Celebrating 90 Years of the Carnegie Medals for Writing and Illustration

Date: Wednesday 4 November 2026

Location: St Bride Foundation and Online

In-Person Timings(GMT):
Doors/bar: 6:15pm
Talk starts: 7pm
Talk ends: 9:15pm
In-person tickets: £9, £12, £14
Please note: Ticket sales end at 4pm on the day of the talk. If available, tickets purchased in-person on the door will cost £16 per person. Please do call or email us to check if an event has any tickets left as you may not be admitted if we have sold out.

Online Timings (GMT): 7pm–9:15pm
Online tickets: £6, £8
Please note: Ticket sales end at 4pm on the day of the talk. You will be emailed the Zoom link for the talk at 6pm on the day of the talk. We will also send the link to all in-person ticket holders in case they are unable to attend and would like to join virtually.

BOOK TICKETS HERE

The Carnegie medals are the UK’s oldest and most renowned awards celebrating books for children and young people. The awards were set up to lobby for and to positively affirm outstanding children’s books. Running through the Second World War, through times of economic and political uncertainty and against shifting contexts for publishing, education and with a growing understanding of child development and psychology, the awards continue to evolve and to grow.

The Carnegies have categories for illustration, and for writing. They also run a highly successful shadowing scheme where children and young people are encouraged to read long and shortlisted books and to make their own decisions about the books they would select as winners.

2027 marks 90 years of the Carnegie medals. In that time the awards have amplified a range of exciting and dynamic forms including novels, collections of short stories, non-fiction, biographies, verse novels, picture books, graphic novels, alphabet books and more.

This special event will see a range of authors and illustrators – including previous shortlistees, winners of other awards and an exciting breadth and range of talent – coming together to discuss their work, the impact of the awards upon their careers and the sector more generally and to provide insights into the context of books for children and young people.

Schedule:
7.00pm Introduction
7.25pm Talk 1
7.40pm Talk 2
7.55pm Talk 3

8.10pm Break

8.30pm Talk 4
8.45pm Talk 5
9.00pm Talk 6
9.15pm End

Speakers to be announced on 2 November.

For accessibility information click here.

If you have any questions, please contact [email protected].

Photos © Tom Pilston