The Cybils Awards is a nonprofit “dedicated to connecting readers to books that represent kid appeal and the highest literary quality.” It’s the first book award given by #KidLit #MgLit #YaLit bloggers.

Each year, the public is invited to nominate their favorite picture, middle-grade and young adult books. The books are then read by a panel of judges who create a shortlist. A second panel of judges reads and selects winners from that shortlist.

The categories this year are:

• Easy Reader/Early Chapter Books
• Board Books
• Fiction Picture Books
• Elementary/Middle-Grade Speculative Fiction
• Middle-Grade Fiction
• Graphic Novels
• Nonfiction
• Poetry
• Young Adult Fiction
• Young Adult Speculative Fiction

I’ll be on the middle-grade fiction panel, which focuses on books grounded in reality. These can be contemporary or historical novels that are mysterious, romantic, adventurous, sport-centric or coming of age. As a judge I have been tasked with “looking for those titles that kids can’t stop talking about and, with great enthusiasm (and maybe a little drama) give to a friend and say, ‘You HAVE to read this.’”

Nominate your favorite books

Book nominations open Oct. 1 and run through Oct 15. Below are the criteria for nomination:

• The book must be written for a youth audience. (No adult books teens love.)
• The book must be published between 10/16/2022 and 10/15/2023.
• It must be published in the United States or Canada, and must be widely available through public libraries or online booksellers.
• Books can be in English or bilingual.
• Books inconsistent with Cybils’ Inclusivity Initiative will be disqualified.
• A title can only be nominated one time. Additionally, you can only nominate one book in a category. The nomination form will require the following information:
  1. Your Email.
  2. Category Knowledge. Get detailed descriptions for each category here.
  3. ISBN. That will pull up the title for you to confirm your nomination.

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3,650 days.
1,414 posts.
More than 1,000 reviews.
202 author/illustrator interviews.

It’s hard to believe that it’s been 10 years since Cracking the Cover came into being.

Just a few months before, I was working as the in-house book critic for a newspaper. Then came layoffs. Then came the announcement that “talented housewives” would take over my job for free.

It was demoralizing, but it wasn’t the end. Instead, it was the start of something new. I was invited to host a panel of Penguin YA authors, and I discovered a different path.

Within hours of the Breathless Reads panel, I had my own website. I began reworking interviews, using quotes and thoughts that hadn’t been previously published. I pulled from my to-be-read pile and started reviewing the books I had.

Emails to my existing contacts came back overwhelmingly positive, and new books started arriving.

Cracking the Cover has become part of my identity. It has expanded my world view and formed connections with people around the world. It has helped me through some of the most trying times in my life and has given me a purpose.

None of it would have been possible without you. So, thank you. Thank you for reading. Thank you for supporting. Thank you for loving books. Here’s to 10 more years!

The post Happy Birthday! Cracking the Cover turns 10 appeared first on www.crackingthecover.com.

Even though city COVID-19 restrictions have been lifted to allow in-person shopping, the size and layout of the bookshop makes it impossible to social distance.

Since the beginning of the pandemic (and before), The King’s English has been taking online and phone orders, but those orders have dropped significantly, and the bookshop has worked through the PPP money it received in June.

The bookshop is now at its breaking point. To stay in business through the end of the year, the store must increase sales this month (September) equal to half of what it makes in a typical December.

In hopes of keeping the doors open, the owners — Betsy Burton and Ann Holman — and their booksellers have come up with a two-pronged plan:

Become A Friend of King’s English Membership

For $100 a month you can become a supporter of the bookshop. If you sign up, the shop will charge your credit card on the 5th of each month.

Christmas in September

Get all your holiday shopping done early and help save the bookshop at the same time.

Starting Sept. 1, in addition to the booksellers answering the phones Monday through Saturday 10-6 (Mountain Time), experienced but at-risk booksellers, will be safely quarantined in the back reaches of TKE taking shifts in order to handle the calls of those who want assistance with personal holiday shopping.

Call the store (801-484-9100) any time during regular hours for help with your lists, or to make an appointment for a specific time to meet with a bookseller over the phone.

Order Online

The King’s English is open for online orders 24/7.

*Editor’s Note: The King’s English Bookshop holds a special place in my heart. It has hosted hundreds of authors over the years, and because of that, I have had some life-changing experiences. The bookshop is a community staple, and its owners — you can read my interview with Betsy Burton here — and booksellers are among the best people you’ll ever meet. It’s always been my dream to work there. If you’re in the market for books, please help them out. 

The post King’s English trying to stay afloat with Christmas in September event appeared first on www.crackingthecover.com.

If you follow me on Instagram, then you know my family and I have been working on a special project — a book-themed Christmas tree.

My family and I decorated this tree in honor of my brother (who passed away in 2015) and my mom (who died in 2018). Both were avid readers.

Our tree is decorated with ornaments and a star topper made from the pages of books. Mini books also correspond to $1000 worth of books under the tree. We covered all the bases with the books. They’re all family favorites and cater to all ages.The books range from The Hungry Caterpillar and The Questioneers to The Giver and Encyclopedia Brown to The Princess Academy and Fablehaven to The Chronicles of Prydain and LOTR to Mary Poppins and The Wheel of Time.

We hope the tree will not only bring joy to fellow book lovers but will make a real difference in the life of a child. Why? This tree will be auctioned off at the Festival of Trees. Proceeds benefit children at Primary Children’s Hospital, which is located in Salt Lake City.

My brother was sick most of his life and spent a lot of time at Primary Children’s Hospital. When he was there, books were his escape.

?Festival of Trees

The Festival of Trees features uniquely decorated Christmas trees, wreaths, playhouses, centerpieces, quilts and gingerbread houses. Shops are filled with dolls, handmade crafts and quilts, freshly baked cookies and candies, an endless assortment of freshly-made fudge, hot scones, and cinnamon rolls.

Trees are sold through an auction on Opening Night, which is an event that is held the evening before Festival of Trees opens to the public. This year, the festival is open to the general public Wednesday, Dec. 4, through Saturday, Dec. 7, 2019, from 10am – 9pm. You can buy tickets here.

Funds raised at Festival of Trees are a “A Gift of Love” to children at Primary Children’s Hospital. More than $2.8 million was raised by Festival of Trees in 2018.

?Primary Children’s Hospital

Primary Children’s Hospital in Salt Lake City is a Level I pediatric trauma center that cares for children with complex illness and injury, including organ transplants and complex birth defects. The hospital serves children in Utah, Nevada, Idaho, Montana and Wyoming.

Primary Children’s Hospital ensures that every child receives the best medical care possible, regardless of race, religion, or ability to pay.

The post Festival of Trees brings book joy to a new level appeared first on www.crackingthecover.com.

I looked at the packet when it came home, and promptly filed it away.

We didn’t use it once.

Why?

1) My daughter already knew her numbers and letters and 2) We inadvertently found something better.

What is this miracle learning tool we found? A $3 package of blank notebooks from Bullseye’s Playground at Target.

We gave my daughter the first packet of these books for Christmas last year. She liked to draw and we thought the books would help keep her artwork contained. Which worked — sort of. At first, she cut the paper out of the books, leaving us with weird scraps stapled together.

Things changed in April when she suddenly realized she could write her own books. The first rounds were more imitation than anything else. Later, she made up new stories with the same characters (Elephant & Piggie was a huge phase). Now there’s a mix of her own creative works paired with sequels to her most beloved books.

My daughter is now reading, writing, counting pages and illustrating on her own. Occasionally she’ll ask how to spell a word, but more often than not, she figures it out (mostly) on her own.

I love the creative aspect these books have brought to learning. They’ve enhanced my daughter’s life on so many levels and have helped her build on concepts without realizing she’s actually learning.

Now that the back-to-school items are gone from Bullseye’s Playground at Target, it is a little harder to find these books in the stores. Although, I did see some with Halloween themed colors the last time I checked. They retail at $3 for eight 16-page blank books at the store, or you can buy them online $9 for three packets of eight 16-page blank books.

Editor’s Note: Target did not pay me or give me these books. I just really like them and thought you should know!

The post Target notebooks turn young readers into author/illustrators appeared first on www.crackingthecover.com.

The person who recommended it to me was my mother. It was my mom who handed me Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre when I was 12 and Robert Specht’s Tisha soon after. At each stage in my life, my mom was there with a book for me to read.

As I grew into an adult and began my career as a journalist, the tables turned. I began recommending books to her. We fell in love with Sandra Dallas’ books about the Rocky Mountain West. We bonded over Jamie Ford’s Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet and, most recently, drooled over Sarah B. Pomeroy and Jeyaraney Kathirithamby’s Maria Sibylla Merian: Artist, Scientist, Adventurer.

My mother passed away a little over a month ago. And while we were very close for a number of reasons, books were always part of that equation.

I’ve had a hard time processing my mom’s death, in part, I think, because I’ve been in maintenance mode — preparing her house to sell, organizing her files, paying bills, etc. It’s exhausting, and I often find myself thinking about her in the strangest moments. But things are starting to smooth out. My daughter starts back to preschool in a week, and I feel like I’m starting to find my footing.

That means I hope to soon be back here on a regular schedule. My mom was in the hospital for a month, and I read some fantastic books during that time. Books that transported me away from an experience that ranged from mundane to terrifying. Those are the books I want to share with you first. Those, and some of the books I committed to sharing with you long before any of this adventure began.

This is going to be a long road for me, and I thank you for your support over the past few months and your patience moving forward. Books are my safe place, and I can’t wait to start sharing them with you again.

The post A safe place: Books create bonds that last beyond the grave appeared first on www.crackingthecover.com.

“When will you be back?”

I’ve faced a lot of questions over the past three weeks, but these two are the most heart wrenching. By the time this publishes, my mom will have been in the hospital for 24 days. Seventeen of which have been in the ICU.

Mom was admitted to the hospital with a clear plan in place: Build up her strength in preparation for a medical procedure that’s usually outpatient or a one-night stay. The first part of the plan seemed to work, and so did the procedure, but then things went south. Bouts of internal bleeding and breathing tubes left everything up in the air. And then, suddenly, things calmed down.

Now, we seem to have entered the gray zone, an abyss where she still seems to be improving and yet a darkness has descended. Where she once was eager to get out of bed, now all she wants to do is sleep. She begged for water for days only to be disappointed when ice chips made her gag. The pain we sought to alleviate has returned and her feelings of hope appear to have diminished.

Events have started to blur — although some will be etched in my mind forever — but the two constants have been “How long can you stay?” and “When will you be back?”

The two questions come from the two most important women in my life — my mom and my 4-year-old daughter. As the days stretch into weeks, the weight of responsibility where both of them are concerned has become increasingly difficult. They both understand how much the other needs me but can’t comprehend the demands.

Then there are other things that deserve my attention — my husband, our house, our garden and my writing. This is the first time I’ve written anything in more than two weeks. My brain is fried. I can barely put two words together let alone offer constructive criticism of a book.

I at least have been able to read, though, and I am grateful for the talented writers who have transported me from an uncomfortable chair in the ICU to new worlds and introduced me to exciting characters. And I look forward to sharing some of those worlds with you in the future.

I hope this post doesn’t come across as “poor me.” I’ve written it more as an exercise in hopes of collecting my thoughts and measuring what truly matters.

So, if you made it this far, I ask of you only one thing: read a book, plant a plant or eat some chocolate. Those are my mom’s favorite things to do.

The post Beyond Books: Measuring what truly matters appeared first on www.crackingthecover.com.

Sorry, I can only ship to U.S. addresses. Make sure to comment by noon MDT Wednesday, May 30, 2018, to ensure you’re entered.

I’m giving away four different packages — middle-grade ARCs, middle-grade novels, YA ARCs and YA novels. Scroll down for pictures of each package.

To enter: Tell me below which book in each package you’d like to read first. (Please comment separately for each prize pack.)

Each comment will get THREE entries in the final drawing. You can visit my Instagram page, crackingthecover, and enter there as well. Good luck and thanks for stopping by!

The post New to You! MG and YA book giveaways appeared first on www.crackingthecover.com.

When my husband and I bought our house 3 1/2 years ago, we set out to make it our forever home. To say getting there has been a monumental fete is an understatement. The previous owners smoked in it for 30 years, and then when they moved to a care facility, it sat closed up for another three. Our realtor told us most buyers wouldn’t walk past the front door, the smell was so bad.

We toured the house once and walked away. But we couldn’t get it out of our minds. We toured it again, seeing the potential. We made an offer and a plan. The only way this house was going to work for us was a major renovation, and we had to get rid of the smell. We focused on fixing the upstairs and pulled out everything in the basement down to the foundation.

Slowly, our vision took shape. We lived with an ugly kitchen for more than a year so we could really see how we used the space. We got a new driveway and replaced the roof. And last fall, we began in earnest on our basement. My husband did almost all of the work on his own (I did some, but spent most of the time trying to keep our then 3-year-old out of the way).

Six months and multiple revised plans later, we have a beautiful living space that is far beyond my expectations. My husband has his own office. My daughter has her own play area. And I have the library of me dreams. The space is cool and peaceful, and I can’t wait to get my books on the shelves!

About those books, most have been living in boxes since we moved to our home. And review copies have immediately gone into boxes after being read. My husband and I hauled 59 boxes downstairs this past weekend! As I unbox them, I’m taking my time and culling my collection. That means big giveaways are coming your way in the next few weeks.

THE DETAILS

Built-ins

The office, library and TV built-ins are an Ikea hack. Ikea’s Billy Bookcases are only 11 inches deep and don’t work for picture books or “nonstandard” size novels. That’s why we used Ikea’s Sektion kitchen system instead.

My husband built a base, which allowed for electrical and data outlets. We used wall cabinets that attach to a rail. We used the Ikea drawers for extra storage, but bought drawer fronts from Semihandmade . My husband brought it all together with custom mill work. We bought the Ikea items during the store’s kitchen sale, which helped cut down on costs, and the system significantly cut down on construction time.

The drawer pulls are Liberty Mila 5-1/6 inch in satin nickel from Home Depot.

Paint

We used two shades of blue paint for this project. Both are Behr Ultra from Home Depot. The darker blue in the office, family room and library is Thundercloud. The other blue in the bathroom and bedroom is Peaceful Blue. We painted a number of sample colors on the wall before choosing these two, which complement each other well. We chose to go lighter in the bedroom because it only gets morning light and in the bathroom, which gets no outside light.

Carpet

We ended up going way lighter on carpeting than we initially thought. We bought it through Kay Riley Flooring and Design in Bountiful, Utah. The carpet has a slight grey pattern to it that looks different depending on the viewing angle. The color is Sky Light.

Bathroom

We bought our tile from three different places. The floor tile is Retro Hexagon 2″ x 2″ HePorcelain Mosaic Tile in White by EliteTile.

The shower/tub white subway tile is from Floor and Decor.

The bath/shower accent trim is Jeffrey Court Malibu Breeze from Home Depot.

The vanity is Creeley 48 in. Vanity Cabinet in Classic White from Home Depot. Ours came with a white variegated marble top.

The rug and stool are from Ikea.

Below is a before and after gallery of our basement project.

The post Dark, dank basement transformed into light and airy dream library appeared first on www.crackingthecover.com.

“I remember sitting at the typewriter in my room in my family’s house, the late summer breeze ruffling the blue curtains,” Todd told Cracking the Cover. “Sunlight made patterns on the floor, and it was all gorgeously ephemeral. The house was in foreclosure, and I was going to have to leave. My Mom got it in the divorce, but she couldn’t make enough money to keep it. We had all of our stuff packed up to move out, and my last hours were spent working on my first novel. Despite the impending free fall, I was calm, certain. Something about writing made me that way, made me stronger. That was when I knew: I was going to keep doing for the rest of my life.”

Twenty-eight years later, Todd still feels that euphoria every time he writes a rough draft. “I can’t imagine stopping now,” he said.

Todd’s love of fantasy has followed him through different life stages — adventure in high school; relationships in college; complex, blood-and-bones high fantasy for adults (The Heartstone Trilogy) in his 30s; YA fantasy (“Fairmist”) in 2015; and newly released (Oct. 25) middle-grade novel “The Wishing World.”

Writing middle grade came as a surprise for Todd, though he now sees it as a natural step. “I was a father with two young children, 4 years old and 6 years old, and I had taken to making up colorful bedtime stories for them. When they asked me to write these adventures down, I figured I’d take a brief break from my ‘serious’ work and make something just for them.”

Todd never intended to publish “The Wishing World.” He didn’t give it his “best effort.” Instead, he let it be free-flowing and whimsical. In the end, that freedom produced his favorite book.

At the center of “The Wishing World” is Lorelei, a girl whose family is suddenly snatched away from her by a monster during a camping trip. No one believes Lorelei’s story, but she’s determined to find her family with or without help. When she accidentally breaks into the Wishing World, she discovers a way. It’s a land of talking griffons, water princesses and cities made of sand. There, Lorelei is a Doolivanti — a wish-maker — who can write her dreams into existence. But she’s not the only Doolivanti. The monster who took her family is, too, and he’ll do whatever it takes to keep Lorelei’s family and gain control of the entire Wishing World.

Though Todd spent years telling his children the stories of Gruffy the Griffon, creating a written version of “The Wishing World” was a struggle. Then he decided to add Lorelei to the story and everything changed.

Lorelei is based on Todd’s daughter, Elowyn. “It was only when I took my daughter and tossed her into the novel that it began to flow,” Todd said. “Lorelei’s greatest fear is my daughter’s greatest fear — losing her family — and I made her face it in Ch. 1. Elo has never forgiven me for that. To this day, she will not read the first chapter nor will she be in the room while I am reading it aloud.”

While Lorelei literally was Elowyn in the beginning, she evolved throughout the book, and continues to in its sequel “The Wishing World II: Loremaster,” Todd said. “Elo and Lorelei are both whip-smart leaders, bombastic when the moment calls for it and quiet when needed. Lorelei and Elo also share a vast imagination, and they’re both excited by new things. Elo is more conscientious, but Lorelei is more driven. Elo, generally speaking, is happy where she is, while Lorelei crawling out of her skin to accomplish the only thing that matters: Get. Her Parents. Back.”

Todd just finished the final draft of “Loremaster.” His focus now is marketing “The Wishing World,” but he’s got three manuscripts on the backburner — “The Whisper Prince II: The Undying Man” (the sequel to “Fairmist”), “The Wishing World III: The Hateman,” and “Charlie Fiction,” which Todd describes as “a time travel novel chock full of social commentary about our tech-crazy society. I can’t wait to get back to each and every one of them, but ‘The Undying Man’ comes first.”

Read the complete transcript of Cracking the Cover’s interview with Todd Fahnestock and learn more about the author’s writing process and how his writing has evolved over the years.

Learn more about Todd Fahnestock and “The Wishing World” by following “The Wishing World” blog tour.

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