Hoot hoot, the shortlist is here! 

After hundreds of publisher submissions and weeks of reading, discussing, and debating, our book experts have narrowed the longlist to three standout titles per category. These books don’t just read well; they spark change, ignite curiosity, and foster lifelong growth. 

So, join us as we celebrate the exceptional titles on the 2025 OWL Awards Shortlist!

Big Idea

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

A big-picture look at how our attention became a commodified resource—extracted, monetized, and weaponized by “a few tech firms” that tore down the boundary between public and private in a decade. From siren-like pings in our kitchens to feeds designed to prey on our deepest neurological wiring, Hayes argues we’re in an epoch-defining transition. This book offers a holistic framework to reclaim control of our focus, our politics, and our future.

2. Abundance by Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson

A history of the 21st century’s unaffordability and shortage in housing, workers, and clean energy is rooted in one core truth: we haven’t been building enough. Klein argues our crisis isn’t about villains but outdated rules, one generation’s solutions becoming the next generation’s obstacles, leaving us better at spotting problems than solving them. He traces the political, economic, and cultural barriers and lays out a build-forward politics of abundance.

3. The Technological Republic: Hard Power, Soft Belief, and the Future of the West by Alexander C. Karp and Nicholas W. Zamiska

A sweeping indictment of the West’s culture of complacency and Silicon Valley’s abandonment of ambition. Karp and Zamiska argue that timid leadership, intellectual fragility, and shallow tech priorities have left the U.S. vulnerable amid rising global threats, especially in the AI arms race. This is a wake-up message for the West to protect its edge and the freedoms it depends on. 

Leadership

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

A TOPGUN instructor and retired Marine fighter pilot distills lessons from combat, cockpit, and coaching into a clear message: leadership is universal, learnable, and the key to solving every problem. Drawing on the Extreme Ownership framework, Berke shows why everyone is a leader, how the same behaviors apply at work and at home, and how adopting the right mindsets turns setbacks into momentum.

2. Source Code: My Beginnings by Bill Gates

The personal origin story of a transformative entrepreneur and philanthropist has finally arrived. Gates revisits his childhood and family influences, early friendships (and loss), and the late-night coding adventures that led from a neighborhood computer center to a Harvard dorm room, and the spark that would change the world. Wise, warm, and revealing, it’s a portrait of how he became who he is.

3. Strong Ground: The Lessons of Daring Leadership, the Tenacity of Paradox, and the Wisdom of the Human Spirit by Brené Brown

An urgent call to reimagine courageous leadership in an age of deep uncertainty. Drawing on six years of Dare to Lead work with 150,000 leaders in 45 countries, Brown outlines the mindsets and skill sets that drive growth through connection, discipline, and accountability. With clear-eyed optimism about AI and organizational change, she argues that transformation must protect “the wisdom of the human spirit” and help teams find their strong ground.

Management & Culture

1. Why Are We Here?: Creating a Work Culture Everyone Wants by Jennifer Moss

A deeply human look at how work has changed and how leaders can make it better. Drawing on fresh research and frontline interviews, Moss examines AI anxieties, stalled DEI efforts, the remote/hybrid debate, and rising employee unhappiness. She spotlights organizations that have built cultures people actually want and offers practical guidance to help leaders restore purpose, connection, and well-being at work.

2. The Next Conversation: Argue Less, Talk More by Jefferson Fisher

Trial lawyer and viral communication coach Jefferson Fisher distills his three-part system, say it with control, confidence, and connection, to handle hard talks, set boundaries, and stand your ground without escalating conflict. You’ll learn why “winning” an argument backfires, how saying less can be more, and how to replace defensiveness with clarity and rapport at home and at work.

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

Building on his Harvard course “Leadership and Happiness,” Brooks blends research, philosophy, and real-world examples to help you pursue truly valuable rewards like love, enjoyment, satisfaction, and meaning. Chapters are grouped by themes (self-management, career and money, work–life and relationships) with clear, usable takeaways for a happier, more fulfilling life and career.

Sales & Marketing

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

Gaming is the new growth channel. With 3B+ players worldwide, brands from Peloton to Burberry are using games to win attention and loyalty. Bergmann offers an inside look at this shift, plus a practical roadmap, from low-risk partnerships to full-scale ventures, so leaders can build the immersive, personalized experiences customers crave.

2. Read Your Mind: Proven Habits for Success from the World's Greatest Mentalist by Oz Pearlman

A modern, mentalism-powered spin on influence and connection. Pearlman distills decades on stage into simple habits and ready-to-use phrases to boost confidence, sharpen memory, read people, and turn defensiveness into trust. Think less “win the argument,” more “shape outcomes” at work and in life.

3. AI First: The Playbook for a Future-Proof Business and Brand by Adam Brotman and Andy Sack

What happens when AI handles most marketing work instantly and nearly free? Guided by insights from Sam Altman, Bill Gates, and Reid Hoffman, this playbook shows how to become an AI-first organization: redesign roles, upskill teams, reset customer expectations, and notch early wins to future-proof your brand.

Women in Business

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

What if the traits you’ve been told to avoid are exactly the ones that move you forward? Former Google leader and top career coach Jenny Wood reclaims nine “taboo” traits like weird, selfish, shameless, obsessed, nosy, manipulative, brutal, reckless, bossy, and shows how to use them wisely to land promotions, win deals, and lead with unapologetic clarity. A gutsy, practical guide to ditch fear and chase what you want.

2. Raising Brows: My Story of Building a Billion-Dollar Beauty Empire by Anastasia Soare

The immigrant-to-icon story behind Anastasia Beverly Hills. From escaping communist Romania to learning English via Oprah, and later shaping Oprah’s brows, Soare builds a billion-dollar brand by applying the golden ratio to beauty. Part memoir, part masterclass in perseverance, this is a reminder that passion, craft, and relentless optimism can redraw the lines of an industry.

3. The Broken Rung: When the Career Ladder Breaks for Women--and How They Can Succeed in Spite of It by Kweilin Ellingrud, Lareina Yee, and Maria del Mar Martinez

The first promotion is where the ladder breaks: for every 100 men promoted to manager, only 81 women and 77 women of color advance. Drawing on a decade of research and conversations with 50+ leaders, the authors pinpoint the gap as experience capital and offer strategies to build it now. A data-driven, story-rich guide for women moving up and for organizations ready to fix the broken system.

Picture Books

1. Best Buds by Becky Scharnhorst

When Spencer moves to a new town, his mom worries he’ll struggle to make friends. But it’s easy, first Fred (an excellent listener), then Dottie (a bit wild), then Eugene (a jokester). The only thing? They’re all…plants. While adults wonder if he might want friends he doesn’t have to water, Spencer knows friendship can blossom in the most unexpected places.

 2. 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, she avoids Monster…until a journey through snowy woods helps her understand what Monster wants and embrace a new kind of life. Inspired by Redlawsk’s own experience with a rare degenerative disease, this modern fairy tale guides readers through fear toward beauty, magic, and resilience.

 3. Marianne the Maker by Kelly Corrigan and Claire Corrigan Lichty

Marianne is a young inventor with a wild imagination. Her days brim with schedules, structure, and soccer, but she’s a maker who needs every minute to scheme and dream, draw and design. When she finds a not-so-great way to skip practice to create her masterpiece, she must face the consequences. Told in delightful rhyme, this story kindles the creative spark inside us all.

Elementary

1. Growing Home by Beth Ferry

Ivy is Jillian Tupper’s beloved houseplant, much to the dismay of Toasty the goldfish, who thinks he should be most loved. Then come Arthur, a wise spider with a broken leg tucked inside an old typewriter, and Ollie, a sweet school plant who loves to sing. When Toasty splashes tank water, the friends discover magic and learn the antique fish tank has special powers. Can Ivy, Toasty, Arthur, and Ollie become friends in time to save the Tupper family from a mysterious villain?

 2. Pocket Bear by Katherine Applegate

Born during WWI to tuck into a soldier’s pocket, Pocket Bear was stitched as a good-luck charm. A century later, he’s the unofficial mayor of Second Chances Home for the Tossed and Treasured, where worn stuffed animals are restored and re-loved. With his feline friend Zephyrina (“the Cat Burglar”), Pocket reminds us that bravery, loyalty, kindness, and second chances come in many forms (sometimes filled with fluff).

 3. InvestiGators: Case Files by John Patrick Green with Steve Behling and Chris Fenoglio

From the mega-bestselling graphic-novel series! Special agents Mango and Brash bring you a solve-along adventure where you help crack the case. Armed with the G.R.I.D. (Gator Reasoning, Inquiry, Deduction), readers follow clues through six brand-new mysteries, with plenty of familiar faces and a few fresh suspects. Grab your badge and get to the bottom of cases big and small!

Middle School

1. The House at the Edge of Magic by Amy Sparkes

Nine, an orphan pickpocket, swipes a house-shaped ornament, knocks, and it expands into a magical house. Inside live Dr. Spoon the alchemist, Flabberghast the young wizard, and Eric the troll housekeeper, all trapped by a curse that won’t let them leave. With a life-changing reward on the line, prickly Nine faces bats with acid dung, a burping sugar bowl, and a missing toad’s tongue unraveling the curse…and herself.

 2. So Over Sharing by Elissa Brent Weissman

Quiet Hadley and rough-around-the-edges Willow have one big thing in common: momfluencers who share their lives online. From @PhoebeAndJay’s messy-mom takes (including Hadley’s decade-old viral potty video) to @MoonbeamsAndMarigold’s perfected glow, the exposure is relentless. As a new school and a secret identity collide, the girls build a friendship on a private Insta and wrestle with one question: how long do they have to share their lives with everyone?

 3. Dragonborn by Struan Murray

There’s a secret world of dragons at the edges of our own, and some live among us as forgotten Slumberers. Twelve-year-old Alex Evans is about to awaken. After her father’s death and her mother’s unbreakable rules, Alex erupts in a fiery roar and is sent to the legendary island of Skralla, a dragon haven where kids train to transform. As dark factions rise, Alex must unlock her long-dormant power before Drak Midna returns to wage war on the human world. 

First Year Experience (FYE)

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

A simple, human solution for loneliness and depression. After losing a patient to suicide, one of only six psychiatrists in Zimbabwe turned to the compassion of fourteen grandmothers and pioneered the Friendship Bench, a community-driven program addressing mental health through intergenerational connection. Since then, 500,000+ people worldwide have sat with an empathetic grandmother. See how human connection and evidence-based interventions foster belonging, purpose, and healing.

 2. Harriet Tubman: Live in Concert by Bob the Drag Queen

In an age of miracles, Harriet Tubman is back, and she has a lot to say. Harriet and four people she led to freedom want to tell their story as a hip-hop album and live show, and she calls on Darnell, a once-successful producer, to help. In a race to create something legendary, they confront the horrors of their pasts and find a way to a better future. Original, evocative, and historic, a landmark that will burrow into our hearts (and ears).

 3. To the Moon and Back by Eliana Ramage

Steph Harper, set on becoming the first Cherokee astronaut, pursues NASA with single-minded ambition, stretching bonds with the three women closest to her: her sister Kayla, an artist turned Indigenous influencer; her college girlfriend Della, reclaiming identity after an ICWA challenge; and her mother Hannah, who holds tribal history high while guarding her own past. Spanning three decades and several continents, this dazzling debut explores the extraordinary lengths one woman will go to find space for herself.

Community-Wide Read

1. Culpability by Bruce Holsinger

A suspenseful family drama about moral responsibility in the age of AI. After the Cassidy-Shaws’ autonomous minivan collides with another car, every family member’s secret ties them to the crash. During a week on the Chesapeake Bay, a routine investigation endangers Charlie’s future, turning a tragic accident into a gripping exploration of chatbots, autonomous cars, drones, and the ethical consequences of nonhuman forces.

2. Wards of the State: The Long Shadow of American Foster Care by Claudia Rowe

A compelling, unflinching look at America’s broken foster care system, and its pipeline to prison, told through six former foster youth. Award-winning journalist Claudia Rowe weaves vivid reporting, interviews, and survival narratives (from a teen sleeping on NYC subways to a policy advisor in the White House) to show where, when, and how the system fails and why urgent reform is needed.

3. Life in Three Dimensions: How Curiosity, Exploration, and Experience Make a Fuller, Better Life by Shigehiro Oishi, PhD

What makes a good life? Beyond happiness and meaning, Oishi proposes a third dimension: psychological richness. Curiosity, exploration, and varied experiences that help us grow. Drawing on a generation of studies and lively examples from culture and everyday life, he shows how psychological richness can balance the “happiness trap” and the “meaning trap,” offering a fuller life with fewer regrets.

Congratulations to all the incredible authors and titles that have made it through to the shortlist of our OWL Awards! This achievement is a testament to their impact on readers and communities alike. Stay tuned as we announce our winner at the beginning of 2026! Be sure to sign up for our newsletter below and follow us on LinkedIn for exclusive updates and special content.