2008 Ursa Major Awards

The 2008 Ursa Major Awards ceremony was held on Saturday, May 16, 2009 at All Fur Fun 2010 in Spokane, Washington. Awards were designed by Heather Bruton.

Voting for the winning nominees took place between March 14th and April 19th, and received 270 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; this amount of voting participation was a 34% increase over the previous year.

Controversy
In the months prior to the awards, controversy arose over the nomination of Softpaw Magazine and spinoff Finding Avalon for Best Magazine and Best Comic Book. Furry podcast KnotCast criticized the choices, receiving in turn "overwhelming" feedback defending the works' right to be nominated in a popular award. German-based convention, Eurofurence, which previously banned Softpaw, considered withdrawing from the Awards.

Concern was also raised over the domination of Best Short Fiction by Kyell Gold (who won four nomination slots — a feat previously achieved by E.O. Costello in 2005 ), and of literary nominations generally by Sofawolf Press.

Nominations
Winning nominations are highlighted in bold.

Best Comic Strip

 * Faux Pas, by Robert and Margaret Carspecken
 * Freefall, by Mark Stanley
 * Fur-Piled, by Leo Magna (aka. A. Husky)
 * Housepets!, by Rick Griffin
 * Lackadaisy, by Tracy J. Butler

Best Published Illustration

 * Suhl, cover of Eurofurence 14 program book, by Blotch
 * Slumber Party, cover of ANTHRO #16 (March-April), by Heather Bruton
 * Centerfold of Eurofurence 14 program book, by Dark Natasha
 * Cover for "More Terrible Than Chains", by Kacey Miyagami
 * Cover for "Waterways", by John Nunnemacher

Best Graphic Story (formerly Comic Book)

 * Finding Avalon, by Jery Softpaw, Kiffin Softpaw, Zorro Re, Shiuk, A Bee and Kitty Maverick
 * Gargoyles, by Greg Weisman, Gordon Purcell, Dustin Evans, and Greg Guler
 * Heathen City, by Alex Vance, Ayato, Distasty, Krahnos, Charha and Fel
 * i.s.o., by Vince Suzukawa
 * The Sandman: The Dream Hunters, by Neil Gaiman and Yoshitaka Amano

Best Other Literary Work

 * Alone in the Dark, edited by Will Sanborn
 * ANTHROlogy Two, edited by Quentin Long
 * Behind the Sofa, interview conducted by Phil Geusz, ANTHRO #18
 * Dog's Days of Summer, by Blotch
 * Sabrina Online: The Story, by Chris Yost

Best Magazine

 * ANTHRO (#15, January-February to #20, November-December)
 * Heat (#5, June)
 * New Fables (Summer 2008)
 * Softpaw Magazine (#3 &amp; #4)
 * Tales of the Tai-Pan Universe (#44, January to #45, September)

Best Motion Picture

 * Bolt, by Walt Disney Animated Studios
 * Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, by Walt Disney Pictures
 * Kung Fu Panda, by DreamWorks Animation
 * Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa, by DreamWorks Animation
 * Wall-E, by Pixar

Best Dramatic Short Work or Series

 * Big Buck Bunny, by the Project Peach team
 * Nine Lives and Counting, by Publicis Mojo
 * Presto, by Pixar
 * There She Is, by SamBakZa
 * Wallace & Gromit: A Matter of Loaf and Death, by Aardman Animations

Best Short Fiction (less than 40,000 words)

 * Earth Rise, by Ivor W. Hartmann
 * Candy and Music (in Heat #5), by K. M. Hirosaki
 * In Between, by Kyell Gold
 * It's a Beautiful World, by Kyell Gold
 * Secrets, by Kyell Gold
 * Third Date, by Kyell Gold

Best Novel (40,000+ words)

 * Iron Kissed, by Patricia Briggs
 * Ratha's Courage, by Claire Bell
 * Stick and Bones, by Phil Geusz
 * Thousand Leaves, by Kevin Frane
 * Waterways, by Kyell Gold

Best Game

 * Kung Fu Panda: The Video Game, by Luxoflux
 * Mouse Guard RPG, by Luke Crane & David Petersen
 * Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood, by BioWare
 * Sonic Unleashed, by Sonic Team
 * Spore, by Maxis