Cybils

Reminder

This is it, everyone. The countdown has begun. Nominations open at one minute after the stroke of midnight Pacific time tonight. Remember, there'll be an electronic form available instead of leaving nominations in the comments. Read about it here.

The rest of the panelists will be announced tomorrow Friday too. Our apologies for the delay. We were figuring out who goes where up to the last second. We had a record number of people volunteer, which means I'll be sending out a record number of rejections tonight. Gah.

Ready or not, here we come ...

--Anne Levy, Cybils top banana

Science Fiction and Fantasy Panel

This year we've got TWO sets of Round I Judges for SFF, because we get so many wonderful (and sometimes lengthy) nominations in this category. The great part is we get to involve even more enthusiastic bloggers in the process.

Panel Organizer: Sheila Ruth, Wands and Worlds

Panelists (Round I Judges), MG/Elementary:

Anamaria Anderson, bookstogether
Cindy Hannikman, Fantasy Book Critic
Brian Jung, Critique de Mr. Chompchomp
Eva Mitnick, Eva's Book Addiction
Charlotte Taylor, Charlotte's Library

Panelists (Round I Judges), Teen/YA:

Steve Berman, Guys Lit Wire
Gwenda Bond, Shaken & Stirred
Tanita S. Davis, Finding Wonderland
Nettle, The Muse, Amused
Sheila Ruth (see panel organizer)
Angie Thompson, Angieville
Samantha Wheat, Twisted Quill

Round II Judges:

Maureen Kearney, Confessions of a Bibliovore
Anne Levy, Cybils
Sam Musher, Parenthetical
Tarie Sabido, Into the Wardrobe
Tasha Saecker, Kidslit

Middle Grade/Young Adult Non-Fiction Panel

Non-Fiction for Middle Grade and Young Adult readers, or NFMG/YA for short, has an excellent panel of new folks, old folks, all great-to-have-them folks:

Panel Organizer: Susan Thomsen, Chicken Spaghetti

Panelists (Round I Judges):

Alicia Blowers, The LibrariYAn
Sarah Rettger, Archimedes Forgets
Jennie Rothschild, Biblio File
Jill Tullo, The Well-Read Child
Erin Walker, Erin Explores YA

Round II Judges:

Wendy Burton, Six Boxes of Books
Jennifer Donovan, 5 Minutes for Books
Dave Judge, Adventures at Wilder Farm (Author Lita Judge's blog)
Colleen Mondor, Chasing Ray
Lisa L. Owens, L.L. Owens-Children's Writing Blog

Fiction Picture Books Panel

Our Fiction Picture Books panelists are a truly diverse bunch, with a blend of familiar faces and new friends prepared to find you the best in writing and illustration for kids this year.

Panel Organizer: Pam Coughlan, MotherReader

Panelists (Round I Judges):

Shelly Burns, Write for a Reader
Pam Coughlan (see panel organizer)
Katie Harvey, Katie's Literature Lounge
Travis Jonker, 100 Scope Notes
Natasha Maw, Maw Books Blog

Round II Judges:

Amy, Big Brother is Reading
Andi (cloudscome), A Wrung Sponge
Lori Calabrese, Lori Calabrese Writes
Bethany Gatto, Your Friendly Neighborhood Librarian
Dawn Mooney, My Thoughts Exactly

Introducing Pam Coughlan, Fiction Picture Books

Today we meet Pamela Coughlan, category organizer for Fiction Picture Books:

I am the mother of two girls, ages ten and thirteen, and a voracious reader. Hence the Mother and Reader part of my blog name. At MotherReader, I review children's literature from board books to Young Adult - when I'm in the mood to review anything at all - but my heart is in picture books. I also blog as part of the Booklights team at PBS Parents.

Along with my occasional forays into running a national conference like KidlitCon09, I participate in many of the community aspects of blogging in kids lit, including the Carnivals of Children's Literature, Poetry Friday, and my own 48 Hour Book Challenge. I'm also the director and occasional updater of the site KidLitosphere Central. I spend entirely too much time online.

In my real life I worked as a children's information specialist for nine years in a public library, but am now sitting out the recession with a stack of ARC's, a notebook of ideas, and a laptop computer. We'll see what happens. I'm also a Girl Scout leader, Lost fan, movie lover, Northern Virginian, and humor aficionado.

The Poetry Panel

Whether you're the type of poetry fan who likes your verse free or metered, you'll find a lot to love in this category of the Cybils. Our enthusiasts and experts are ready to get to work to winnow out the best in poetry books for young readers.

Panel Organizer: Kelly Fineman, Writing and Ruminating

Panelists (Round I Judges):

Bruce Black, Wordswimmer
Kristy Dempsey, Reverie--Abstract Musings on a Hopeful Life
Kelly Fineman (see panel organizer)
Tricia Stohr-Hunt, The Miss Rumphius Effect
Sylvia Vardell, Poetry for Children

Judges (Round II):

Sara Lewis Holmes, Read Write Believe
Elaine Magliaro, Wild Rose Reader
Greg Pincus, GottaBook
Jama Rattigan, Alphabet Soup
Stacey Shubitz, Two Writing Teachers

Some info about '09 nominations

We're ramping up for our Grand Opening in a just a few days now. There's a great, big change you need to know about. From now on, we're only taking nominations from people we like.

Fortunately, we're not terribly discriminating, so you're still invited back on Oct. 1.

But wait, there's less. As in, you don't have to scroll through all the comments to figure out what to nominate. We'll be posting a form, thanks once again to the technical wizardry of Sheila Ruth.

The form will ask for a single nomination in a single genre. Fill it out. Send it. It comes back blank, ready for another round. Try to weasel another nomination in the same genre and it ... eletrocutes you. Nah, it just calls you insulting names and tells you to try again. Same thing if you nominate a book that's already been suggested by someone else.

So, you say, where is this magical form? Oho--we're saving that for our special day. Hint: It's October 1st.

Oh, and you'll need to find ISBN numbers on Amazon, but don't worry about that just yet. While you're there, buy some stuff using our affiliate ID so we can raise money.

More on the fundraising stuff another time. Much more.

See you Oct. 1!
--Anne Levy, Cybils Supreme Maximum Leader*

*tell me if you like my new title. Do ya? Do ya? I think it really fits me. See here for past discussions on my title.

Introducing Kerry Millar, Middle Grade Fiction

Today we meet Kerry Millar, who returns this year as our category organizer for Middle Grade Fiction:

Hello to all Cybilites! I'm thrilled to be back for my third year with the Cybils and my second year as the category organizer and one of the judges for Middle Grade Fiction. This year I'm spending my working days with a gaggle of nine-year olds, teaching Grade 4, so I'll be test-driving many of the nominated titles with my very own captive audience.

Before teaching, I was part pastry chef, part children's bookseller (a.k.a. the dreamiest job-combo known to man), and went to sleep every night full of sweets and stories. I launched Shelf Elf more than two years ago, and I blog there about everything kidlit related. I also write reviews for Guys Lit Wire and work with the fabulous readergirlz community as one of the postergirlz. Basically, I'm always trying to find new ways to squeeze my life full of as many books as possible.

When I'm in between books, I can be found scratching my dog's ears, saving pennies to pay library fines and drinking very strong coffee.

Graphic Novels Panel

We've been working hard behind the scenes on the judging assignments, and we've put together an enthusiastic panel of fans and bloggers to read the best in graphic novels for both young adult and elementary/middle grade audiences.

Panel Organizer: Liz Jones, Liz Jones Books

Panelists (Round I Judges):

Alyssa Feller, The Shady Glade
Maggi Idzikowski, Mama Librarian
Liz Jones (see panel organizer)
Nicola Manning, Back to Books
Kim Baccellia, Si, se puede! Yes we can
Gina Ruiz, AmoXcalli
Alysa Stewart, Everead

Judges (Round II):

Walter Biggins, The Quiet Bubble
Justin Colussy-Estes, Guys Lit Wire
Sarah Sammis, Puss Reboots
Sarah Stevenson, Finding Wonderland
Casey Titschinger, Bookworm 4 Life

Introducing Anastasia Suen, Easy Readers and Short Chapter Books

Today we're happy to welcome back Anastasia Suen, category organizer for Easy Readers and Short Chapter Books:

As an author, consultant, and teacher for children and adults, I wear many hats. With my author hat, I've written 115 books for children and adults. I've worn my teacher hat in elementary school (for Kindergarten, first, fifth and sixth grades) as well as college (for children's literature and writing.) With my consultant hat, I work on textbook programs, evaluate reading levels, and create learning activities.

I am often asked why I have so many blogs. Well, I have one for each of my hats! I blog about my own books at Book of the Week. I blog about books and activities for children learning to read at 5 Great Books and Literacy Links. I blog about using picture books to help K-8 students learn to write at Picture Book of the Day. I blog about the Children's Book Biz for my adult writing students. And at Pencil Talk, I post a student poem each day of Poetry Month in April.

This year we're expanding the Cybils Easy Reader category to include short chapter books. Last year, we discovered many gems that were too long for easy readers and too short for middle grade, so we're giving these "bridge" books a list of their own.