African Acrostics: A Word in Edgeways written by Avis Harley with photographs by Deborah Noyes Candlewick Press Nominated by: Becky In this collection of 18 poems, each accompanied by a gorgeous photograph of the subject, Harley takes the form of the acrostic to new heights. The poems are deftly created and move well beyond the single-word acrostic to include phrases, …

Folks, give a nice shout-out or two for our next NaNoWriMo blurber: The Beast by Samantha Wheat For a hundred years Daniel has searched for a dream seer that will allow him to find the soul of his beloved. When Daniel finds a dream seer in the form of a teenage girl he believes his searching is over, until he …

In my role as Publisher Liaison, my job is to notify publishers about their Cybils nominees, finalists, and winners, to answer any questions and concerns from publishers, and to coordinate review copies from those publishers that can provide them. It's a lot of work, but it's also very rewarding to be able to give good news to publishers and experience …

Hey all, we have a new blurb, this one from Kelly Jensen. Remember, these are 50-word pitches for a YA NaNoWriMo manuscript.  The Acres, by Kelly Jensen Selling the family farm to developers left Sidney’s father wealthier but depressed. When he chooses to face his depression in an unimaginable way, Sidney feels compelled to forgo her dream of attending Northwestern …

Our next NaNoWriMo blurb is from Sarah Mulhern, who adds, "I'm hoping this forces me to keep writing!" River of Monarchs Brielle loved gardening & raising monarch butterflies with her grandfather. But since his death, she hasn’t looked at the garden. When her parents plan a trip to the monarch bioreserves in Mexico, she refuses. But maybe this trip is …

Congrats to Abby Johnson, who sends in our first NaNoWriMo blurb: Pale as Snow by Abby Johnson Rafe knows where he's heading. Though he dreams of more, he'll marry his betrothed and work in the mines. When a new family arrives in the village, things begin to change. Children are disappearing and the town elders don’t care. Rafe must destroy …

Hey, anyone out there doing NaNoWriMo? Don't tell me you've no idea what I'm talking about. You're doing it, right? Or you started your magnum opus last year, didn't finish, and are wondering if it's worth dusting off … Okay, that's where I'm at. About 40,000 words in and losing faith. Please tell me you're not as pathetic. Two items …

For anyone who has read an Eric Carle book to a toddler (and who hasn't) again and again and freaking gawdammit again, this link is for you.  Money quote: Anyone who thinks that writing a good book for a 2-year-old is easier than writing a good book for a 32-year-old is deluded. The children's author has a monumental task. First, …

Just passing along an article that may or may not affect us here at Cybils. Follow this link to a NYT article on new FTC rules affecting bloggers who get free stuff to review. In a nutshell: you're going to have to disclose your arrangements with your advertiser. That extends to disclosing what free books you get from publishers, as …

We had 5,288 page views on October 2nd. The first nomination came in from Kate Messner, who nominated "When You Reach Me" by Rebecca Stead. Congrats to Kate and thanks to everyone who's jumping in there with nominations. We're up to 380 books so far. Wow. -Anne