We here at the Cybils extend a big, cheerful Mazel Tov to Stacey Shubitz of Two Writing Teachers. Stacey is one of this year’s judges for the Fiction Picture Books category. On December 23, 2007, despite lots of rain she had a beautiful wedding ceremony, marrying Marc at the The Grand Summit Hotel in Summit, New Jersey. She celebrated with …
We have a winner: it’s us!
What’s it like waking up and discovering you’re a Cybils finalist? Sarah Beth Durst had trouble waiting until 6 a.m. yesterday, when the lists began posting: My husband admitted later that he’d actually woken up earlier and had been lying in bed thinking, "I want to check. I don’t want to check. I want to check. I don’t want to …
2007 Fiction Picture Books Finalists
Pssst!by Adam RexHarcourt Children’s BooksBuy From Amazon | Buy from BookSense Pssst! is a funny, light-hearted fantasy that uses snappy text and surreal post-modern oil-and-acrylic illustrations to tell the tale of a girl who visits a zoo with crafty animals who all want something from her. This results in a surprise ending and one of the year’s most unforgettable illustrated …
Short lists: the long and short of it
Tomorrow is the first of our finalist announcements. I think I’ll torture you a little. Some trivia about the lists, but no hints: Two of them have grown to eight seven, and another to seven, eight, instead of last year’s five;* The Fantasy/Science Fiction list has split in two by age group, with five in each; There are a goodly …
Who are you?
We’re conducting an instant poll. Are you: A Cybils panelist up to your eyeballs in books, sweating that deadline; An author, illustrator or fan breathlessly awaiting the results; A random Googler trying to figure out what in heck is a Cybils; An early New Year’s reveler drunkenly landing on the wrong page; Another blogger wondering how you can get in …
Happy Holidays!
We’ve all got our noses stuck in books these days, but we’re never too busy to wish all our volunteers, supporters and authors and illustrators a peaceful, joyous and memorable holiday season. Thanks especially to those of you who did a little Christmas shopping via Amazon after clicking here. It all adds up, and we’re grateful for the help. …
Two short list dates for the price of one
Our panelists have gotten to know the UPS and post office delivery folks pretty well by now; those boxes keep arriving packed with nominated books. Unfortunately, Santa’s got a lock on those same services this time of year, and anything stamped “Media Mail” is shunted to the back of the sled. We find ourselves in a dilemma: either we’re going …
Our authors love us!
As our reading period kicks into high gear, we’re excited for our authors (and don’t forget illustrators). They’re returning the love in the best way possible, by blogging about us and spreading the word. Karma Wilson loves us twice as much–for both her nominated picture books. Lisa Yee gives us a shout out. Eric Luper says we’re starting to "make …
Onward, ForeWord
The nice folks at ForeWord magazine, which caters to independent publishers, have been featuring many Cybils folks on their blog, Shelf Space. This month, it’s Liz Burns’ turn, and her first post is on how to make reading fun for kids, especially in light of the recent NEA finding that we’re reading less as a nation. She’s already garnering comments–go …
Picture this …
Look at this magnificent fountain pen: Is this not hot? Would this not look stunning with our Cybils logo stamped onto the clip? We can do it. We can offer our winning authors and illustrators a real award this year. All we need is money. Oh yeah, that. I got Cybils’ first bank statement yesterday, and we have $660 and …