We’re so pleased to announce that William Hussey’s The Boy I Love has been shortlisted for a 2026 Carnegie Medal for Writing. Judges praised the novel’s sense of ‘depth’ and ‘tension’ in this ‘outstanding’ love story of two young men on the frontline.

The Carnegies celebrate outstanding reading experiences in books for children and young people. They are unique in being judged by librarians, with the Shadowers’ Choice Medals voted for by thousands of reading groups in schools and libraries in the UK and around the world, who shadow the judging process and choose their own winners.

16 books have been shortlisted in total, with eight in each category for the Carnegie Medal for Writing and the Carnegie Medal for Illustration; whittled down from 37 longlisted titles by the judging panel, which includes 14 children’s and youth librarians from CILIP’s Youth Libraries Group. The awards aim to spark a lifelong passion for reading by connecting more children with books that will change lives.

The winners will be announced and celebrated on Tuesday 23rd June at a live and streamed ceremony at the Cambridge Theatre. For more information, click here.