On Thursday, 20 June, Mrs Taylor and Mrs Payne took a group of ten students from Years 7 and 8 on a day trip out to watch the prestigious Yoto Carnegies Award ceremony at the Cambridge Theatre in London, home of the “Maltida musical.”

Everyone sat excitedly in the auditorium waiting to see which books the judges and shadowers’ groups had selected as their winners.  As the atmosphere rose we listened to a Q&A session with the authors and illustrators who had been shortlisted for the award.  The grand finale was hosted by author Manjeet Mann, who shared her personal experience of writing YA novels.  Then came the anticipated moment we had all been waiting for, the winners were revealed and the theatre was filled with rapturous applause. 

The 2024 Yoto Carnegie Medal for Writing was awarded to The Boy Lost in the Maze by Joseph Coelho.  The Shadowers’ Choice medal went to Tia Fisher for her book Crossing the Line. The Yoto Carnegie Medal for Illustration went to Aaron Becker for his book, The Tree and the River, which also scooped the Shadowers’ Choice Medal for Illustration for a double win.