Cybils Awards now open for picture, MG and YA nominations

I’m excited to announces that I’ve been selected as one of the first-round judges for the Cybils Awards — middle-grade fiction.

The Cybils Awards is a nonprofit “dedicated to connecting readers to books that represent kid appeal and the highest literary quality.” It’s the first book award given by #KidLit #MgLit #YaLit bloggers.

Each year, the public is invited to nominate their favorite picture, middle-grade and young adult books. The books are then read by a panel of judges who create a shortlist. A second panel of judges reads and selects winners from that shortlist.

The categories this year are:

• Easy Reader/Early Chapter Books
• Board Books
• Fiction Picture Books
• Elementary/Middle-Grade Speculative Fiction
• Middle-Grade Fiction
• Graphic Novels
• Nonfiction
• Poetry
• Young Adult Fiction
• Young Adult Speculative Fiction

I’ll be on the middle-grade fiction panel, which focuses on books grounded in reality. These can be contemporary or historical novels that are mysterious, romantic, adventurous, sport-centric or coming of age. As a judge I have been tasked with “looking for those titles that kids can’t stop talking about and, with great enthusiasm (and maybe a little drama) give to a friend and say, ‘You HAVE to read this.’”

Nominate your favorite books

Book nominations open Oct. 1 and run through Oct 15. Below are the criteria for nomination:

• The book must be written for a youth audience. (No adult books teens love.)
• The book must be published between 10/16/2022 and 10/15/2023.
• It must be published in the United States or Canada, and must be widely available through public libraries or online booksellers.
• Books can be in English or bilingual.
• Books inconsistent with Cybils’ Inclusivity Initiative will be disqualified.
• A title can only be nominated one time. Additionally, you can only nominate one book in a category. The nomination form will require the following information:
  1. Your Email.
  2. Category Knowledge. Get detailed descriptions for each category here.
  3. ISBN. That will pull up the title for you to confirm your nomination.