The Carnegies, the UK’s longest running and most beloved book awards for children and young people, have unveiled their 2025 shortlists.
This year, British writers and independent publishers shine in the Medal for Writing, exploring themes of masculinity, self-discovery, grief, and recovery, offering a hopeful outlook on young lives.
Meanwhile, international illustrators lead the Medal for Illustration, celebrating the transformative power of books, nature, and environment through bold and innovative artistic techniques.
The 2025 Carnegie Medal for Writing shortlist is (alphabetical by author surname):
- Treacle Town by Brian Conaghan
- The Things We Leave Behind by Clare Furniss
- The Final Year by Matt Goodfellow, illustrated by Joe Todd-Stanton
- King of Nothing by Nathanael Lessore
- Little Bang by Kelly McCaughrain
- Glasgow Boys by Margaret McDonald
- All That It Ever Meant by Blessing Musariri
- Play by Luke Palmer
The 2025 Carnegie Medal for Illustration shortlist is (alphabetical by illustrator surname):
- The Invisible Story by Wen Hsu Chen, written by Jaime Gamboa, translated by Daniel Hahn
- Grey by Lauren Child, written by Laura Dockrill
- I Love Books by Mariajo Ilustrajo
- Clever Crow by Olivia Lomenech Gill, written by Chris Butterworth
- Letters in Charcoal by Juan Palomino, written by Irene Vasco, translated by Lawrence Schimel
- Homebody by Theo Parish
- Wolf and Bear by Kate Rolfe
- Flying High by Yu Rong, written by Cao Wenxuan, translated by Simone Monnelly