Carnegie Medal 2026: Complete list of winners

The Carnegie Medal, one of the literary world’s most prestigious honors, has announced its 2026 winners, and they represent a striking duality of voice and vision. Megha Majumdar’s A Guardian and a Thief claims the fiction prize, while Yiyun Li’s essay collection Things in Nature Merely Grow earns the nonfiction award. These selections underscore what makes the Carnegie Medal—awarded annually since 1937—such a vital barometer of literary excellence: an ability to recognize works that resonate across different modes of storytelling, from the intricacies of narrative fiction to the intimate revelations of the essay form.

Majumdar, whose previous novels have demonstrated a gift for navigating complex moral landscapes, brings that same precision to A Guardian and a Thief, a work that explores the tensions between protection and transgression. Meanwhile, Li’s collection showcases her characteristic blend of philosophical inquiry and personal meditation, offering readers essays that observe the natural world with both scientific curiosity and emotional depth. Together, the 2026 Carnegie Medal winners signal a moment in contemporary literature when readers and critics alike are drawn to authors unafraid to ask difficult questions and sit with ambiguous answers.

Below, discover the complete details of this year’s honorees and what sets them apart in the broader context of the award’s storied history.

Fiction

• A Guardian and a Thief by Megha Majumdar

Nonfiction

• Things in Nature Merely Grow by Yiyun Li