- Tuesday 11 March 2025: The Carnegies, the UK’s longest running and best-loved book awards for children and young people, announced their 2025 shortlists at the London Book Fair this afternoon.
- Lauren Child is shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal for Illustration for Grey, twenty-five years after winning in 2000 forher first Charlie and Lola book. Chinese illustrator Yu Rong is shortlisted for a third time, alongside two debut author-illustrators Theo Parish and Kate Rolfe.
- Writers and illustrators from around the UK including Norfolk, Cambridge, Wiltshire, Bath, Peckham, Stockport, Hertfordshire and Belfast have been shortlisted for both awards, with two Scottish writers Brian Conaghan and former NHS worker Margaret McDonald shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal for Writing.
- Two authors previously shortlisted for the Carnegie Medal for Writing, Brian Conaghan and Nathanael Lessore are shortlisted for a second time.
- Masculinity and what it is to be a young man today has emerged as an important theme on the Carnegie Medal for Writing shortlist, with many writers reflecting the marginalised perspectives of boys and teenagers from disenfranchised communities, in settings as varied as a foster home, an ex-industrial town and a South London estate.
- The Carnegie Medal for Illustration shortlist features a bold range of artistic styles, from traditional Chinese paper-cutting to earthy watercolours, from simple pencil drawings to colourful collage, conveying story to readers in a way that words alone cannot.
- Books empowering young people by exploring complex emotions such as grief, low mood, anger and shame with empathy, sensitivity and hope are celebrated across both shortlists.
- Seven of the twelve publishers shortlisted across both medals are independents, including four small presses Firefly Press, Otter-Barry Books, UCLan Publishing and Lantana, who have two books included on the Carnegie Medal for Illustration shortlist.
The Carnegies celebrate outstanding reading experiences in books for children and young people. They are unique in being judged by librarians, with the Shadowers’ Choice Medals voted for by thousands of reading groups in schools and libraries in the UK and around the world, who shadow the judging process and choose their own winners.
16 books have been shortlisted in total, with eight in each category for the Carnegie Medal for Writing and the Carnegie Medal for Illustration; whittled down from 35 longlisted titles by the judging panel, which includes 14 children’s and youth librarians from CILIP’s Youth Libraries Group. The awards aim to spark a lifelong passion for reading by connecting more children with books that will change lives.
The 2025 Carnegie Medal for Writing shortlist is (alphabetical by author surname):
- Treacle Town by Brian Conaghan (Andersen Press)
- The Things We Leave Behind by Clare Furniss (Simon & Schuster UK)
- The Final Year by Matt Goodfellow, illustrated by Joe Todd-Stanton (Otter-Barry Books)
- King of Nothing by Nathanael Lessore (Bonnier Books UK)
- Little Bang by Kelly McCaughrain (Walker Books)
- Glasgow Boys by Margaret McDonald (Faber & Faber)
- All That It Ever Meant by Blessing Musariri (Zephyr, Head of Zeus)
The 2025 Carnegie Medal for Illustration shortlist is (alphabetical by illustrator surname):
- The Invisible Story by Wen Hsu Chen, written by Jaime Gamboa, translated by Daniel Hahn (Lantana)
- Grey by Lauren Child, written by Laura Dockrill (Walker Books)
- I Love Books by Mariajo Ilustrajo (Quarto)
- Clever Crow by Olivia Lomenech Gill, written by Chris Butterworth (Walker Books)
- Letters in Charcoal by Juan Palomino, written by Irene Vasco, translated by Lawrence Schimel (Lantana)
- Homebody by Theo Parish (Macmillan Children’s Books)
- Wolf and Bear by Kate Rolfe (Macmillan Children’s Books)
- Flying High by Yu Rong, written by Cao Wenxuan, translated by Simone-Davina Monnelly and Jake Hope (UCLan Publishing)
Ros Harding, Chair of Judges for The Carnegies 2025, said:
“On behalf of the judging panel, I would like to offer a huge congratulations to all the shortlisted authors and illustrators. 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. It is wonderful to see such an inclusive range of cultures, experiences, voices and illustrative styles feature in the shortlisted books and as a judging panel, we are so excited to be a part of introducing these incredible books to the shadowing groups.”
Read the full article HERE
