CILIP CELEBRATES WIN AT THE 2025 AWARDS AWARDS FOR THE 2024 YOTO CARNEGIES
carnegies.co.uk | @CarnegieMedals
Wednesday 30 June 2025: CILIP, the library and information association, is proud to announce that the 2024 Yoto Carnegies have won Best Development of an Existing Awards Event at the prestigious Awards Awards, part of the Conference & Events Awards.
The accolade recognises CILIP’s bold reinvention of the UK’s longest-running and best-loved book awards for children and young people. The 2024 ceremony, held at London’s Cambridge Theatre, home of the Royal Shakespeare Company’s multi award-winning Matilda The Musical, marked a major evolution in the Carnegies’ history, transforming the event into a dynamic, youth-led celebration of reading for pleasure.
The Awards Awards judges praised the event as a “a vibrant, youth-powered reinvention, that achieved a quadrupling of attendance”. They described it as “massively scaled, emotionally resonant, and culturally important.”
The 2024 event drew over 1,000 attendees, including hundreds of young people. It featured an immersive theatre setting, interactive elements such as a pre-ceremony Q&A with shortlisted authors and illustrators, and a focus on accessibility.
Mackenzie Warner, Carnegie Awards Manager, said: “This recognition means so much. It reflects the growing reach and renewed impact of the Carnegies, following a bold, youth-centred reimagining of a beloved literary legacy. With young people and librarians at the heart of the awards, we’ve created something that’s both joyful and meaningful. And it’s an honour to see that celebrated on this scale.”
CILIP extends heartfelt thanks to the 2024 headline sponsor Yoto, makers of audio players for kids, as well as Scholastic UK and ALCS for their continued support. Yoto, who served as headline sponsor from 2022 to 2024, continues to support the Carnegies as a patron through to 2027.
CILIP also thanks the teams at ed public relations and Agile for their invaluable collaboration in delivering this impactful event.
The 2024 Yoto Carnegies were shortlisted alongside an impressive line-up of national and international awards programmes, including Dezeen Awards, the Civil Service Awards, and the Financial Times Business Book of the Year.
In addition to this win, the 2024 campaign was Highly Commended in the Publisher’s Publicity Circle Awards for Best Generic PR Campaign.
The win follows another highly successful Carnegies ceremony at the Cambridge Theatre in June 2025, further cementing the awards’ place as a leading celebration of books, libraries, and reading for pleasure.
– ENDS –
For media and interview requests, please contact: Emma Dowson or Katie Cregg at ed public relations on edowson@edpr.co.uk or Katie@edpr.co.uk or 020 7732 4796.
NOTES TO EDITORS:
The Carnegies
The Carnegies celebrate outstanding achievement in children’s writing and illustration respectively and are unique in being judged solely by librarians.
The Carnegie Medal for Writing is awarded annually to a children’s book author whose writing creates an outstanding reading experience. It was established in 1936 in memory of the Scottish-born philanthropist, Andrew Carnegie (1835-1919).
The Carnegie Medal for Illustration (previously known as the Kate Greenaway Medal), established in 1955, is awarded annually to a children’s book illustrator whose artwork creates an outstanding reading experience.
Each year thousands of reading groups in schools and libraries in the UK and overseas get involved in the Awards, with children and young people ‘shadowing’ the judging process. They read, discuss and review the books on the shortlists, get involved in reading related activities in groups, and vote for their favourite books to win the Carnegie Shadowers’ Choice Medals for Writing and Illustration.
The 2025 Carnegies were sponsored by Sora, Scholastic UK, and ALCS.
About CILIP, the library and information association
The Carnegies are managed by CILIP, the library and information association. The Medals are awarded annually by CILIP and the Youth Libraries Group (YLG) with longlists announced in February, shortlists in March and the winners announced at a ceremony in June.
CILIP is the leading voice for the information, knowledge management and library profession. Our goal is to put information and library skills and professional values at the heart of a democratic, equal and prosperous society.
CILIP is a registered charity, no. 313014. The YLG is a special interest group of CILIP who work to preserve and influence the provision of quality literature and library services for children and young people, both in public libraries and school library services.
YLG has 12 regional committees covering all of the UK, and each committee advertises and democratically recruits a judge to represent them on the panel of judges. Each judge serves a two-year term and each year the panel is a unique mix of new and experienced judges led by the Chair of Judges. Following the independent diversity review of the Awards, CILIP introduced a co-opting procedure so that if this recruitment process does not result in a sufficiently diverse and representative judging panel, up to two judges will be co-opted to join the panel.
About Yoto
Yoto is an interactive audio platform for kids. Yoto offer a catalogue of over 1,200 stories, songs, activities and more to inspire creative play and learning without a screen. The carefully connected audio players, Yoto Player (3rd Generation) and Yoto Mini, put kids safely in control. No cameras. No microphones. No ads.
Inspired by Montessori principles, Ben Drury and Filip Denker founded Yoto in 2017. Yoto Player was designed with renowned design agency, Pentagram, and launched in early 2020. Yoto Mini, the portable audio player, launched in late 2021. The new and improved third generation Yoto Player arrived in summer 2023.
Now available worldwide, Yoto has won awards and accolades from critics, parents and children alike. TIME Magazine even named it one of the Best Inventions of 2020 and Yoto Mini won a prestigious D&AD Pencil in 2022. Yoto was named one of Bloomberg’s Top Start Ups to watch, and were named the second fastest growing tech company by Deloitte in 2023.
Yoto’s platform features both award-winning original content and audio that has been licensed or co-created with partners. These partners include PRH, Macmillan, Universal Music Group, Sony, Warner Music, Mattel, Disney, Pottermore Publishing, Roald Dahl Story Company, HarperCollins, Hachette, Bonnier and Scholastic.
About Scholastic
For 100 years, Scholastic Corporation has been encouraging the personal and intellectual growth of all children, beginning with literacy. Having earned a reputation as a trusted partner to educators and families, Scholastic is the world’s largest publisher and distributor of children’s books, a leading provider of literacy curriculum, professional services, and classroom magazines, and a producer of educational and entertaining children’s media. The Company creates and distributes bestselling books and e-books, print and technology-based learning programs for pre-K to grade 12, and other products and services that support children’s learning and literacy, both in school and at home. With 15 international operations and exports to 165 countries, Scholastic makes quality, affordable books available to all children around the world through school-based book clubs and book fairs, classroom libraries, school and public libraries, retail, and online.
The Authors’ Licensing and Collecting Society (ALCS) is a not-for-profit organisation started by writers for the benefit of all types of writers. Owned by its members, ALCS collects money due for secondary uses of writers’ work. It is designed to support authors and their creativity; ensure they receive fair payment and see their rights are respected. It promotes and teaches the principles of copyright and campaigns for a fair deal. It represents over 120,000 members, and since 1977 has paid over £650million to writers.
