Carnegie Medal for Writing facts for kids
Quick facts for kids The Carnegie Medal for Writing |
|
|---|---|
| Reward | £5,000 |
| First awarded | 1936 |
| Last awarded | Active |
The Carnegie Medal for Writing is a special British award for the best English-language books written for children and young adults. It started in 1936 and is given out every year. The award is presented by the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals (CILIP). In 2016, CILIP called it "the UK's oldest and most important book award for children's writing."
To be considered, books must be written in English. They also need to have been first published in the UK between September and August of the previous school year. For a long time, only books by British authors could win. However, in 1972, Ivan Southall from Australia became the first non-British winner for his book Josh. Also, authors used to only be able to win once. But in 1981, Peter Dickinson won for a second time. As of 2025, eight authors have won the Medal more than once.
The winner receives a shiny gold medal. They also get £500 worth of books to donate to a library of their choice. Since 2016, the winner has also received a £5,000 cash prize.
Contents
The Medal's Story
The Carnegie Medal is named after Andrew Carnegie (1835–1919). He was born in Scotland and later became a very generous American businessman. Andrew Carnegie loved books and helped create over 2,800 libraries around the world. Many of these were in the UK.
The Library Association started the Medal in 1936. This was to celebrate 100 years since Carnegie's birth. The very first award was given in 1937 to Arthur Ransome for his book Pigeon Post. This first Medal was officially for the year 1936. Since 2007, the award is dated by the year it is given, not the year the book was published.
In 1955, another award was created to go with the Carnegie Medal. This was the Kate Greenaway Medal, which celebrates amazing illustrations in children's books. Both awards were first managed by the Library Association. This group later became the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals (CILIP) in 2002. In 2022, the awards got new names: the Carnegie Medal for Writing and the Carnegie Medal for Illustration.
From 2022 to 2024, a company called Yoto sponsored the award. Now, for 2025 and beyond, Scholastic and the Authors' Licensing and Collecting Society (ALCS) are the sponsors.
How Winners Are Chosen
Nomination and Judging Steps
Members of CILIP can suggest books for the award every September and October. A full list of all the suggested books is then shared in November. A group of 12 children's librarians, who are part of CILIP's Youth Libraries Group, act as judges. They choose a longer list of books, called the "longlist," which is announced in February. Then, they narrow it down to a "shortlist" in March. Finally, the winner is announced in June.
Book Eligibility Rules
Books must be written in English and first published in the UK. This includes books published from September 1st of one year to August 31st of the next. CILIP says that all kinds of books can be nominated. This includes poetry, non-fiction (true stories), and graphic novels. Books can be in print or as e-books. However, collections of stories by many different authors are not allowed. Books written by two authors together can be nominated.
Young Readers Get Involved
Many young people across the UK join "shadowing groups." These groups are often set up by secondary schools and public libraries. In these groups, kids read and talk about the books on the shortlist. It's a great way for them to share their thoughts and be part of the award process!
What Judges Look For
The judges are told to think about the story's plot, how well the characters are developed, and the writing style. CILIP also says that the winning book should be of "outstanding literary quality." This means it should be really well-written. The book should also be enjoyable to read. It should give readers a deep feeling of having experienced something real, even if it's just in their imagination.
In 2018, a review was done to make sure the award was fair to everyone. This led to changes in how books are nominated and judged. These changes help make sure that more authors and books from different backgrounds are included.
2024 Award Winner
Joseph Coelho won the 2024 Carnegie Medal for his book The Boy Lost in the Maze. This book is a story told in verse. It uses the old Greek legend of the Minotaur to tell the tale of a teenager looking for his biological father.
Here are the eight books that were on the 2024 shortlist:
- Kwame Alexander, The Door of No Return (Andersen)
- Zillah Bethell, The Song Walker (Usborne)
- Sophie Cameron, Away with Words (Little Tiger)
- Joseph Coelho, illus. by Kate Milner, The Boy Lost in the Maze (Otter-Barry Books)
- Nicola Davies, illus. by Petr Horáček, Choose Love (Graffeg)
- Tia Fisher, Crossing the Line (Bonnier) Winner of the Shadowers choice
- Hiba Noor Khan, Safiyyah's War (Andersen)
- Nathanael Lessore, Steady for This (Bonnier)
Past Winners
From 1936 to 2025, 86 Carnegie Medals have been given out. Interestingly, in 1943, 1945, and 1966, the judges decided that no book was good enough to win.
As mentioned, since 2007, the medals are dated by the year they are presented. Before that, they were dated by the year the book was published in the UK.
Many winning books had illustrations in their first editions. This was especially true for the first 30 years of the award. Six books from 1936 to 1953 were illustrated by their authors or co-illustrated by them.
"Carnegie of Carnegies"
In 2007, the Carnegie Medal celebrated its 70th birthday. To mark this, CILIP created a "Living Archive" online. This archive has information about all the winning books. They also held a public vote to find the nation's favorite Carnegie Medal winner. This special winner was called the "Carnegie of Carnegies."
The winner was announced on June 21, 2007, at the British Library. It was Northern Lights by Philip Pullman, which won in 1995. This book was expected to win, getting 40% of the votes in the UK and 36% worldwide.
Top Ten Books for the 70th Anniversary
- 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 votes. Tom's Midnight Garden by Philippa Pearce came in second with 16%. Skellig by David Almond was third with 8%. Some people noted that Tom's Midnight Garden had been around much longer than the other two. This meant it had already proven its lasting appeal.
Authors Who Won Multiple Times
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 is sorted by how many times they were honored and the type of honor (a win is higher than a special mention). 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) |
Other Awards Won
Six books have won both the Carnegie Medal and the annual Guardian Children's Fiction Prize. This other award started in 1967. The dates below are the years the books were published in the UK.
- 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 Medal and the Greenaway Medal. This was A Monster Calls (2012), 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 also won the Newbery and two other 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 given by the American Library Association. It recognizes the "best book written for teens" based on its literary quality. These four writers are David Almond, Aidan Chambers, Geraldine McCaughrean, and Meg Rosoff. Aidan Chambers is the only one who won both awards for the same book. This was for his novel 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 celebrate great books for children or young adults.
More to Explore
- Carnegie Medal for Illustration
- 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
See also
In Spanish: Medalla Carnegie para niños
