ALA Announces Shortlist for 2026 Andrew Carnegie Medals for Excellence in Fiction and Nonfiction
Notably, this year's shortlist has a distinct international flair as two of the three fiction finalists and one of the nonfiction finalists are translated works.
The American Library Association this week announced the six books shortlisted for the prestigious Andrew Carnegie Medals for Excellence in Fiction and Nonfiction, awarded annually for the previous year’s best fiction and nonfiction adult books published in the United States.
Notably, this year's shortlist has a distinct international flair as two of the three fiction finalists and one of the nonfiction finalists are translated works.
The two medal winners will be announced on Tuesday, January 27. The winners will each receive $5,000 and will attend a celebratory event at the 2026 ALA Annual Conference in June 2026 in Chicago.
The 2026 Andrew Carnegie Medals for Excellence in Fiction and Nonfiction shortlist titles include:
2026 Fiction Shortlist
A Guardian and a Thief by Megha Majumdar (Knopf). "Majumdar brilliantly blurs right and wrong, ethics and legality. In such frenzied times, who is the guardian and who is the thief can never be clear."
The Unworthy by Agustina Bazterrica, translated by Sarah Moses (Scribner). "Bazterrica is in her element dramatizing the violent and atrocious acts that the residents of the community are subjected to and, in turn, inflict on each other. Satirical, incisive and convincing horror that skewers religious fervor and blind obedience.
We Do Not Part by Han Kang, translated by e. yaewon and Paige Aniyah Morris (Hogarth). "Han brilliantly examines the breadth of human relationships, from unconditional mother-child bonds to timeless friendship to heinous inhumanity.
2026 Nonfiction Shortlist
Baldwin, Styron, and Me by Mélikah Abdelmoumen, translated by Catherine Khordoc (Biblioasis). "Abdelmoumen explores the literary friendship between James Baldwin and William Styron...a fascinating meditation on how disparate writers can stimulate each others’ creativity and on the pitfalls of cross-cultural art."
There Is No Place for Us: Working and Homeless in America by Brian Goldstone (Crown). "Doing a deep dive into the history and circumstances of several family units in the Atlanta area who have been plagued by homelessness, despite having jobs, Goldstone reveals the harsh and complex obstacles of daily life for people living on the edges of society."
Things in Nature Merely Grow by Yiyun Li (Farrar, Straus and Giroux). "Li faces the shocking reality of her second son’s death by suicide with 'radical acceptance' and heartrending honesty."
