The Carnegie Medal for Writing, established in 1936 as the Carnegie Medal, is an annual British literary award for English-language books for children or young adults. It is conferred upon the author by the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals (CILIP), who in 2016 called it "the UK's oldest and most prestigious book award for children's writing".
Nominated books must be written in English and first published in the UK during the preceding school year (September to August). Until 1969, the award was limited to books by British authors first published in England. The first non-British medalist was Australian author Ivan Southall for Josh (1972). The original rules also prohibited winning authors from future consideration. The first author to win a second Carnegie Medal was Peter Dickinson in 1981, who won consecutively for Tulku and City of Gold. As of 2024, eight authors had received the Medal more than once.
The winner is awarded a gold medal and £500 worth of books donated to the winner's chosen library. In addition, since 2016 the winner has received a £5,000 cash prize from the Colin Mears bequest.
History The Medal is named after the Scottish-born American philanthropist Andrew Carnegie (1835–1919), who founded more than 2,800 libraries in the English-speaking world, including at least one in more than half of British library authorities. It was established in 1936 by the British Library Association, to celebrate the centenary of Carnegie's birth, and inaugurated in 1937 with the award to Arthur Ransome for Pigeon Post (1936) and the identification of two "commended" books. This first Medal was dated 1936, but since 2007 the award has been dated by its year of presentation, not year of publication.
In 1955, the Kate Greenaway Medal, for "distinguished illustration in a book for children", was established as a companion to the Carnegie Medal.
Both awards were established and administered by the Library Association, which was succeeded by the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals (CILIP) in 2002. In 2022, the two awards were renamed to the Carnegie Medal for Writing and the Carnegie Medal for Illustration.
From 2022 to 2024, the award was sponsored by the audio technology company Yoto and was called the Yoto Carnegie Medal for Writing. As of 2025 the awards are sponsored by Scholastic and the Authors' Licensing and Collecting Society (ALCS).
Since 2019 two Shadowers' Choice Awards have been given, for writing and illustration, chosen by young people in school and library reading groups who "shadow" the judging process.
Process
CILIP members may nominate books each September and October, with the full list of valid nominations published in November. The longlist, chosen by the judges from the nominated books, is published in February. The judging panel comprises 12 children's librarians, all of whom are members of CILIP's Youth Libraries Group (YLG). The shortlist is announced in March and the winner in June.
Titles must be English-language works first published in the UK during the preceding year (1 September to 31 August). According to CILIP, "all categories of books, including poetry, non-fiction and graphic novels, in print or ebook format, for children and young people are eligible". Multiple-author anthologies are excluded; however, co-authored single works are eligible.
Young people from across the UK take part in shadowing groups organised by secondary schools and public libraries, to read and discuss the shortlisted books.
CILIP instructs the judging panel to consider plot, characterisation, and style. Furthermore, it states that "the book that wins the Carnegie Medal should be a book of outstanding literary quality. The whole work should provide pleasure, not merely from the surface enjoyment of a good read, but also the deeper subconscious satisfaction of having gone through a vicarious, but at the time of reading, a real experience that is retained afterwards."
A diversity review in 2018 led to changes in the nomination and judging process to promote better representation of ethnic minority authors and books.
Winners From 1936 to 2025, 86 medals were awarded. No eligible book published in 1943, 1945, or 1966 was considered suitable by the judging panel.
From 2007 onward, the medals are dated by the year of presentation. Before this, they were dated by the calendar year of their British publication.
Forty-one winning books were illustrated in their first editions, including every one during the first three decades. Six from 1936 to 1953 were illustrated or co-illustrated by their authors; none since then. + Carnegie Medal winners Year Author Title PublisherRef. 1936 Pigeon Post Jonathan Cape1937The Family from One End StreetFrederick Muller1938The Circus Is ComingJ. M. Dent1939The Radium WomanHeinemann1940Visitors from LondonJ. M. Dent1941We Couldn't Leave DinahJonathan Cape1942BBEyre & Spottiswoode1943(Prize withheld as no book considered suitable) 1944 The Wind on the MoonMacmillan 1945 (Prize withheld as no book considered suitable) 1946The Little White HorseUniversity of London 1947Collected Stories for ChildrenFaber 1948Sea ChangeJ. M. Dent 1949 illus. Agnes and Jack AllenThe Story of Your Home1950The Lark on the WingOxford University Press1951 illus. by the authorThe Wool-PackMethuen1952The BorrowersJ. M. Dent1953 illus. by the authorA Valley Grows UpOxford University Press1954 (Felton Ronald Oliver)Knight CrusaderOxford University Press1955The Little BookroomOxford University Press1956The Last BattleThe Bodley Head1957A Grass RopeOxford University Press1958Tom's Midnight GardenOxford University Press1959The Lantern BearersOxford University Press1960 illus. Marjorie Maitland HowardThe Making of ManPhoenix House1961A Stranger at Green KnoweFaber1962The Twelve and the GeniiFaber1963Time of TrialOxford University Press1964Nordy BankOxford University Press1965The Grange at High ForceOxford University Press1966(Prize withheld as no book considered suitable)1967The Owl ServiceCollins1968The Moon in the CloudFaber1969The Edge of the CloudOxford University Press1970 and Edward Blishenillustrated by Charles KeepingThe God Beneath the SeaLongman1971JoshAngus & Robertson1972Watership DownRex Collings1973The Ghost of Thomas KempeHeinemann1974The StrongholdHamish Hamilton1975The Machine GunnersMacmillan1976Thunder and LightningsKestrel1977The Turbulent Term of Tyke TilerFaber1978The Exeter BlitzHamish Hamilton1979TulkuGollancz1980 illus. Michael ForemanCity of Gold and other stories from the Old TestamentGollancz1981The ScarecrowsChatto & Windus1982The HauntingJ. M. Dent1983HandlesKestrel1984The ChangeoverJ. M. Dent1985 illus. Alan MarksStormHeinemann1986Granny Was a Buffer GirlMethuen1987The Ghost DrumFaber1988A Pack of LiesOxford University Press1989Goggle-EyesHamish Hamilton1990WolfOxford University Press1991Dear NobodyHamish Hamilton1992Flour BabiesHamish Hamilton1993Stone ColdHamish Hamilton1994Whispers in the GraveyardMethuen1995Northern LightsScholastic1996JunkAndersen Press1997River BoyOxford University Press1998 illus. Adam FisherSkelligHodder & Stoughton1999Postcards from No Man's LandThe Bodley Head2000The Other Side of TruthPuffin2001The Amazing Maurice and his Educated RodentsDoubleday2002Ruby HollerBloomsbury2003A Gathering LightBloomsbury2004MillionsMacmillan2005TamarWalker Books2006(The award date is the year of publication before 2006, the year of presentation after 2006.)2007Just in CasePenguin2008Here Lies ArthurScholastic2009Bog ChildDavid Fickling2010 two illustratorsThe Graveyard BookBloomsbury2011Monsters of MenWalker Books2012 illustrated by Jim KayA Monster CallsWalker Books2013Maggot MoonHot Key Books2014The Bunker DiaryPenguin Books2015Buffalo SoldierWalker Books2016OneBloomsbury Children's2017Salt to the SeaPenguin Books2018 illustrated by Jane MilloyWhere the World EndsUsborne Publishing2019The Poet XHarperTeen2020LarkBarrington Stoke2021Look Both WaysKnights Of2022October, OctoberBloomsbury2023The Blue Book of NeboFirefly Press2024The Boy Lost in the MazeOtter-Barry Books2025Margaret McDonaldGlasgow BoysFaber2026Beth O'BrienWolf SirenHarperCollins Children’s Books
Carnegie of Carnegies
To commemorate the 70th anniversary of the Carnegie Medal in 2007, CILIP created a 'Living Archive' on the Carnegie Medal website with information about each of the winning books and conducted a poll to identify the nation's favourite Carnegie Medal winner, to be named the "Carnegie of Carnegies". The winner, announced on 21 June 2007 at the British Library, was Northern Lights by Philip Pullman (1995). It was the expected winner, garnering 40% of the votes in the UK, and 36% worldwide.
70th Anniversary Top Ten 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, with 40% of the public vote, was followed by 16% for Tom's Midnight Garden by Philippa Pearce and 8% for Skellig by David Almond. As those three books had won the 70-year-old Medal in its year 60, year 23, and year 63, some commentary observed that Tom's Midnight Garden had passed a test of time that the others had not yet faced.
Honorees Before 2007, the selection process for the award was structured such that the year in which the award was given aligned with the year of publication for the books being considered. The books would be nominated and chosen during the year following their release, with the winners being announced and the medals presented in the early months of the subsequent year.
1930s +Medal winners and commended titles, 1936-1939YearAuthorTitlePublisherResultRef.1936Pigeon PostJonathan CapeWinnerSampson's CircusCommendedBallet ShoesCommended1937Frederick MullerWinner1938J. M. DentWinner1939HeinemannWinner
1940s +Medal winners and commended titles, 1940-1949YearAuthorTitlePublisherResultRef.1940Visitors from LondonJ. M. DentWinner1941We Couldn't Leave DinahJonathan CapeWinner1942BBEyre & SpottiswoodeWinner1943Prize withheld as no book considered suitable1944MacmillanWinner1945Prize withheld as no book considered suitable1946University of LondonWinner1947Collected Stories for ChildrenFaber & FaberWinner1948Sea ChangeJ. M. DentWinner1949, illus. Agnes and Jack AllenFaber & FaberWinner
1950s +Medal winners and commended titles, 1950-1959YearAuthorTitlePublisherResultRef.1950Oxford University PressWinner1951Methuen PublishingWinner1952J. M. DentWinner1953Oxford University PressWinner1954 Knight CrusaderOxford University PressWinner and Kathleen LinesLavender's Blue: A Book of Nursery RhymesSpecial commendationChildren of Green KnoweCommendedOver the Hills to FabylonCommendedCommendedCommendedEnglish Fables and Fairy StoriesCommendedCommended1955Oxford University PressWinnerMan Must Measure: The Wonderful World of MathematicsCommendedCandidate for FameCommendedCommendedCommendedMinnow on the SayCommended1956The Bodley HeadWinnerCommendedChoristers' CakeCommendedCommendedRansom for a KnightCommendedCommendedCommended1957Oxford University PressWinnerCommendedSogberd's GroveCommendedFalconer's LureCommendedCommendedCommendedCommended1958Tom's Midnight GardenOxford University PressWinnerCommendedWarrior ScarletCommended1959Oxford University PressWinnerCommendedCommendedCommendedFriday's TunnelCommendedQuiet as Moss: 36 PoemsCommended
1960s