2015 CILIP Carrnegie & Kate Greenaway Medal Award Ceremony

Well the CILIP Carnegie & Kate Greenaway Medals have been awarded for 2015 and what was an amazing experience for a first-time judge is now receding rapidly in the rear-view mirror.

The selection of Buffalo Soldier by Tanya Landman for the Carnegie Medal and Shackleton’s Journey by William Grill for the Kate Greenaway Medal was no easy task, cutting the long-list of 20 books (for each of the awards) down to eight titles was a painful process. I will not even attempt to describe the bloody winnowing of the nominated titles that went into creating the long-list.
Tears were shed, passionate arguments were heard and many persuasive techniques were made by the judges and now looking back I can honestly say that the correct decisions were made! As a judge alongside my fellow judges we stand proudly by the titles we chose.

Attending the Awards Ceremony is a perk of being a judge and I really recommend that everyone with an interest in literature for children and young people try and attend at least once. Heck, if you are a librarian and a member of CILIP then get involved with your regional YLG Committee and put yourself forward for the position of CKG regional representative (aka a Carnegie & Kate Greenaway Judge), it really is rewarding, you get to meet reps from other regions, improve your knowledge of children’s books (including YA, MG & picture books) and get to be part of a panel that selects the most outstanding books of a year (for children & young people).

The ceremony this year was amazing! It took place in the British Library, prior to the awarding of the medals there was a mingling with coffee and biscuits in the foyer with authors & illustrators being besieged for signatures by shadowing groups and everyone else in attendance that did not write or draw. During the awards ceremony we were welcomed by CILIP CEO Nicholas Poole and entertained by MC Mel Giedroyc, host of the Great British Bake-off. Chris Riddell the Children’s Laureate was in attendance and showed how swift he is at drawing by live-sketching the ceremony, you can view his sketches on his Instagram site here: https://instagram.com/chris_riddell/

You can see what the judges thought of the Carnegie-nominated titles here:

the Greenaway-nominated titles here:

and hear Tanya and William’s acceptance speeches here:

Check out the CKG site for full details on the 2015 awards: http://www.carnegiegreenaway.org.uk/2015awards/

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