As some of you know, I lost my mother to breast cancer last summer. I’m still too downhearted to participate in Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and there’s only so much pink I can force myself to wear when I still have the blues. But I’m peeping out of my shell for writer and illustrator Grace Lin, who recently lost her …
Cybils blogger guest reviews at ForeWord
Our own Eisha Prather is guest blogging this month for ForeWord, which features reviews of "good books independently published." For her first post, she confesses to a fascination with mental illness (we’re not drawing any conclusions, really) and reviews several YA titles with clinically depressed characters. Several of these books have already been nominated for the Cybils: Someday This Pain …
Who Put the Kid in Kid-friendly?
When Anne and I led a panel session on the Cybils at the 1st Annual Kidslitosphere Conference this weekend in Chicago, one theme in particular kept popping up during discussions: How do we decide if a book is child-friendly or not? This is an important question for the ninety panelists and judges evaluating the hundreds of children’s and YA books …
Fantasy and SF so far
Nominations are still streaming in, of course, but we thought you’d like to see the list so far. Sheila, our F/SF coordinator extraordinaire, has put up a list (with links to both Amazon and your local bookstore) on her blog, Wands and Worlds. Take a look, than come back and nominate something too. For other categories, click for the index.
Poll: School, Work, or Play?
We’ll be conducting reader polls here to see who’s reading what. Leave your answers in the comments! Do you read mostly for fun, or is the majority of what you read assigned by school or related to work? Are you reading for leisure or to educate yourself – or a bit of both? — Little Willow
The Cybils Press Release
Several people have requested our official press release. Feel free to borrow, copy or steal: BOOK BLOGGERS KICK OFF KIDLIT AWARDS’ SECOND YEAR CHICAGO – Will Harry Potter triumph among critical bloggers? Will novels banned in some school districts find favor online? With 90 volunteers poised to sift through hundreds of new books, the second annual Children’s and Young Adult …
Welcome to the 2007 Cybils
Hooray for our 2007 winners! Click here for a short overview of the contest, or peruse the index of 2007 finalists. And don’t forget your sexy widget. Enter our Amazon code if you want us to get a teensy commission: cybils0c-20.
Nominations Are Now Open
Welcome to the 2007 Cybils, the only literary awards by bloggers. We’re seeking nominations from book lovers in eight genres: Fantasy/Science FictionFiction Picture BooksGraphic NovelsMiddle Grade FictionNon-Fiction: Middle Grade and Young AdultNon-Fiction Picture BooksPoetryYoung Adult Fiction Want to nominate your favorite children’s and young adult books of the year? They must’ve been published in 2007: Only one book per category; …
2007 Nominations: Fantasy and Science Fiction
Science fiction and fantasy take us to realms of the imagination: places and times and realities where the rules of life may be different than our own and where the impossible and improbable become real. But good science fiction and fantasy does more than that; a book about magic for its own sake isn’t a very interesting book. Good science …
2007 Nominations: Fiction Picture Books
Jules here, organizer for the Fiction Picture Books committee. What exactly will we obsessive picture book lovers be doing and looking for? "The picture book is a peculiar art form that thrives on genius, intuition, daring, wrote Maurice Sendak in 1997. A picture book gives us what no other type of book can: the merging of text, art, and design …