The Eisner Awards have named their judges slate for the 2015 version, which will honor books published in 2014. The judges provide the nominations sheet on which industry professional then vote for the winters, so it can be a massive and demanding volunteer job.
This year's judges are: retailer, editor and writer Carr D'Angelo; librarian, writer and academic Richard Graham; writer Sean Howe; academic and writer Susan Kirtley; CCI volunteer and animation producer Ron McFee; and historian/journalist Maggie Thompson. Kirtley and Howe at the very least are recent winners of Eisners, Howe for his book on Marvel and Kirtley for her book on Lynda Barry. I asked administrator Jackie Estrada if this was Thompson's first time as a judge and she said yes, noting that she has been eligible for an award most years for her work at the now-defunct Comics Buyer's Guide.
You can read full bios here. Congrats to those named and best of luck on the journey ahead. The Eisner Awards themselves take place in July on the Friday of Comic-Con International weekend. I'll be there, sitting way, way, way in the back.