In the foreword to his 1996 book, Graphic Storytelling and Visual Narrative, comics veteran Will Eisner said, "I hold that the story is the most critical component in a comic. Not only is it the intellectual frame on which all artwork rests, but it, more than anything else, helps the work endure." In the Graphic Novels category of the Cybils, …
2007 Nominations: Middle Grade Fiction
What do we mean by "middle grade" fiction? Is it defined simply by what it is not — it is not picture books, it is not early chapter books, it is not young adult. It’s "I’ll know it when I see it." Middle grade is for the kids who have mastered reading well enough to leave those early readers behind …
2007 Nominations: Nonfiction: Middle Grade and Young Adult
Middle Grade and Young Adult Nonfiction covers a wide swath of territory: from history, biography and science to sports, astronomy and dinosaurs. Homeschooling parents are using single-subject nonfiction books to supplement or replace textbooks. Teachers and librarians are recommending nonfiction titles to expand upon classroom subjects and to pique the interest of kids passionate about particular topics. And kids of …
2007 Nominations: Poetry
The poetry committees will be looking for this year’s best poetry collection for kids. The key to this category is the word "collection", because picture books that tell a single, rhyming story belong in the picture book category. Collections need not be the work of a single author, but may be an anthology. Collections need not be picture books — …
2007 Nominations: Young Adult Fiction
You’ll find no dragons or magic, fairies or robots here. Just real people, in the real world, in real situations. In a good YA novel teens will find themselves and discover their world. A great YA novel will do both of those while respecting and appealing to its audience. We are looking for a handful of the greatest teen novels …
About Kelly Herold
We saved the best for last! Today we introduce our Director, Kelly Herold: Kelly here. I’m a co-founder of the Cybils (along with Anne Boles Levy) and this year during our second annual awards process I’ll be filling an organizational role only. I’ll be dealing with our troublesome (just kidding! Love you guys) blogger volunteers and serving as the publisher …
About Anne Levy
Today we introduce Anne Boles Levy, Editor of the Cybils blog: Me and my big mouth started this contest last year when I left a smart-alecky comment on Kelly Herold’s blog. I said us blogging upstarts should up and start our own contest. Kelly, being one of these organized types, took me up on it. I began my foray into …
One week and counting
Yo, anybody else out there as excited as us? One week ’til nominations open. That’s seven days. You know, one less than eight and one more than six … Starting Oct. 1 (did we mention that’s in only a week), we’ll open eight categories so the public (that’s you) can start listing their favorite books from 2007 (that’s one more …
Many thanks, Cybillians!
Thanks to the overwhelming response, we’ve filled all the slots on our committees for both rounds of judging. Things are getting underway here in Cybils land. We’ll be profiling our volunteers all this week, and nominations open on Oct. 1. We hope you’ll also come back to read reviews and features throughout Cybils season, which lasts until our Big Announcement …
Welcome to the 2007 Cybils
We’re your hosts, Kelly and Anne. Kelly’s the one in the shimmery gown; Anne talks over the music cues. This is our second year handing out awards to books meant for kids and teens, which must say something about our reading tastes. At least, we hope it does. We have some help: like last year, we’ve conscripted a bunch of …