Graphic Novels – Cybils 2012
Welcome to the last of our second trilogy of posts about the panelists and judges for the 2012 Cybils.
Beginning last week and continuing through September 30, 2012 we are blogging about each of the Cybils categories as we count down toward our opening day for 2012 nominations: October 1, 2012
We are working our way backwards through the alphabet, so today’s featured Category is Graphic Novels and our chair Liz Jones.
Category: Graphic Novels
Category Chair: Liz Jones
Karen blogs at lizjonesbooks.livejournal.com and tweets at @lizjonesbooks
During the day, I’m a mobile family therapist, a high school writing coach, and a part time prof in children’s literature. The rest of the time, I’m a writer/illustrator, a fiddler, singer and sometime cellist, and a highly distractible but loving mother of three.
Round One Panelists
Allie Jones, student
In Bed with Books and @wearedevilcow
I am a 23-year-old college graduate living in Texas. I work as a freelance copyeditor and am looking for full-time employment. Obviously, I spend a great deal of time reading and writing about reading. In addition to the type of books I review here and at TGTBTU, I also read graphic novels, manga, manhwa, independent comics, and webcomics.
Liz Jones, teacher, parent, author
Liz Jones Books and @lizjonesbooks
Liz Jones has participated in the Cybils graphics group one way or another since 2007. For the past few years, a 90 hour work week put a damper on her posting at lizjonesbooks.livejournal.com — but she’s happy to be down off that schedule in 2012. She’s busily catching up on her reading, sending her college students off in search of great new titles in a genre most of them have never read (The horror!!!)…and is looking forward to blogging up a storm about this year’s entries.
Maggi Idzikowski, parent, librarian
Mama Librarian and @mamalibrarian
Two librarians, three kids, and lots of books.
Sarah Sammis, blogger
Puss Reboots and @pussreboots
Sarah Sammis is a copy cataloger at Holy Names University. She has more than ten years experience as a web designer and web producer. She has worked at Oracle and Applied Materials. She has a film degree from the University of California, Santa Barbara and a masters in critical studies from the University of California, Los Angeles. While at UCLA she learned web design. She is also an active book blogger, freelance artist and micro-blogger.
Debra Touchette,
Guys Lit Wire, (Library Lass) Adventures in Reading and @threelefthands
Debra is a Master of All Literature, or so her diploma says (that’s what MA Lit stands for, right?) and can now command words the way a mighty goddess commands planets and stars. But she keeps a low profile as a youth services library assistant, coffee aficionado, singer of murder ballads, geek crafter, fledgling novelist and all around cracking good lass. She blogs lovingly and ramblingly about books at (Library Lass) Adventures in Reading and may or may not be sewing a sash to denote her achievements. She also has zero zombie apocalypse survival skills. It’s important you know that up front.
Jennifer Wharton, librarian
Jean Little Library, Flying off my bookshelf
My name is Jennifer Wharton and I am the Youth Services Librarian of the Matheson Memorial Library in Elkhorn. I am responsible for programming, collection development, marketing, and outreach for ages 0 to 18 as well as providing reference and reader’s advisory for children and adults. I specialize in programming for preschool through middle school and am passionately interested in helping children explore the world through books and experiential programs!
Heather Zundel, author
The Secret Adventures of WriterGirl and @heatherzundel
A fairly ordinary girl with an extraordinary love of life and words. I really can’t shut my brain off to what is wonderful and wonderous all around me. Friendly (most of the time), except at four in the morning when I wake up (and even then I’m generally affable), intensely curious, and trying to find a home for my YA novel.
Round 2 Judges
Dave Elzey, author
The Excelsior File and @delzey
I’m a graduate of the Vermont College of Fine Arts MFA program in Writing for Children and Young Adults. When I’m not writing middle grade and YA fiction, I review children’s books for The Horn Book Guide, Guys Lit Wire, and, of course, right here. For views, opinions, and various miscellany visit me at fomagrams
Kimberly Francisco, librarian
Stacked and @kimberlymarief
Kimberly Francisco is a public librarian with a weakness for genre fiction, especially fantasy and historical fiction. She recently received her masters degree from the University of Texas at Austin, and has just begun her first job as a librarian in East Texas. One of her favorite duties is selecting children’s and YA material for the library. When Kimberly is not trying to make a dent in the massive stack of library books on her bedside table, she enjoys watching college basketball (particularly her undergraduate alma mater, the North Carolina Tar Heels), enjoying good times with good people and good food, and comparing real life events to Harry Potter. I am partial to nearly all young adult fiction, adult fantasy and science fiction, adult historical fiction, and any historical nonfiction, including memoirs.
Megan Kelley
Devour Books
Sorry, nothing to report!
Emily Mitchell, parent
Emily Reads and @emilyreads
Reader, editor, mother, student, annihilator of confusion. I post Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, except when I don’t.
Alysa Stewart, parent
Everead @everead
Hi, I’m Alysa Stewart. I’m married to Jacob Stewart, and we have two crazy monkeys adorable children. I’m full time at home with our boys. I fell in love with books as a child, and after my BYU Children’s Literature class I realized it was one of those “life’s passion” things. Simply put: I can’t shut up about books.
Before you say “oh, graphic novel is just another name for a comic book,” try one out … I think you’ll find that it is more than that. Way more. Way, way more. Just ask the kids … especially the ones that you’d NEVER suspect of picking up something that resembles a book but who poof! have one in their hands.