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Carnegie cautious to change

13.06.07 Caroline Horn

The CILIP Carnegie Medal, now in its 70th year, is seen as one of the most prestigious awards for children's authors. Affectionately known as "the children's Booker", it has recognised some of the UK's greatest fiction writers, including C S Lewis, Philip Pullman and Robert Westall.

The kudos of the Carnegie, and its sister—the Kate Greenaway Medal for a picture book—is linked to the fact that they are voted for by librarians for their literary and illustrative quality. So far, the saleability of the shortlisted books has not been among the awards' criteria. But now CILIP (the Chartered Institute of Library & Information Professionals) is keen to get retailers on board to promote the two medals, and is finding ways to subtly change their marketability.

Put to the vote

Top of the agenda of a meeting of CILIP and booksellers last year was the 2007 celebration of the Carnegie's 70th and the Kate Greenaway's 50th anniversaries. As part of the promotion, a shortlist of past winners has been drawn up by a judging panel, which included Wayne Winstone, Waterstone's children's category manager. Now the public and the book trade have until 14th June to vote for an overall winner from the list, at www.carnegiegreenaway.org.uk. It includes much-loved fiction such as The Borrowers by Mary Norton and Tom's Midnight Garden by Philippa Pearce, and picture books Each Peach Pear Plum by Janet and Allan Ahlberg and Dogger by Shirley Hughes (see below). The overall winner, and this year's Carnegie Medal and Kate Greenaway Medal winners, will be announced on 21st June.

Teething troubles

Julian Exposito, Borders' former children's buyer (he recently moved to Marks & Spencer), says sales of the two medals' annual shortlists are "respectable", and that Borders is keen to support them in future years. But there are still some problems with the promotion of the awards that retailers would like to iron out before 2008.

"One of the main issues for us is early access to the shortlists," Winstone says. "Retailers found out what was on the shortlists when they were announced publicly. There was simply no time to include them in our promotional calendar."

Louisa Myatt, CILIP's head of corporate marketing, recognises that timing and communication are uppermost among retailers' concerns. "A 12-week period has been built into the timetable between shortlisting and the public announcement of the shortlists, to give retailers more time to develop their promotions," she says. Shortlists are available to retailers that sign a confidentiality agreement.

Winstone also suggests that with more notice, publishers may paperback the shortlisted books in time to submit them for promotions. He explains: "People are unlikely to buy a book in hardback if they know it's going to become available in paperback in a month or two's time."

Other feedback from the trade includes a concern about a partnership with online bookseller lovereading4kids.co.uk, which helped to sponsor this year's medals and offers the shortlisted books at 25% discount. "We can't match that," says Jenny Morris, owner of the Lion & Unicorn Bookshop in Richmond.

"This year is the first year that we have used a different calendar and worked with retailers in this way, so issues are bound to arise," Myatt says. "We will discuss these once the awards process is complete."

Intractable differences?

It is the shortlist itself that might prove to be the most intractable problem. The Carnegie and Kate Greenaway medals have a reputation for excellence that reflects their judging criteria, and the knowledge and expertise of the specialist children's librarians who judge them. They are not chosen for being commercial.

"What makes Carnegie and Kate Greenaway different is that they are voted for by librarians—and all they want is for great books to be made available to young people," Myatt says.

Although the shortlists were highly commercial in 2005 and 2006, this year's Carnegie choices, with their focus on teenage and issues-led books, posed a promotional challenge to bookshops. One suggestion is that booksellers might join the judging panel for future awards. Myatt demurs: "We want to work with retailers to increase the presence and profile of the medals, but the judging is one thing we cannot change".

Top 10 Carnegie winners
Skellig, David Almond
Junk, Melvin Burgess
Storm, Kevin Crossley-Holland
A Gathering Light, Jennifer Donnelly
The Owl Service, Alan Garner
The Family From One End Street, Eve Garnett
The Borrowers, Mary Norton
Tom’s Midnight Garden, Philippa Pearce
Northern Lights, Philip Pullman
The Machine-Gunners, Robert Westall

Top 10 Kate Greenaway winners
Each Peach Pear Plum, Janet and Allan Ahlberg
Tim All Alone, Edward Ardizzone
Mr Magnolia, Quentin Blake
Father Christmas, Raymond Briggs
Gorilla, Anthony Browne
Borka, John Burningham
I Will Not Ever Never Eat a Tomato, Lauren Child
Dogger, Shirley Hughes
The Highwayman, Charles Keeping
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, Helen Oxenbury

Prizes Caroline Horn children's CILIP carnegie Kate Greenaway

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