‘Extraordinary’ Joseph Coelho novel wins Carnegie medal for children’s writing

The Boy Lost in the Maze takes prestigious honour while sister prize for illustration goes to Aaron Becker’s wordless The Tree and the River

Joseph Coelho has won the Yoto Carnegie medal for children’s books, marking the first time the prize has been awarded to a Black British writer.

The current children’s laureate won the prize, which is judged solely by librarians, for his “beautifully descriptive” The Boy Lost in the Maze, illustrated by Kate Milner.