Voting opened March 1 for the 2023 Ursa Major Awards - but the event intended to identify and celebrate the best works featuring non-human beings given human attributes has been marred by drama, well before the close of voting on its popularly-selected nominees on March 24.

Update (Apr 9): The winners have been announced.

Initially, there were fifteen award categories, but the Music category was removed five days after nominees were announced:

The organization posted an additional explanation on its front page:

It's important to remember that the Ursa Major Awards (like so many other awards) are designed to celebrate and recognize great works, not to judge the character or personality of creators. Unfortunately, the personal squabbling, attacks, and counter-attacks have reached a fever pitch in the Best Music Category this year. The staff of the ALAA have made the unfortunate observation that the category has been compromised, and so we have made the difficult decision to cancel the Best Music category for works from last year (2023). We fully intend to attempt the award in that category again next year (for works from 2024), hopefully with some better controls in place. We apologize to all the music creators out there, and we thank all of our nominators and voters for their patience.

Dennis Avner, better known under his Native American name Stalking Cat, died November 5. He was 54.

OggyWolf and BlueCanary confirmed Stalking Cat's death with local officials. His body is being held in Tonopah morgue for his brother [tip: STrRedWolf]. No cause of death was stated, but some claim suicide.

A former U.S. Navy sonar technician, and programmer, Stalking Cat was famous for having had extensive cosmetic surgery to adopt the likeness of his totem animal, the tiger, in accordance with Huron traditions. His body modifications included a split lip, labret-based whisker-holding implants, dental surgery, and silicone injections. He was also extensively tattooed.

Stalking Cat was a guest of honor at Rainfurrest 2007, and appeared at CritterConDiego 3 in 2002.

More coverage: BME ModBlog (inc. interview) - East County Magazine [tip: Higgs Raccoon]

Those attending Anthrocon this year that have an interest in non-fiction works about our little fandom will not want to miss the session I am hosting on Sunday, July 2nd to preview my book looking at the history of furries, Furry Nation. The book gives this "greymuzzle" freelance writer's perspective, having been in the fandom since 1988; a journey which all began with a surprise invitation in the mail to something called a 'furry party' being held at a Philadelphia Sci-Fi convention.

Furry Nation tells the story of the fandom’s birth and growth, from the earliest “funny animal” comic book fans and convention organizers to the worldwide fandom it is today. Artists, fursuit builders, and fans of all stripes are profiled, and of course our rocky relationship with the Hollywood animation community is also examined. In the book’s final chapter a genetic scientist discusses the possibility that genetic therapy will someday transform humans into actual anthropomorphic animals. Furry has indeed transformed many lives, including my own in ways I never expected— personal experiences that became a part of Furry Nation.

The results of the 2017 Ursa Major Awards were presented at an awards ceremony at FurDU 2018 in Surfer’s Paradise, Queensland on Saturday May 5 at 6 PM AEST [UTC+10].

Winners were selected by the public from nominations made earlier in the year. Each voter could choose three items in each category, providing three, two and one votes.

The winners and runners-up (in descending preference) are…