Maybe He Just Likes You (Amazon, IndieBound) by Barbara Dee Aladdin Nominated by: Joanna Marple Starting middle school can be tough and scary for anyone. For Mila especially so, things are tough at home so school should be her safe place. That is not the case. It starts with an unwanted hug by a classmate and continues and escalates. She …
2019 Finalists: Young Adult Speculative Fiction
Aurora Rising (The Aurora Cycle) (Amazon, IndieBound) by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers Nominated by: Rebecca J. Allen Six cadets are brought together by circumstance. A rescued girl joins their crew; she’s powerful, mysterious, and over 200 years old. When the group uncovers a massive conspiracy, it takes all of their skills to …
Finalists Announced Tomorrow!
It’s our favorite day of the year (granted, it’s the first day, so it’s easy to be our favorite!): the day which we get to reveal the results of all our hard work and share with you our 2019 Cybils Finalists! Stay tuned to this space (and our Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter) at 9 a.m. PST for the big reveal. …
Now Accepting Publisher & Author Submissions
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 2019, rounded. (If you published fewer …
Nomination Day is Tomorrow!
And we’re all excited! We can’t wait to see what excellent books (published between October 16, 2018 and October 15, 2019) that you nominate! A quick reminder: The nominations open at midnight on October 1st (that’s tomorrow!). And, if you’re still unsure about what goes where, please check out our category descriptions. Get ready to nominate!
Cybils Inclusivity Initiative: Goals & Guidelines
Diversity is being invited to the party. Inclusion is being asked to dance. –Verna Myers, ILA2017 Although diversity is not one of the two key criteria (reader appeal and literary merit) we use in our judging, it can contribute to both, and is something that is valued by the Cybils Board of Directors. During the last awards season, we …
Category Description: Young Adult Fiction
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. We want the real world …
Category Descriptions: Young Adult Speculative Fiction
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 …
Category Description: Junior/Senior High Nonfiction
Novels may get all the glory, but we know that truth is stranger than fiction any day of the week. We’re currently in a golden age of nonfiction. Forget the dry stuff they used to read in school to help with homework–today’s authors understand how important a great nonfiction piece of writing is to both students and teachers, both for …
Category Descriptions: Graphic Novels
It seems like everyone is reading comics now, and it’s no wonder: a picture is worth a thousand words. Using serial artwork to tell the tale, graphic novels bring stories and information to all ages and genres. Here at Cybils, we’re interested in the best graphic novels published over the past year. Submit your nominations for elementary/middle grade (approximately ages …