Carnegie Medal (literary award)

The Carnegie Medal is a British literary award that annually recognises one outstanding new book for children or young adults. It is conferred upon the author by the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals (CILIP).^[1] CILIP calls it "the UK's oldest and most prestigious book award for children's writing" and claims that writers call it "the one they want to win".^[2]

The Medal is named after the Scottish-born American philanthropist Andrew Carnegie (1835–1919), who founded more than 2800 libraries in the English-speaking world, including at least one in more than half of British library authorities.^[1] It was established in 1935 by the British Library Association (LA or LAUK) partly to celebrate the centenary of Carnegie's birth^[3] and inaugurated in 1937 by the award to Arthur Ransome for Pigeon Post (Jonathan Cape, 1936) and the identification of two Commended books. (There are, or have been, highly recommended, commended and honour books at least so recently as 2002.)^[3] That first Medal was dated 1936; only since 2007 it is dated by its presentation, which is now one or two years after publication.^[4]

Since 1956, the Carnegie Medal has been a companion to the Kate Greenaway Medal, which recognises "distinguished illustration in a book for children".^[5] Both awards were established by the Library Association (1877–2002) and administered by the LA until it was succeeded by CILIP.^[3]

Nominated books must be written in English and first published in the UK during the preceding school year (September to August).^[6] Until 1969 the award was limited to books by British authors first published in England.^[7] The first non-British medalist was Ivan Southall of Australia in 1972, for Josh. The original rules also prohibited winning authors from future consideration.^[7] The first author to win a second Carnegie Medal was Peter Dickinson in 1981, who won consecutively for Tulku and City of Gold. There were six repeat winners to 1992 and Patrick Ness became the seventh by winning in 2011 and 2012.^[8]

The award by CILIP is a gold Medal and £500 worth of books donated to the winner's chosen library.^[1]

Latest rendition

Geraldine McCaughrean won the 2018 Carnegie Medal for Where the World Ends, a historical novel based on a true story, about boys stranded on a sea stack in the St Kilda archipelago.^[9] She previously won the medal in 1988 for A Pack of Lies.

There were eight books on the 2018 shortlist, each published September 2016 to August 2017. The official website provides bibliographic data, front cover images, capsules, annotations for the public by the judging panel.^[10] The other books were:

• Lissa Evans, Wed Wabbit (David Fickling Books)
• Will Hill, After the Fire (Usborne)
• Anthony McGowan, Rook (Barrington Stoke)
• Patrick Ness, Release (Walker Books)
• Marcus Sedgwick, Saint Death (Orion)
• Angie Thomas, The Hate U Give (Walker Books)
• Lauren Wolk, Beyond the Bright Sea (Corgi)

Recommended ages have ranged from 8+ to 14+ for books on the shortlist since 2001.

The only other previous winner of the Carnegie Medal on the shortlist was Patrick Ness, who won in 2011 and 2012.

Process

CILIP members nominate books in September and October, after the close of the publication year.^[11] Valid nominations are announced in the fall and students from many schools read nominated books and send comments to the panel.^[12] The judges are 12 children's librarians in CILIP's Youth Libraries Group (YLG). Currently the shortlist is announced in March and the winner in June, 10 to 21 months after first U.K. publication.^[11]

Candidates must be single-author English-language works published in the U.K. during the preceding year (September to August). They must be published for young people, and published in the U.K. originally or within three months in case of co-publication. At least 75% of the content must be originally published during the specified year.^[6]

"All categories of books for children and young people are eligible."^[6]

CILIP specifies numerous points of plot, characterisation, and style that should be considered "where applicable". Furthermore, "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."^[6]

Winners

Up to 2018 there have been 79 Medals awarded in 82 years, covering 1936 to 2017 publications approximately. No eligible book published in 1943, 1945, or 1966 was considered suitable.^[4]

From 2007 the medals are dated by the year of presentation. Previously they were dated by the calendar year of their British publication, which then defined the eligible works.^[4]

Forty 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. (These notes do not count a single map or diagram.)

* named to the 70th Anniversary Top Ten in 2007.^[14]

Winners of multiple awards

Eight authors have won two Carnegie Medals, which was prohibited for many years.

• Peter Dickinson 1979, 1980
• Berlie Doherty 1986, 1991
• Anne Fine 1989, 1992
• Geraldine McCaughrean 1988, 2018
• Margaret Mahy 1982, 1984
• Jan Mark 1976, 1983
• Patrick Ness 2011, 2012
• Robert Westall 1975, 1981

For many years, some runners-up books were designated Highly Commended, at least 29 in 24 years from 1979 to 2002 and three previously. Among the authors who won two Medals, Anne Fine was highly commended runner-up three times (1989, 1996, 2002) and Robert Westall twice (1990, 1992). The others were highly commended once each, except for Ness who postdates the distinction,^[3]

Seven books have won both the Carnegie Medal and the annual Guardian Children's Fiction Prize, which was inaugurated 1967. (Dates are years of U.K. publication, and Carnegie award dates before 2006.)

• 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 A Monster Calls, written by Patrick Ness and illustrated by Jim Kay, has won both the Carnegie and Greenaway Medals (2012).

Only The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman (2009) has won both the Carnegie Medal and the equivalent American award, the Newbery Medal.^[15]

Author Sharon Creech, who won the Carnegie for Ruby Holler (2002), previously won the Newbery and two U.K. awards for Walk Two Moons (1994).^[16]

Four writers have won both the Carnegie and the US Michael L. Printz Award. The Printz Award is an American Library Association literary award that annually recognises the "best book written for teens, based entirely on its literary merit". The four writers are David Almond, Aidan Chambers, Geraldine McCaughrean, and Meg Rosoff. Chambers alone has won both for the same book, the 1999 Carnegie and 2003 Printz for the novel Postcards from No Man's Land.^[4][17][18]

In its scope, books for children or young adults, the British Carnegie corresponds to the American Newbery and Printz awards.

Carnegie of Carnegies

For the 70th anniversary in 2007, CILIP posted online information about all of the winning books and conducted a poll to identify the nation's favourite Carnegie Medalist, to be named the "Carnegie of Carnegies". The winner, announced on 21 June 2007 at the British Library,^[19] was Northern Lights by Philip Pullman (His Dark Materials, volume one, 1995). It was the expected winner and garnered 40% of the votes in the UK, 36% worldwide.^[20]

The nation considered a ballot or all-time shortlist comprising ten of the 67 Medal-winning works, selected by six "children's book experts".^[21] The panel provided annotations including reader ages that range from 6+ to 14+ (age 10+ for the winner, Northern Lights).^[21]

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% plurality, 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.^[22]

Shortlists

Date is year of publication before 2006.^[4] Selections were announced and medals presented early in the next year.

See also

• Kate Greenaway Medal
• Children's Laureate
• Blue Peter Book Awards
• Guardian Children's Fiction Prize
• Nestlé Smarties Book Prize
• Newbery Medal, the primary American Library Association annual children's book award
• Michael L. Printz Award, the primary ALA annual young adult book award

Notes

References

Citations

External links

• CILIP children's book awards