Carnegie Medal 2023: Complete list of winners
The 2023 Carnegie Medal honors have arrived, and they showcase the remarkable range of what great writing can accomplish across genres. Julie Otsuka’s The Swimmers claimed the fiction prize, a novel that immerses readers in the lives of a diverse group connected by a single Los Angeles swimming pool, capturing intimate human moments against the backdrop of larger social currents. Meanwhile, Ed Yong’s An Immense World took the nonfiction award, a luminous exploration of how animals perceive their environments in ways that challenge our human-centered understanding of reality. Together, these works exemplify what the Carnegie Medal has long championed: writing that combines literary grace with intellectual substance.
The Carnegie Medal, one of the most prestigious honors in publishing, celebrates excellence in fiction and nonfiction in equal measure—a commitment that this year’s selections reinforce beautifully. Otsuka’s novel demonstrates the intimate storytelling that literary fiction does best, while Yong’s ambitious science writing proves that rigorous journalism and narrative artistry aren’t mutually exclusive. These 2023 winners represent a particular moment in contemporary letters where writers are reaching across disciplines to expand what stories—whether imagined or reported—can reveal about human experience and our place in a far larger world.
Below, you’ll find more details about both the Carnegie Medal fiction winner and nonfiction winner, along with context about what makes these achievements stand out in this year’s literary landscape.
Fiction
The Swimmers by Julie Otsuka
