Literary Prize
Carnegie Medal Winners
The Carnegie Medal, awarded annually since 1936 by the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals, is the most prestigious prize in British children's and young adult literature. Its winners include Arthur Ransome, C.S. Lewis, Rosemary Sutcliff, and more recently Patrick Ness and Frances Hardinge — a selection that values literary quality and formal ambition as much as popularity. The Carnegie is judged by children's librarians, making it a reliable guide to books that work for actual child and teenage readers.
15 winners ranked
Top Countries
All Winners
#1
young-adult
Dear Nobody
Berlie Doherty· 1991
★Carnegie Medal
Editorial Score71/100
#2
adventure
Watership Down
Richard Adams· 1972
★Carnegie Medal
Editorial Score70/100
#3
young-adult
The Tulip Touch
Anne Fine· 1996
★Carnegie Medal
Editorial Score66/100
#4
young-adult
Skellig
David Almond· 1998
★Carnegie Medal
Editorial Score65/100
#5
young-adult
Flour Babies
Anne Fine· 1992
★Carnegie Medal
Editorial Score64/100
#6
young-adult
Wolf
Gillian Cross· 1990
★Carnegie Medal
Editorial Score63/100
#7
childrens
The Ghost of Thomas Kempe
Penelope Lively· 1973
★Carnegie Medal
Editorial Score61/100
#8
young-adult
Pack of Lies
Anne Fine· 1986
★Carnegie Medal
Editorial Score60/100
#9
historical-fiction
Coram Boy
Jamila Gavin· 2000
★Carnegie Medal
Editorial Score59/100
#10
historical-fiction
The Machine Gunners
Robert Westall· 1975
★Carnegie Medal
Editorial Score53/100
#11
adventure
Tulku
Peter Dickinson· 1979
★Carnegie Medal
Editorial Score49/100
#12
childrens
The Owl Who Was Afraid of the Dark
Jill Tomlinson· 1968
★Carnegie Medal
Editorial Score48/100
#13
historical-fiction
Carrie's War
Nina Bawden· 1973
★Carnegie Medal
Editorial Score48/100
#14
childrens
The Turbulent Term of Tyke Tiler
Gene Kemp· 1977
★Carnegie Medal
Editorial Score48/100
#15
literary-fiction
Granny Was a Buffer Girl
Berlie Doherty· 1986
★Carnegie Medal
Editorial Score48/100

















