www.cilip.org.uk
NEWS
Carnegies cast a longer shadow
The Carnegie book awards have announced their new longlists and a pilot scheme to give children a chance to act as shadow judges from an earlier stage in the process.
THE LONG lists for the Carnegie book awards which are managed by CILIP have been announced for 2026 and include 38 titles from 20 different pub- lishers. Whittled down from 127 titles that had been nominated by CILIP members, the longlists were selected by a judg- ing panel of 14 children’s and youth librarians from CILIP’s Youth Libraries Group. There are 19 titles each in the 2026 Carnegie Medal for Writing and the Carnegie Medal for Illustration and this year the biggest contrast between the medal for writing and the medal for illustration is fresh blood – of the 19 artists on the illustration longlist, 17 have not been on longlisted before. By contrast five of the authors on the writing medal longlist have not only made it onto the long list before, they have won the prize before. And another three have been short- listed before. Walker Books leads the field for publisher nominations with six titles longlisted across both Medals, but indepen- dent publishers dominate with 24 books longlisted from 13 different publishing houses.
New ways to shadow
Not only are the awards unique for being judged by librar- ians, they also run a shadow judging scheme giving young readers the chance to pick their own winners. This year sees the introduction of a pilot scheme that opens up longlisted titles to shadowing groups and clearer age guidance, mean- ing greater choice for groups. Stella Hine, Chair of Judges for The Carnegies 2026, said:
“The judging panel debated fiercely, and we are delighted to present two wonderful, mould-breaking, and inclusive longlists offering rich opportunities for children and young people of all ages to engage in reading.” The 2026 Carnegie Medal for Writing longlist is (alphabet- ical by author surname): l Black Star by Kwame Alexander (Andersen Press) l Ghostlines by Katya Balen (Bloomsbury Publishing) l Stealing Happy by Brian Conaghan (Bloomsbury Publishing) l On the Wall by Anne Fine (Old Barn Books)
l Fia and the Last Snow Deer by Eilish Fisher, illustrated by Dermot Flynn (Penguin)
l Not Going to Plan by Tia Fisher (Bonnier Books UK) l Popcorn by Rob Harrell (Bonnier Books UK) l The Boy I Love by William Hussey (Andersen Press) l Songs for Ghosts by Clara Kumagai (Head of Zeus)
February-March 2026
l When It’s Your Turn for Midnight by Blessing Musariri (Head of Zeus)
l Birdy Arbuthnot’s Year of ‘Yes!’ by Joanna Nadin (Fox & Ink Books)
l Chronicles of a Lizard Nobody by Patrick Ness, illustrated by Tim Miller (Walker Books)
l Wolf Siren by Beth O’Brien (HarperCollins Publishers) l Shrapnel Boys by Jenny Pearson (Usborne) l Handle With Care by Louisa Reid (Guppy Books) l Twenty-Four Seconds from Now by Jason Reynolds (Faber & Faber) l Birdie by J. P. Rose (Andersen Press) l Traumaland by Josh Silver (Oneworld Publications) l The Spick and the Span by Pil Van Martin (HarperCollins Publishers)
The 2026 Carnegie Medal for Illustration longlist is (alphabetical by illustrator surname): l Sleep Tight, Disgusting Blob by Huw Aaron (Penguin)
l Be Back Soon by Jenny Bloomfield, written Anna Wilson (Andersen Press)
l Coorie Doon by Jill Calder, written by Jackie Kay (Walker Books)
l The Playdate by Clara Dackenberg, written by Uje Brandelius, translated by Nichola Smalley (Lantana)
l The Endless Sea by Linh Dao, written by Chi Thai (Walker Books)
l The Ordinary Life of Jacominus Gainsborough by Rébecca Dautremer, translated by Charis Ainslie (Post Wave Children’s Books)
l Lord of the Flies: The Graphic Novel illustrated & adapted by Aimée de Jongh, written by Golding William (Faber & Faber)
l Fia and the Last Snow Deer by Dermot Flynn, written by Eilish Fisher (Penguin)
l The Faerie Isle by Dermot Flynn, written by Síne Quinn (Walker Books)
l The Sleeper Train by Baljinder Kaur, written by Mick Jackson (Walker Books)
l Wildful by Kengo Kurimoto (Pushkin Children’s Books)
l Beanie the Bansheenie by Steve McCarthy, written by Eoin Colfer (Walker Books)
l Freedom Braids by Oboh Moses, written by Monique Duncan (Lantana)
l The Café at the Edge of the Woods by Mikey Please (HarperCollins Publishers)
l The Paper Bridge by Seng Soun Ratanavanh, written by Joelle Veyrenc, translated by Katy Lockwood-Holmes (Floris Books)
l Wiggling Words by Kate Rolfe (Macmillan)
l Don’t Trust Fish by Dan Santat, written by Neil Sharpson Andersen Press)
l Higher Ground by Tull Suwannakit (New Frontier Publishing) l Good Golden Sun by Brendan Wenzel (Scallywag Press)
Find out how you can host a Carnegies Shadowing Group at
https://carnegies.co.uk/take-part.
INFORMATION PROFESSIONAL 5
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