www.ckg.org.uk / #CKG20 / #bestchildrensbooks
Today (Monday 6th April 2020), in response to the recent government advice to close schools and libraries, CILIP announced changes to the timeline of the 2020 Carnegie & Kate Greenaway Medals.
The winners of the 2020 Carnegie and Kate Greenaway Medals will still be announced on the 17th June 2020 via a media announcement, but the decision has been made to extend the Shadowing period until the end of October 2020. This extension will provide greater opportunity for children and young people to engage with the Shadowing Scheme and access the shortlisted books in print through Peters, the official book supplier for the 2020 Carnegie and Kate Greenaway Awards Shadowing Scheme.
Instead of the planned ceremony on the 17th June at the British Library, the 2020 Medals winners will now be celebrated at a special event in collaboration with University of Central Lancashire (UCLan). With full details to be announced in due course, the celebratory moment will take place during Libraries Week, CILIP’s annual celebration of the nation’s much-loved libraries, with a focus in 2020 on celebrating books and reading and the vital role of libraries in the UK’s book culture.
The Shadowers’ Choice Awards – voted for and awarded by the children and young people who shadow the Medals – will also be announced during the celebration event. In the meantime, whilst schools are closed, CILIP is working with publishers to ensure that books are made available digitally where possible so children and young people with internet access can still participate in the Shadowing scheme from home.
Nick Poole, Chief Executive of CILIP, comments: “As we adjust to the current climate, we have made the difficult but necessary decision to no longer gather in the British Library for our annual winners ceremony, however with equal enthusiasm, the winners of the Carnegie and Kate Greenaway Medals will be announced via the media and our social platforms. We have also decided to extend the Shadowing scheme to allow for the shortlisted books to be read by more children and young people, supporting the Awards’ mission ‘to inspire and empower the next generation to shape a better world through books and reading’.”
“These are uncertain times, but we look forward to celebrating the wonderful books and this year’s shortlisted authors and illustrators during Libraries Week later this year, where CILIP will be encouraging libraries across the country to continue to showcase their reading offer and the contribution they make towards building a Nation of Readers.”
The 2020 CILIP Carnegie and Kate Greenaway Medals are sponsored by Peters and ALCS, and funded by Carnegie UK Trust.
For media requests, please contact Hephzibah Kwakye-Saka and Beatrice Edwards at Riot Communications: 020 3174 0118
The 2020 shortlists are as follows:
The CILIP Carnegie Medal is awarded annually to a children’s book author whose writing creates an outstanding reading experience. It was established in 1936 in memory of the Scottish-born philanthropist, Andrew Carnegie (1835-1919). The Kate Greenaway Medal, established in 1955, is named after the popular nineteenth century artist, known for her beautiful children’s illustrations and designs. The Kate Greenaway Medal is awarded annually to a children’s book illustrator whose artwork creates an outstanding reading experience.
Each year thousands of reading groups in schools and libraries in the UK and overseas get involved in the Awards, with children and young people ‘shadowing’ the judging process. They read, discuss and review the books on the shortlists, get involved in reading related activity in groups and vote for their favourite books to win the Shadowers’ Choice Awards.
CILIP is the leading voice for the information, knowledge management and library profession. Our goal is to put information and library skills and professional values at the heart of a democratic, equal and prosperous society. CILIP is a registered charity, no. 313014. The Youth Libraries Group (YLG) is a special interest group of CILIP who work to preserve and influence the provision of quality literature and library services for children and young people, both in public libraries and school library services.
YLG has 12 regional committees covering all of the UK and each committee advertises and democratically recruits a YLG judge to represent them on the panel of judges. Each judge serves a two-year term and each year the panel is a unique mix of new and experienced judges led by the Chair of Judges. Following the independent diversity review of the Awards, CILIP introduced a co-opting procedure so that if this recruitment process does not result in a sufficiently diverse and representative judging panel, up to two judges will be co-opted to join the panel.
In 2020, the judging panel includes 14 volunteer judges from CILIP’s Youth Libraries Group. Find out more about this year’s judges here.
Libraries Week is the annual celebration of UK libraries organised by CILIP, the library and information association, and supported by partners including Arts Council England, The Reading Agency, Libraries Connected, the Leadership for Libraries Taskforce, London Libraries and the School Library Association. Libraries Week 2020 will take place between the 5th and 10th October, celebrating the nation’s much-loved libraries and their vital role in the UK’s book culture. CILIP will be encouraging libraries in all sectors to celebrate books and reading, showcase their reading offer and the contribution they make towards building a Nation of Readers.