Literary award · United Kingdom · since 1955

Kate Greenaway Medal

Annual award for illustration of a children's book published in the U.K. Established 1955 in United Kingdom.

About Kate Greenaway Medal

The Carnegie Medal for Illustration (until 2022 the Kate Greenaway Medal) 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) which inherited it from the Library Association. The Medal was first named after the 19th-century English illustrator of children's books Kate Greenaway (1846–1901). It was established in 1955 and inaugurated in 1956 for 1955 publications, but no work that year was considered suitable. 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.

From the Wikipedia article “Carnegie Medal for Illustration”, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Recent winners

YearWinnerWinning work
2024Aaron Becker—
2023Jeet Zdung—
2022Danica Novgorodoff—
2021Sydney Smith—
2020Shaun Tan—
2019Jackie Morris—
2018Sydney Smith—
2017Lane Smith—
2016Chris Riddell—
2015William Grill—
2015Shackleton's Journey—
2014This is Not My Hat—
2014Jon Klassen—
2013Levi Pinfold—
2012Jim Kay—

From Wikidata; the list may be incomplete for some years.

Eligibility and entering

Check the official rules of the Kate Greenaway Medal for the current eligibility window, accepted formats, residency or language requirements and any entry fee. For most established prizes the publisher submits on the author's behalf, often with a limit on entries per imprint.

If you are self-published, look for an explicit statement that independently published books are accepted, and budget for entry fees and copies for judges.

Sources & data