The following is a message from one of our organizers, Sheila Ruth, about the ad you see in the center column: On February 5, 2008, 10-year-old Emmy Grace Cherry lost her life in a tornado that devastated Russellville, Arkansas. Emmy’s mother and father died with her. Emmy was a big fan of the Warriors series by Erin Hunter, and her …

Greetings!  And welcome to the start of the third annual (doesn’t that sound good) Cybils book awards.  We have no idea what’s in store for you.  Because, well, it’s up to all of you to nominate books.  Starting October 1, we’re going to let you nominate favorite books in nine genres of children’s and teen lit.  Yes, nine.  If you …

Hey, some Cybils buttons to glam up your blog while we work behind the scenes to pick judges for the coming season: And here’s a slightly larger version: 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 email you with help. Enjoy. -Anne

We’re adding a new category for the 2008 Cybils—Easy Readers. Easy Readers are those 6" x 9" books found in the easy-to-read section. The category will be headed up by none other than Anastasia Suen (Book of the Week, Children’s Book Biz News, Picture Book of the Day, Scholastic’s Kid Lit Kit) and we’re looking for judges.  If you’re interested, …

Hey all: We’re once again seeking 80 masochists, er, volunteers for two rounds of judging.  Eligibility rules are tighter this year, so please suffer through this whole memo before jumping in. If you don’t know what the Cybils are, please read the previous post.  Thanks! Overview There are two rounds of judging, and two types of judges.  Panelists Duties: Panelists …

The 3rd annual Cybils awards are nearly here!  For newcomers, Cybils stands for The Children’s and YA Bloggers’ Literary Awards, and we’re still the only book awards of any sort from the blogging community. A refresher: 1. We open nominations to the public on Oct. 1 at cybils.com. Anyone 13 or older – authors and publishers included – may nominate …

I hope you all like our new logo.  It was the product of a four-way collaboration.  Little Willow of Bildungsroman blog stepped forward when I asked for a new logo that didn’t look like a giant sticker.  Her sister, Lisa Fuller, created the "mousebook" graphic for us.  Many thanks to Lisa and her Little Pie Studio.  Little Willow and I …

First, check out our fabulous prize: Gorgeous, no? Many thanks to Jim Lanier at Lanier Pens for his stunning craftsmanship. I had to adjust the logo a bit for the box, but it came out quite grand, methinks. I’m really proud we were able to raise the money for such a gorgeous prize. It’s not the honorarium we’d all love …

Hooray for our 2007 winners! Click here for a short overview of the contest, or peruse the index of 2007 finalists. We’ll open nominations for the 2008 contest on Oct. 1.  Look for announcements in coming weeks as we line up this year’s participating bloggers and launch the new season.

Okay, he’s in my house (Anne here). I mean, not physically here, amid the pile of books and debris, but inside my laptop. It’s probably really cramped in there, especially him being an illustrator of THREE finalists this year. Jules of 7-Imp‘s gone and interviewed him for us and now he’s happily waiting inside my hard drive until I can …