Since you’ve been living in the same world we have, you know that books and stories have turned into the toxic rope in an aggressive cultural tug-of-war. Though the American Library Association reports that 92% of parents and 90% of voters feel that libraries are a positive, essential part of American life, the federal government has slashed library funding, gutting local communities, while organized groups – parental pressure groups, school board members and administrators, and elected officials – are throwing their weight behind censorship attempts as never before. As the Board of a literary award aimed at celebrating children and young adult book lovers, we can’t see just continuing on with the award while books, reading, and learning is under attack. We refuse to simply pretend that everything is normal.
We believe that
Books are treasures to be discovered.
Books are explorations to be celebrated.
Books are gifts to be shared.
That’s why, in 2025 the usual nomination and award cycle of the CYBILS Award is going on hiatus in favor of sharing books that we love, that we’d like you to love.
We’ll be book-talking fiction and nonfiction, picture books, graphic novels, science fiction, fantasy, and mysteries. We’ll share books with diverse characters of varied genders, races, cultures, socioeconomic statuses, abilities, and orientations. We’ll talk about books that reflect our world, and we hope you’ll stick around on our social media platforms to celebrate these books with us.
Stay tuned!