Carnegie 2025 shortlists announced

In the UK, the shortlists for the Carnegie Medal for Writing and the Carnegie Medal for Illustration have been announced.

The shortlisted titles in each category are:

The Carnegie Medal for Writing

• Treacle Town (Brian Conaghan, Andersen Press)
• The Things We Leave Behind (Clare Furniss, S&S)
• The Final Year (Matt Goodfellow, illus by Joe Todd-Stanton, Otter-Barry Books)
• King of Nothing (Nathanael Lessore, Bonnier Books UK)
• Little Bang (Kelly McCaughrain, Walker)
• Glasgow Boys (Margaret McDonald, Faber Children’s)
• All That It Ever Meant (Blessing Musariri, Zephyr)
• Play (Luke Palmer, Firefly Press)

The Carnegie Medal for Illustration

• The Invisible Story (Wen Hsu Chen, written by Jaime Gamboa, trans by Daniel Hahn, Lantana)
• Grey (Lauren Child, written by Laura Dockrill, Walker)
• I Love Books (Mariajo Ilustrajo, Frances Lincoln Children’s)
• Clever Crow (Olivia Lomenech Gill, written by Chris Butterworth, Walker)
• Letters in Charcoal (Juan Palomino, written by Irene Vasco, trans by Lawrence Schimel, Lantana)
• Homebody (Theo Parish, Macmillan Children’s Books)
• Wolf and Bear (Kate Rolfe, Too Hoots)
• Flying High (Yu Rong, written by Cao Wenxuan, trans by Simone Monnelly, UCLan Publishing).

Carnegies chair Ros Harding said: ‘The two lists highlight the diversity and high quality within publishing for children and young people in the UK. Many of the titles on the writing shortlist deal with themes around masculinity and boys finding their place in society, and the shortlisted authors successfully tackle these big ideas through believable and relatable characters, whilst avoiding lecturing young people. The concept of stories plays an important part in the shortlisted books across both lists, whether this is about the joy that can be found through discovering books or about the stories we tell ourselves and others to make sense of the world around us.’

Winners will be announced on Thursday 19 June and each receive a specially commissioned golden medal and a £5000 (A$9906) cash prize. Winners of the Shadowers’ Choice Medals – voted for and awarded by children and young people – will also be presented; winners receive a golden medal and £500 (A$990) worth of books to donate to a library of their choice.

The Carnegie Medal for Writing, established in 1936, is awarded annually to a children’s book author whose writing creates an outstanding reading experience. The Carnegie Medal for Illustration (previously known as the Kate Greenaway Medal), established in 1955, is awarded annually to a children’s book illustrator whose artwork creates an outstanding reading experience.

In the 2024 awards, the Carnegie Medal for Writing was awarded to Joseph Coelho for his novel in verse The Boy Lost in the Maze, illustrated by Kate Milner (Otter-Barry Books); the 2024 Carnegie Medal for Illustration and Shadowers’ Choice Award for Illustration were both awarded to Aaron Becker in a double-win for his wordless picture book The Tree and the River (Walker Books). The Carnegie Shadowers’ Choice Medal for Writing went to Tia Fisher for her debut novel told in verse, Crossing the Line (Bonnier Books UK).

More information about the shortlists is available on the award website.

Category: International awards International news