Yoto to sponsor Carnegie and Greenaway Book Awards

Yoto has been named the headline sponsor of the Carnegie and Kate Greenaway Children’s Book Awards in a three-year deal.

This year’s awards will be renamed the Yoto Carnegie Greenaway Awards 2022 with immediate effect, ahead of the longlist announcement on 16th February.

The independent nomination and judging process for the medals, which is carried out by librarians across the UK, remains the same. The UK’s library and information association CILIP, which manages the awards, will continue working in partnership with the awards’ existing sponsors, including Peters, the official book supplier, and the Authors’ Licensing and Collecting Society (ALCS).

Jake Hope, chair of the CILIP Carnegie Greenaway Working Party, said: “Throughout their long history, the Carnegie and Kate Greenaway medals have celebrated outstanding writing and illustration, showcasing the expertise of librarians the length and breadth of the country who nominate for the awards and who go on to pick the longlists, shortlists and the eventual winners.

"Today’s announcement about our new partnership with Yoto is particularly exciting because it enables us to make sure these books reach and connect with even more young readers in new engaging and creative ways.”

“We are hugely excited by our new relationship with Yoto, an innovative partner who shares our mission of inspiring and empowering a new generation of readers," said Nicholas Poole, c.e.o. of CILIP. "Its support, along with that of our existing valued partners, ensures the long-term viability of the awards and will enable us to increase their profile and visibility. Thanks to its involvement, the Yoto Carnegie Greenaway Awards—and the brilliant partners, librarians, publishers, authors, illustrators and retailers that we work with—will be able to engage and include more young people in reading the best books for pleasure." 

As part of the partnership, Yoto will work with publishers to access audio rights of the selected shortlist titles to create audio content for promotion through point of sale for retail, libraries and schools.

Ben Drury, co-founder and c.e.o. of Yoto, added: “Yoto is dedicated to inspiring creativity and imagination in children. We are passionate about bringing the very best in children’s books to the widest audience through audio. We are hugely excited to be embarking on this new long-term partnership with CILIP where, through the Yoto Carnegie Greenaway Awards, we can celebrate the greatest children’s authors and illustrators being published each year.

"Yoto is thrilled to be associated with the most prestigious children’s books awards in the UK, and we look forward to helping ensure even more children can reap the benefits of the best books available.”