We were honored to learn that Kristin Fontaine won the Ursa Major Award for Best Anthropomorphic Short Fiction of 2005 for "In His Own Country," published in Tales of the Tai-Pan Universe issue #39.
Previously, Tales of the Tai-Pan Universe has won the Ursa Major Award for Best Anthropomorphic Fanzine for 2003 and again in 2004. Because all nominees for the Ursa Majors are selected by fans and the winners are chosen by fans, we feel especially grateful and humbled by this award--and quite amazed to win it two years in a row.
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.
Eligibility in ten categories is for works featuring intelligent &/or talking animals first published during the calendar year. 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.
So, a big thanks to all our contributors for making this possible, and to all our readers and supporters who made it happen. Thank you.
Tai-Pan
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