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".
[1] Nominated books must be written in English and first published in the UK during the preceding school year (September to August).
[3] The first author to win a second Carnegie Medal was Peter Dickinson in 1981, who won consecutively for Tulku and City of Gold.
[4] It was established in 1936 by the British Library Association, to celebrate the centenary of Carnegie's birth,[4][6] and inaugurated in 1937 with the award to Arthur Ransome for Pigeon Post (1936) and the identification of two "commended" books.
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".
[2] 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.
"[2] A diversity review in 2018 led to changes in the nomination and judging process to promote better representation of ethnic minority authors and books.
[13] Joseph Coelho won the 2024 Carnegie Medal for The Boy Lost in the Maze,[14] a verse novel that uses the legend of the Minotaur in a tale of a teenager searching for his biological father.
[33] 70th Anniversary Top Ten 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.
Only A Monster Calls, written by Patrick Ness and illustrated by Jim Kay, has won both the Carnegie and Greenaway Medals (2012).
[7][79][80] In its scope, books for children or young adults, the British Carnegie corresponds to the American Newbery and Printz awards.