On January 1st, the organizers of the Children's and Young Adult Bloggers Literary Awards (more commonly known as CYBILs) announced the finalists for the awards.
The CYBIL awards seek to reward children's and young adult authors (and illustrators) who write and create books that have both high literary merit and "kid appeal." The CYBIL organizers describe the award as "organic chicken nuggets: we're yummy and nutritious." The CYBILs strive to bring children's and YA literature bloggers together to form a community, to highlight the best reviews of children's and YA books and provide a space for book bloggers to communicate with one another.
This year, CYBILs will be awarded in 11 different categories, including (1) middle grade fantasy and science-fiction; (2) young adult fantasy and science-fiction; (3) middle grade novels; (4) young adult novels; and (5) middle grade and YA nonfiction. Among the finalists in these categories were some of the recent recipients of ALA's Youth Media Awards:
- Ninth Ward by Jewell Parker Rhodes (MG Fantasy/Sci-Fi; a Coretta Scott King Author Honor book)
- Ship Breaker by Paolo Bacigalupi (YA Fantasy/Sci-Fi; the Printz Medal winner)
- Stolen by Lucy Christopher (YA Novels; a Printz Honor book)
- The Dark Game: True Spy Stories by Paul Janeczko (MG and YA nonfiction; a YALSA Award for Excellence in Nonfiction Honor book)
- Kakapo Rescue by Sy Montgomery (MG and YA nonfiction; winner of the Robert F. Sibert Medal)
For a full list of all CYBIL finalists, please visit their website. The winners of the CYBIL awards will be announced on February 14th.
