Carnegie Medal (literary award) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids The Carnegie Medal for Writing |
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|---|---|
| Reward | £5,000 |
| First awarded | 1936 |
| Last awarded | Active |
The Carnegie Medal for Writing is a special British award. It started in 1936. Each year, it celebrates the best new English-language book for children or young adults. The award is given by the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals (CILIP). They call it "the UK's oldest and most important book award for children's writing." Currently, CILIP works with Yoto, a company that makes audio technology, for this award.
To be nominated, books must be written in English. They also need to be first published in the UK during the school year (September to August). For a long time, only books by British authors published in England could win. The first winner from outside Britain was Ivan Southall from Australia in 1972. He won for his book Josh. Also, at first, authors could only win once. But in 1981, Peter Dickinson became the first to win twice. He won for Tulku and City of Gold. By 2018, eight authors had won the Medal more than once.
The winner gets a shiny gold medal. They also receive £500 worth of books to donate to a library of their choice. Since 2016, the winner also gets a £5,000 cash prize. This money comes from a gift left by Colin Mears.
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What Happened in 2023?
In 2023, Manon Steffan Ros won the Carnegie Medal. She won for her book The Blue Book of Nebo. This was the first time a translated book won the award. The Blue Book of Nebo tells the story of a boy and his mother. They are trying to survive in a world after a big disaster. The book was translated from Welsh. It shows a lot about Welsh culture and identity.
Here are the seven books that made it to the shortlist in 2023:
- Katya Balen, The Light in Everything (Bloomsbury)
- Sita Brahmachari, When Shadows Fall (Little Tiger)
- Jessie Burton, Medusa (Bloomsbury)
- Louise Finch, The Eternal Return of Clara Hart (Little Island)
- Patrice Lawrence, Needle (Barrington Stoke)
- Manon Steffan Ros, The Blue Book of Nebo (Firefly Press)
- Ruta Sepetys, I Must Betray You (Hodder) (This one won the Shadowers' Choice award)
Since 2001, the recommended ages for books on the shortlist have varied. Some are for kids as young as 8, while others are for teens up to 14 or older.
History of the Carnegie Medal
The Medal is named after Andrew Carnegie. He was born in Scotland but became a famous American businessman. He loved to help others, especially by building libraries. He started over 2,800 libraries around the world. Many of these were in Britain.
The award began in 1936. It was set up by the British Library Association. This was to celebrate 100 years since Andrew Carnegie was born. The first award was given in 1937 to Arthur Ransome for his book Pigeon Post (published in 1936). The first Medal was dated 1936. But since 2007, it's dated by the year it's given out. This is usually a year or two after the book is published.
In 1955, another award was created. It was called the Kate Greenaway Medal. This award is for "amazing illustrations in a children's book." It's like a partner to the Carnegie Medal.
Both awards were managed by the Library Association. Then, in 2002, CILIP took over. In 2022, the Kate Greenaway Medal was officially renamed the Carnegie Medal for Illustration.
As of 2023, CILIP still organizes the award. It is sponsored by Yoto, Scholastic, and the Authors' Licensing and Collecting Society.
How the Award Process Works
Members of CILIP can suggest books in September and October. A full list of all suggested books is shared in November. Then, a group of 12 children's librarians, who are part of CILIP's Youth Libraries Group, choose a longer list of books. This "longlist" is announced in February. The "shortlist" (a smaller group of finalists) is announced in March. Finally, the winner is announced in June.
Books must be in English and first published in the UK. This needs to happen between September 1st and August 31st of the year before the award. CILIP says that "all kinds of books" can be nominated. This includes poetry, non-fiction, and graphic novels. They can be print books or ebooks. Books written by many authors (like collections of stories) are not allowed. But books written by two authors together can be nominated.
Young people across the UK also get involved. They form "shadowing groups" in secondary schools and public libraries. These groups read and talk about the shortlisted books.
The judges look at the story, the characters, and the writing style. CILIP tells them that the winning book should be "outstanding." It should be enjoyable to read. It should also give a "deeper" feeling, like you've truly experienced something new.
In 2018, the award looked at how diverse the books and authors were. This led to changes in how books are nominated and judged. These changes help make sure more authors from different backgrounds are included.
Winners of the Carnegie Medal
As of 2022, the Carnegie Medal has been given out 83 times over 86 years. This covers books published from 1936 to 2021. In 1943, 1945, and 1966, the judges decided that no book was good enough to win.
From 2007 onwards, the medals are dated by the year they are given out. Before that, they were dated by the year the book was published in Britain.
Many winning books had illustrations in their first editions. Forty-one books were illustrated. Every winning book in the first thirty years had illustrations. Six books from 1936 to 1953 were illustrated by their own authors.
"Carnegie of Carnegies" Award
In 2007, the Carnegie Medal turned 70 years old! To celebrate, CILIP created a "Living Archive" online. It has information about all the winning books. They also held a public vote to find the most loved Carnegie Medal winner ever. This special award was called the "Carnegie of Carnegies."
The winner was announced on June 21, 2007. It was Northern Lights by Philip Pullman, which won the regular Medal in 1995. This book was expected to win. It got 40% of the votes in the UK and 36% worldwide.
Here are the top ten books from the 70th Anniversary poll:
- David Almond, Skellig, (Hodder, 1998)
- Melvin Burgess, Junk, (Penguin, 1996)
- Kevin Crossley-Holland, Storm, (Egmont, 1985)
- Jennifer Donnelly, A Gathering Light, (Bloomsbury, 2003)
- Alan Garner, The Owl Service, (HarperCollins, 1967)
- Eve Garnett, The Family from One End Street, (Penguin, 1937)
- Mary Norton, The Borrowers, (Penguin, 1952)
- Philippa Pearce, Tom's Midnight Garden, (Oxford, 1958)
- Philip Pullman, Northern Lights, (Scholastic, 1995)
- Robert Westall, The Machine Gunners, (Macmillan, 1975)
Northern Lights received 40% of the public vote. Tom's Midnight Garden by Philippa Pearce came in second with 16%. Skellig by David Almond was third with 8%. Some people pointed out that Tom's Midnight Garden had been around much longer. It had truly stood the test of time.
Authors Who Won Multiple Awards
Eight authors have won the Carnegie Medal more than once. For many years, winning more than once was not allowed. Also, many authors have been on the shortlist or received special mentions multiple times.
The table below lists authors who have been honored more than once. It's sorted by how many honors they received. A win is considered higher than a special mention. Shortlist mentions are treated like regular mentions. This table was last updated in March 2024.
| Author | Wins | High commendations | Commendations | Shortlists |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anne Fine | 2 (1989, 1992) | 3 (1989, 1996, 2002) | 2 (2007, 2014) | |
| Robert Westall | 2 (1975, 1981) | 2 (1990, 1992) | 1 (2007) | |
| Peter Dickinson | 2 (1979, 1980) | 1 (1988) | 4 (1970, 1972, 1976, 1992) | |
| Geraldine McCaughrean | 2 (1988, 2018) | 1 (2001) | 3 (2005, 2011, 2015) | |
| Jan Mark | 2 (1976, 1983) | 1 (1980) | 1 (2005) | |
| Berlie Doherty | 2 (1986, 1991) | 1 (1994) | ||
| Margaret Mahy | 2 (1982, 1984) | 1 (1987) | ||
| Patrick Ness | 2 (2011, 2012) | 5 (2009, 2010, 2015, 2016, 2018) | ||
| K. M. Peyton | 1 (1969) | 6 (1962, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1969) | ||
| William Mayne | 1 (1957) | 5 (1955, 1956, 1957, 1970) | ||
| Rosemary Sutcliff | 1 (1959) | 5 (1954, 1956, 1957, 1958, 1971) | ||
| Gillian Cross | 1 (1990) | 4 (1982, 1986, 1988, 1992) | ||
| Melvin Burgess | 1 (1996) | 3 (1990, 1993, 2000) | 2 (1996, 2007) | |
| Philippa Pearce | 1 (1958) | 3 (1977, 1979, 1983) | 1 (2007) | |
| Leon Garfield | 1 (1970) | 3 (1967, 1968, 1970) | ||
| Lucy M. Boston | 1 (1961) | 2 (1954, 1958) | ||
| Hester Burton | 1 (1963) | 2 (1960, 1962) | ||
| Philip Pullman | 1 (1995) | 1 (2000) | 2 (2004, 2007)' | |
| Sharon Creech | 1 (2002) | 1 (2001) | 1 (2004) | |
| Alan Garner | 1 (1967) | 1 (1965) | 1 (2007) | |
| Mary Norton | 1 (1952) | 1 (1959) | 1 (2007) | |
| Terry Pratchett | 1 (2008) | 1 (1996) | 1 (2010) | |
| Cynthia Harnett | 1 (1951) | 1 (1959) | ||
| C. S. Lewis | 1 (1956) | 1 (1954) | ||
| Noel Streatfeild | 1 (1938) | 1 (1936) | ||
| Robert Swindells | 1 (1993) | 1 (1984) | ||
| David Almond | 1 (1998) | 4 (2003, 2005, 2007, 2012) | ||
| Frank Cottrell-Boyce | 1 (2004) | 3 (2005, 2009, 2017) | ||
| Ruta Sepetys | 1 (2017) | 3 (2012, 2021, 2023) | ||
| Kevin Brooks | 1 (2014) | 2 (2007, 2009) | ||
| Sarah Crossan | 1 (2016) | 2 (2013, 2015) | ||
| Kevin Crossley-Holland | 1 (1985) | 2 (1985, 2008) | ||
| Philip Reeve | 1 (2008) | 2 (2010, 2017) | ||
| Meg Rosoff | 1 (2007) | 2 (2008, 2011) | ||
| Katya Balen | 1 (2022) | 1 (2023) | ||
| Theresa Breslin | 1 (1994) | 1 (2011) | ||
| Siobhan Dowd | 1 (2009) | 1 (2007) | ||
| Sally Gardner | 1 (2013) | 1 (2015) | ||
| Tanya Landman | 1 (2015) | 1 (2008) | ||
| Anthony McGowan | 1 (2020) | 1 (2018) | ||
| Mal Peet | 1 (2005) | 1 (2017) | ||
| Jason Reynolds | 1 (2021) | 1 (2019) | ||
| Helen Cresswell | 4 (1969, 1971, 1973, 1967) | |||
| Gillian Avery | 3 (1957, 1962, 1971) | |||
| Antonia Forest | 3 (1957, 1961, 1963) | |||
| Diana Wynne Jones | 3 (1975, 1977, 1988) | |||
| Barbara Leonie Picard | 3 (1954, 1956, 1965) | |||
| Susan Cooper | 2 (1973, 1975) | 1 (2014) | ||
| Vivien Alcock | 2 (1988, 1989) | |||
| Bernard Ashley | 2 (1979, 1986) | |||
| Jenny Grace Fyson | 2 (1964, 1965) | |||
| Rumer Godden | 2 (1956, 1961) | |||
| Mary K. Harris | 2 (1960, 1965) | |||
| Janni Howker | 2 (1985, 1986) | |||
| Jo Manton | 2 (1955, 1962) | |||
| James Reeves | 2 (1954, 1961) | |||
| Ian Serraillier | 2 (1956, 1960) | |||
| John Rowe Townsend | 2 (1963, 1969) | |||
| John Verney | 2 (1959, 1961) | |||
| Jacqueline Wilson | 2 (1991, 1995) | |||
| Elizabeth Laird | 1 (1988) | 3 (2003, 2008, 2015) | ||
| Jane Gardam | 1 (1981) | 1 (1981) | ||
| Michael Morpurgo | 1 (1987) | 1 (2003) | ||
| Marcus Sedgwick | 7 (2007, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2016, 2018, 2020) | |||
| Frances Hardinge | 3 (2015, 2016, 2019) | |||
| Nick Lake | 3 (2013, 2016, 2020) | |||
| Lauren Wolk | 3 (2017, 2018, 2021) | |||
| Elizabeth Acevedo | 2 (2019, 2021) | |||
| Sophie Anderson | 2 (2019, 2021) | |||
| Lissa Evans | 2 (2012, 2018) | |||
| Bonnie-Sue Hitchcock | 2 (2017, 2022) | |||
| Manjeet Mann | 2 (2021, 2022) | |||
| Kate Saunders | 2 (2016, 2019) | |||
| Angie Thomas | 2 (2018, 2020) | |||
| Jenny Valentine | 2 (2008, 2016) | |||
| Joseph Coelho | 2 (2021, 2024) |
Books with Multiple Awards
Six books have won both the Carnegie Medal and the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize. The Guardian award started in 1967. (The dates below are when the books were published in the UK. For Carnegie, it's the award year before 2006.)
- Alan Garner, The Owl Service (1967)
- Richard Adams, Watership Down (1972)
- Geraldine McCaughrean, A Pack of Lies (1988)
- Anne Fine, Goggle-Eyes (1989)
- Philip Pullman, His Dark Materials 1: Northern Lights (1995)
- Melvin Burgess, Junk (1996)
Only one book has won both the Carnegie and Greenaway Medals. That was A Monster Calls (2012). It was written by Patrick Ness and illustrated by Jim Kay.
Only The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman (2009) has won both the Carnegie Medal and the top American award for children's books, the Newbery Medal.
Sharon Creech won the Carnegie for Ruby Holler (2002). She had already won the Newbery and two UK awards for Walk Two Moons (1994).
Four writers have won both the Carnegie and the US Michael L. Printz Award. The Printz Award is an American Library Association award. It celebrates the "best book written for teens" based on its writing quality. The four writers are David Almond, Aidan Chambers, Geraldine McCaughrean, and Meg Rosoff. Only Aidan Chambers won both awards for the same book. This was for Postcards from No Man's Land, which won the Carnegie in 1999 and the Printz in 2003.
The British Carnegie Medal is similar to the American Newbery and Printz awards. All of them recognize great books for children or young adults.
See also
- Kate Greenaway Medal
- Children's Laureate
- Blue Peter Book Awards
- Guardian Children's Fiction Prize
- Nestlé Smarties Book Prize
- Newbery Medal, the main American award for children's books
- Michael L. Printz Award, the main American award for young adult books
