In Memorium: Teri Lessene

We here at Cybils are saddened to learn of the death of Teri Lesesne, @librarynana. As well as being a professional colleague and personal friend to many of us, Teri brought her enthusiasm and knowledge of children’s books to the Cybils Awards, serving as a panelist for many years. Her family has asked that donations be made in honor of …

The 2020 Cybils Winners!

Year after year, it never ceases to amaze us how the Cybils Awards manages to come together. From the people who volunteer as chairs to the panelists who spend so much of their fall reading, to the judges who thoughtfully deliberate to choose a winner. It was especially challenging this year, with the pandemic, and we are especially grateful for …

The BIG Day is Nearly Here!

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Get ready! The announcement for the 2020 Cybils Finalists are TOMORROW, Feburary 14th at 9 a.m PST.  We’re super excited to share it all with you!

The 2020 Cybils Finalists!

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It’s January 1st, our favorite day of the year! (And not just because 2020 is over!) We have gotten the nominations, read the books, debated, and chosen ones to be finalists! It’s time to Celebrate!! Now, because we know you’re curious, we have some stats for you. We had 987 books nominated across all categories (that’s fewer than years past, …

Our Favorite Day is Coming! Tomorrow!!

The 2020 Cybils Finalists will be announced tomorrow! We can’t wait! However, there is first some business to take care of. One of the things we at the CYBILS have taken seriously this year is representation. We had diversity training for the board, the chairs, and the judges because we wanted to make sure everyone is aware of what good …

Publisher and Author Submission Deadline Extended!

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Just a quick note to say that because October 25th falls on a Sunday this year, we are extending the deadline for publisher and author submissions to end at 11:59 pm PDT on October 26th. You can find more information on submissions here.

2020 Cybils: Publisher and Author Submissions Open

Dear publishers and authors, The public has weighed in, nominating favorite titles, and we hope that some of yours were among them. If not, never fear, now is your turn! Between now and October 25, publishers and authors may submit your own eligible titles for consideration, up to 10% of your books published in 2020, rounded. (If you published fewer …

2020 Category Description: Young Adult Speculative Fiction

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Speculative Fiction takes 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: it asks, “What if?” It makes us think. It holds up a mirror to our own society …

2020 Category Description: Young Adult Fiction

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The world as it was and is. Not as it could, or would, or should be. Send the dystopias and space operas, the fairies and angels, the blood-suckers, zombies, and alternate realities to Speculative Fiction. In YA Fiction we are looking for realistic fiction, be it contemporary or historical, funny or mysterious, romantic or adventurous, including novels in verse.  We …

2020 Category Description: Nonfiction

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Oftentimes we can say that the truth is stranger than fiction. Children and students of all ages are curious about a variety of subjects and we can feed their thirst by providing outstanding nonfiction titles. Whether their interests lie in learning about someone’s life, history, math, science, current events, social justice, activism, journalism, and so much more there is a …