After months of reading, scoring, and spirited debate, narrowing hundreds of publisher submissions to a longlist and then a razor-sharp shortlist, we’re thrilled to unveil the 2025 OWL (Outstanding Works of Literature) Awards Winners. 

These titles rose to the top for one reason: they don’t just inform, they move people to act. The OWL Awards honor books that pair big ideas with real-world usefulness. Our book experts evaluated each contender for the ones that shape decisions, strengthen teams, elevate instruction, and build shared understanding across communities. To win an OWL is to join an esteemed circle of authors whose work sparks discussions today and measurable change tomorrow.

Today, we celebrate those creators, the authors, editors, and publishing partners. So without further ado… let’s dive into the winners!

---

Big Idea

The Sirens' Call: How Attention Became the World's Most Endangered Resource by Chris Hayes

From New York Times bestselling author Chris Hayes comes a powerful, wide-angle reckoning with how attention capitalism has reshaped our minds, our politics, and the fabric of society. We all feel it. The distraction, the loss of focus, the pull of the buzzin our pocket, because in just a decade, a few tech firms helped tear down the boundary between public and private. 

Hayes argues we’re living through an epoch-defining transition: attention has become a commodified resource extracted from us, leaving us increasingly alienated from our own lives. The Sirens’ Call offers the big-picture clarity we urgently need and a holistic framework for wrestling back control of our attention, our politics, and our future.

From our judges

“You’ll never look at your screen the same way again. Hayes explains how the attention economy quietly shapes what we think, what we buy, and what we believe, all while keeping the writing sharp and incredibly readable. It’s the kind of book you keep referencing because it gives language to something you’ve been feeling for years.” 

Leadership

The Need to Lead: A TOPGUN Instructor's Lessons on How Leadership Solves Every Challenge by Dave Berke

In this third book in the Extreme Ownership series, retired fighter pilot and TOPGUN instructor Dave Berke shows why leadership is the key to solving every challenge and how to put it into practice. 

Drawing on lessons from combat, the cockpit, and his work coaching leaders, Berke argues that leadership isn’t about rank or title: everyone is a leader, leadership matters in every area of life, and every problem is ultimately a leadership problem. Packed with compelling stories from TOPGUN training to the boardroom and home, The Need to Lead is a practical guide to building the mindsets and skills to support your people, learn from mistakes, and succeed anywhere.

From our judges

“This book makes you want to lead better the moment you close it. Berke doesn’t preach; he shows you what leadership looks like in real moments, including the missteps, and that honesty makes the lessons hit harder. We instantly made it a required reading for our team.”

Management & Culture

The Happiness Files: Insights on Work and Life by Arthur C. Brooks

Harvard professor and bestselling author Arthur C. Brooks shares science-based insights on work and life in this curated collection from his “How to Build a Life” column in The Atlantic. Framed around a simple question: what if your life were a startup, and you had to lead it well?

Brooks blends behavioral science research with practical, experience-backed advice to help readers pursue the rewards that matter most: love, enjoyment, satisfaction, and meaning. Beautifully written and organized by theme, the essays explore everything from procrastination and success to relationships and career, offering inspiration and useful guidance for building a happier, more fulfilling life.

From our judges

“This is one of those quiet reads that sticks with you. Brooks blends real science with warm, human storytelling to tackle the big questions: work, success, and what actually makes a life feel meaningful. You walk away not just inspired, but calmer, clearer, and better equipped to build happiness on purpose.”

Sales & Marketing

Press Play: Why Every Company Needs a Gaming Strategy by Bastian Bergmann

An eye-opening look at the rapid rise of gaming and the companies that are using games to win over customers. As consumers crave immersive, personalized experiences and traditional engagement strategies lose their edge, gaming has become the new frontier.

In Press Play, Solsten cofounder and COO Bastian Bergmann draws on exclusive interviews and behind-the-scenes access to show how visionary brands are leveraging gaming’s power, and offers a practical roadmap for leaders, from low-risk partnerships to full-scale gaming ventures, to meet customers where they truly are.

From our judges

“One of the most useful marketing and strategy reads we’ve seen in a long time.  Bergmann shows how brands are meeting people where they already spend time and turning participation into meaningful connections, not just clicks. We found ourselves highlighting and flagging much of this book.”

Women in Business

Wild Courage: Go After What You Want and Get It by Jenny Wood

Instant New York Times bestseller Wild Courage is a bold, energizing guide to going after what you want at work and in life, from former Google leader and top career coach Jenny Wood. 

Wood flips conventional advice on its head, arguing that the traits you’ve been taught to avoid, like being weird, selfish, shameless, obsessed, nosy, “manipulative,” brutal, reckless, and bossy, can be your greatest advantage when used in a savvy, healthy way. With permission, practical coaching, and plenty of momentum, Wild Courage helps you ditch fear, build influence, take smart risks, and pursue your biggest goals unapologetically.

From our judges

“You know those books you can’t stop talking about? Yeah—Wild Courage is that book. Wood challenges your default habits like hesitation, people-pleasing, playing it safe, and replaces them with actionable strategies that work for early-career pros all the way to the C-suite. It’s the kind of read you immediately recommend, then keep on your desk for the days you need a nudge.” 

Picture Book

Yumi and Monster by Kam Redlawsk

Little Yumi loves to run, jump, and play until a mysterious Monster appears just as her body begins to feel slow and weak. Afraid and unsure, Yumi tries her best to avoid Monster…until an unforgettable journey through the snowy woods reveals what Monster wants, and helps Yumi embrace a new kind of life. With stunning original art and the heart of a modern fairy tale, this story invites readers to explore the emotions of unexpected challenges and discover the beauty, magic, and adventure beyond fear.

From our judges

“Beautifully written, exquisitely illustrated, and quietly brave. Yumi and the Monster honors disability with honesty and hope, showing kids that courage can look like softness, patience, and asking for help. It’s a beautiful invitation to build empathy and start meaningful classroom conversations.”

Elementary School

Growing Home by Beth Ferry

Ivy the houseplant is beloved, Toasty the goldfish is grumpy (and feels robbed), and everything at Number 3 Ramshorn Drive is delightfully weird. Then a spider with a broken leg arrives in a typewriter, a singing school plant joins the crew, and one splash of fish-tank water reveals a big surprise: they can do magical things like lift heavy objects and turn things invisible! But Toasty’s antique octagonal tank has secrets, and a curious man with purple shoes wants it at any cost. Can this unlikely team grow into friends fast enough to save their family?

From our judges

“A clever little love letter to friendship and community. Ferry balances humor with tenderness, giving kids lovable characters and vocabulary support that teachers will appreciate. It’s funny, sweet, and would be a great fit in any classroom!”

Middle School

The House at the Edge of Magic by Amy Sparkes

Nine is an orphan pickpocket who’s only valued for what she can steal until she nicks a house-shaped ornament, knocks on its tiny door, and watches it grow into a huge, higgledy-piggledy building. Inside are eccentric residents (an alchemist, a hopscotch-obsessed wizard, and a troll housekeeper who loves his feather duster) trapped by a curse that makes everything impossible, including finding the bathroom on the first try. Nine isn’t exactly “hero” material, but with a life-changing reward on the line, she’ll take on missing toad tongues, bats with acid dung, and burping sugar bowls to break the curse and maybe discover something about herself along the way.

From our judges

“I had a smile on my face from start to finish. This book is laugh-out-loud funny, wildly imaginative, and so immersive. Kids will be all in with Nine and the Magical House from page one. I can see this being a favorite for classrooms and libraries.”

FYE/ College

The Friendship Bench: How Fourteen Grandmothers Inspired a Mental Health Revolution by Dixon Chibanda, MD

After Dr. Dixon Chibanda lost a patient to suicide, he set out to find a simple, human solution to loneliness and depression, especially in Zimbabwe, where millions needed help, and only a handful of psychiatrists were available. His answer was powerful and unexpected: grandmothers.

Partnering with fourteen wise elders, Chibanda created the Friendship Bench, a community-driven program where people share their stories with an empathetic grandmother, and more than 500,000 people worldwide have now sat on a bench to seek support. The Friendship Bench shows how human connection forms the bedrock of resilience and how evidence-based care can be made accessible to all.

From our judges

“This will restore your faith in humanity. With powerful storytelling and real evidence, Chibanda demonstrates that dedication and community support can change lives without overcomplicating what people need most. This is the kind of book that will turn a campus conversation into a campus culture shift. I couldn’t recommend it enough.”

Community Read

Culpability by Bruce Holsinger

When the Cassidy-Shaws’ autonomous minivan collides with an oncoming car, seventeen-year-old Charlie is in the driver’s seat, and every member of the family has something to hide. During a weeklong recovery on the Chesapeake Bay, a routine police investigation spirals into a tense reckoning as secrets surface, loyalties crack, and Charlie’s future hangs in the balance.

Meanwhile, Lorelei, an AI world leader, draws suspicion from her husband Noah, especially when a tech mogul with a tangled past suddenly reappears. A suspenseful family drama with sharp moral stakes, Culpability dives into the ethical consequences of AI, from autonomous cars to chatbots, in ways that are thrilling, unsettling, and impossible to look away from.

From our judges

“What a ride. This book takes the anxieties we all have about AI and drops them into one family’s very human life. It’s propulsive, thought-provoking, and hard to stop thinking and talking about.”

Inspired by this year’s winners? If a title caught your eye, request a quote, and our book experts will help you bring it to your team, campus, or community program. Prefer to keep exploring? Browse the full Shortlist and revisit the Longlist to discover more outstanding reads we recognized this year.

Authors, we’re cheering you on! If you’re publishing in 2026 or beyond, be sure to reach out so that we can chat about pre-orders, reporting, and more! Congrats again to all our amazing winners!