Science fiction and fantasy 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 …
2010 Nominations
Middle Grade/YA Nonfiction
True stories, right here! Nominate the year's best nonfiction for older children and teens. We celebrate accurate, well-written books with kid/teen appeal–sports, biography, memoir, essays, science, art, history, how-to, current events, and more. In 2009, Pamela S. Turner's The Frog Scientist took the top Cybils honor in this category. Which book will it be this year? Add your nomination to …
2010 Nominations
Graphic Novels
The Graphic Novels category showcases your choice of the best titles published between Oct. 15, 2009, and Oct. 15, 2010. To be eligible for this category, the stories you nominate should be written in a comic-style format throughout the book. Large chunks of text make a story into a hybrid novel, which might fit better in midgrade, sci-fi fantasy, or …
2010 Nominations: Nonfiction Picture Books
Kids love interesting nonfiction books. Kids love information books. And the sky’s the limit for kids' interests. The Nonfiction Picture Book category is looking for stunning, visual nominees that capture the curiosity and wonder of children of all ages by providing lots of great information. From science to art, history to sports, or current events to biographies, will the book …
2010 Nominations
Poetry
The poetry category ends up being home to quite a mix of entries, but it’s important to note that not every book that contains a poem belongs here. WHAT BELONGS IN THE POETRY CATEGORY: Poetry collections of all sorts, whether for toddlers, school-aged kids or teens. What’s a poetry collection? It could be an anthology of poems by a variety …
2010 Nominations
Middle Grade Fiction
Some of the most dearly loved children's books of all time fall into the Middle Grade Fiction category: Ramona, Harriet the Spy, From the Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, Bridge to Terabithia… The middle grade years represent a golden time for readers. It's the time when you figure out what you like, what makes you laugh and …
2010 Nominations: Easy Readers and Early Chapter Books
When children learn to read, they start with very simple “easy readers” and move up to early chapter books. Easy readers are the small 6″x9″ books with short simple sentences. Easy readers have 8-64 pages, a large typeface with lots of white space on the page, and are fully illustrated in color. This includes easy readers illustrated like comics (also …
A note to publishers
This morning, I sent out an email to all the publisher contacts in our database. If you didn't receive that email, please contact Sheila Ruth, sruth at WandsAndWorlds dot com, to make sure I have the correct contact information for your company. (This also applies to self-publishers, if you have an eligible book this year.) For those who didn't get …
On your mark, get set …
Reminder: Nominations open just after midnight tonight. Yes, tonight. That's October 1st, right? So at 12:01 a.m. Eastern time you can click on our nomination form (which will be posted then, I promise) and nominate away. The rules: One book per genre per person. Have two young adult books you love? Get a best friend, co-worker or random stranger to …
Cybils 2.0: Join Us on Social Media
As you've probably already noticed, our organizing staff–particularly our Social Media Guru, Gina Ruiz–has been hard at work trying to make the Cybils more active in the social media realm. Our Cybils Twitter and Facebook accounts have already enjoyed a major boost in the past few weeks, but you can help us continue to spread the word. If you're not …