The Moreau Awards

The Moreau Awards for Excellence in Anthropomorphics, or just The Moreau Awards, was to be the furry fandom's version of the science fiction fandom's Hugo Awards.

Overview

Suggested after the failure of the Golden Sydney Award (but before the advent of the Ursa Major Awards), the name derives from the title character in English writer H.G. Wells's novel, The Island of Dr. Moreau.

The awards would have been given to members of the furry community who contributed positively to the fandom in various ways, and the nominations could be submitted via mail, email, or with nomination forms distributed at a handful of conventions.

The only held instance occurred at the first instance of the furry convention Albany Anthrocon, held 3-6 July 1997, at the Omni Albany Hotel in Albany, New York, USA.

Categories

The ballots were distributed to attendees to vote on the following categories:

• Best Furry Artist - For 2D and sculpture artists in the fandom, excluding comic artists.
• Best Furry Comic Artist - For artists who create furry-related comic books and/or cartoons.
• Best Furry Alternative Artist - For creators of anthropomorphic-themed art that did not fall under any other category. Fursuits, dance, television and/or radio broadcasts, puppetry, and filmmaking were included in this category.
• Best Furry Writer - For writers of works at any length, short stories, comics, and novels.
• Best Furry Publisher - For publishers of magazines or comics where at least 50% of the content featured anthropomorphic animal characters.
• Best Furry Work - For individual magazines, comics, television broadcasts, or motion pictures featuring anthropomorphic characters or themes.
• Best Computer-Related Work - For artists where the computer was an integral part of their work. This category excluded digital artwork and virtual worlds, which were covered by other categories. Programs, video games, etc. were eligible for nomination.
• Best Furry Virtual Environment - For "virtual worlds" such as MUCKs, computer networks, BBS's, and chat zones such as IRC servers.
• Best of Breed - Given to individuals who have greatly improved the furry community as a whole. This included people who chaired conventions, generated positive publicity for the fandom, supported virtual worlds, or donated to furry artists. It was the Moreau equivalent to a furry Lifetime Achievement Award and no individual could win this twice.

Results

The winners, as chosen by attendees of the first Anthrocon, were as follows:

• Best Furry Artist - Vicky Wyman
• Best Furry Comic Artist - Terrie Smith
• Best Furry Alternative Work - Peter Stoller (for their Jack Salem costume.)
• Best Furry Writer - Watts Martin
• Best Furry Publisher - Silverfox Publications
• Best Furry Work - YARF!
• Best Furry Computer-Related Work - Eric Schwartz
• Best Furry Virtual Environment - FurryMUCK
• Best of Breed - American children's author and cartoonist Theodore Geisel (Dr. Seuss)

Cancellation

Despite a positive reception overall, the Awards were not repeated at subsequent Anthrocon iterations due to "significant logistical problems", making 1997 the only year the event was held.