2016 Cybils Shortlist

The 2016 finalists for the Cybils (Children’s and Young Adults Blogger’s Literary Awards) were announced on January 1. They were selected from 1,163 books nominated across all categories.

The Cybils Awards aims to recognize the children’s and young adult authors and illustrators whose books combine the highest literary merit and popular appeal. If some la-di-dah awards can be compared to brussels sprouts, and other, more populist ones to gummy bears, we’re thinking more like organic chicken nuggets. We’re yummy and nutritious.

Here are the results in the categories with a large number of shortlisted genre works.

Elementary/Middle Grade Speculative Fiction

  • Shadow Magic by Joshua Khan (Disney-Hyperion)
  • The Evil Wizard Smallbone by Delia Sherman (Candlewick Press)
  • The Firefly Code by Megan Frazer Blakemore (Bloomsbury USA)
  • The Goblin’s Puzzle: Being the Adventures of a Boy with No Name and Two Girls Called Alice by Andrew Chilton (Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers)
  • The Memory Thief by Bryce Moore (Adaptive Books)
  • The Voyage to Magical North by Claire Fayers (Henry Holt)
  • When the Sea Turned to Silver by Grace Lin (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers)

Elementary/Middle Grade Graphic Novels

  • Bera the One-Headed Troll by Eric Orchard (First Second Books)
  • Compass South (Four Points) by Hope Larson and Rebecca Mock (Farrar, Straus & Giroux)
  • Lowriders to the Center of the Earth (Book 2) (Lowriders in Space) by Cathy Camper and Raul the Third (Chronicle Books)
  • Mighty Jack by Ben Hatke (First Second Books)
  • Princess Princess Ever After by Katie O’Neill (Oni Press)
  • The Nameless City by Faith Erin Hicks and Jordie Bellaire (First Second Books)
  • The Wolves of Currumpaw by William Grill (Flying Eye Books)

Young Adult Graphic Novels

  • Dare to Disappoint: Growing Up in Turkey by Ozge Samanci (Farrar, Straus & Giroux)
  • Faith Volume 1: Hollywood and Vine by Jody Houser, Francis Portela, and Marguerite Sauvage (Valiant Books)
  • Lucky Penny by Ananth Hirsh and Yuko Ota (Oni Press)
  • March: Book Three by John Lewis, Andrew Aydin, and Nate Powell (Top Shelf Productions)
  • Monstress Volume 1: Awakening by Marjorie Liu and Sana Takeda (image comics)
  • Ms. Marvel Vol. 5: Super Famous by G. Willow Wilson, Takeshi Miyazawa, Adriean Alphona, and Nico Leon (Marvel Books)
  • Trashed by Derf Backderf (Harry N Abrams)

Young Adult Speculative Fiction

  • Illuminae by Amie Kaufman (Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers)
  • Labyrinth Lost (Brooklyn Brujas) by Zoraida Cordova (Sourcebooks Fire)
  • Still Life with Tornado by A.S. King (Dutton Books for Young Readers)
  • The Door at the Crossroads by Zetta Elliott (Rosetta Press)
  • The Keeper of the Mist by Rachel Neumeier (Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers)
  • This Savage Song (Monsters of Verity) by Victoria Schwab (Greenwillow Books)
  • When the Moon was Ours: A Novel by Anna-Marie McLemore (Thomas Dunne Books)

Audiobooks

  • Out of Abaton, Book 1 (Library Edition): The Wooden Prince by John Claude Bemis (Oasis Audio)
  • Raymie Nightingale by Kate DiCamillo (Listening Library)
  • The Best Man by Richard Peck; narrated by Michael Crouch (Listening Library)
  • The Inquisitor’s Tale: Or, the Three Magical Children and Their Holy Dog by Adam Gidwitz (Listening Library)
  • When the Sea Turned to Silver by Grace Lin (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers)