Meet Terry Doherty, Easy Reader & Short Chapter Books Organizer

In 1989, First Lady Barbara Bush helped me see that literacy is, in part, passing on a love of reading. Nothing excited me more than building a library in our nursery, and now, watching my almost-10-year-old grow as a reader. Like the excitement of Christmas morning, there'is something magical in the moment a child realizes they know how to read. …

Back to the apps!

Keep those questions coming, folks. Today, a judging applicant emailed about the book apps category. She wanted to know if she'd have to buy the apps under consideration. Well, gosh no, I thought — but then I don't know how these things work, exactly. Our wonderful, completely on-top-of-things book app organizer, Mary Ann Scheuer, put the question to the other …

Meet Fiona Bayrock, Nonfiction Picture Book Organizer

After a two-year hiatus, Fiona is thrilled to be back on the Cybils organizing team again. As a children's science writer, she spends her days chasing questions through the "ologies", talking to scientists around the world, and then writing about the quirky, cool, amazing science she finds. Her work has appeared in magazines such as Highlights for Children, KNOW, YES …

Meet Pam Coughlan, Fiction Picture Books Organizer

Continuing with the Cybils as category organizer for Fiction Picture Books, Pam Coughlan writes the blog MotherReader and administers the website KidLitosphere Central. Two daughters and ten years in the children's department of public libraries kindled her passion for picture books. Now managing the schedules of two teenage girls, she appreciates the genre even more for delivering the essence of …

Welcome to the 2011 Cybils

The 2011 Cybils Awards are officially underway. We're busy behind the scenes picking out judges, pushing bookmarks and gearing up for the start of nominations on Oct. 1. Check out last year's winners or the full list of 2010 finalists. More about us here.

2011 Logos

Ladies, look at your blog. Now look at these logos. Now back to your blog. These are the logos that could be on your blog.         Then there's this one (really eye-catching, if you ask me): And last but not least:             Just right-click and save, folks. Enjoy!

Bookmarks!

Bookmarks with a full listing of our 2010 winners (plus contact info for the contest) just landed on my doorstep. They are as lovely as in years past, though we didn't do 2009 for lack of funds. Wah. This is one of our main publicity pushes — for both us and our winners. I used to put huge stacks of …

SLJ finds us APPealing

It's a pun, get it? Our APP award is APPealing. Hahaha! Oh, never mind. School Library Journal gives us a nice shout-out. Here's the link.

2011 Cybils Call for Judges

It's time! We're once again recruiting judges for two rounds of the Cybils contest. THere's just two easy steps: First, everything you need to know is spelled out right here, or click on the "Judging" link on the top nav bar. Second, fill out our handy new form, which is right here. Once again, the deadline to apply is Sept. …

More on book apps

This link right here will take you to a lovely post by the new organizer for our new category. Mary Ann Scheuer was early to jump aboard the app wagon and brings her expertise to the Cybils. Welcome aboard, Mary Ann!