Librarians hold the keys to the dream factory
T
HIS year’s Carnegie Medals present- ation took place at the home of Matilda the Musical, allowing more children than ever to take part in the ceremony. The ceremony saw wins for Joseph Coelho
with The Boy Lost in the Maze (Yoto Carnegie Medal for writing), Tia Fisher (Shadowers’ Choice Award) for Crossing the Line, and Aaron Becker (Yoto Carnegie Medal for illustration and Shadowers’ Choice Award – see p. 6 for our interview with Aaron). Taking to the stage to host event (alongside Matilda the Musical’s librarian Mrs Phelps, who helped hand out awards) was author Manjeet Mann, a Shadowers’ Choice award winner for Run, Rebel.
The ceremony, attended by more than one-thousand school students, was a true celebration of children’s books and the power of reading. The students who made the trip to London’s Cambridge Theatre had all taken part in the 2024 Carnegies Shadowing scheme, engaging with the judging process and helping to pick this year’s Shadowers’ Choice awards for writing and illustration. Every year tens of thousands of children take part in the scheme, adding a unique dimension to the UK’s oldest and best loved children’s book awards. The energy and joy in the auditorium was a clear sign of how engaged young people are in the awards – anyone wanting to find out more about taking part as a school or library reading group should visit https://
carnegies.co.uk/take-part.
And that energy was harnessed perfectly by host Manjeet, who delivered a rousing speech on the impact of books, reading and libraries on her own life. Manjeet has shared that speech with Pen&inc:
“Not only [are the awards] a celebration of exceptional talent and the very best of writers and illustrators but it’s also a celebration of our libraries and their librarians. So, I thought I’d use the next few minutes to say, ‘thank you’. “I never thought in a million years I would become
an author, creativity and reading was not something that was encouraged in my home which was a shame as I always had a love of storytelling, but we didn’t have any books. So it was at my local library in Walsall that I discovered books, a love for reading and through those books a whole world that I could disappear into. It was also a safe space, a calming space, a place that I could escape to, should the chaos of home get too much. “So, to Walsall library and the librarians that worked there throughout the 80’s and 90’s I’d like to say, ‘thank you.’ Thank you for providing that safe space and thank you for nurturing my love of stories. “My school library offered a similar refuge. It was essential in supporting my studies. A place I could always find a quiet place to sit and study during break times and after school and use the computer because again, we didn’t have one at home. This was essential as it got me through my SATS, my GCSE’s, and my A levels. “Again, it was a place of calm in the midst of a busy comprehensive school where I could study in peace and when I was ready to apply for university it was essential in supporting my application. Our Librarian helped find the books that I would borrow and subsequently quote on my application, feeling very grown up and clever and she even allowed me to use the computer late one evening so I could type out and print my personal statement.
“So, thank you Mrs Haye. Thank you for giving me the space I needed and thank you for encouraging me when my own self-belief was waning. “When I started university I, along with all others on the course, was given a reading list. Together these books would cost £250. Now, I was supporting myself through university working most evenings and weekends. I couldn’t afford to buy any of the books on the reading list for my course, it was at the university library that I was able to borrow the books that would see me through my time at university, it was at the university library that I would sit until 10pm
Autumn-Winter 2024
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