Terry Doherty wears a few hats for the CYBILS Awards. She is the social media coordinator, she is the ‘librarian’ for our Goodreads shelves, and she is also the incoming president of our Board of Directors. Before volunteering more actively with the CYBILS, she was the creator and Executive Director of the Reading Tub, a nonprofit for family literacy. Some …
A is for AFFIRMATION | #fREADom guest post by Gary Anderson
Prior to joining the CYBILS Awards Board in 2023, Gary Anderson served as the YA Fiction chair, and was a judge in multiple categories [Elementary/Middle Grade Nonfiction, Graphic Novels, YA Speculative Fiction, High School Nonfiction, and YA Fiction]. He is a retired high school English teacher, published author, and one-time “substitute librarian” at the high school where he once taught. …
E is for EMPATHY | #fREADom guest post by Tanita S. Davis
Tanita Davis is an award-winning author. She has written 8 novels for young readers, and her short fiction can be found in Hunger Mountain and Cicada magazines. She is currently the CYBILS Awards Board Vice President. When my book HAPPY FAMILIES was among the hundreds banned in 2023 by the Katy ISD, a public school district based in Katy, Texas, I wasn’t shocked. …
R is for RECOGNITION | #fREADom guest post by Charlotte Taylor
Charlotte Taylor is a CYBILS Awards board member, having recently served as Board President. She served as the Elementary/Middle-Grade Speculative Fiction chair from 2009-2023, and this year is the chair for the High School Nonfiction category. Charlotte takes comfort in placing as many library holds as she can realistically read. If only her day job as a professional archaeologist, and …
What is fREADom?
fREADom is the belief that readers should have the opportunity to choose the books they read. It recognizes that a parent has the right to set boundaries for their own children, but not the youth population at large. The CYBILS Awards believes in the power of books, and we affirm the words of Dr. Rudine Sims Bishop, whose research showed how …
Our Not-as-Scary Book List, Part 2
More eerie. Less scary. Mystery and Adventure the unusual and unexplained ghosts, goblins, and witches Monsters and Zombies … and even laugh-out-loud humor! This is the book list for those of us who love mystery with a side of magic and fantasy, but don’t like – or aren’t ready for – truly dark and scary stuff. There are lots of …
Read. If you dare. Our Spooky, Scary Book List Part 1
Spine chilling. Hair-raising. Frightening. Read with the lights on. Nightmare-inducing. If these are the kinds of middle-grade and YA stories you love, have we got the book(s) for you! From creepy to terrifying and chilling to horror. You’ll find realistic, apocalyptic, classic, modern tales and urban legends … all perfect for this, the spooky season! My thanks to judges Hailey …
#CYBILS2024 Time for Publisher and Author Submissions
Dear publishers and authors, Thank you for your patience! We know you are very excited for the opportunity to get your books in front of our judges. Now that readers have had the opportunity to nominate their favorite titles, it is your turn. From 10/1 – 10/15/2024 you can submit your own eligible titles that could fill in the gaps …
Meet the #CYBILS2024 YA Fiction Team
Realistic fiction, be it contemporary or historical, funny or mysterious, romantic or adventurous. These are the stories that represent the real world of the past and present (but not the future) with all of its flaws and pain and humor and beauty. Books that respect their audience; books that teens will press into their friends’ hands with fervor in their …
Meet the #CYBILS2024 Speculative Fiction Teams
Spells, and space rockets, and zombies, oh my! This is the category for books with talking animals, time-travel, ghosts, paranormal abilities, alternate universes, and horror, including books where magic is obvious, not-so-obvious. Some stories may be set here on Earth, but they’re pushing the boundaries of daily life into what is almost certainly impossible or improbable … for now. There …