As you no doubt know, if you're been following along at all, the winners of the Cybils will be announced later today have just been announced. There will be winners in eight categories, one with two sub-categories. You can find the most excellent short lists here. And even apart from the short lists, the long lists are filled with great, great titles. Books that are well-written, but also have that "can't put it down factor." You can find all of the long lists here.
It's been quite an accomplishment selecting the winners from the hundreds of nominated titles. The publishers have been wonderful, providing book after book as the nominations poured in. The nominating committee members worked incredibly hard, reading their way through many, many titles, winnowing each category list down to five. The judging committee members had fewer books to read, but had the difficult task of choosing one winner from five wonderful books. Other bloggers and journalists who aren't directly involved have helped by publicizing and supporting the awards. And I, as a member of the Cybils admin committee, am grateful.
But now I have a request. The Cybils are a democratic series of book awards, given out by bloggers, with a focus on well-written books that are exciting and engaging for kids to read. If you think that this is a good idea, and you would like to support the Cybils awards of the future, I ask that you consider, if it's not a financial burden for you, buying one or more of the winning titles this week. Preferably from Amazon or Barnes and Noble online, where your purchase will be rapidly reflected in sales rankings. (Though of course in the slightly longer term, we hope to see all of these books flying off the shelves of independent booksellers, too).
You've probably seen how, when a book wins a Newbery Award or Honor, that it jumps immediately to the top of the New York Times Bestseller list. This is unlikely to happen with the Cybils, at least this year. But we would love to be able to demonstrate, in a quantitative, undeniable manner, that the Cybils can make a difference to book sales.
This will help us in getting continued publisher support in future years. It will help us to publicize the award, and increase the number of people who learn about it, and take time to nominate titles. And, it will help us to achieve our primary goal, which is to get wonderful books into the hands of children everywhere. (It will also, if you click through from the Cybils site, or from a blogger's site, probably cause a small commission to be paid either to the Cybils organization or to the blogger in question. That money will only be used for good - mostly for award statues or buying more books. No one is getting rich out of any of this. We do it because we love the books.)
So, if you support the above-described goals at all, please think about buying one of the winning titles this week. You can get a gift for yourself. You can get a gift for a child you know. You can buy all of the titles and donate them to your local library. You can do whatever pleases you. But buy the books. And watch with us as the popularity statistics on Amazon soar! Thanks for your support!
p.s. The idea behind this post stemmed from a brainstorming discussion on the Cybils site, and was particularly inspired by suggestions from Mitali Perkins. Thanks!
Good idea, Jen. I think I'll order a few Cybils books today--that is, I'll order books that I don't already own!
Posted by: Elaine Magliaro | February 14, 2007 at 06:32 AM
A greaat idea! Thanks for thinking of it. I'll order them this weekend!
Franki
Posted by: Franki | February 14, 2007 at 06:51 AM
You had me at "But now I have a request"!
Loree
www.loreeburns.com
Posted by: Loree Burns | February 14, 2007 at 07:41 AM
Awesome, Jen. You have so many good ideas!
Posted by: Susan | February 14, 2007 at 08:18 AM
Thanks so much for the positive feedback, Elaine, Franki, Loree, and Susan. I can't really take credit for the idea. It's something that came up on a brainstorming post on the Cybils site, and then Mitali Perkins and I talked about it a little last weekend. I just took the idea and turned it into a post. But thanks for the encouraging response! And happy book-buying!
Posted by: Jen Robinson | February 14, 2007 at 09:36 AM
Jen, I really appreciate you doing this for Cybils. As you know, any commission Amazon pays to Cybils will go toward buying the winning authors and illustrators a snazzy acrylic award.
I know it's such a cliche to say that your hard work and passion really helped Cybils get off the ground, but it did! I cannot imagine anyone else in the YA post having the same impact as you.
Thanks again.
Posted by: Anne | February 14, 2007 at 10:51 AM
Great idea. I think I'll buy A Drowned Maiden's Hair as it seems as if my library will never get a copy. So sad. So wrong.
Posted by: MotherReader | February 14, 2007 at 10:55 AM
Awww.... Thanks, Anne! I think that you've done really great things with this whole Cybils juggernaut. As for me, I was very fortunate in having great committee members in the YA nominating and judging committees. I'm so pleased with everything that they've done!
And yes, Pam, you simply must pick up a copy of Drowned Maiden's Hair. So fun!!
Posted by: Jen Robinson | February 14, 2007 at 11:01 AM
Book buying for a great cause -- how can one go wrong?!??! Good thing tomorrow is pay day -- I just spent a bundle through the Cybils Amazon link on all the winners I don't yet own!
Posted by: Mary Lee | February 14, 2007 at 01:57 PM
I was wondering how I could thank you for all the wonderful books you've guided me and my kids to, and now I know, and it's the least I can do.
Thanks!
Sheila
Posted by: Sheila | February 14, 2007 at 02:20 PM
Yes, Mary Lee, I used up all of my Amazon credit today, buying Cybils titles. But so worth it.
And Sheila, thank you so much! Your words alone made my day. And I was having a pretty good day already. Thanks!!
Posted by: Jen Robinson | February 14, 2007 at 02:30 PM
Yay for the Cybils! I just ordered An Egg is Quiet and Butterfly Eyes. Do you know if the ratings are going up?
Posted by: Emily | February 15, 2007 at 08:11 AM
What a great job you did! All of the Cybil team deserves a round of applause! Thanks and I will order my books today!
Posted by: Vivian | February 15, 2007 at 09:09 AM
Actually my little tiny bookstore store is a NY Times reporting store so I think that would do as well would it not?
Posted by: Chris | February 15, 2007 at 09:54 AM
Someone else is monitoring the Amazon ratings, Emily, but I HOPE that they are going up. I'll report back when I know more about that (or we'll report on the Cybils site). We have definitely been having some sales through the Cybils site, which is great. Thanks so much to everyone who ordered!
And thanks for the positive feedback, Vivian! Perhaps you'll be involved next year.
Chris, certainly we would love to see sales through your store, too. I actually think that once the initial hoopla dies down, the smaller independent stores will have much more of an impact on keeping the Cybils books relevant. For instance, you could handsell one of the books, saying "this is from a new award that focused on books that are well-written, and have stories that kids are excited about." What parent could resist that? Winning the Cybils won't have the same long-term effect on Amazon, where even if they tagged the book with Cybils, most people wouldn't know what it was. Thanks for your feedback!
Posted by: Jen Robinson | February 15, 2007 at 01:50 PM
Jen (and Mitali), I think this is a wonderful idea. I have several of the finalists on hold at the library, and I will definitely buy one or more for my permanent collection!
Do you know--when we click through the Cybils site--is there someway the booksellers know that we're buying this book BECAUSE it was a Cybil nominee? Or if we buy it at a store, should we tell them that--get them aquainted with the awards?
Thanks so much for taking on this project, all of you!
Posted by: Becky Levine | February 15, 2007 at 02:15 PM
Excellent question, Becky! When you click through from the Cybils site, the people at Amazon can tell that it's a link from the Cybils site, because we have an affiliate account (and get a small commission). When I posted the press release on my site, I also used the Cybils affiliate link, as I know many others from the Cybils team did, too. But that means that all Amazon knows is that the people who set up the Cybils affiliate account are generating traffic, not that it's because of an award. You give me food for thought, in terms of finding a way to get this known on Amazon.
As for telling booksellers why you're buying the books, absolutely! That would be great! We have been picked up by a couple of independent booksellers (writing about the awards or visiting). But I think that for more booksellers to know about these awards is a win-win. I think that an award like the Cybils can sell books, if people understand what the award is trying to do. And independent bookseller especially are in a position to communication that to people.
Thanks for the comments! They'll definitely help!
Posted by: Jen Robinson | February 15, 2007 at 05:45 PM
Will do! If I "have" to buy books, I will. . . . I think I made a purchase or two through the Cybil's affiliates, and I'll be sure to purchase these titles through there. Hmmmm. . . . now, what to buy?
Posted by: Jennifer, Snapshot | February 15, 2007 at 05:51 PM
I linked through to A Drowned Maiden's Hair from my blog using the Cybils URL, so that site gets the credit. Ka-ching! Go, Blog Power!
Posted by: Mitali Perkins | February 16, 2007 at 11:23 AM