“Hasn’t _ Been Nominated YET?” A Cybils Post

Greetings, Cybils SpecFic Fans,
Throughout the blogging year, I run across books, hear about books, and see catalogue titles roll by that I think, “Hm, I’ll see that again during the Cybils.” I’m always surprised when what I read doesn’t end up on the list. What, I think to myself, have I been reading all year? Clearly, SpecFic is a deep, wide, and vast category, in which there are lots and lots and lots and lots and lots and LOTS of books. Of all the genre categories under the umbrella of YA lit, science fiction, fantasy, and speculative fiction are some of the most prolific goers.

I am not as organized and awesome as Charlotte, with her dual list of MG Speculative Fiction books yet to be nominated, but I sat down and tried to think just off the cuff of all the fab books published within the last year which I *expected* to see on the Cybils list. The ones from the Big 6 Publishers, the ones that had a lot of PR money and a lot of buzz behind them, the special indies I’d noted….

And, then I ran my list through the fancy-shiny new Cybils database (it ROCKS, Sheila. Seriously.) and wondered at how few of them were represented on Already Nominated list. Maybe I have some dates wrong – granted, it’s a full-time and annoying job to make sure that all nominations fall within the right dates – but there are only eighty books nominated as of today (I’m typing this Monday afternoon), and I find myself a little surprised. Either the speculative fiction category this year has too many fab books from which to choose, or there’s been a lot of buzz, and not a lot of belief from the reading public.

What say you?
(Last update 10/15.

Books already nominated show up in BOLD.

The Holders, Julianna Scott, Angry Robot
Zenn Scarlett, Christian Schoon
Etiquette & Espionage, by Gail Carriger
Pantomime, Laura Lam
Battlemagic, Tamora Pierce
The Woken Gods, Gwenda Bond

Killer of Enemies, Joseph Bruchac
The Clockwork Scarab, Colleen Gleason
Princess of the Silver Woods, Jessica Day George

Carrie Jones, ENDURE
Orleans, Sherri L. Smith
Ink, Amanda Sun
The Girl with the Iron Touch, Kady Cross
Scorched, Mari Mancusi
Weather Witch, Shannon Delaney
When We Wake, Karen Healey
The Different Girl, Gordon Dahlquist
A.G. Gaughen, Scarlet
Relativity, by Cristin Bishara – fell beyond date
Hero, Alethea Kontis
Texting the Underworld, Ellen Booraem – Middle Grade!
Inhuman, Kat Falls
Frozen, Melissa de la Cruz
Allegiant, by Vernoica Roth – release date falls after cutoff
Ghost Hand, Ripley Patton
Ironskin, Tina Connolly
Far, Far Away, Tom McNeal
Clockwork Princess, Cassandra Clare
The Shade of the Moon, Susan Beth Pfeffer
Requiem, Lauren Oliver
Inheritance, Malinda Lo
The Lord of Opium, Nancy Farmer
UNTOLD, Sarah Rees Brennan
Prodigy, Marie Lu
Shadowborn, Moira Katson – MG!
Blythewood, Carol Goodman
STUNG, Bethany Wiggins
The Beautiful and the Damned, Jessica Verday
The Elite, Ciera Cass
SHADES OF EARTH, Beth Revis
Scarlet, Marissa Meyer
Siege & Storm, Leigh Bardugo
Dark Triumph, R.L. LaFevers
THE DREAM THIEVES, M. Stiefvater
The Bitter Kingdom, Rae Carson
Antigoddess, Kendare Blake
Horde, Ann Aguire
Crown of Midnight, Sarah J. Mass
Underneath, Sarah J. Stevenson
Invisibility, by Andrea Cremer
Paper Valentine, Brenna Yoanoff YA Genre Fic
The Summer Prince, Alayna Dawn Johnson
School Spirits, Rachel Hawkins
The Color of Rain, Cor McCarthy
The Coldest Girl in Coldtown, Holly Black
The Runaway King, Jennifer A. Nielsen – MG
The Nightmare Affair, Mindee Arnett
Mila 2.0, by Debra Driza
Prophesy, Ellen Oh
Not A Drop to Drink, Mindy McGinnis
Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea, April Tucholke
Poison, Bridget Zinn

Edited to Add, from Sheila
Fire & Ash by Jonathan Maberry,
The Final Descent (Monstrumologist) by Rick Yancey
SYLO by D.J. MacHale.

This is not to say that there isn’t a NICE grab bag of books already nominated. Especially if you’re an Indie Author, check it out. It’s okay to nominate yourself or a friend if the book falls between the right dates, and is in the right genre. As for the rest of us, who tend to wait until the last possible moment… I hope this list provides some help and direction? Some memory nudges? SEVEN DAYS until nominations close!