Welcome to the 2007 Cybils

We’re your hosts, Kelly and Anne. Kelly’s the one in the shimmery gown; Anne talks over the music cues.

This is our second year handing out awards to books meant for kids and teens, which must say something about our reading tastes. At least, we hope it does.

We have some help: like last year, we’ve conscripted a bunch of organizers and two henchwomen you’ll meet in later posts. For now, some info about the awards.

Our purpose is two-fold:

1. Reward the children’s and young adult authors (and illustrators – let’s not forget them) whose books combine the highest literary merit and “kid appeal.” What’s that mean? If some la-di-dah awards can be compared to brussel sprouts, and other, more populist ones to gummy bears, we’re thinking more like organic chicken nuggets. We’re yummy and nutritious.
2. Foster a sense of community among bloggers who write about children’s and YA literature, highlight our best reviewers (and shamelessly promote their blogs) and provide a forum for the similarly obsessed.

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

1.You (and you can be anybody, even you) may nominate any book published in 2007 in English;

2.Only one book per category. We have ways of checking this, so play nice.

Nominations open Oct. 1 and close Nov. 21, just before Turkey Day. After that, here’s what happens:

• We place all the authors names into a hat and pass our magic wand over it. After the rabbit pops out, we eat him and announce the winner, whom we have selected at random;
• Not really! Just testing you. We have panelists in each category who eat the rabbit. No, er, they read the books. They have until January 1 for that, which we hope and pray will be enough time. On Jan. 1 we’ll post the finalists;
• From Jan. 1 to mid-February, a second group of judges will read all the finalists and pick the winners, which we’ll announce on Valentine’s Day.

See? Easy. And no actual rabbits will be harmed in the process.

We have to go now. Kelly’s having trouble wriggling out of her gown and stage hands are dragging Anne off the podium.

More tomorrow.

Comments

[Kelly Fineman]

Fantastic first post, ladies. It's a pleasure to be working with you.

[brettdl]

The pleasure is all mine. I get to live with her.

[Kelly]

Shimmery gown :) Yay, for the Cybils!!

[Michele]

I have a fantastic re-homing service for bunnies - they're used to provide plot torture for frustrated/over-worked authors - so feel free to send me the bunnies you didn't harm ! ^_~

Seriously, though, nice to see the Cybils up and running again !

[Little Willow]

WOO HOO!