Voting has concluded in what we think may be the first actual vote needed for officer elections. 51 members voted.
The contested officer position was Markets Manager, with Scribbles Cheetah (incumbent) receiving 62.7% of the vote and Chase Anderson receiving 37.3% of the vote. It was actually a much closer race than it sounds, with the percentage going back and forth repeatedly and at one point standing (for a long time) right at 50/50. Congratulations to Scribbles for continuing as the FWG Markets Manager for 2025-26!
The other half of the ballot regarded expanding the guild’s membership requirements to include written work in other formats/media (i.e. not just novels, short stories, and poetry). Members overwhelmingly voted in favor of this, with 92.2% of the votes. We also received 33 thoughtful responses about the change, both positive and negative. In the coming weeks, guild officers will take all comments into account and discuss how best to implement the change to benefit guild members and potential members. I hope to post our conclusions sometime in June so that members can make comments and suggestions before the change is adopted formally.
Thanks to everyone who voted and commented!
It looks like I’ll be staying on as president for the next year, and I’ll do my best. Flash Kitterson has stepped into the vice president role and is doing a fantastic job already! Resolute will also be staying on as public relations officer and is, as always, doing a great job. Remember that the treasurer and Coyotl Awards chair roles are still vacant, so if you’ve been thinking of volunteering, you don’t need to wait for guild elections next April. Just let us know.
In other news–
For the horror fans among us, check out the Kickstarter for a planned horror anthology, The Deer Is Messed Up, which will be paying pro rates. It’s not a furry anthology but Scribbles checked with the editor and they will consider furry/anthro stories. It needs to meet its goal by June 4 for the anthology to happen, so pre-order your copy through Kickstarter and support small publishers!
I’ll be back next week with the monthly newsletter!
Tag: guild news
Guild Officer Elections!
It’s time for FWG members to vote for guild officers! The ballot is live and can be found here:
2025 FWG Elections
You must be a current guild member to vote, so make sure that you provide the correct name and email address so we can match your response against guild membership records. Feel free to email if your contact information has changed and you want to make sure guild records are up-to-date.
In addition to the one contested seat, Markets Manager, the ballot asks for your opinion about broadening the type of works accepted for membership in the guild. There’s also a comment section if you’d like to share your thoughts on this topic.
The ballot will remain open for one week, until May 23, 2025, so don’t put off your decision for too long.
2024 Cóyotl Award Winners Announced!
Voting is closed for the Cóyotl Awards. The counting machine has been cleared of shed fur and we have tabulated the totals. Thanks to the Furry Film Burrow for hosting the announcement of winners this year–a venue that we may use for future awards announcements too!
The winners of the 2024 Cóyotl Awards are:
Winner for Best Novel
Far Flung – Utunu
Winner for Best Novella
You Look Lost, Pup – Rob MacWolf
Winner for Best Short Story
“Houses of Stone” – Utunu (in The Heavens Within Our Grasp)
Winner for Best Anthology
The Heavens Within Our Grasp – Furry Historical Fiction Society
Winner for Best Other Work
Voice of Dog – Rob MacWolf
Congratulations to the winners! A big thanks to everyone who worked to bring their work to publication this year. We as a fandom are so lucky to have writers, editors, publishers, and readers who are so generous with their time and talent. Truly, we couldn’t do this without you.
Sincerely,
- The staff of the Furry Writers Guild
Note: It came to our attention after voting started that Kyell Gold’s novel Squeak Thief is over 70,000 words. While this word count qualifies it as a novel by the Cóyotl Awards, we chose not to change it while the process was ongoing. Our main concern was to not invalidate the votes already cast. Based on the votes, the change in category would not have changed the winner in either category. While this might seem like a minor issue, we felt that being transparent in this process was the right way to go. Thank you to everyone who nominated and voted.
FWG Monthly Newsletter May 2025
May has arrived after a very busy April! The Cóyotl Awards have concluded, and we’re working on an announcement venue to reveal the winners within a week or so.
The next big thing is guild officer elections. We have several guild members running for office this year, including one contested seat! That means we’ll have a guild-wide vote in mid-May. Until May 14, candidates will answer questions on the guild’s Discord server, in the “Guild Officer Elections” channel. If you have a question but want to remain anonymous, you can email it to furwritersguild [at] gmail.com and I will post it for you. On May 16, voting will start via online ballot, which I’ll announce here closer to the time. We will most likely make one of our rare guild-wide emails to alert members when voting is live, so this is a very good time to update your email address if you need to.
Convention season is well underway as spring and summer weather brings out furries like weird flowers in the northern hemisphere, and cooling weather in the southern hemisphere allows for suiting without too much risk of heat stroke. I hope you get a chance to attend a convention or furmeet in your area! Even if you can’t, hopefully you’ll get some time off work or school so you can do some writing.
Here are the current open markets for your short stories:
The Second Hayven Celestia Anthology – Deadline July 15, 2025
Indecent Exposure – Deadline When Full
This Is Halloween – Deadline When Full
Children Of The Night – Deadline When Full
Furry/Lovecraftian/Erotic/University Themed Anthology – Deadline When Full
Please also check out the latest book releases from our members:
Space Dragons: Luxorian’s Crew, by Veo Corva. Released November 12th 2024.
Catfish and Other Stories, by K.C. Shaw. Released November 30th 2024.
Wolf Tech 3: The Alphas, by Adam Webster. Released December 10th 2024.
Tales of Scales, by Michael Miele, Released April 2, 2025.
Meeting Dominique, by Royce Day, Released May 1, 2025.
Happy writing!
Kate Shaw
Voting for the 2024 Cóyotl Awards
At last, voting begins! We had a lot of nominations this year and as a result, our ballot is a bit larger than usual to make room for those 2024 works with the most nominations.
Guild members can vote using this form:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLScRdFoobt62L0gSbJBECYDtIcakUTF9lT1qH1_98mBcuf4nmA/viewform?usp=header
Please remember to include the name and email address that we have on file for you in the guild records! Only guild members may vote.
Voting will continue through April 22, 2025. We’ll announce the winners sometime in early May, details to be announced.
FWG Monthly Newsletter April 2025
Welcome to April! I’m a bit late, but that’s because I’m ridiculously busy and forgot I needed to post.
The most important news right now is a reminder for guild members to nominate their favorite works of 2024 for the Cóyotl Awards! You only have five more days, until April 7, 2025. Feel free to refer to the 2024 Cóyotl Awards reading list to help jog your memory about your favorite reads from last year. It’s a hard decision for sure, since so many amazing books, stories, and other works were published in 2024!
Please use this form to nominate a work published in 2024:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeCX_ImDPbzBmdieS5NuZnaaQ9TkBEdMKeuDVFDwQCaUmaY7g/viewform?usp=sf_link
Voting for the Cóyotl Awards will start on April 8 and continue through April 22.
Our other big news this month is guild officer elections. We’re very short-handed at the moment, so if you’ve ever considered running for an officer position, this is the time. Ordinarily I would direct you to the forums to post if you want to stand for a position, but at the moment the forums are down. Since they don’t see much use these days, we are considering closing the forums instead of trying to bring them back online. This might be something we’ll bring to a vote during elections, but if you have an opinion about the forums one way or another, please weigh in–in the comments here, or on the Discord or Telegram chats.
In any case, if you’d like to stand for an officer position, you can declare your intentions and give a little stump speech on the Discord server. There should be a channel up by tomorrow dedicated to guild elections. If more than one person stands for the same position, we’ll have a guild-wide vote.
This is your guilt trip friendly reminder that the Furry Writers’ Guild can only continue as an institution with the help of its members. We especially need someone with a vision and ideas for the guild’s future, and that someone will not be me. I will not be running for guild president, since I don’t feel I’m the right person for the job. But maybe you are!
Here are the current open markets for your short stories:
The Second Hayven Celestia Anthology – Deadline July 15, 2025
Indecent Exposure – Deadline When Full
This Is Halloween – Deadline When Full
Children Of The Night – Deadline When Full
Furry/Lovecraftian/Erotic/University Themed Anthology – Deadline When Full
Please also check out the latest book releases from our members:
Space Dragons: Luxorian’s Crew, by Veo Corva. Released November 12th 2024.
Catfish and Other Stories, by K.C. Shaw. Released November 30th 2024.
Wolf Tech 3: The Alphas, by Adam Webster. Released December 10th 2024.
Happy writing!
Kate Shaw
FWG Monthly Newsletter March 2025
Welcome to March! That’s all I have to say about that.
The Cóyotl Awards reading list is underway, with a form now attached so authors and readers can suggest qualifying works. Because of the difficulties we’ve had getting the page put together (many thanks to Resolute for his hard work!), nominations for the Cóyotls won’t start until March 15. I’ll post when the nomination form is open. Until then, visit the 2024 Cóyotl Awards Reading List page to find works you might have missed reading last year.
If you’re feeling frustrated at the delays we’ve had getting the Cóyotl Awards underway, perhaps you would like to volunteer to be next year’s Cóyotl Awards Chair! Guild officer elections start next month and we really need some fresh meat helpful volunteers.
Here are the current open markets for your short stories:
Plott Hound Magazine – Deadline March 15, 2025
Spirit of the Wolf – Deadline March 31st 2025
The Second Hayven Celestia Anthology – Deadline July 15, 2025
Indecent Exposure – Deadline When Full
This Is Halloween – Deadline When Full
Children Of The Night – Deadline When Full
Furry/Lovecraftian/Erotic/University Themed Anthology – Deadline When Full
Please also check out the latest book releases from our members:
Legend of Ahya: Broken Empires, by Matthew Colvath. Released October 2nd 2024.
Space Dragons: Luxorian’s Crew, by Veo Corva. Released November 12th 2024.
Catfish and Other Stories, by K.C. Shaw. Released November 30th 2024.
Wolf Tech 3: The Alphas, by Adam Webster. Released December 10th 2024.
Happy writing!
Kate Shaw
FWG Monthly Newsletter December 2024
Well, here we are at the closing of another year. I hardly know what to say after the events of November. We will get through the next few years just as we’ve weathered other storms, and we will do so with heads high, hearts open, and teeth bared if necessary.
One exciting thing is the imminent publication of the guild’s latest anthology, Tales from the Guild: Blood and Water, published through Fenris. The original plan was for a release at Midwest FurFest, but the publishing process is a slow one with lots of moving parts. Currently the cover art is being finished, so it’s close, but the publication date has had to be moved back a little.
What are your writing goals for 2025? If you’re not feeling great about the future, writing can be an escape–a way to live temporarily in a world where you control every detail. It’s also a beacon to declare that art (and the artist’s soul) will always triumph.
Along with the new year comes awards season, so if there are recently-published books on your to-read pile, this is a good time to bump them to the top. If you have recently-published works, this is also a good time to send in updates for your guild member profile and the suggested reading lists. If you have a book coming out soon, let us know so we can list it in future posts. Make it easy for potential readers to find what you’ve written!
Here are the current open markets for your short stories:
Spirit of the Wolf – Deadline March 31st 2025
The Second Hayven Celestia Anthology – Deadline July 15, 2025
Indecent Exposure – Deadline When Full
This Is Halloween – Deadline When Full
Children Of The Night – Deadline When Full
Furry/Lovecraftian/Erotic/University Themed Anthology – Deadline When Full
Please also check out the latest book releases from our members:
Shadow Sun, by Jess E. Owen. Released August 30th, 2024.
Legend of Ahya: Broken Empires, by Matthew Colvath. Released October 2nd 2024.
Space Dragons: Luxorian’s Crew, by Veo Corva. Released November 12th 2024.
Catfish and Other Stories, by K.C. Shaw. Released November 30th 2024.
Wolf Tech 3: The Alphas, by Adam Webster. Release date December 10th 2024.
Happy writing!
Kate Shaw
FWG Monthly Newsletter November 2024
Furry Book Month has drawn to a close for another year. Hopefully everyone who wanted a copy of the 2024 book bundle had a chance to download it.
For those of us who participated in the first Furry Novel Jam, congratulations! Even if you only wrote a handful of words in October, those were words you hadn’t written before. I didn’t finish my novella, but I wrote over 15,000 words total and feel really good about my progress. The Furry Novel Jam doesn’t have to end if you don’t want it to end!
Awards season is coming up fast, so if there are recently-published books on your to-read pile, this is a good time to bump them to the top. If you have recently-published works, this is also a good time to send in updates for your guild member profile and the suggested reading lists. If you have a book coming out soon, let us know so we can list it in future posts. Make it easy for potential readers to find what you’ve written!
Here are the current open markets for your short stories:
Paw Anthology: Volume 2 – Deadline November 21st 2024
Spirit of the Wolf – Deadline March 31st 2025
The Second Hayven Celestia Anthology – Deadline July 15, 2025
Indecent Exposure – Deadline When Full
This Is Halloween – Deadline When Full
Children Of The Night – Deadline When Full
Furry/Lovecraftian/Erotic/University Themed Anthology – Deadline When Full
Please also check out the latest releases from our members:
Shadow Sun, by Jess E. Owen. Released August 30th
Legend of Ahya: Broken Empires, by Matthew Colvath. Released October 2nd 2024.
Happy writing!
Kate Shaw
FWG Monthly Newsletter: Furry Book Month 2021
Hello everyone and welcome to Furry Book Month – the time of year when we celebrate the skill and achievements within the furry writing community. Over the course of the next month, we have Q&As with a number of our community, from authors, publishers, and reviewers. We hope you will enjoy the insights these give into the furry writing process, and that you will support our writers and publishers.
During the month, we will also be using our social media channels to draw attention to any new releases, pre-orders, or sales that often occur in October. Follow us on Twitter if you are not already doing so and get all the latest news from the writing community.
Of course, the biggest part of Furry Book Month will be the return of Oxfurred Comma. We’ve updated the website with all the information about this year’s edition. Panels are still open for submissions, with a schedule going up next week. We hope to bring you an entertaining and informative event, with content coming from a variety of different people.
There are still a few short story markets to keep an eye on, with a few seasonal anthologies nearing the close of submissions dates.
- Oxfurred Comma Flash Fiction Contest – Deadline October 14th
- Pirating Pups – Deadline November 30th
- FURWARD SLASH: A Furry Adult Techno-Horror Anthology – Deadline November 30th
- Felis Futura – Deadline December 31st
- Isekai Me! – Deadline When Full
- Children Of The Night – Deadline When Full
- #ohmurr! – Deadline: Ongoing
- Zooscape – Reoccurring submission period.
A few of our members also have books newly released, or soon to be released. These are the ones we’ve noticed recently. (And of course, if you think you should be on this list, let us know!)
Furry Fiction Is Everywhere, by Mary E. Lowd and Ian Madison Keller. Released September 10th 2021.
Also available in the NaNoWriMo Tools Storybundle.
A Swordmaster’s Tail, edited by Tarl Hoch. Released October 1st 2021.
A Wildness of the Heart: Limerent Object and Other Stories, by Madison Scott-Clary. Available for pre-order. Released November 1st 2021.
Resistance, by J.F.R. Coates. Available for pre-order. Released November 5th 2021.
Heretic, by J.F.R. Coates. Available for pre-order. Released November 5th 2021.
C.A.T.S.: Cycling Across Time And Space: 11 Feminist Science Fiction and Fantasy Stories about Bicycling and Cats – an anthology featuring guild member Alice Dryden. Available for pre-order. Released February 8th 2022.
That may be all for the newsletter, but there is plenty more to come over the next month! Come back to the website every day for Q&As from our talented authors, check out our social media feed, and of course, pop in to our Twitch channel on the 16th and 17th for Oxfurred Comma.
It’s going to be a great month. We hope you enjoy it all.
Stay safe. Keep writing.
J.F.R. Coates
Furry Writers’ Guild 