Yes, that is your Cybils Overlord with superstar author Scott Westerfeld. Note that he is not only totally hot but that he is touching me. I was touched by Scott Westerfeld. Me. I did indeed wash that shoulder, but only because I had visual proof right here that he touched me.
Did I mention that Scott Westerfeld actually touched me?
Okay, I'm over it (seriously, honey, if you're reading this, I'm totally over it).
I attended the Kidlitosphere Conference in Seattle over last weekend. It was organized by our very own Jackie Parker and blogger/Bookslut columnist Colleen Mondor.
More photos below the break (sadly, not of Scott Westerfeld, who is totally hot. And who touched me).
This is Sarah Stevenson (standing), formerly our blog editor and author extraordinaire, and Sheila Ruth, our Science Fiction/Fantasy organizer and publishing liaison. Sheila and I have worked side-by-side since Cybils started, but this is the first time we've met in person. It took no time at all to feel like we've known each other forever.
That's Carol Rasco, head of Reading is Fundamental. Carol and I had a long-overdue chat about how Cybils can help RIF in its hour of need. Instead, Carol wanted to talk about ways RIF could also help Cybils. She is such an amazing person, and we do indeed have some exciting ideas percolating between us.
Jackie Parker and Colleen Mondor, who made KidLit Con happen in a big, classy but characteristically low-key way. Thanks, ladies!
It's all about the accessories. Pam Coughlan (Fiction Picture Books organizer) wears her signature alphabet scarf. Past Cybils volunteer Maureen Kearney dons a beret for the chilly Seattle clime. I promised to look Maureen up this year on my annual pilgrimage to the Tucson gem show, but only if she wears that beret for me.
Now here's the part that makes me all ferklempt. I've spent the last three years working full-time and doing Cybils as best I could, when I could. Reading your blogs was admittedly somewhere below getting 8 hours of sleep a night on my priority list. So I had no idea how big a deal Cybils was becoming. That's not meant to brag. I don't do brag.
You all make Cybils happen, which is why I dipped into my family checking account to help fund that meet-and-greet. At first I was flummoxed and then enormously flattered by the steady stream of people who went out of their way to meet me and thank me for the Cybils. Me? Thank you. I do very little besides watch all of you work. At least, I think that's what I do. But if you're convinced your overlord slaves night and day to make Cybils a reality, who am I to argue?
It has been both a pleasure and a privilege to create a space where KidLitters can gather and debate which stories leap off the page (or, increasingly, screen) and deserve national praise. And it's been a deeply felt honor to watch my organizers at work, bringing to the task some of the sharpest minds in the book-loving world.
Now back to work, everyone. Nominations open Oct. 1 and I better see some awesome books listed, awrighty?
–Anne Levy, Cybils Administrator