The Yoto Carnegie Medal for Writing is awarded to the current Children’s Laureate, Joseph Coelho for his verse novel The Boy Lost in the Maze illustrated by Kate Milner (Otter-Barry Books). The story portrays a boy’s journey into manhood and integrating the myth of the Minotaur with the contemporary journey of a teenager searching for his father.

The Yoto Carnegies are judged by librarians and Joseph Coelho has made libraries a focus for his tenure as Waterstones Children’s Laureate (2022-2024) launching a ‘library marathon’ project which saw him visit and join a library in every region of the UK, a total of 213 nationwide, to highlight their importance. This will be a very popular win!

Receiving the award, Joseph Coelho said, ‘I am absolutely delighted to be the recipient of this year’s Carnegie Medal for Writing. The Boy

Joseph Coelho, Winner of the Yoti Carnegie Medal 2024, Photographed at the Cambridge Theatre where the award ceremony takes place this year. 19/6/24. Photo Tom Pilston

Lost in the Maze is a novel that means a great deal to me and so to have it recognised by the UK’s, if not the world’s, most prestigious award for children’s literature feels particularly special.

During my tenure as Laureate I have had the pleasure of joining a library in every local authority in the UK, meeting librarians and patrons of libraries on buses, in converted flats and in gorgeous Carnegie buildings. The one thing that has been consistent between all libraries has been the passion, skill and creativity of the librarians. Through their essential work they are tackling social isolation, providing access to essential services and of course creating the readers of the future. I feel completely honoured that it is librarians who have deemed The Boy Lost in the Maze as worthy of a Carnegie medal and will forever be grateful to the team at Otter-Barry Books, illustrator Kate Milner and my agent Caroline Sheldon for helping me bring this story to bookshelves and into the hands of readers.’

Aaron Becker is the winner of the Yoto Carnegie Medal for Illustration for his wordless picture book The Tree and the River (Walker Books).

Accepting the award, Aaron Becker said, ‘I’m incredibly grateful to have received the Carnegie Medal for Illustration for The Tree and the River. It’s an honour and a testament to the power of wordless books.

Growing up, I was always drawn to illustrations and would get lost in pictures. When I began drawing images of my own, I was able to create a space where I could create, imagine and escape into worlds of my own design. Pictures became the way I processed the world. Within the pages of my wordless books, I invite readers to slow down and interpret stories on their own terms. Children and adults alike can project themselves onto the characters within my stories and find their own meaning and discoveries within the details of each spread, free of a narrator to dictate their pace and thoughts. My hope is that winning this award promotes the idea that books can be for anyone, even the reluctant readers among us for whom story resonates more deeply through imagery than words.’

The Yoto Carnegies celebrate achievement in children’s writing and illustration and each year thousands of reading groups in schools and libraries in the UK and around the world get involved in the Awards, with children and young people ‘shadowing’ the judging process, debating and choosing their own winners. They also chose Aaron Becker’s The Tree and the River as their winner, Aaron Becker adding the Yoto Carnegie Shadowers’ Choice Medal for Illustration to his Yoto Carnegie Medal for Illustration.

Shadowers loved how the wordless story left The Tree and the River open to interpretation. Emilie from Rebel Readers said, ‘It is like a movement of time and it could be in the past or in the future’. Dyslexic reader Alec from BurlingtonBookReaders said it helped him learn about the ‘cyclical nature of the world.’

The winner of the Yoto Carnegie Shadowers’ Choice Medal for Writing is Tia Fisher for her verse novel, Crossing the Line (Bonnier Books UK), based on a true story about teenagers swept up into county lines.

Commenting on why they chose Crossing the Line, Emelie from shadowing group KEVICHG said ‘the verse style fits this book like a glove’.

The winners were revealed at an in-person ceremony held at the Cambridge Theatre, home of the RSC’s award-winning Matilda The Musical. Over 600 children enjoyed the ceremony in-person with the event live-streamed and watched by thousands of shadowing groups around the country. The awards were hosted by Manjeet Mann, winner of the 2021 Shadowers’ Choice Medal for Writing for her debut novel, Run, Rebel. Her second novel, The Crossing, was shortlisted for the Yoto Carnegie Medal for Writing in 2022.

Maura Farrelly, Chair of Judges for The Yoto Carnegies 2024, said, ‘The Boy Lost in the Maze is a multi-layered immersive read which is playful in its language and construction and is as architectural as the mythical maze itself. The Tree and the River is a beautiful visual narrative of the natural world and the impact of humankind which invites readers to become absorbed in the landscapes. The epic spreads are alive with intricate detail and gorgeous use of light and colour. Both are ambitious and exciting books that inspire the imagination and empower young readers.

Congratulations to our 2024 medal winners and to the Shadowers’ Choice winners. Thank you to all the young readers who took part in the Shadowing programme and to the librarians who continue to support and inspire readers and to champion the best in books for children and young people everywhere.’

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

Yoto, the innovative, screen-free audio platform for children, is the headline sponsor of the Awards. The Yoto Carnegies are also sponsored by ALCS. Scholastic are the official book supplier and First News are the official media partner.