Kate Greenaway Medal

The Carnegie Medal for Illustration (until 2022 the Kate Greenaway Medal[1]) is a British award that annually recognises "distinguished illustration in a book for children". It is conferred upon the illustrator by the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals (CILIP)[2] which inherited it from the Library Association.

The Medal is named after the 19th-century English illustrator of children's books Kate Greenaway (1846–1901).[2] It was established in 1955 and inaugurated in 1956 for 1955 publications, but no work that year was considered suitable.[3] The first Medal was awarded in 1957 to Edward Ardizzone for Tim All Alone (Oxford, 1956), which he also wrote. That first Medal was dated 1956. Since 2007 the Medal has been dated by its presentation during the year following publication. This medal is a companion to the Carnegie Medal for Writing which recognises an outstanding work of writing for children and young adults.[4]

Nominated books must be first published in the U.K. during the preceding school year (September to August), with English-language text if any.[5]

The award by CILIP is a gold Medal and £500 worth of books donated to the illustrator's chosen library. Since 2000 there is also a £5000 cash prize from a bequest by the children's book collector Colin Mears.[2]

  1. ^ "Call to reinstate illustrator Kate Greenaway's name on literary award". 16 August 2023. Retrieved 16 March 2024.
  2. ^ a b c Cite error: The named reference about was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference winners was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference carnegie was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference rules was invoked but never defined (see the help page).