What's a Cybil?
The Cybils awards are given each year by bloggers for the year's best children's and young adult titles. Nominations open to the public on October 1st.
Can anyone nominate?
Yes, anyone may nominate one book per genre during the public nomination period. New this year, we are asking authors, publishers and publicists to wait until after the public nomination period ends to submit their own books.
How do I nominate?
We post an online form for public nominations from Oct. 1-15 every year. The form will be live at www.cybils.com at 12:00 a.m. on October 1. This year, we’ve tried to make the form mobile-friendly, so you can use your phone to nominate if you prefer. Authors and publishers may use the public form to nominate books other than their own, but should contact sruth@wandsandworlds.com for information on submitting their own books.
Which books are eligible?
Any English or bilingual books published in the U.S. or Canada between the end of one contest and start of another. For 2012, that means books released between Oct. 16, 2011 and Oct. 15, 2012. Books must be specifically published for the children’s or young adult market.
PLEASE NOTE: Born-digital ebooks are ONLY accepted in Poetry, YA SFF, and YA Fiction.
Does it help if a book has lots of nominations?
NO! In fact, the online form will kick the nomination back if a book's already been listed. It needs to get on our radar only once for consideration. After that, it's up to the judges.
More contest info:
Finalists are posted January 1st. Winners are announced February 14th. Winners receive a fountain pen in an engraved wooden box.
Who can judge?
We ask for volunteers every August from the book-blogging community. Generally, our judges must contribute at least monthly to a blog that's primarily about children's or young adult literature. There's some wiggle room there, but not much. More info here.
Do you review books?
We post excerpts of reviews by our volunteer judges throughout the contest season, from October through February. They're selected somewhat at random so we get a mix of genres, age groups and reviewers. We're sorry we can't guarantee a book review. We typically get 1,000 nominations and we couldn't review them all even if we ran dozens each day! Please do not contact judges to request a review.
I'm a publisher. What do I need to do?
This year, we are providing publishers, authors, and publicists a separate window to submit books after the public nomination period ends. This gives you a chance to see what books have been nominated, and to submit any deserving books that fell through the cracks. You may submit up to 10% of your 2012 children’s/YA list. We ask that you do not submit your own books during the public nomination period.
After Oct. 15, we'll be in touch to let you know what books have been nominated, and give you a chance to submit any additional ones. We do ask that you send review copies, physical or digital, of any books that you submit. Review copies of publicly nominated books will be optional, as always, but it’s often helpful if you can get us a few. This year we will also be working with NetGalley, so you are free to use that as an option for making copies available. Please don't contact judges directly. We'll be sorting out who needs what to prevent duplication. To make sure you’re on the list to receive information, please send an email to Sheila Ruth at sruth@wandsandworlds.com. Thanks!
I'm a self-published author. What do I do?
Please see the above information for publishers. To make sure that we have your contact information, drop an email to Sheila Ruth at sruth@wandsandworlds.com. Please don't contact judges directly. It's much easier to have only one contact person -- for us and for you.
Do all the books get read?
Pretty much, yes. We used to have a 50-page rule, but the blossoming of self-publishing means some questionable stuff gets thrown our way. So to keep eyestrain in check -- not to mention the gagging reflex -- panelists are only required to read until they're sure the book isn't competitive with other nominated titles. All bets are off if we can't get our grubby paws on a review copy, though.
My book didn't make the shortlist. Did you get it? Did anyone read it?
If you sent it, we got it. If we got it, someone read at least partway in. If you didn't make the shortlist, it's because the judges gave it a "pass." Please don't contact them to ask why. We're not your writing group and we cannot provide feedback.
Advertising, sponsorships, link exchanges and publicity
Please email the contest administrator, Anne Levy, at anne (at) inlandempress (dot) com. Note that we don't accept ads with adult content. Thanks.
Any other questions we haven't addressed?
Contact us at cybils09 (at) gmail.com
Thanks for finding your way to us at Cybils.com
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