The winners of the UK’s longest-running and most prestigious book awards for children and young people were announced on 20th June, at a live-streamed ceremony in London. The event was hosted by Manjeet Mann, winner of the 2021 Shadower’s Choice Medal for Writing for her debut novel Run, Rebel.

This year’s Yoto Carnegie Medal for Writing goes to Joseph Coelho for The Boy Lost in the Maze, illustrated by Kate Milner (Otter-Barry Books). Written in verse, The Boy Lost in the Maze portrays a boy’s journey into manhood, interweaving the ancient legend of the Minotaur with the contemporary journey of a teenager searching for his biological father.

The award comes at the end of Coelho’s two-year tenure as the Waterstones Children’s Laureate (2022-2024) during which he launched the ‘library marathon’ project, a personal mission to visit and join a library in every region of the UK to highlight their importance.

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

You can hear Joseph Coelho and illustrator Kate Milner talk about The Boy Lost in the Maze in this interview with Nikki Gamble on The book channel.

The winner of this year’s Yoto Carnegie Medal for Illustration (formerly the Kate Greenaway Award) is Aaron Becker for The Tree and the River (Walker Books), a ‘beautifully crafted’ and ‘universal’ wordless picture book that charts the impact of humans on the earth’s landscapes.

Commenting on his win, 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.’

Aaron Becker talks about the process of creating The Tree and the River in this interview with Nikki Gamble on The book channel.

This year’s winners were chosen from two shortlists of eight titles by an expert team of children’s and youth librarians from across the UK. Their judging process was shadowed by thousands of reading groups in schools and libraries across the UK who read and discussed the shortlisted titles before choosing their own Shadowers’ Choice Medal winners.

In a coveted double-win, The Tree and the River also scooped this year’s Yoto Carnegie Shadowers’ Choice Medal for Illustration while the Shadower’s Choice Medal for Writing goes to Tia Fisher for Crossing the Line (Hot Key Books), an ‘innovative and engaging’ verse novel that is based on a true story about teenagers swept up into county lines.

Commenting on this year’s awards, Maura Farrelly, Chair of Judges, said: ‘The Boy Lost in the Maze is an extraordinary novel told through poems about two boys searching for their fathers. It 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.’

Find out how your school can get involved in the Yoto Carnegie Shadowing Scheme next year here.