*Doing the happy Cybils dance*

I can finally announce that this year I will be dedicating the months of October, November, and December to the Cybils once again!  I am on my dream panel, the YA fiction round 1 panel, for the first time and I could not be more excited.  My panel is tremendous and I can not wait to work with them. Check out who I am lucky enough to talk YA with!

Round 1

Leila Roy
Bookshelves of Doom
@bkshelvesofdoom

Sarah Gross
The Reading Zone
@thereadingzone

Kellie Tilton
The Re-Shelf
@thereshelf

William Polking
Guys Lit Wire
@Polking

Clementine Bojangles
Early Nerd Special
@clemmybojangles

Kendall Kulper 
Blogging for YA
@Kendall_Kulper

Kirstin Fearnley
Sprite Writes
@spritewrites

Round 2

Maureen Kearney
Confessions of a Bibliovore
@mosylu

Maureen Eichner 
By Singing Light
@elvenjaneite

Adrianne Russell 
The Writer’s Republic
@writersrepublic

Michelle Castleman
The Hungry Readers
@ShelTheProf

Jessica Silverstein
Reading on the F Train
@SilversteinELA

 

We have about two weeks until the nominations open, but I will be preparing in the mean time.  Start thinking about the books you want to nominate so that you can get started on October 1st.  I am looking forward to reading all of the nominated titles!

Why You Should Apply to be a Cybils Judge

The Cybils are awesome.  There’s no better way to say it. I’ve been fortunate enough to be involved as a panelist for the last few years and it’s non-stop fun.  Is it a lot of work?  Hell yeah.  You will be reading, and reading, and reading, and then reading some more.  You will ignore your family and friends because you need to try every book for yourself.  You will reread a lot of books to try and see what your fellow panelists might see in it that you missed the first time around.

The conversations you have with your fellow panelists will be enlightening and you will learn so much.  It’s a frantic few months, but so worth all of the time and energy you will invest into it.  So if you haven’t applied yet, I strongly encourage you to do so.  And soon! The deadline is August 31st.

But you be chosen as a judge if you don’t put in your application!  So get on it.

It’s Time for the Cybils!

I am very excited to announce that I will be a Round 1 Panelist for the Middle Grade Science-Fiction/Fantasy category for this year’s Cybil Awards!  I tend to focus on YA here on the blog, but I have a special place in my heart for MG science fiction and fantasy.  It’s what my youngest sister loves to read and what many of my new freshman enjoy reading.  I am looking  forward to some great nominations this year!

The Panelists and Judges:

Round One

Charlotte Taylor
Charlotte’s Library

Anamaria Anderson
Books Together

Donalyn Miller
The Book Whisperer

Justin Colussy-Estes
Guys Lit Wire

Sarah Mulhern Gross
The Reading Zone

April Conant
Good Books & Good Wine

Rebecca Newland
My Reading Frenzy

Round Two

Melissa Baldwin
One Librarian’s Book Reviews

Hayley Beale
100 Great Children’s Books

Kim Rapier
Si, se puede

Rosemary Kiladitis
More Coffee, Please

Gina Ruiz
AmoXcalli

There are some great bloggers in my group, huh?

Remember, nominations are already open!  Head over to the Cybils blog to get your nominations in!

Have You Nominated Your Favorite Book?

Nominations for the third annual Children’ s and Young Adult Bloggers’ Literary Awards (the Cybils) are currently open through Wednesday, October 15th. The goal of the Cybils team (some 100 bloggers) is to highlight books that are high in both literary quality and kid appeal.

This year, awards will be given in nine categories (Easy Readers, Fantasy & Science Fiction, Fiction Picture Books, Graphic Novels, Middle Grade Novels, Non-Fiction Middle Grade/Young Adult Books, Non-Fiction Picture Books, Poetry, Young Adult Novels). Anyone can nominate books in these categories (one nomination per person per category). Nominated titles must be published between January 1st and October 15th of this year, and the books must be in English (or bilingual, where one of the languages is English). To nominate titles, visit the Cybils blog between October 1st and 15th.  A separate post will be available for each category – simply nominate by commenting on those individual posts. If you are not sure which category to choose for a particular book, a questions thread will also be available.

Cybils

I am so excited about the Cybil announcements!  Check them out here. I am happy with the awards and you can expect more in-depth analysis when I get back. Congratulations to all the winners! 

Cybils

It’s Cybils time! Head on over to Cybils.com to nominate your favorite children’s or YA book for this great award from the blogosphere!

Here is the official press release:
Here’s the official press-release from co-founder Anne Boles Levy:

Will Harry Potter triumph among critical bloggers? Will novels banned in some school districts find favor online?

With 90 volunteers poised to sift through hundreds of new books, the second annual Children’s and Young Adult Bloggers’ Literary Awards launches on Oct. 1 at http://www.cybils.com. Known as the Cybils, it’s the only literary contest that combines both the spontaneity of the Web with the thoughtful debate of a book club.

The public’s invited to nominate books in eight categories, from picture books up to young adult fiction, so long as the book was first published in 2007 in English (bilingual books are okay too). Once nominations close on Nov. 21, the books go through two rounds of judging, first to select the finalists and then the winners, to be announced on Valentine’s Day 2008.

Judges come from the burgeoning ranks of book bloggers in the cozy corner of the Internet called the kidlitosphere. They represent parents, homeschoolers, authors, illustrators, librarians and teens.

The contest began last year after blogger Kelly Herold expressed dismay that while some literary awards were too snooty – rewarding books kids would seldom read – others were too populist and didn’t acknowledge the breadth and depth of what’s being published today.
“It didn’t have to be brussel sprouts versus gummy bears,” said Anne Boles Levy, who started Cybils with Herold. “There are books that fill both needs, to be fun and profound.”

Last year’s awards prompted more than 480 nominations, and this year’s contest will likely dwarf that. As with last year’s awards, visitors to the Cybils blog can leave their nominations as comments. There is no nomination form, only the blog, to keep in the spirit of the blogosphere that started it all.

See you Oct. 1!

I’ve made my nominations, so head on over to make your voice heard!