Publisher & Author Information

The Cybils Awards started by a small group of bloggers in 2006 as a grassroots project. Our mission has always been to help discover children’s and YA books which combine the highest literary merit and popular appeal and to bring those books to the attention of librarians, teachers, parents, and others who help to encourage reading in children and teens. Please see below for important information for publishers and authors.

We are committed to working with publishers and to make your job as easy as possible. If you have any questions, concerns, or suggestions, please contact Publisher Liaison Sheila Ruth at publishers@cybils.com.

More Information

Simple Rules

  • Titles nominated in 2023 must be published between October 16 of last year and October 15th of the current year.
  • Books must be published in English, or bilingual with English, in the U.S. or Canada.
  • Must be published for children’s/YA market. (We use online booksellers and/or WorldCat.org to verify eligibility.)
  • Nonfiction books must be at least 50% narrative. Encyclopedias, activity, and How-to books are not eligible unless they also have a significant narrative component.
  • We reserve the right to determine the eligibility of any title based on our own criteria, published or internal.

Important Dates

  • Sept. 21: Judges announced.
  • Oct. 1-15: Nominations from the public
  • October 16-25: Publisher submissions
  • Oct. 1-Dec. 29: Round 1 reading period
  • December 1: Round 1 review copy deadline
  • Jan. 1: Finalists announced
  • Jan. 2-Feb. 12: Round 2 reading period
  • Feb. 1: Round 2 review copy deadline
  • Feb. 14: Winners announced

* Items in bold are publisher action items

Publisher Procedures

  • No publisher, publicist, or author self-submissions from October 1 through October 15.
  • Publishers and authors can submit titles from October 16-25.
  • Titles nominated by the public do not need to be resubmitted. Each book can only be entered once, either by public nomination or by publisher/author submission.
  • Publishers may submit up to 10% of their current-year children’s & YA list, rounded. (Titles nominated by the public don’t count against the 10%.) Publishers with fewer than ten books may submit one book.
  • No entry fee, but publishers are expected to provide review copies of any books they submit.
  • Review copies of grassroots nominations are optional but recommended.