Chipotle's stories

Review: 'Already Among Us', edited by Fred Patten (by Watts Martin)
Tue 16 Oct 2012 - 13:34

Already Among Us; An Anthropomorphic AnthologyUnlike many of the other anthologies produced primarily for the furry fandom, Already Among Us draws on works by authors in the larger arena of science fiction, from the 1940s through the 2000s. The only "furry" author represented is Michael Payne--and with a story of his that appeared in Asimov's Science Fiction. While Already Among Us may have a little trouble getting beyond the furry audience, this isn't a problem with the story selection.

Already Among Us: An Anthropomorphic Anthology
Edited by Fred Patten. Cover art by Roz Gibson.
Legion Publishing, June 2012. Hardback $18.99+$5 s&h, trade paperback $9.99+$5 s&h (389 pages); Kindle $8.99.

Compare: dronon's review of Already Among Us.

1 comment(s) – read more

Review: 'The Ursa Major Awards Anthology', edited by Fred Patten (by Watts Martin)
Sat 1 Sep 2012 - 13:09

This anthology is drawn from the first decade of winners – and in some cases, nominees – for the Ursa Major Awards, furry fandom's rough equivalent to science fiction fandom's Hugo Awards.

The Ursas are a popular vote; any fan can nominate a work in one of several categories, as well as vote on the final ballot. The Ursas started in 2001, organized by longtime fan and editor Fred Patten, who's also the editor of this volume (as well as a frequent reviewer on Flayrah).

Many of the stories feature illustrations from their original publication; all are introduced by Patten.

Compare: The Ursa Major Awards Anthology as reviewed by Roz Gibson, and by dronon.

4 comment(s) – read more

A survey of furry story sites
Sun 13 Nov 2011 - 20:06

Way back in May 2006, I wrote a little piece called “The State of the Furry Zine.”
This is a somewhat informal update to that survey.

No matter what kind of work you create, thought needs to go into where you’ll publish it. Writers have more to consider; each site handles text differently. Print publications still carry a different weight for writing, as do e-books; there’s a quantifiable difference between having your story read as a Fur Affinity post versus on a Kindle. But has the web won?

69 comment(s) – read more

International Pixel-Stained Technopeasant Day
Mon 23 Apr 2007 - 10:05

Author Jo Walton has organized "International Pixel-Stained Technopeasant Day," for authors to release previously unavailable stories into the wild for free -- or to promote stories that have already been released. I've released the title story to my Sofawolf collection, "Why Coyotes Howl," as part of the day; there may be other stories of interest to furry fans being released and/or promoted in her list.

Why Coyotes Howl

Flight of the Godkin Griffin, M.C.A. Hogarth's online serial

Sythyry's Journal, Bard Bloom's fictional journal from the World Tree setting

Jo Walton's Master List of Stories

Claw & Quill goes live
Tue 19 Oct 2004 - 08:42

The new anthropomorphic sf/fantasy webzine Claw & Quill (previously reported here on Flayrah) is now online. We've opened with stories by Kris Schnee, Jefferson P. Swycaffer, and Michael H. Payne (author of The Blood Jaguar), poetry by Elizabeth Barrette, and reviews of new novels by Fred Patten. Illustrations are by Kenket, Conrad "Lynx" Wong, Cubist and Kim Liu. Ideally, Claw & Quill will be updated on a biweekly basis starting in November, and we'll continue to need both stories and artists willing to do story illustrations (and contribute frontispiece work, which we'd like to put in rotation).

New webzine to be launched
Wed 18 Aug 2004 - 07:43

A new furry-themed online magazine focusing on fiction will be launching later this year. From the website:

Claw & Quill: Modern Fables aims to be a professionally-presented web magazine of speculative fiction and related articles/commentary. Specifically, C&Q is looking for stories that involve animals in a fantastic--used in the literary sense--manner. This could be stories from an animal point of view like Watership Down, the "animal people" of Cordwainer Smith's stories and Steve Gallacci's comics, or the lyrical magic realism of Ursula K. LeGuin’s "Buffalo Gals, Won't You Come Out Tonight."

The webzine is looking for both authors and artists willing to do story illustrations, as well as artists willing to submit already-finished work as "cover art" on the front page. More information, including submission guidelines, is available at the website, <http://www.clawandquill.net>.