For immediate release | October 23, 2025

Longlist for 2026 Andrew Carnegie Medals for Excellence in Fiction and Nonfiction announced

Andrew Carnegie Medals for Excellence in Fiction and Nonfiction 2026 Longlist. Shortlist announced November 18! RUSA, American Library Association, Booklist

CHICAGO – A total of 45 books (21 fiction, 24 nonfiction) has been selected for the longlist for the 2026 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 18, 2025. The two medal winners will be announced on Tuesday, January 27, 2026. A celebratory event, including presentations by the winners and a featured speaker, will take place at the 2026 ALA Annual Conference in June 2026 in Chicago.

The awards 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. Librarian at The Seattle Athenaeum in Seattle, WA, and 2026 selection committee chair Lillian Dabney is joined by: Lizzie Gall, Assistant Director of Libraries and Inclusion, Resources and Programs, Jefferson County (CO) Public Library; Kristine Huntley, Screenwriter and Booklist Reviewer, Studio City, CA; Amani Jackson, Operations Manager at The Ivy Bookshop, Baltimore, MD; Rochelle Lundy, Director of the Office of Scholarly Communications, Stanford University, Stanford, CA; Kathy Sexton, Collection Management Librarian, Oak Park (IL) Public Library; and Christine Wells, Metadata Manager, EBSCO Information Services, Durham, NC.

“It is always an honor to serve on the committee for the Carnegie Medal of Excellence Award,” says Lillian Dabney. “I had the genuine pleasure of reading alongside discerning professionals who exhibited the highest standard of diligence and thoughtfulness, treating each book with curiosity and an open spirit. We spent these past months immersed in titles from debut authors and established writers, discovering exciting new works of fiction and nonfiction. Our strong longlist is illustrative of this experience and truly a celebration of the written word.”
Learn more about the Andrew Carnegie Medals for Excellence in Fiction and Nonfiction.

About Booklist
Booklist is the book review magazine of the American Library Association, considered an essential collection development and readers' advisory tool by thousands of librarians for more than 100 years. Booklist Online includes a growing archive of 200,000 + reviews available to subscribers as well as a wealth of free content offering the latest news and views on books and media.

About the Reference and User Services Association (RUSA)
The Reference and User Services Association (RUSA) is a member community engaged in advancing the practices of connecting people to resources, information services, and collections, building relationships among members from all types of libraries, encouraging openness, innovation, and idea sharing, and promoting excellence in library services and resources.

Contact:

Grace Rosean

Associate Publisher

Booklist

grosean@ala.org

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