Author reactions are still trickling in as they get word they made the Cybils finals. Here's the original post on that. Add to that Stephanie Perkins typing a giant Eeeeep! after learning Anna and the French Kiss was shortlisted in Young Adult Fiction: Oh, man! This is the biggest honor that Anna has received, and I couldn't be more over-the-moon. …
The ones that got away*
*Hat tip to Catherine Nichols for the title of this post, which I blatantly stole. Our panelists had the Herculean task of winnowing down a long list of nominees to this year's batch of finalists. We asked them to fight for their favorites and some of the discussions became the online equivalent of sparring matches. Very, very polite sparring matches, …
RIFfing with Cybils
I'm a big fan of Reading is Fundamental, and not just because I've met leader Carol Rasco and she's as amazing as you'd expect. She's one part missionary, one part Southern Belle and about 50 parts Energizer Bunny. RIF puts books in the hands of kids who really need them, kids like me when I was wee. I have some …
Stuff that makes me cry
I am a sentimental fool. I just am. I refuse to cry at funerals because I think I should be all stoic, even when my heart is breaking. But when I hear the words "thank you," I start to sob all over myself. It's embarrassing. Who does this to be thanked? Not me. I do it to fill up the …
Big hugs …
… to all our hard-working panelists, who slaved these last few months to plow through more than 1,200 books. You folks are amazing! Cybils couldn't exist without all of you. I know your own blogs suffered, so here's a little something I'd like to do for all of you. If you were a Round 1 judge this year, I bet …
The 2011 Cybils Finalists
This was the year the Kindle caught Fire, the Nook fought for its niche, Borders went belly up and ebooks overtook their dead tree cousins for good. But for us here at Cybils, it was another year of reading, blogging and more reading. Whether on paper or in pixels, we found plenty of stories worth sharing with the world. By …
Enjoy your last glimmer of 2011
… because we intend to ring 2012 in with a bang. Yep, it's our very own Cybils tradition of rousing you from your New Year's celebrations with the publication of our short lists. Tune in at one minute past the stroke of midnight (Mountain time). That's 2:01 am Eastern and 11:01 pm Pacific. On behalf of all of us here …
2011 Finalists: Nonfiction for Tweens & Teens
Amelia Lost: The Life and Disappearance of Amelia Earhart by Candace Fleming Schwartz and Wade Books Nominated by: Monica Edinger Amelia Earhart was America’s most famous woman pilot in the 1930s. She broke speed and distance records and constantly looked for new challenges as aviation technology advanced. She was quite a character: stubborn, willful, courageous and smart, but also prone …
Cybils by the numbers
I post our numbers just about every year, and every year somebody gets mad at me. Apparently, I don't include enough disclaimers because I assume facts speak for themselves. So I have included some important reminders this time for the sake of clarity. Total eligible books nominated: 1,289 Disclaimer: Yours wasn't eligible because a) it came out in the wrong …
2011 Finalists: Young Adult Fiction
Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins Dutton Juvenile Nominated by: Melissa Fox Perkins’ Anna and the French Kiss marries romance, friendship and growing up with the delights of the Seine, macaroons and cinemas in the City of Lights. Picked for the off-beat charms of the book’s namesake, Anna, and the deft handling of a budding romance, Anna has the ability to melt …