The shortlists for the 2026 Carnegie Medals have been announced at a special event at the London Book Fair today, 11 March.

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 37 longlisted titles by the judging panel, which includes 14 children’s and youth librarians from CILIP’s Youth Libraries Group.

The shortlist for the Carnegie Medal for Writing is dominated by previous winning and shortlisted

Illustrator Oboh Moses

authors, including Katya Balen, Tia Fisher, and Patrick Ness, one of a handful of authors to have won the award twice.

The Carnegie Medal for Illustration on the other hand, features five illustrators making their first appearance on the shortlist, plus two debut illustrators, Kengo Kurimoto and Oboh Moses.

The 2026 Carnegie Medal for Illustration shortlist is (alphabetical by illustrator surname):

The Playdate by Clara Dackenberg, written by Uje Brandelius, translated by Nichola Smalley (Lantana)

The Endless Sea by Linh Dao, written by Chi Thai (Walker)

Lord of the Flies: The Graphic Novel illustrated & adapted by Aimée de Jongh, written by William Golding (Faber & Faber)

The Sleeper Train by Baljinder Kaur, written by Mick Jackson (Walker)

Wildful by Kengo Kurimoto (Pushkin Children’s Books)

Freedom Braids by Oboh Moses, written by Monique Duncan (Lantana)

The Paper Bridge by Seng Soun Ratanavanh, written by Joelle Veyrenc, translated by Katy Lockwood-Holmes (Floris Books)

Wiggling Words by Kate Rolfe (Two Hoots)

The 2026 Carnegie Medal for Writing shortlist is (alphabetical by author surname):

Ghostlines by Katya Balen (Bloomsbury Children’s Books)

Not Going to Plan by Tia Fisher (Hot Key Books)

Popcorn by Rob Harrell (Piccadilly Press)

The Boy I Love by William Hussey (Andersen Press)

Chronicles of a Lizard Nobody by Patrick Ness, illustrated by Tim Miller (Walker)

Wolf Siren by Beth O’Brien (HarperCollins Children’s Books)

Twenty-Four Seconds from Now by Jason Reynolds (Faber & Faber)

Birdie by J. P. Rose (Andersen Press)

Stella Hine, Chair of Judges for The Carnegies 2026, said, ‘The 2026 judges have worked tirelessly to curate two outstanding shortlists. The lists meet young readers where they are, asking searching questions about identity, belonging, community and how we respond as life changes around us. These shortlists offer a wide scope of everyday life including friendship, wellbeing, courage, consent, respectful relationships, and empathy in the face of prejudice. Innovation in form is particularly exciting with inventive verse and chronology, subversive storytelling and reimagined folklore, alongside more traditional narratives. Together, these books reflect our world and empower young people to live and act with all their being and with hope. Huge congratulations to every shortlisted author and illustrator. Your works will impact generations to come, starting with our shadowing groups who have the joy of exploring these books deeply over the next few months as do we, the judges.’

The winners will be announced and celebrated on Tuesday 23 June at a live and streamed ceremony at the Cambridge Theatre, home of the Royal Shakespeare Company’s multi award-winning Matilda The Musical. The ceremony will be hosted by multi award-winning author and illustrator Catherine Rayner, who previously won the Medal for Illustration in 2009 and has been shortlisted a further six times.

The winners will each receive a specially commissioned medal and a £5,000 Colin Mears Award cash prize. The winners of the Shadowers’ Choice Medals – voted for and awarded by children and young people – will also be presented at the ceremony. They will receive a medal and £500 worth of books to donate to a library of their choice.

As the official book supplier, Scholastic are working with CILIP to donate shortlist packs to 10 schools in disadvantaged areas to allow them to also take part in the shadowing and widen the reach of engagement with the awards. Applications will be open from 23 – 30 March with packs to be sent out immediately afterwards to the selected schools.

As Shadowing resource partners, the English and Media Centre (EMC) and the Centre for Literacy in Primary Education (CLPE) have developed engaging reading resources for each shortlisted book, complete with activity ideas and discussion prompts. EMC focuses on writing resources, while CLPE provides resources on illustration. See here for more information about the Shadowing resource partners.

The 2026 Carnegie Awards are supported by three key sponsors: Scholastic, the official book supplier; ALCS; and Sora, the official digital partner. The longlist and shortlist can be ordered from Scholastic now. The Sora student reading app will provide access to available longlisted titles and free access to all available shortlisted digital books for shadowing groups, enhancing inclusivity and fostering a love of reading among young people. First News are the official media partner.