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'The Goldfinch,' 'The Bully Pulpit' receive Carnegie Medals

'Goldfinch' by Donna Tartt took the top prize for fiction, while 'Pulpit' by Doris Kearns Goodwin was named the best nonfiction work.

'The Goldfinch' and 'The Bully Pulpit' won the Carnegie Medals for 2014.
  • By Molly Driscoll Staff Writer

The 2014 Carnegie Medals for fiction and nonfiction were recently bestowed on “The Goldfinch” by Donna Tartt and “The Bully Pulpit” by Doris Kearns Goodwin, respectively. 

The Carnegie Medals were first given out in 2012 and the winners are chosen by library professionals and writers for Booklist, the magazine published by the American Library Association, which is in charge of the prizes.

“Goldfinch” also won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, and we selected it as one of the best fiction books of 2013, with Monitor fiction critic Yvonne Zipp calling it “a delight.”

“[Tartt’s books are] steeped in a rare kind of storytelling that a certain kind of reader … can happily get lost in.”

We also chose “Pulpit” as one of the best titles of 2013 and Monitor reviewer Erik Spanberg wrote that Goodwin’s work is “well-crafted.”

“Goodwin has a knack for finding fresh angles to bring her beloved dead presidents back to life,” he wrote. “She keeps the story clipping along, chooses enlightening anecdotes … and has the narrative and historical acumen to weave her theme through 900 pages. At 70, let’s hope she has at least a couple more biographies in mind.” 

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