The Cybils Wants YOU!

It’s that time of year again! The official call for blogger volunteers has been posted to the Cybils blog, so head on over if you want to take part. You can also download nifty 2010 logos for use on your own blog, like the one at right. And stay tuned for a flurry of activity on the blog and off, especially if you’re part of one of the judging panels. I myself eagerly await another exciting contest, and feel privileged to be the Cybils blog editor and get an inside look at the goings-on. Yay!

In the meantime, while the judging panels are being put together, if you’re looking for something new and interesting around the blogosphere, check out the latest project from YA fantasy/sci-fi writer Alma Alexander (whom we interviewed here for the Summer Blog Blast Tour): an interactive, collaborative online revision of her very first novel in English, written at age 14:

This raw and terrifying prose will then be edited and rewritten – with
the commentary and suggestions of a panel of teen advisors who will
weigh in on the original chapter and all of its flaws as they see
them.

They and I will lick this thing into shape – and then I will be
posting a new and shiny chapter, rewritten and repurposed. We will
continue doing this, chapter by chapter, until the novel is done.

An intriguing idea, not to mention brave. The first chapter’s already been posted–go check it out. The author invites you to weigh in in the comments with your own input, too.

About the author

Sarah Jamila Stevenson is a writer, artist, editor, graphic designer, proofreader, and localization QA tester, so she wears a teetering pile of hats. On any given day, she is very tired. She is the author of the middle grade graphic novel Alexis vs. Summer Vacation, and three YA novels, including the award-winning The Latte Rebellion.

Comments

  1. This is awesome and I'd love to be a part of it, but I have a brand new MG out from Scholastic this summer, THE HEALING SPELL, so I don't think I'd qualify, right? I'd be thrilled to pieces if THE HEALING SPELL was part of the MG books up for consideration. Going to post the Cybil Logo on my own blog(s) for sure!

  2. Also: you'd only be ineligible to be involved in the category in which your book is nominated. Try being a part of YA fiction or chapter books or picture books or non-fiction. There's plenty of room for good, careful readers.

  3. Hey, thanks for the info, Tanita! I appreciate it. I've got an upcoming YA with Scholastic and a bunch more ready to sub so that's a good idea.

    And glad I'd be kosher on the self-nominating thing, although it does feel a bit weird. 🙂

    Does it help to have other people nominate a book or are all books considered and read by the judges?

  4. Yeah, it does feel weird to self-nominate, but a lot of books are too new to the market for anyone to have read yet — and if you want your book to be read/considered, you're going to have to put aside the feelings of "Eek! Blowing my own horn!" and just do it.

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