First off: w’re loving all the love we’re getting on Twitter. Lots of great comments about our party logo and spreading the word for the call for judges. Thank you! Your support means a TON to all of us here. Second: check out the snazzy round Cybils logo that Sarah designed for us. (It’s my personal favorite!) Feel free to snag it, if you’d like.
Over the course of the past week or so after the announcement went out, we’ve received some questions from people wondering about the process. The most common one goes something like this: I was a judge the past year/two years. Should I apply again or leave the spot open for someone else? To which we answer: That’s incredibly sweet of you to think of others, but PLEASE APPLY. We can’t absolutely promise you a slot. But we would love to have your application as part of the ones we consider. Don’t get us wrong: we love new blood, it adds something different to the mix. If it were just the same 10 people picking these books, it’d get pretty stale pretty quick. BUT: we also love having experienced panelists and judges on our roster. It helps make the process smoothly. So, if you were a judge last year, the year before, or anytime in the past 10 years, and you feel you have the time to help us out this year, apply!
(As a quick aside: you don’t always have to apply for the same category, unless you happen to love that particular one. You can jump around. In fact, we encourage that.)
Our organizers and previous volunteers have been posting reasons why being involved in the Cybils is a great thing.
- From Fiction Picture Book Chair, Terry: Cybils Awards V. The Walking Dead – A No Brainer
- From Elementary and Middle Grade Speculative Fiction Chair, Charlotte: Five Reasons To Apply to Be a Cybils Judge
- From YA Speculative Fiction Chair, Sheila: another Five Reasons to Apply to Be a Cybils Judge
- From longtime panelist, Brandy: three reasons why being a Cybils Judge is awesome.
- My list of reasons why I Keep Coming Back
We hope YOU want to get involved too!