pick one and stick with it, fox!]]

The interview is a little over half an hour. I’m not sure who that nasally kid pretending to be me is, just ignore him.

Alternatively if you want to download it, right click, and save:

Enjoy!

Authors Kyell Gold, Rikoshi and foozzzball have teamed up with furry publisher FurPlanet to produce a line of novellas, works of fiction that fall in that space between short story and novel. Full length novels are, as Gold describes them, cakes, and so the stories produced by the Cupcakes brand are the same flavor and quality, but in a smaller size.

The brand, which sees its first book in February, was created as a way to fulfill a noticed niche in the fiction market, one that both consumers and authors weren’t getting.

“My thinking has always been that novella length pieces have always been the most comfortable thing for me to write, and they are the single most difficult thing to do publishing wise,” Rikoshi explained. “They’re too long to get into an anthology, and until now they’ve been too short to do anything with on their own.”

What may make Cupcakes unique and appealing as a line of books is not so much what happens in the story, but who it happens to.

“One of the things that really ties our work together that we all really agree on and feel passionate about is that our stories are all, at the core, about the characters.” Gold said. “And for all three of us, character comes first. And that’s something that we really respect in each other’s work.”

“I think that most readers tend to value that sort of thing, but especially in the furry fandom, character is something that people just latch on to,” Rikoshi added. “Maybe more so than plot, more so than nuance, more so than theme, I think it’s the characters that pull people in.”

With the first book premiering at Furry Fiesta 2010, the authors plan to write four novellas a year, with varying themes and content ratings. Gold’s first story, Bridges is a modern day romantica story about finding love in a new city, whereas Rikoshi’s first novella is an all ages fantasy themed story about the social lives of wizards.

“We have a gay porn writer, a straight porn writer and a gay non-porn writer,” Gold joked. “Although our styles are distinctive, within the context of furry fiction they’re more similar than dissimilar.”

Bridges can be purchased at Furry Fiesta 2010, February 19-21 in Dallas, TX. It will be available shortly thereafter on the FurPlanet website.