It's time for the 2021 Cybils!!! Poetry is back this year and I am honored to be the Poetry Category Chair once again.
The official Call for Judges has been announced and you have until Wednesday, September 1 at 11:59pm EDT to apply to be a panelist or judge. Read the Call for Judges here. Anyone who reads and reviews children's and young adult books via a social media platform (a blog, YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, GoodReads, Twitter, TikTok, etc.) is eligible to apply. If you can't volunteer to be a judge, help spread the word about Cybils on social media and nominate your favorite books. Nominations open to the public on October 1.
I've served as a panelist 5 times...4 times in Poetry and 1 time in Elementary/Middle Grade Nonfiction. It's a fun process. You get to read lots of great books and discuss them with like minded people. I'm not going to lie: It's also a lot of work, but so rewarding. The beauty of Cybils is that nominations come from the public and the judges are a mix of teachers, librarians, parents, and book bloggers. I like the emphasis that is placed on kid appeal. Often I read major award winning books and I wonder about the amount of kid appeal (or lack thereof) that they have.I'm going to list all the categories below, but forgive me for recommending my own category. Poetry is fun to read and discuss. It also usually has fewer nominations than the other categories. In 2019 Poetry had 43 nominations. I've been rounding up titles eligible in the Poetry category for 2021 (October 16, 2020-October 15, 2021). So far there are 64 if they all get nominated.
Cybils Awards Categories
- Fiction Picture Books & Board Books
- Easy Reader & Early Chapter Books
- Elementary/Middle Nonfiction
- Middle Grade Fiction
- Elementary/Middle Grade Speculative Fiction
- Graphic Novels
- High School Nonfiction
- Poetry
- Young Adult Speculative Fiction
- Young Adult Fiction
2 comments:
Great post! I am considering offering myself as a judge again this year. I agree that being in a group with others who like to read the same genre is stimulating. Your emphasis on child's appeal is right on and important to me as an adult reader who loves children's lit!
I enjoyed the post and am excited about participating in Cybils.
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