OOOOH.... It's Almost Here! CYBILS FINALISTS ANNOUNCEMENT!

Yep- Holiday season is well underway now, whether you celebrate or not. That could be Christmas or Hanukkah or Kwanzaa or Winter Solstice or... whatever brings you comfort and joy and kindness and peace. 

What brings me those feelings, along with family, friends, and reading and writing, is the pending announcement of CYBILS AWARDS FINALISTS!

Please join me in that excitement on January 1, 2025, when CYBILS AWARDS CATEGORY FINALISTS will be rolled out starting at noon.

Whether you follow on YouTube, follow their website and blog, check the news on Facebook, or other social media, don't miss the excitement.

A quick overview of the process is as follows:

Those who support quality reading for young people (bloggers and others who reach out to the public on a regular basis on various platforms) can volunteer to serve on judging panels in one of eight categories. You can check those out, including their nominees, here.

Nominations come first from the public; later from authors and publishers. The reading is organized and reported by a remarkable team behind the scenes, chairs of each category, and panels of readers. Links to reviews are posted among us (later shared by more of that remarkable behind-the-curtain team). Discussions ensue, including true conversation, not simple argumentation or lobbying. Eventually (and now we are getting to the heart of this post), each panel agrees on seven finalists in their category(ies), and that magical team-behind-the-scenes prepares graphics and links and ... the news is finally ready to share!

That's what is looming and has me excited. January First will be the announcement of  the seven titles in each category among a huge number of nominees. These will then be considered by a new panel of readers, the Round Two judges. 

The ultimate CYBILS AWARDS winners for all categories will be announced on VALENTINES DAY! 

So, during the coming and much-anticipated Youth Awards announcements by many organizations in January and beyond, the CYBILS panelists will be deciding on the 2024 winners. You'll have time to read the finalists in any category while you wait for official news.  You can also compare those to the names/titles being touted in other awards. Don't you love second guessing what others think? 

And on the chance that you are one of us who regularly reach out to encourage readers to discover great new books, watch for the call for volunteer panelists in the next season! 

It really is a challenge and loads of fun, and your opinion will actually affect the official decisions!