The Society for Advancing Business Editing and Writing announced the shortlist for its sixth annual Best in Business Book Awards, which recognizes and celebrates outstanding business books published between Aug. 1, 2025, and July 31, 2026.
A panel of judges selected 21 books for this year’s shortlist. The shortlisted books are from three categories: Business Reporting, Career and Financial Development, and Management and Leadership.
The 21 books selected for the shortlist are:
Business Reporting
- Empire of Orgasm: Sex, Power, and the Downfall of a Wellness Cult by Ellen Huet (Farrar, Straus and Giroux)
- How To Win a Trade War: An Optimistic Guide to an Anxious Global Economy by Soumaya Keynes and Chad P Bown (Simon & Schuster)
- I Am Not a Robot: My Year Using AI to Do (Almost) Everything by Joanna Stern (HarperCollins)
- Little Blue Dot: How GPS Shaped the Modern World by Katherine Dunn (Bloomsbury Publishing)
- Mutiny: The Rise and Revolt of the College-Educated Working Class by Noam Scheiber (Farrar, Straus and Giroux)
- Profit vs. Progress: Why Socially Responsible Investment Doesn’t Work and How to Fix It by Brad Swanson (The MIT Press)
- The Man Who Stole the Gods: A True Story of War, Obsession, and a Global Art Conspiracy by Matthew Campbell (Penguin Publishing Group)
- The Next China Is Still China: An Insider’s Playbook for Winning in the New Era by Joe Ngai and Nick Leung (Scribner, Simon & Schuster)
- The Yahoo Boys: Love, Deception, and the Real Lives of Nigeria’s Romance Scammers by Carlos Barragán (Farrar, Straus and Giroux)
Career and Financial Development
- Fool’s Gold: Angel Investing and the Fine Art of Losing Money by Henry Fiorillo (Sutherland House Experts)
- How to AI: Cut Through the Hype. Master the Basics. Transform Your Work by Christopher Mims (Penguin Random House, Crown Currency)
- How to Get Rich in American History: 300 Years of Financial Advice That Worked (& Didn’t) by Joseph S. Moore PhD (HarperCollins)
- How to Make Money in Any Market by James J. Cramer (Simon & Schuster)
- Retirement Bites: A Gen X Guide to Securing Your Financial Future by Kerry Hannon and Janna Herron (Basic Venture)
- The Singles Tax: No-Nonsense Financial Advice for Solo Earners by Renée Sylvestre-Williams (ECW Press)
Management and Leadership
- How to Be Bold: The Surprising Science of Everyday Courage by Ranjay Gulati (HarperCollins)
- Inside the Box: How Constraints Make Us Better by David Epstein (Penguin Random House, Riverhead Books)
- Output to Outcome: An Operating Model for the Age of AI by Mik Kersten (IT Revolution)
- Streetwise: Getting to and Through Goldman Sachs by Lloyd Blankfein (Penguin Press)
- Superteams: The Science and Secrets of High-Performing Teams by Ron Friedman (Simon & Schuster)
- The Right Call: A Leader’s Guide to Ethical Decision Making in Practice by Tremaine du Preez (Routledge – Taylor and Francis Group)
The judges were led by Alan Deutschman, professor and Reynolds Endowed Chair of Business Journalism at the University of Nevada, Reno, and Rebecca Baker, editor at large at Bloomberg Industry Group.
“If you’re looking for the deepest reporting, the most compelling writing, and the most stimulating ideas about business and finance, books are still the medium of choice,” said Deutschman in a statement.
The winning authors from each category will be awarded a $1,000 cash prize and finalists from each category will receive $500. The results will be announced later this fall.
