CILIP Carnegie and Kate Greenaway Medals longlists led by Walker

Walker Books leads the pack in the CILIP Carnegie and Kate Greenaway Medals longlists for the third year running [see full longlists below].

The medals celebrate outstanding achievement in children’s writing and illustration respectively and are judged by children’s librarians, with the Shadowers’ Choice Award voted for by young people.

In all, 29 independent publishers appear in the 2021 lists, with Walker Books notching up nine nods. Look Both Ways by Jason Reynolds (Knights Of) is also in the running for the CILIP Carnegie.

Former winner Elizabeth Acevedo, who became the first writer of colour to win the CILIP Carnegie medal in 2019 with The Poet X (Electric Monkey), is longlisted for Clap When You Land (Hot Key Books), about the devastation of loss and the difficulty of forgiveness.

Other former Carnegie Medal holders returning are two-time winner Patrick Ness who is longlisted for Burn (Walker) and 2017 winner Ruta Sepetys for The Fountains Of Silence (PRH Children's). Two previous CILIP Kate Greenaway Medal winners are also in the running with 2009 winner Catherine Rayner for Arlo The Lion Who Couldn’t Sleep (Macmillan Children's Books) alongside Sydney Smith for Small In The City (Walker), following his win in 2018.

Ellen Krajewski, chair of the judging panel, said: “The talent and imagination on display across 2021’s longlist is truly inspiring. The variety of stories, the creativity in how those stories have been lovingly crafted, and the relatability of the characters and their experiences has been a joy for all the judges to behold. The awards’ mission is to empower the next generation to shape a better world through books and reading, which is undoubtably what this longlist helps to achieve, inviting children stuck indoors during lockdown to open the door to a myriad of fun and exciting places and be transported. Congratulations to all the authors and illustrators for their exceptional and transformative work.”

The shortlists for both the CILIP Carnegie Medal for authors and the Kate Greenaway Medal for illustrators will be announced on 18th March, with the winners revealed on 16th June. Covid-19 guidelines permitting, a socially distanced daytime event will be held at The British Library and live-streamed online.

Winners will each receive £500 worth of books to donate to their local library, a golden medal and a £5,000 Colin Mears Award cash prize.

CILIP Carnegie Medal longlist:

Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo (Hot Key Books)

The Girl Who Speaks Bear by Sophie Anderson, illustrated by Kathrin Honesta (Usborne)

The Space We're In by Katya Balen, illustrated by Laura Carlin (Bloomsbury)

The Short Knife by Elen Caldecott (Andersen Press)

The Girl Who Became A Tree by Joseph Coelho, illustrated by Kate Milner (Otter-Barry Books)

Beverly, Right Here by Kate DiCamillo (Walker Books)

Furious Thing by Jenny Downham (David Fickling Books)

Pet by Akwaeke Emezi (Faber)

On Midnight Beach by Marie-Louise Fitzpatrick (Faber)

Deeplight by Frances Hardinge (Macmillan Children's Books)

And The Stars Were Burning Brightly by Danielle Jawando (Simon & Schuster)

In The Key Of Code by Aimee Lucido (Walker Books)

Run, Rebel by Manjeet Mann (Penguin Random House Children's)

The Deathless Girls by Kiran Millwood Hargrave (Orion)

Burn by Patrick Ness (Walker Books)

After The War by Tom Palmer (Barrington Stoke)

Look Both Ways by Jason Reynolds (Knights Of)

The Fountains Of Silence by Ruta Sepetys (Penguin Random House Children's)

Somebody Give This Heart A Pen by Sophia Thakur (Walker Books)

Echo Mountain by Lauren Wolk (Penguin Random House Children's)

2021 CILIP Kate Greenaway Medal longlist:

Just Because illustrated by Isabelle Arsenault, written by Mac Barnett (Walker Books)

The Wind In The Wall illustrated by Rovena Cai, written by Sally Gardner (Hot Key Books)

The Misadventures Of Frederick illustrated by Emma Chichester Clark, written by Ben Manley (Two Hoots)

My Nana's Garden illustrated by Jessica Courtney-Tickle, written by Dawn Casey (Templar)

Tibble And Grandpa illustrated by Daniel Egneus, written by Wendy Meddour (Oxford University Press)

Where Happiness Begins illustrated and written by Eva Eland (Andersen Press)

The Fate Of Fausto illustrated and written by Oliver Jeffers (HarperCollins Children's Books)

The Child Of Dreams illustrated by Richard Jones, written by Irena Brignull (Walker Books)

Starbird illustrated and written by Sharon King-Chai (Two Hoots)

Lights On Cotton Rock illustrated and written by David Litchfield (Frances Lincoln)

The Bird Within Me illustrated by Sara Lundberg and translated by B J Epstein (Book Island)

It's A No-Money Day illustrated and written by Kate Milner (Barrington Stoke)

The Girl Who Became A Tree illustrated by Kate Milner, written by Joseph Coelho (Otter-Barry Books)

How The Stars Came To Be illustrated and written by Poonam Mistry (Tate Publishing)

Hike illustrated and written by Pete Oswald (Walker Books)

I Go Quiet illustrated and written by David Ouimet (Canongate)

Arlo The Lion Who Couldn’t Sleep illustrated and written by Catherine Rayner (Macmillan Children's Books)

Hidden Planet illustrated and written by Ben Rothery (Ladybird)

Small In The City illustrated and written by Sydney Smith (Walker Books)

Dandelion's Dream illustrated and written by Yoko Tanaka (Walker Books)