Students engage with East Midlands Carnegie Judge Jenni Prestwood
As part of the Brooke Weston Academy elective sessions, students shadowing the Carnegie Medals recently had the privilege of attending a virtual session with East Midlands Carnegie Judge Jenni Prestwood. The Carnegies, the UK’s longest-running and best-loved children’s book awards, are unique in that they are judged solely by librarians.
This year, 64 books were nominated for the Carnegie Medal for Writing and 55 for the Medal for Illustration. All nominated books were read and considered by the 13 librarians who volunteer their time as judges. The panel meets to decide the longlists, shortlists, and finally, the Medal winners, based on the official Medals’ criteria.
During the session, Jenni, who is also a full-time librarian at a secondary school in Nottinghamshire, shared her journey to becoming a judge with our students. She also answered their questions about the judging process and the shortlisted books.
Year 7 student Emilia Palac asked, ‘What type of books do you enjoy reading?’ Jenni said, ‘If I’m reading YA it would have to be fantasy and verse novels. I find adult fantasy books are too long and usually part of a big series, which puts me off, so I tend to read standalone crime fiction.’
Year 7 student Tilly Culshaw asked, ‘If you could choose one author who hasn’t been nominated, who would you choose?’ Jenni said, ‘It would have to be the author of one of my favourite books, the Nevermoor series by the author Jessica Townsend.’
Year 7 student Cara Grace asked, ‘Where do you read, and do you get to eat cake?’ Jenni said, ‘I read anywhere and everywhere, at home, at work, on public transport, and yes, cake is a very high priority!’
The Carnegie Shadowing Scheme is a national reading for pleasure initiative that engages thousands of young people in reading the books on the Carnegie shortlist. Our students read, discuss, and review the books on the shortlist and engage in reading-related activities. This year, 16 books have been shortlisted: 8 for the Carnegie Medal for Writing and 8 for the Carnegie Medal for Illustration.
We are excited to announce that students from the BW Trust primary and secondary schools will visit BWA on Tuesday, 17th June, to take part in a Trust shadowing event. This event is a fantastic opportunity for our students to meet other ‘shadowers’ and discuss their thoughts on the shortlisted titles.
Find out more about the shortlisted titles and the Shadowing Scheme here.
