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anthologies

Review: 'Dissident Signals' edited by NightEyes DaySpring and Slip-Wolf

Your rating: None Average: 2.5 (6 votes)

Dissident Signals cover Dissident Signals is a compilation of post-apocalyptic furry fiction published by FurPlanet and edited by NightEyes DaySpring and Slip-Wolf. The individual stories are (very) loosely linked by short paragraphs, written by Slip-Wolf, that relate all the stories as broadcasts intended for any survivors of the ruined world to use to understand what went wrong and how to rebuild. It's an idea which would've been more effective had all the stories been set in the same universe but which does serve as a nice bookending device.

There is a lot of variety in the stories themselves: while most go with a science fiction premise, others include aspects of magic or worlds that barely differ from our own. There are stories where humans and furries coexist (to a certain extent), worlds which are completely furred, and even one story where all the characters are human and the furry aspect comes in a very unique way. Despite all the variety in settings, ideas and originality, nearly all of them are excellently written, though most are quite bleak.

There are a few stories which really stood out to me and which I would like to highlight for various reasons. I will present them in the order in which they appear in the compilation.

2020 Leo Awards winners announced

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Your rating: None Average: 4 (1 vote)

The 2020 Leo Awards winners have been announced by Furry Book Review! (Their URL recently changed from furrybookreview.wixsite.com/blog to leoliteraryawards.wixsite.com/blog . This link, and many of the ones below, contain mature content.)

These literary awards are determined by a group of judges who can vote for multiple titles in each category, so it's possible for several works in each category to win.

The winner(s) and nominees are...

2020 Cóyotl Awards winners announced

Your rating: None Average: 2.7 (6 votes)

The Coyotl Awards logo.The Cóyotl Awards are awarded annually by the Furry Writers' Guild to recognize excellence in anthropomorphic literature. This year there's a new award category! "Other Work", for things that exemplify the best in furry writing in a way that doesn't fit into the other categories.

The winners and nominees for 2020, who were announced on May 8 on Twitch, are...

Down Down, Down in the Water

Bound Tales is an imprint of the ever-reliable Thurston Howl Publications. One of their recurring titles is the anthology called SPECIES… and the latest release is about none “otter” than everyone’s favorite water-weasels. “SPECIES: Otters showcases drama, action, and adventure. Otters construct planet-circling water slides, uncover covert knowledge sunk to the bottom of a river, and confront what it means to be an otter. With stories by Frances Pauli, Mary E. Lowd, and Madison Keller, this anthology invites you to dive into masterfully crafted anthropomorphic fiction!” Edited by Significant Otter — of course. You can find out more over at the Storenvy page.


image c. 2021 Thurston Howl Publications

Comic review: "Can I Pet Your Werewolf?"

Your rating: None Average: 3.4 (13 votes)

Can I Pet Your Werewolf? is a 160-page comics anthology that came out in 2017, after a successful kickstarter by Kel McDonald. Recently there was a second kickstarter to make a new print run, so I got in on the PDF version, and my hardcopy should be shipping pretty soon.

The project is described as "A light-hearted anthology featuring tales of friendship, family, and romance shared between those who get hairy under a full moon. Just because they have sharp teeth and claws doesn't mean they have to be a monster out for blood."

There are 13 stories, black and white, from mostly women cartoonists of many backgrounds and art styles. They're short popcorn tales, ranging from 8 to 19 pages in length. Not a lot of time for deep world-building, but in each one you're seeing a personal little snippet of a larger setting.

2018 Cóyotl Awards winners announced

Your rating: None Average: 3.8 (16 votes)

The Coyotl Awards logo.The Cóyotl Awards are awarded annually by the Furry Writers' Guild to recognize excellence in anthropomorphic literature. The winners and nominees for 2018, who were announced on May 24 at Furlandia 2019 in Portland, Oregon, are...

2018 Leo Awards winners announced

Your rating: None Average: 3.8 (19 votes)

The 2018 Leo Awards winners were recently announced by Furry Book Review!

These literary awards are determined by a group of judges, who can vote for multiple titles in each category, so it's possible for several works in each category to make the final cut.

The winner(s) and nominees are...

2017 Leo Awards winners announced

Your rating: None Average: 4.7 (11 votes)

Presenting the Leo Awards! Established in 2017 to highlight exceptional works of literature in furry fandom, it joins our other two awards, the Cóyotls and the Ursa Majors.

The Ursa Major Awards, established in 2001, are a recognition of furry media across several categories, only some of which are literary. Anyone in the fandom can nominate and vote. The Cóyotl awards, formed in 2012, are specifically literary, and are selected by members of the Furry Writers' Guild – although winners don't have to be in that group.

The Leo Awards have a different arrangement. It was founded by Furry Book Review, a multi-author blog started by Thurston Howl of Thurston Howl Publications (which is separate from the Awards). Nominations can come from the blog's reviewers, or from published authors with enough credibility. Reviewers aren't required to be writers themselves, so the prolific reader can have a say in nominating the stories they like the best.

"CLAW, Volume 1", a new anthology series, edited by K.C. Alpinus

Your rating: None Average: 4.7 (9 votes)

For the first time in eleven years, Bad Dog Books has added a new anthology title to its popular FANG and ROAR book series. FANG was started in 2005 for adult M/M homosexual erotic short stories, and ROAR appeared two years later as its non-erotic counterpart. Now we're getting CLAW, for adult F/F lesbian erotic short stories. Along with many other titles, CLAW will be released at the FurPlanet table at Anthrocon 2018.

A red panda DJ rocks a dance crowd.

"Exploring New Places", a new anthology from Fred Patten

Your rating: None Average: 4 (12 votes)

A feline hiker explores a rocky landscape similar to the Grand Canyon.Exploring New Places, a new anthology edited by Fred Patten, is launching at Anthrocon 2018 this coming week (July 5-8), and can be pre-ordered from FurPlanet! They should be at tables A13-A15 at Anthrocon.

This is an all-original collection of 19 short stories and novelettes of anthropomorphic animals venturing into unfamiliar places - in their own city, on their own world, in space, or in a different dimension entirely.

Whether by the power of music to send you right out of this world; or a rabbit spaceship captain who's searching for the creators of her species; a galactic police agent called to a new planet to solve murders; aliens entering a human university; a gorilla student wandering off in a museum; or two-tailed squirrels confronting interstellar explorers - these are stories for your imagination and entertainment, designed to appeal to fans of both science-fiction and fantasy.

2017 Cóyotl Awards winners announced

Your rating: None Average: 4.4 (9 votes)

The Coyotl Awards logo.The Cóyotl Awards are awarded annually by the Furry Writers' Guild to recognize excellence in anthropomorphic literature. The winners and nominees for 2017, who were announced on May 25 at Furlandia 2018 in Portland, Oregon, are...

"What the Fox?!", a new anthology from Fred Patten

Your rating: None Average: 4 (11 votes)

The front cover of the general edition, showing a group of furries around a poker table.What the Fox?!, my newest anthology, will be published soon by Thurston Howl Publications. It can be pre-ordered, and after March 3, 2018 it should be available for purchasing directly from their online catalogue.

Bringing together twenty-one original short stories and two reprints, this 291-page collection is about anthropomorphic animals in funny situations. It's designed to appeal to both science-fiction and fantasy fans, as well as fans of humor in fantasy.

Everything from a llama barbershop quartet to a lupine generation gap, a rabbit king battling a dinosaur (or is it a dragon?), a human with a spider fiancée, a dog-hating postal worker turned into a were-chihuahua, inept wolf Vikings, to a dog movie screenwriter – and much more! All these stories are for your imagination and enjoyment. Plus you get each author's favorite animal joke, and a recommended-reading list.

Leo Awards, furry fandom's third annual literary awards, announced

Your rating: None Average: 3.3 (32 votes)

On December 11, 2017, Thurston Howl Publications announced the launching of the new annual Leo Awards, to be administered by THP’s Furry Book Review program. They will be furry fandom’s third annual literary award, after the Anthropomorphic Literature and Arts Association’s Ursa Major Awards, presented for works since 2001, and the Furry Writers’ Guild’s Cóyotl Awards, presented for works since 2011.

The Leo Awards are still in the formation stage, but they will first be presented during 2018 for works published during the calendar year 2017. Nominations will be accepted by the Furry Book Review Program through March 1, 2018. The date of the announcement of the winners has not yet been set.

The Leo Awards will be given in the six categories of Novels, Novellas, Anthologies, Nonfiction, Short Stories, and Poems. Nominators must be authors of furry books, two short stories, or three poems, or the editor of an anthology of furry stories, during the past five years. (Or be one of the Furry Book Review’s reviewers. See the Leo Awards nomination list for the full rules.)

Unlike the two prior awards, the winners will be chosen by a FBR panel of five to ten author judges. The winners must be approved by 2/3 of the judges. The nominees will be considered for literary merit. Those that are approved of having such merit will be declared Leo Award winners. Thus it is possible to have multiple award winners in each category. The goal of the Leo Awards is to publicly recommend all of the furry works worth reading in each category every year, not just the single best.

"Dogs of War II: Aftermath" anthology to be released at Midwest FurFest 2017

Your rating: None Average: 3.9 (12 votes)

Cover art by Teagan Gavet.Dogs of War II: Aftermath, edited by Fred Patten, is launching at Midwest FurFest 2017 in Rosemont (Chicago), Illinois over the November 30-December 3 four-day weekend. You can pre-order it from FurPlanet, and after the con you can find it for sale through their online catalogue.

Dogs of War II: Aftermath is an all-original anthology of 20 short stories and novelettes of anthropomorphic animals (not just dogs) in military scenarios, from battle action to boot camps, from the past to the future, on land, at sea, and in space. This is designed to appeal to both s-f & fantasy fans, and fans of military s-f.

From bioengineered military dogs with Artificial Intelligence to a fawn trying to prove he's a stag, a horse sailor on a warship, a canid/ape space war, a self-aware robot bird, a fox soldier passed over for a deserved promotion, reindeer Vikings, animal Sea Bees constructing an island airstrip, and more; these are stories for your imagination and enjoyment.

Review: Seven Deadly Sins: Furry Confessions, edited by Thurston Howl

Your rating: None Average: 3.2 (10 votes)

Seven Sins.jpgDISCLAIMER: I have a story in here. Way deep down in the sloth section.

This a collection of dark and often adult tales (or tails, if you pre-fur) that explore the Seven Deadly Sins of Christian fame: pride, greed, lust, envy, gluttony, wrath, and sloth. Trouble makers all, to be sure. It's a rich field of study has reveled countless bumper crops of stories (true and fictional) and offers a handy umbrella to pull together the best of the worst of us storytellers.

Even Dr. Who has a Seven Deadly Sins themed anthology out there.

Still, for all the familiar ground these most famous of sins represent, this was an ambitious collection.

Overall, the anthology itself felt a little rushed. Not the stories themselves, mind you. I don't think there were any clunkers here. There were a few stories, however, that left me wondering what they were saying about their selected sin. Each story feels like it got the right amount of editorial attention.

My quibble is of a Macro sort. Seven Deadly Sins: Furry Confessions called for a sharper editorial eye then I think it got. Too often, very similar themes and acts follow too closely in one story to the next. That's bound to happen in the close quarters of the pages between a book cover.

And, I have to admit, part of my kvetch, might be my fault. I read all the interludes first. They knocked my socks off and I skipped every story to get to the mystery tormenting our hosts. As a result, I'm complaining about the holes in a magic show when I went out of my way to see how the tricks were set up before watching the magicians perform.

So, take my quibble with a few grams of a salt lick. THP is a new publisher and they've made quite a commitment to themed anthologies. I feel they are going to get better with each one. I know I'm looking forward to being there to watch them grow.

Presenting my story thoughts in the order that they appeared, with the interludes excluded and withheld to the end.