CYBILS AWARDS NEWS! (Yep, I'm excited!)

 What are the CYBILS AWARDS? Why am I excited? Why should you be, too?

Many organizations that support outstanding children's literature wind up the calendar year with awards for various creators, media, and categories of children's books.The Cybils Awards began in 2006, launched by two of the many emerging book-bloggers who were busily posting reviews, interviews, and opinions about children's books, with this mission statement:

The Cybils Awards aims to recognize the children's and young adult 

authors and illustrators whose books combine 

the highest literary merit and popular appeal.

The organization, CYBILS: Children's and Young Adult Bloggers' Literary Awards, is continuing their mission in this Covid-affected year by reorganizing the category groupings slightly. They are also continuing their commitment to intentionally include judging panelists with lived experiences and ethnic identities different from the current majority, those who may have struggled to be heard in their own public lives or within the long history of publishing. The same intentionally inclusive approach is taken in the criteria used to evaluate the nominated titles. 

I've had the privilege of serving as a FIRST ROUND panelist for several years, focusing on poetry, nonfiction picture books and juvenile/elementary nonfiction, as well as fiction picture book categories in past years. Since I've had several opportunities in the past, and am a privileged white writer, I volunteered with doubts about being chosen again this year. 

I'm excited to announce that I WILL be serving among the outstanding panelists in the fiction picture book category this year! I've worked with Deb Nance, our category chair, in past years. Her leadership and organization is essential to manage this challenge. In past years we been responsible for carefully reading and evaluating more than 200 titles in this category. That has been both a joy AND a heartbreak, because the quality and variety of picture books is extraordinary!  HERE is a link to the CYBILS page describing the books we'll be examining.  

Not only are the books outstanding, so are the 2020 panelists with whom I'll be privileged to discuss these extraordinary books as we  determine finalists by the end of this year. Here they are, and I urge anyone interested in discovering new and exciting books for kids to check the links in this post, read through some sample posts, and consider subscribing to their posts on websites, YouTube, GoodReads, and other media. 

Since you are reading this post, you are likely aware that I read MANY books, all year long. I read across many categories, as my GOODREADS account will indicate. I struggle with which books to feature on this blog (again, SO MANY extraordinary books!), but I often rate and comment on many of the books I read on this Goodreads account that are not featured here.

Public nominations for the titles we'll consider for the 2020 finalists and an eventual winner will not opened until October 1, but I'm already maxing our my library hold limit trying to catch up on 2020 fiction picture books that are still new to me. Any advance work I can do will help as we move into the actual considerations. 

Speaking of public nominations... 

The process is simple, and, as the title says, OPEN TO THE PUBLIC from October 1-15. Then authors and publishers may add to the nominations from October 16-25. The process is very simple, but a book may only be nominated once. That helps, if you are like me. I have MANY favorites. 

Prep a list of several of your choices, in this category and the others, then hop on the nomination site and follow the directions. If your top pick is already there, submit the next on your list. When the final winners in each category are announced on VALENTINE'S DAY, 2021, the nominee is credited for bragging rights!

I suggest you start working on lists of favorites released this year, check out posts from the past year by my well-read panelist-partners, and read the category guidelines.Then subscribe to the blog for CYBILS AWARDS, HERE, so that you will get the announcements as each phase of this process advances. And stay tuned to this blog and posts for other panelists because we'll be sharing thoughts about nominated titles (without giving away any hints about contenders).

It's an annual highlight for me to read (and sometimes live-view, virtually) the announcements about winners from various organizations. There are also awards based on kids' votes in schools and libraries. The CYBILS award process invites opinions from the general public, so it is YOUR chance to participate. I can't wait to see familiar and new titles when the time comes, and I'm making my lists of nominees in all categories right now!

Anchor in time:

Covid 19 continues to show surges throughout the country, with a few places managing to hold the diagnosis curve flat. The difference seems to closely correlate to ignoring or adhering to the recommendations around face-coverings, physical distances, and avoiding crowded places.

THREE C's can help us all: Avoid Closed spaces and  Crowded places, and support Contact tracing.