The Carnegies 2026 longlists announced

The 2026 longlists for The Carnegies, the UK's longest running book awards for children and young people, have been announced, together with a new pilot aimed at making the awards' shadowing scheme available to a wider audience.

The award medals for writing and illustration celebrate outstanding reading experiences in books for children and young people, and are unique in being judged by librarians. The Shadowers' Choice Medal is voted for by children and young people.

Some 37 titles have been longlisted, including 19 titles for the Carnegie Medal for Writing and 19 for the Carnegie Medal for Illustration. 

The shortlists for the 2026 Carnegies will be announced during a panel event at London Book Fair on Tuesday 10 March. The winners will be announced on Tuesday 23 June with a livestream of the ceremony from the Cambridge Theatre.

The winners will each receive a 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 £500 worth of books to donate to a library of their choice.

Age-inclusive shadowing to be piloted

To enable more groups to shadow The Carnegies, this year schools are now able to select which of the longlisted books they would like to shadow with their reading groups. Previously, groups have only been able to shadow the shortlisted titles, and this has often excluded many younger readers from taking part in the awards' shadowing scheme.

Tailored shadowing resources are being created for all longlisted books, supporting discussion, reflection and critical response for schools and library groups. These will be available from 11 March. Discounted build-your-own packs from the longlist are now available from Scholastic. Sora, the reading app for schools, will offer longlisted titles for purchase (subject to availability), alongside free shortlist access for participating schools.

Groups can start to shadow the longlisted titles now; regular shortlist shadowing launches on 11 March 2026 following the shortlist announcement on 10 March. Publicity packs and voting will remain limited to the shortlisted titles for now. 

The Carnegies longlisted titles

The longlists were chosen from 127 nominations by the Judging Panel which includes 14 children's and youth librarians from CILIP's Youth Libraries Group.

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

Black Star by Kwame Alexander (Andersen Press)

Ghostlines by Katya Balen (Bloomsbury Publishing)

Stealing Happy by Brian Conaghan (Bloomsbury Publishing)

On the Wall by Anne Fine (Old Barn Books)

Fia and the Last Snow Deer by Eilish Fisher, illustrated by Dermot Flynn (Penguin)

Not Going to Plan by Tia Fisher (Bonnier Books UK)

Popcorn by Rob Harrell (Bonnier Books UK)

The Boy I Love by William Hussey (Andersen Press)

Songs for Ghosts by Clara Kumagai (Head of Zeus)

When It's Your Turn for Midnight by Blessing Musariri (Head of Zeus)

Birdy Arbuthnot's Year of 'Yes!' by Joanna Nadin (Fox & Ink Books)

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

Wolf Siren by Beth O'Brien (HarperCollins Publishers)

Shrapnel Boys by Jenny Pearson (Usborne)

Handle With Care by Louisa Reid (Guppy Books)

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

Birdie by J. P. Rose (Andersen Press)

Traumaland by Josh Silver (Oneworld Publications)

The Spick and the Span by Pil Van Martin (HarperCollins Publishers)

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

Sleep Tight, Disgusting Blob by Huw Aaron (Penguin)

Be Back Soon by Jenny Bloomfield, written Anna Wilson (Andersen Press)

Coorie Doon by Jill Calder, written by Jackie Kay (Walker Books)

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 Books)

The Ordinary Life of Jacominus Gainsborough by Rébecca Dautremer, translated by Charis Ainslie (Post Wave Children's Books)

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

Fia and the Last Snow Deer by Dermot Flynn, written by Eilish Fisher (Penguin)

The Faerie Isle by Dermot Flynn, written by Síne Quinn (Walker Books)

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

Wildful by Kengo Kurimoto (Pushkin Children's Books)

Beanie the Bansheenie by Steve McCarthy, written by Eoin Colfer (Walker Books)

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

The Café at the Edge of the Woods by Mikey Please (HarperCollins Publishers)

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

Wiggling Words by Kate Rolfe (Macmillan)

Don't Trust Fish by Dan Santat, written by Neil Sharpson (Andersen Press)

Higher Ground by Tull Suwannakit (New Frontier Publishing)

Good Golden Sun by Brendan Wenzel (Scallywag Press)

Emerging themes

A number of themes have emerged through this year's longlists. Identity is a stand-out theme across both Medals, explored through class, family, precious relationships, wild journeys and meaningful connections with nature. Retellings, folklore and history are also frequently used to reflect on the present, and the longlists include a notable collection of funny books for all ages.

The Medal for Writing longlist features five previous winners, with two authors up for a potential third win; Anne Fine first winning 37 years ago in 1989 and again in 1992, and Patrick Ness who won in 2011 and 2012. 17 of the 19 illustrators for the Medal for Illustration are brand new to the Carnegie longlist, with just two names appearing on previous shortlists: Steve McCarthy in 2024, and Kate Rolfe for her debut in 2025. One title is longlisted in both Medal categories, Fia and the Last Snow Deer written by Eilish Fisher and illustrated by Dermot Flynn. Flynn is also longlisted for the Medal for Illustration with The Faerie Isle written by Síne Quinn. 

Independent publishers dominate

British talent features strongly on the longlist, including Scottish author Brian Conaghan, Scottish illustrator Jill Calder, and Welsh author-illustrator Huw Aaron. Some 20 different publishers are represented on the longlists, but independent publishers dominate with 24 books longlisted from 13 different publishing houses, including small presses Fox & Ink Books, Floris Books, Guppy Books, Lantana, New Frontier Publishing, Old Barn Books, Oneworld Publications, Post Wave Children's Books and Scallywag Press.  Walker Books leads the field for publisher nominations with six titles longlisted across both Medals, followed closely by Andersen Press with five longlisted titles, including three for the Medal in Writing and two for Illustration.

Five previous winners are longlisted for the Medal for Writing, including two-time Medal winner Anne Fine, who first won in 1989. Her book, On the Wall, is a warm novel about moments of stillness in a busy, anxious world. Another two-time Medal winner is Patrick Ness, longlisted for his zany illustrated fiction, Chronicles of a Lizard Nobody, starring a young monitor lizard learning to understand the world. More recent winners on the longlist include Katya Balen for Ghostlines, an emotive tale of a girl's deep connection to her island, Tia Fisher for her verse novel that explores consent and teen pregnancy in Not Going to Plan, and Jason Reynolds for Twenty-Four Seconds from Now, a tender story about a young man's feelings in the lead up to losing his virginity.

Stella Hine, Chair of Judges for The Carnegies 2026, congratulated the longlisted authors and illustrators. She 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. An exciting and diverse range of language and illustration styles is represented, as well as an eclectic and vibrant mix of themes, viewpoints and settings." 

The 2026 Carnegie Awards are supported by three key sponsors: Scholastic, the official book supplier; ALCS; and Sora, the official digital partner. The longlists can be ordered and shortlists pre-ordered from Scholastic, and 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.

For further information on The Carnegies 2026 visit: www.carnegies.co.uk or search#Carnegies2026. Find @CarnegieMedals on Instagram, X, Facebook, Threads, Bluesky & TikTok.