CILIP Carnegie Medal
2010 Award
The CILIP Carnegie Medal celebrated its 70th Anniversary in 2007. It is
the UK's oldest and most respected award for children's writing. Over the
last seven decades it has come to be regarded as the arbiter of quality in
writing for children and young people. Since 1937, the judging panel of
children's librarians which annually selects the shortlist and winning
title, has recognised world class writers and frequently spotted fresh
talent ahead of the market. Neil Gaiman joins a roll call of Medal winners
that includes many of the greats of 20th and 21st century children's
literature: Eleanor Farjeon, Anne Fine, Elizabeth Goudge, CS Lewis, Mary
Norton, Noel Streatfield, Philip Pullman and David Almond to name but a few.
Writers often describe the Carnegie as the one they want to win. Although
there is no cash reward, it is thought of as the most prestigious
acknowledgement of writing due to its unique judging process. Most of
today's literary and book awards seek submissions from publishers and votes
from the public. Not the CILIP Carnegie: the Medal's selection process is
rooted in the professional expertise of librarians across the country who
nominate titles for the long shortlist of up to eight titles and finally the
winner
2010 WINNER ANNOUNCED A double first for Neil Gaiman as
he add UK's CILIP Carnegie Medal to the US Newbery Medal for The
Graveyard Book
Early this afternoon Neil Gaiman accepted the most sought after prize for
children's fiction in the UK, the 2010 CILIP Carnegie Medal for The
Graveyard Book.
The Graveyard Book has already won the 2009 Newbery Medal, the prestigious
US equivalent of the Carnegie, making Neil Gaiman the first author to
complete the 'double' being awarded both these internationally recognised
prizes for children's fiction for the same book ensuring his place in
literary history.
The Graveyard Book fought off stiff competition for the 2010 CILIP Carnegie.
The shortlist included books by acclaimed writers and former winners, Terry
Pratchett and Philip Reeve, as well as strong novels from Helen Grant,
Laurie Halse Anderson, Julie Hearn, Patrick Ness and Marcus Sedgwick.
The Graveyard Book also narrowly missed a 'triple' in 2010. Illustrated with
evocative line drawings by Chris Riddell, it was also shortlisted for the
CILIP Kate Greenaway Medal for outstanding illustration.
Asked what winning the CILIP Carnegie Medal means to him, Neil Gaiman
commented:
"For my seventh birthday I was given a boxed set of the Narnia Books by CS
Lewis. The last of them, 'The Last Battle' had the words 'Winner of the
Carnegie Medal' on it. I did not know what the Carnegie Medal was, but I
knew it was something important.
It was the first literary award I had ever heard of. And if the Narnia books
had won it, then it had to be the most important literary award there ever
was.
Somewhere deep inside me, but not too deep, a seven-year old version of me
is amazed and delighted that he's written a book that was given the most
important literary award there ever was. And nothing you can say about
Bookers or Nobels or Pulitzers will convince him otherwise."
The Graveyard Book, for readers of nine years and over, is the spooky
reworking of Kipling's The Jungle Book. The story opens with the violent
murder of a toddler's parents and sister that manages to be horrifying
without mentioning a drop of blood. The two year old, having escaped their
fate, finds himself in a graveyard. There he is adopted by its resident
ghosts who bring him up and call him Bod, short for Nobody Owens.
"This is an extraordinary book in every way: the style, plot and quality of
the writing," says Margaret Pemberton, Chair of the Judges. "With great
skill Gaiman has created a gripping page turner, expertly supported by well
developed characters, that is full of humour and humanity. Not a word is
wasted in this episodic tale that draws the reader through Bod's childhood
to a well crafted and satisfying conclusion. A worthy winner."
Neil Gaiman was born and brought up in the UK but now lives in the US. He is
a prolific creator of works of prose, poetry, film, journalism, comics, song
lyrics and drama. He writes for both adults and children and two of his
books have been made into feature films: Stardust and Coraline, the animated
version of which was nominated for an Oscar in 2010. His first book for
children The Day I Swapped My Dad for Two Goldfish appeared in May 1997 and
saw the start of a long running creative partnership with illustrator Dave
McKean. Together they produced The Wolves in the Walls and Crazy Hair which
was also shortlisted for this year's CILIP Kate Greenaway Medal. Gaiman's
other illustrated children's titles includes Mirrormask with artwork from
his film of the same name, and The Dangerous Alphabet.
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