ALA: Longlist for 2025 Andrew Carnegie Medals For Excellence in Fiction and Nonfiction Announced

From the American Library Association:

A total of 46 books (23 fiction, 23 nonfiction) has been selected for the longlist for the 2025 Andrew Carnegie Medals for Excellence in Fiction and Nonfiction. The list is now available on the awards’ website. The six-title shortlist—three each for the fiction and nonfiction medals—will be chosen from longlist titles and announced on November 12, 2024. The two medal winners will be announced by 2025 selection committee chair Allison Escoto at the Reference and User Services Association’s Book and Media Awards (BMAs) livestreaming event, premiered during LibLearnX in Phoenix on Sunday, January 26th at 10:30am Mountain. The celebratory event, including presentations by the winners and a featured speaker, will take place at the 2025 ALA Annual Conference in June 2025 in Philadelphia.

The awards were established through a grant from Carnegie Corporation of New York and are cosponsored and administered by Booklist and RUSA. Booklist also sponsors the Michael L. Printz Award, Odyssey Award, and Alex Awards. RUSA’s CODES administers the Notable Books List, The Reading List, The Listen List, and the Sophie Brody Medal.

The Andrew Carnegie Medals are the first single-book awards for adult titles given by the ALA; they reflect the expert judgment and insight of library and book professionals who work closely with adult readers. The Medals and the lists leading up to the selection of the winners serve as guides to selecting quality reading material.

The Andrew Carnegie Medals for Excellence in Fiction and Nonfiction selection committee, appointed annually, includes Booklist editors or contributors, members of RUSA’s Collection Development and Evaluation Section’s (CODES) Notable Books Council, and a representative of the American Booksellers Association. Head Librarian and Director of Reading Programs at the Center for Fiction in Brooklyn, NY, and 2025 selection committee chair Allison Escoto is joined by: Barbara Bibel, Reference Librarian, Oakland, CA; Sara Duff, Acquisitions & Collection Assessment Librarian, University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL; Rebecca Hopman, Genealogy Services Librarian, Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, WI; Carrie Koepke, Manager, Skylark Bookshop, Columbia, MO; Edward Kownslar, Head of Public Services, Ralph W. Steen Library, Stephen F. Austin State University, Nacogdoches, TX; and Kathleen McBroom, Library Media Practicum Coordinator for the School of Information Sciences, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI.

“Spending the last several months together reading, sharing insights, and relishing the scores of books we read has been an incredible experience for all of us on the Carnegie committee,” says Allison Escoto. “We were lucky to serve on this committee during a year of truly exceptional fiction and nonfiction, which I know is reflected in our long list. I am personally so grateful for the opportunity to learn from and to exchange ideas with a group of such smart and engaged professionals. I am proud of the work we accomplished and endlessly thankful to my colleagues in this labor of love.”

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