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American Library Association · award year

Andrew Carnegie Medals for Excellence 2024

The 2024 Andrew Carnegie Medals for Excellence went to The Berry Pickers by Amanda Peters (Fiction) and We Were Once a Family: A Story of Love, Death, and Child Removal in America by Roxanna Asgarian (Nonfiction). 6 books were finalists and 45 books made the longlist across 2 categories.

Winners

Fiction

  1. The Berry Pickers by Amanda Peterssource (opens in a new tab)

Nonfiction

  1. We Were Once a Family: A Story of Love, Death, and Child Removal in America by Roxanna Asgariansource (opens in a new tab)

Finalists

Fiction

  1. Denison Avenue by Christina Wong and Daniel Innessource (opens in a new tab)
  2. Let Us Descend by Jesmyn Wardsource (opens in a new tab)

Nonfiction

  1. The Great Displacement: Climate Change and the Next American Migration by Jake Bittlesource (opens in a new tab)
  2. The Talk by Darrin Bellsource (opens in a new tab)

Longlist

Fiction

  1. All the Sinners Bleed by S. A. Cosbysource (opens in a new tab)
  2. Chain-Gang All-Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyahsource (opens in a new tab)
  3. Dear Chrysanthemums: A Novel in Stories by Fiona Sze-Lorrainsource (opens in a new tab)
  4. Fat Time and Other Stories by Jeffery Renard Allensource (opens in a new tab)
  5. House Gone Quiet by Kelsey Norrissource (opens in a new tab)
  6. Let's Go Let's Go Let's Go by Cleo Qiansource (opens in a new tab)
  7. Pomegranate by Helen Elaine Leesource (opens in a new tab)
  8. Prophet by Sin Blaché and Helen Macdonaldsource (opens in a new tab)
  9. Straw Dogs of the Universe by Ye Chunsource (opens in a new tab)
  10. Tali Girls by Siamak Herawi, translated by Sara Khalilisource (opens in a new tab)
  11. The Bandit Queens by Parini Shroffsource (opens in a new tab)
  12. The Great Reclamation by Rachel Hengsource (opens in a new tab)
  13. The Lost Journals of Sacajewea by Debra Magpie Earlingsource (opens in a new tab)
  14. The MANIAC by Benjamin Labatutsource (opens in a new tab)
  15. The Water Outlaws by S. L. Huangsource (opens in a new tab)
  16. Two Sherpas by Sebastián Martínez Daniell, translated by Jennifer Croftsource (opens in a new tab)
  17. Wandering Souls by Cecile Pinsource (opens in a new tab)
  18. Witness by Jamel Brinkleysource (opens in a new tab)

Nonfiction

  1. A Darker Wilderness: Black Nature Writing from Soil to Stars by Erin Sharkeysource (opens in a new tab)
  2. A Fever in the Heartland: The Ku Klux Klan's Plot to Take over America, and the Woman Who Stopped Them by Timothy Egansource (opens in a new tab)
  3. A Man of Two Faces: A Memoir, A History, A Memorial by Viet Thanh Nguyensource (opens in a new tab)
  4. Airplane Mode: An Irrelevant History of Travel by Shahnaz Habibsource (opens in a new tab)
  5. American Whitelash: A Changing Nation and the Cost of Progress by Wesley Lowerysource (opens in a new tab)
  6. An Amerikan Family: The Shakurs and the Nation They Created by Santi Elijah Holleysource (opens in a new tab)
  7. Better Living Through Birding: Notes from a Black Man in the Natural World by Christian Coopersource (opens in a new tab)
  8. Brave the Wild River: The Untold Story of Two Women Who Mapped the Botany of the Grand Canyon by Melissa L. Sevignysource (opens in a new tab)
  9. He/She/They: How We Talk about Gender and Why It Matters by Schuyler Bailarsource (opens in a new tab)
  10. Master Slave Husband Wife: An Epic Journey from Slavery to Freedom by Ilyon Woosource (opens in a new tab)
  11. Okinawa by Susumu Higa, translated by Jocelyne Allensource (opens in a new tab)
  12. Our Migrant Souls: A Meditation on Race and the Meanings and Myths of "Latino" by Héctor Tobarsource (opens in a new tab)
  13. Poverty, By America by Matthew Desmondsource (opens in a new tab)
  14. Project 562: Changing the Way We See Native America by Matika Wilbursource (opens in a new tab)
  15. The 272: The Families Who Were Enslaved and Sold to Build the American Catholic Church by Rachel L. Swarnssource (opens in a new tab)
  16. The Burning of the World: The Great Chicago Fire and the War for a City's Soul by Scott W. Bergsource (opens in a new tab)
  17. The Country of the Blind: A Memoir at the End of Sight by Andrew Lelandsource (opens in a new tab)
  18. The New Guys: The Historic Class of Astronauts That Broke Barriers and Changed the Face of Space Travel by Meredith Bagbysource (opens in a new tab)
  19. The People's Hospital: Hope and Peril in American Medicine by Ricardo Nuilasource (opens in a new tab)
  20. The Riders Come Out at Night: Brutality, Corruption, and Cover Up in Oakland by Ali Winston and Darwin BondGrahamsource (opens in a new tab)
  21. Wonder Drug: The Secret History of Thalidomide in America and Its Hidden Victims by Jennifer Vanderbessource (opens in a new tab)

About the Andrew Carnegie Medals for Excellence

Winners, finalists (the shortlist) and longlists from ALA's per-year Carnegie Medals pages. The medals began in 2012. Winners also appear on their year's shortlist; each book is stored once per year at its highest level. No nonfiction medal was awarded in 2018 after Sherman Alexie declined it, so that year has three nonfiction finalists and no winner.

Organization: American Library Association. Years are award years, which can differ from publication years. Official site (opens in a new tab)

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