Our two primary criteria that all books should be judged against are literary merit and kid (or teen) appeal. We’re looking for books that bridge the gap between those two: good, well-written books that kids will love! Beyond that, we prefer to let each panel set its own criteria. Different genres may have specific requirements, such as world building for science fiction, or factual accuracy for non-fiction. We encourage each panel to discuss and determine their criteria before beginning discussions of the specific nominated books.

Each judging panel is free to interpret this criteria as they choose. However, there’s nothing in the Cybils rules that says that books have to have broad appeal. In particular, books that have strong appeal for an under-served audience may be considered as strong candidates.

Since the cover may affect whether or not kids and teens will pick up and read a particular book, panelists are free to consider the cover as part of the kid appeal of the book, if they choose.

There’s no specific Cybils rule that says that a book has to stand alone. Judging panels are free to decide for themselves how much to expect a book to be able to stand alone. There are two sides to the argument: books that stand alone are more likely to draw in new readers unfamiliar with the series, however, the kid appeal of series books can’t be ignored, either.

Yes! Panelists were chosen in part for their expertise in the category, so we do want to know what books you would nominate.