Happy Monday! Please join us in a warm welcome for new Middle-Grade/Young Adult Nonfiction category organizer Susan Thomsen: Fall is one of my favorite times of the year, with leaves crunching under my feet, apples to be picked, and the resplendent glory of the Cybils nominations! That's where so many good new books come to my attention. Just one example: …
Introducing Liz Jones, Graphic Novels Category
Today we meet Liz Jones, our organizer for the Graphic Novels category: I am a children's writer and illustrator, a cyberschool writing teacher and a professor of children's literature at the University of Pittsburgh's Greensburg campus. I chalk up my drawing skills to years of doodling in the margins of notebooks. These days, my work usually appears in my blog …
Introducing Jackie Parker, Young Adult Fiction Category
We're happy to welcome back Jackie Parker as category organizer for YA Fiction. In honor of her upcoming nuptials, we present her bio as seen through the eyes…well, pen…well, keyboard…of her fiancé Kyle Robinson. Read on to find out more: Jackie Parker blogs regularly on her YA book review website, interactivereader.blogspot.com. The name, Interactive Reader, comes from the physical and …
Bling for Your Blog
Help us spread the word about the Cybils and get people thinking about their favorite nominations–put one of these fab buttons on your blog or website. Pretty please? Smaller version (175px high) Larger version (300px high) Just right-click and save-image-as to capture the icon on your own computer. Questions? Problems? Let us know in the comments and we'll do our …
Introducing Jen Robinson, Literacy Evangelist
The panels of Round I and II judges are rapidly taking shape, and we'll be announcing those soon! In the meantime, we're going to start introducing the Cybils '09 organizing team. Today, we meet Jen Robinson, our hardworking Literacy Evangelist: I'm Jen Robinson, and I've been blogging for nearly 4 years at Jen Robinson's Book Page. My blog is dedicated …
The Cybils are Wiki-Fabulous
The word is spreading, and thanks to everyone who's made the Cybils such a well-organized and respected endeavor over the past three years, we're now officially a fixture on Wikipedia! That's right, the Cybils has a Wikipedia entry, complete with lists of award winners, a little history, and everything else the world needs to know about us. So go check …
Announcing Brand-New Cybils Bling!
Hi, everyone! Not only am I excited to be back as your friendly neighborhood Cybils blog editor for the 2009-10 awards process, I'm also happy to announce that we've got a whole new stock of Cybils swag available for your purchasing enjoyment over at CafePress. Similar to last year, we have an array of different t-shirts, a couple of mugs, and …
Right Up Our Alley
Since one of our major criteria for award-winning books here at the Cybils is kid appeal, we were stoked to find out about a new award for YA literature that recognizes that same quality. The Assembly on Literature for Adolescents (ALAN) of the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) recently announced the finalists for the inaugural Amelia Elizabeth Walden …
Great Publishing Panelists, Batman
Our Cybils panelists and judges are bloggers and teachers, librarians and, yes, writers–some of whom have books coming out this summer. Here are just a few–and if we've missed anyone, feel free to leave a note in the comments! June 9: Mare's War by Tanita S. Davis (Finding Wonderland) – Sci-Fi/Fantasy judging panelist June 9: The Old Blue Pickup Truck …
Cybils on Top 100 Poetry Blogs!
The Cybils have gotten another nod of recognition–we've made it to the list of Top 100 Poetry Blogs published by Online University Reviews! Their comprehensive list includes blogs by or about poets, blogs promoting poetry for children, and video/audio poetry blogs. It's an excellent resource, and we're proud to be in such illustrious company. We're in the section listing sites …