On Friday, students and staff at Kings Langley School warmly welcomed visitors from Bushey Meads School for the much-anticipated announcement of the 2025 Carnegie Medal winners. Readers from across year groups gathered, buzzing with excitement to discover which outstanding books had won some of the most prestigious prizes in children’s literature.

The day was made even more memorable by the presence of award-winning author Katherine Johnson, who gave an inspiring talk followed by a hands-on creative writing workshop. Katherine shared heartfelt insights about her journey as a writer, the challenges she faced in creating authentic characters, and the powerful role stories play in reflecting and reshaping our world. Her talk truly resonated with both aspiring writers and enthusiastic readers, sparking lively Q&A sessions and animated discussions. During the workshop, students had the opportunity to dive into their own writing, guided by Katherine’s expert advice and encouragement. Many left with the beginnings of powerful stories — and a renewed confidence in their own creative voices.

In addition to the author visit, we celebrated the shortlisted titles for this year’s Carnegie Medal with student reviews, debates, and votes for personal favourites. Conversations throughout the library showed just how much these books had made an impact.

The winners were announced as follows:

• Carnegie Medal for Writing: Glasgow Boys by Margaret McDonald – At just 27, Margaret is the youngest-ever winner!

• Carnegie Medal for Illustration: Clever Crow, illustrated by Olivia Lomenech Gill (written by Chris Butterworth).

• Shadowers’ Choice (Writing) and Dacorum Winner: King of Nothing by Nathanael Lessore.

• Shadowers’ Choice (Illustration): Homebody by Theo Parish.

All these fantastic books are available in the LRC for students to enjoy!

A Student’s Perspective: Thujani’s Carnegie Shadowing Experience

Hi, my name is Thujani. When I went to the Carnegie shadowing event at Kings Langley, we had the chance to talk with students from other schools about the books we had read. Then we found out which book won, and I was surprised that it was King of Nothing because I really liked Final Year.

After that, we got to meet the author Katherine Johnson. She talked about her life and what inspired her to become a writer and create stories. We finished with some fun writing tasks where we each wrote our own stories — I really enjoyed that part! Finally, Katherine signed some books, and we handed them over to the Bushey Meads librarians.
This day was a wonderful celebration of reading, creativity, and inspiration, and we’re excited to continue exploring many different books together next year!