Seattle area furry convention Rainfurrest has issued a call for entries for this year's charity anthology. [tip: earthfurst]

The group is looking for G–PG short stories of 5,000–8,000 words under the theme "Steam Punk, Weird Science/mad science". Draft submissions are due by February 2.

Proceeds are to go to the upcoming convention's charity. Contributing authors will receive a copy of the book.

2011's entries were collected in Stories of Camp Rainfurrest, with stories by Gene Armstrong, Sorin, Garret Biggerstaff, Daniel and Mary E. Lowd, Ryan Hickey, Kandrel, May Kay Biggerstaff, James Stringer and Trey Jackson, illustrations by Balto and Sarah Alderate, and a cover by WerePuppy.

On the last day of 2011, the latest issue of ANTHRO — #32 — is uploaded and ready for your browsing pleasure! In honor of the season, this issue's cover image is a tastefully-colorized version of Lucius Appaloosius' classic ANTHRO CLAUS. And what (you may well ask) can be found behind that jolly old reindeer's portrait? Find out 'below the fold'!

Bad Dog Books has become an imprint of FurPlanet, as announced yesterday by BDB founder Alex Vance. [Ryffnah]

BDB had already contracted printing to FurPlanet, and Alex expressed hope that the move would facilitate the distribution of BDB works as e-books:

This is something I’m personally very excited about, as it’ll make our portfolio of furry fiction more convenient and accessible to modern readers.

The change is not expected to impact the release of BDB's fiction anthologies FANG and ROAR #4, but does reduce the diversity of furry publishing venues.

FurPlanet is celebrating the deal with a $5 sale on existing BDB titles, which appears to stack with an existing 10% off coupon.

Looking to stock up on presents for the holidays? Several furry retailers are participating in 'Cyber Monday', including Rabbit Valley (15% off $100 or more, in-stock only, to Dec. 1, code 'Cyber2011'), FurPlanet (15% off everything, 'FOXES') and FetishZone (NSFW; up to 50% off).

Bad Dragon had (NSFW) 40% off black, medium-firm toys for Black Friday, but sold out; a 10% global discount remains in effect for the next ten hours. [scottbob3/reddit]

Summercat will be releasing the first issue of his new furry magazine, Anthroview, at Antheria at the end of this month. I got to speak to him about the magazine and touch on some of the other aspects of the furry fandom in which he is involved.

Rakuen Growlithe: You're planning to release a new magazine for the furry fandom called Anthroview. When did you first get the idea for Anthroview?

Summercat: About three or four years ago, although it's gone through a lot of changes since then.

RG: What sort of changes are we talking about and why did it take three or four years to get to this point?

A Dragon's Poison, a erotic work by Roland Giscard sold until recently on Lulu.com, has been withdrawn by the on-demand publisher due to 'obscenity'.

The author said that 30 digital downloads of the 164-page novel were sold.

According to Kamicheetah, several other artists have similar material on Lulu.

Furry publishing house Sofawolf Press got a shout-out today from Penny Arcade's Tycho, who was across the aisle from their booth at last weekend's Comic-Con:

I'm not familiar enough with Gay fiction or Furry fiction to know that they are often a package deal, and I told the guys at Sofawolf Press that I would be back to buy something, and never got the opportunity. I don't like doing that, and I feel bad.

Tycho outlined Volle (the work of award-winning author Kyell Gold) as "gay, bipedal foxes having sex in a castle," calling his inability to envision this "a failure of my imagination."

Dream Field Comics, creators of Softpaw Magazine, spin-off Finding Avalon, and Ulster, have closed. The publisher was notorious for their popular pornographic magazines depicting young furry characters.

Softpaw's US$20-$25 issues consisted of 64-96 full-colour glossy pages containing a mixture of comics, pin-ups and stories.

Their work was barred from sale at Eurofurence and Further Confusion, but subsequently nominated for the 2008 Ursa Majors – only to be banned the next year.

At press time, most Dream Field titles were in stock at Rabbit Valley.

Update (19 Jun): Dream Field co-founder Jery Softpaw provided an explanation for closing:

Ekaterina Sedia, editor of werewolf anthology Running with the Pack, is putting together a sequel under the title Bewere the Night. [tip: Astolpho]

Stories should be of a "general urban fantasy vein" and must deal with were-creatures. Originals (5 cent/word) and reprints (1 cent) of 1,000 to 7,500 words are acceptable. Submissions must be in by December 2010 for a May 2011 release.

Sythyry's Journal, originally posted on LiveJournal from 2002-2008, has been published as a 626-page book.

The journal ostensibly belongs to a young dragon-like Zi-Ri sorcerer, and documents zir adventures on the World Tree.

The work was written by World Tree RPG designer Bard Bloom, and edited by co-author & art director Vicki Borah Bloom.

Cover art is by Tod Willis, creator of Dracula and Ekwara and sketch artist for Crimson Flag.

See also: Flayrah's 2001 interview with World Tree's creators

Bard is currently working on Sythyry's Vacation, set 124 years later.

Long-running Canadian nature/pet magazine The Beaver this week announced its imminent re-branding as North American Pussy. The change comes after a shift towards smaller, more manageable companions.

Many Canadian girls used to keep beavers in the 70s and 80s, but with today's busy lifestyles, they are now far more likely to have a fluffy tail on their lap than a wet beaver – if there's anything there at all.

Anthro Press, the publishing arm of noted furzine Anthro, has just released ANTHROlogy THREE, a 724-page book which contains virtually everything which appeared in ANTHRO issues 13-18. It is available from Anthro Press for US$23.49.

The front cover of 'Newshounds II - Book One: MegaNewsWest', as taken from this strip.

Two furry webcomics have recently published new "Dead tree" compilations of their strips.

Thomas K. Dye has published the first book of strips from Newshounds II entitled "MegaNewsWest" and contains strips dating since when the original series ended with the staff of KPET News having moved to a now larger news company. The book is published by Lulu and costs £10.64, or you can download the book for £5.70.

The other book is the second part of Bill Holbrook's Kevin & Kell treasury, featuring several of his older strips. Following on from his first part of the treasury, "Historic Kevin and Kell", the new book, "The Great Bird Conspiracy" includes strips from previous editions as well as containing a series of never-before-seen extras. Amongst the extras include a teleplay for a proposed 1997 Kevin & Kell television show. The book is published by Moonbase Press and is available from The Bill Holbrook Store at a price of $24.95 (about £16.50).

Holbrook is also preparing to publish his 14th annual collection of strips for July, entitled "Rules of Engagement".

The Dewclaw family from Kevin and Kell, drawn by Bill Holbrook

Long-running furry webcomic Kevin and Kell has survived a cull of comic strips from The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

A few days ago, the newspaper decided to get rid of 11 of its 36 comic strips. An online poll was held to decide which of the comics should stay and which should go. In the end, Kevin and Kell received by the far the most votes and stays.

On the Kevin and Kell homepage, creator Bill Holbrook said: "Words cannot express my gratitude for your votes in the paper’s poll. The strip has always relied on its readers to continue, never more so than in this case. This victory is entirely your own."

Holbrook added: "In the end this was an example of the power of the online world’s ability for people to come together and create a community. Again, I thank each and every one of you out there."

http://www.lulu.com/content/1860705 -- ANTHROlogy TWO!

Quentin Long here with the latest news about his furzine, ANTHRO: The 7th thru 12th issues -- ANTHRO's second year of existence -- is now available in paperback form. In other words, ANTHROlogy TWO is on sale! Buy this book, and more than 630 pages of furry ANTHRO goodness can be yours to read at any time of day or night, regardless of the state of your internet connection. And what's actually in those 630-odd pages? Glad you asked!