Great news! We learned today that Jacqueline West's THE SHADOWS has won a Cybil in the category of favorite middle grade fantasy & science fiction. What are the Cybils, you ask? From the official Cybils website (where you can view all the winners), "The Cybils awards are given each year by bloggers for the year's best children's and young adult titles... [that] combined literary merit with kid appeal." We're so happy bloggers chose to give this great award to Jacqueline's book!We must also acknowledge Sandra Stiles, a blogger who runs the website The Musings of A Book Addict; Sandra nominated THE SHADOWS and posts loads of great reviews on her site. Thanks so much, Sandra!And there's more BOOKS OF ELSEWHERE news, too! THE SHADOWS is also a finalist for a Minnesota Book Award in the Young People's Literature category, and was named to the Texas Bluebonnet Award master list for 2011-2012. We're so, so excited!

One last thing: As many of you know, Olive & company's adventures don't end in THE SHADOWS. There will be at least five volumes, starting next July with Vol 2: SPELLBOUND. Here's a look at the cover. Isn't it just gorgeous?Stay tuned for more exciting news!