Sharing Happy News: Cybils POETRY Judge, 2017

This is quick, excited note to celebrate my news:  

Today I as named as a ROUND ONE panelist for the POETRY category for the 

2017 CYBILS AWARDS! 

I've thoroughly enjoyed participating as a panelist in fiction picture books and nonfiction picture books in the last two years. I was hoping to take part again this year in a category near and dear to my heart. 

That means nominations will be opening soon. Start now to make a list of your favorite 2017 releases in each category and be ready for the announcement. Here are the guides for nominations, and a link to website to follow announcements (HERE). Nominating

We wouldn’t be a real award if we didn’t have a whole bunch of complicated rules in tortured lawyerese. So maybe we’re not a real award, because there aren’t any lawyers and only four rules:

1. You (and you can be anybody, even you) may nominate any book published in the contest year in English. This includes bilingual books;
2. The book must be published in the US or Canada. It’s just more aggravation and expense than we can stand to wheedle free copies from foreign publishers;
3. Only one book nomination per category. Get your friends and co-workers in on the act if you can’t make up your mind;
4. Nominations open Oct. 1 and close Oct. 15.

I'll be back with a regular post soon, and details about the nomination process. 

Meanwhile, I'm resuming my happy dance! My lists are already made!

CYBILS NOMINATIONS Are Officially Open to ALL!

And... we're OFF!

Nominations for consideration for CYBILS AWARDS have officially opened, but the window of opportunity is short. It's especially fun because ANYONE may nominate, and the process is extremely simple. I urge you to take a moment, though, to read through the very clear directions and note each category description, here.

Speaking from experience, it's fun to see that my own favorite choices might be nominated by the time I arrive at the site, which is when I do my happy dance. I have a deep-seated aversion to narrowing any category down to a single "favorite". (Hmm, I probably should have mentioned that when I applied to join a panel, right? But I survived the stress last year and couldn't resist trying to participate again this year.) I prepare in advance with lists of top favorites in the various categories. That way I can check if any of my choices are already nominated. If so, I can add other titles from my lists. 

One reason I'm particularly pleased to be chosen as a ROUND ONE panelist is that I don't have to make that final, challenging decision. Even so, narrowing down 100+ titles in my category this year, Elementary/Middle Grade Nonfiction, will be genuinely wrenching as we examine and discuss and winnow the best of the best from every angle. Last year we scrutinized (and enjoyed!) more than 200 titles in the Fiction Picture Book category.

So don't miss out. Make sure we consider your favorites, too. If you have children at home or in a classroom, seek their opinions, too, although only adults may nominate. When the deadline arrives, the judging begins. The reading has already begun once each nominee is screened as to its appropriate inclusion in the category. 
Why not sign up to follow the Cybils blog to follow along throughout the process and read reviews of some terrific titles from 2016?

It's CYBILS Time Again:

After sitting on this announcement for more than a week, I can finally share the news. I've been chosen to serve as a Cybils Round One Panelist in 2016 for Elementary and Juvenile Nonfiction! 

Stay tuned for details about when and where and how you can nominate your own favorites from 2016 releases in each and every category. Once that nomination period ends, I and the many other panelists will get to work reading, examining, reviewing, considering, reflecting, ... and eventually reducing very long lists to the finalists for round two judges to consider.
In the process I (we) will be reviewing, sharing, recommending, and celebrating many amazing titles, so it's a win-win all the way around.
But for now... I'm dancing! (Not as cute as Snoopy here, but the spirit is the same!)

Time Is Running Out... Nominate Favorites Today!

Time is running out for you to participate in the nominations for the 2015 Cybils Awards for Children's Literature. Don't miss your chance (it's not available for most awards) to nominate your own favorite titles in each category. The deadline is OCTOBER 15, so check this out.

Here you have the categories for 2015 Nominations:

Book Apps

Easy Readers and Early Chapter Books

Elementary/Middle-Grade Nonfiction

Elementary/Middle-Grade Speculative Fiction

Fiction Picture Books

Graphic Novels

Middle-Grade Fiction

Poetry

Young Adult Fiction

Young Adult Nonfiction

Young Adult Speculative Fiction

The rules are simple:

Take a minute to check out our Rules and Regulations. The big one: the book needs to be published between October 16, 2014 and October 15, 2015. Oh, and ONE book per CATEGORY per PERSON. No exceptions. The form will kick you back if you try to nominate more than one book (or if someone else has already nominated the book). But you can nominate in EVERY CATEGORY!

You can see if your own favorite FICTION PICTURE BOOK TITLES have been nominated or not by checking the current listing, here . At last check, the titles are edging toward a hundred, but this category often includes two hundred or more before closing. Make sure your own favorites are included in our first round considerations! 

And check the other categories as they stand, here. The deadline is OCTOBER 15. TICK-TOCK!