The OWL Awards
Outstanding Works
Of Literature


About The Awards
Our Outstanding Works of Literature (OWL) Awards spotlight the best books shaping society today. Every year, our book experts explore and assess the thousands of books published each year for titles that change the way organizations do business, educators create and teach curriculum, and communities understand and pursue wellbeing. We’ve done the work so you don’t have to! Come see what books of the year deserve to get noticed.







How OWL Awards Work?

Submission Open
Publishers will submit nominations of noteworthy titles for the selected categories. Submissions open in August and close end of September.

Longlist Is Selected
Our team of book experts will carefully review each title submitted based on our criteria. Five books will move on to the next round.

Shortlisted Is Selected
The Longlist is narrowed down to the top three titles that deserve recognition for their unique impact.

Winners are Announced
One book per category is awarded the title of Outstanding Work of Literature!
Award Categories & Criteria
The Outstanding Works of Literature Awards are granted to titles that are, well... outstanding! They are impactful, distinguished, one-of-a-kind, admirable, and/or inspirational. Our categories were chosen based on topics that best resonate with the companies, schools, and organizations we partner with.

Business Categories
- Big Idea
- Leadership
- Sales & Marketing
- Management & Culture
- Women in Business

Education Categories
- Picture Books
- Elementary
- Middle School
- First Year Experience
- Community Read

Award Criteria
- Originality
- Engagement
- Readability
- Clarity
- Relevancy
Winners Over The Years
Business
Business
Big Idea

Stolen Focus
by Johann Hari
Leadership

Trust and Inspire
by Stephen M.R. Covey
Management & Culture

The Gift of Influence
by Tommy Spaulding
Sales & Marketing

Unreasonable Hospitality
by Will Guidara
Women in Business

Secrets of the Sprakkar
by Eliza Reid
Education
Picture Books

Out of a Jar
by Deborah Marcero
Elementary

Thirst
by Varsha Bajaj
Middle School

New From Here
by Kelly Yang
First Year Experience

Solito
by Javier Zamora
Community Read

Just Pursuit
by Laura Coates
Business
Big Idea

Rebel Ideas
by Matthew Syed
Leadership

Bringing Up the Boss
by Rachel Pacheco
Management & Culture

Just Work
by Kim Scott
Sales & Marketing

Get Different
by Mike Michalowicz
Women in Business

My Life in Full
by Indra Nooyi
Education
Picture Books

The 1619 Project
by Nikole Hannah-Jones,
Renée Watson,
& Nikkolas Smith
Elementary

Gerladine Pu and Her
Lunch Box, Too!
by Maggie P. Chang
Middle School

Dead Wednesday
by Jerry Spinelli
High School

The Cost of Knowing
by Brittney Morris
Advanced Reading

We Are Not Like Them
by Christine Pride & Jo Piazza
Miscellaneous
Health & Wellness

What Happened to You?
by Oprah Winfrey &
Bruce D. Perry
Gift & Special Interest

Per My Last Email
by Stephanie K. Wright
Religion

Pillars
by Rachel Pieh Jones
Politics & Current Events

The Sum of Us
by Heather McGhee
Biography & Memoir

Hola Papi
by John Paul Brammer
Business
Big Idea

The Future is Faster
Than You Think
by Peter H. Diamandis
& Steve Kotler
Leadership

Leading with Gratitude
by Adrian Gostick &
Chester Elton
Management & Culture

The Leader's Guide to
Unconscious Bias
by Pamela Fuller, Mark
Murphy, & Anne Chow
Sales & Marketing

The Forever Transaction
by Robbie Kellman Baxter
Women in Business

Unapologetically Ambitious
by Shellye Archambeau
Education
Picture Books

I Am Every Good Thing
by Derrick Barnes &
Gordon C. James
Elementary

Tune It Out
by Jamie Sumner
Middle School

When Stars Are Scattered
by Victoria Jamieson &
Omar Mohamed
High School

We Are Not Free
by Traci Chee
Advanced Reading

Transcendent Kingdom
by Yaa Gyasi
Miscellaneous
Health & Wellness

Think Like a Monk
by Jay Shetty
Gift & Special Interest

The 99% Invisible City
by Roman Mars & Kurt
Kohlstedt
Religion

We Are Called to Be a
Movement
by William J. Barber
Politics & Current Events

Caste
by Isabel Wilkerson
Biography & Memoir

Untamed
by Glennon Doyle
Business
Big Idea

Indistractable
by Nir Eyal
Leadership

Management Mess to
Leadership Success
by Scott Jeffrey Miller
Management & Culture

The Remix
by Lindsey Pollak
Sales & Marketing

The Iconist
by Jamie Mustard
Women in Business

Everything is
Figureoutable
by Marie Forleo
Education
Picture Books

Sulwe
by Lupita Nyong'o &
Vashti Harrison
Elementary

Guts
by Raina Telgemeier
Middle School

The Boy at the Back of
the Class
by Onjali Q. Raúf
High School

Scars Like Wings
by Erin Stewart
Advanced Reading

I'm Telling the Truth,
But I'm Lying: Essays
by Bassey Ikpi
Miscellaneous
Health & Wellness

Permission to Feel
by Marc Brackett
Gift & Special Interest

1,000 Places to See
Before You Die
(Deluxe Edition)
by Patricia Schultz
Religion

Holy Envy
by Barbara Brown Taylor
Politics & Current Events

The Threat
by Andrew G. McCabe
Biography & Memoir

They Called Us Enemy
by George Takei,
Justin Eisinger, Steven Scott,
& Harmony Becker
Category Winners
Business

The Culture Code
by Daniel Coyle
Children's Literature

Llamaphones
by Janik Coat
Wellness

This is Me
by Chrissy Metz
Religion

The Third Option
by Miles McPherson
Politics & Current Events

When They Call You a
Terrorist
by Patrisse Khan-Cullors
& asha bandele
Category Winners
Business

The Power of Moments
by Chip Heath & Dan Heath
Education

The Fire This Time
edited by Jesmyn Ward
Health

When Breath Becomes Air
by Paul Kalanithi