The Carnegies Shadowing Scheme provides the opportunity for young readers to shadow the judging process for two of the UK’s most prestigious children’s book awards – the Carnegie Medal for Writing and the Carnegie Medal for Illustration (previously the Kate Greenaway Award).

There are two ways to shadow the awards:

Age-inclusive Longlist Shadowing allows schools to create a bespoke shadowing pack from across the Writing and Illustration longlists. Age-guidance and teaching resources for each of the books are provided to enable schools to create a shadowing experience that suits their readers. Students will be able to post reviews and artwork on the Shadowing website but will not be able to take part in the Shadowers’ Vote. This new pilot is designed to give schools the opportunity to run shadowing groups with younger readers, mixed-age groups or whole cohorts.

Shortlist Shadowing remains unchanged. Shadowing groups read and discuss the titles from the Writing and/or Illustration shortlists before voting for their favourite title in the Shadowers’ Choice Awards. Shortlist shadowing groups will have access to a range of supporting resources, including:

• A week of virtual events with shortlisted authors and illustrators.
• Discussion prompts and suggested activities to accompany all the shortlisted titles.
• The ability to post reviews and upload artwork inspired by the books.
• An invitation to the live-streamed awards ceremony in June.

Timetable:

• Group Leaders must register their group each year. Registration for the 2027 Shadowing Scheme will open in November 2026.
• The longlists are announced in February and Longlist Shadowing begins.
• The shortlists are announced in March and Shortlist Shadowing begins.
• Voting for the Shadowers’ Choice Awards opens in early May and closes in early June.
• The winners of the Shadowers’ Choice Awards will be announced alongside the winners of the Carnegie Medals for Writing and Illustration in late June 2027.

Cost: Supporting resources are free with registration but schools must buy their own copies of the shortlisted books.

About CILIP: CILIP is the UK’s library and information association. They work to develop and improve library and information services and to support and advocate for information professionals and librarians.