Business Book of the Year: Shortlist Announcement

Overview

This Financial Times and Standard Chartered Business Book of the Year segment announces the shortlist and discusses what the judges look for in winning business books. The discussion focuses on how varied this year’s long/shortlist is, which themes dominate, and whether business books will remain relevant as reading habits shift.

Main points from the judging discussion

Shortlist diversity

Although judges expected to see more AI and technology, this year’s shortlist spans a wide range of topics, including:

• Healthcare
• Succession
• Leadership
• Innovation stories

Geopolitics remains present in the background.

Dominant theme: AI—with new nuance

AI is described as the most prominent theme (continuing a multi-year trend). However, many AI authors are portrayed as skeptical or even anxious, reflecting a broader public mood and the growth of the anti-AI movement.

Storytelling vs. facts (jury tension)

The judges discuss an ongoing balance between:

• The journalistic desire for big, panoramic narratives
• Business leaders’ preference for substance, hard reality, and analysis

Rula Khalaf (FT editor) emphasizes that regardless of topic, a book must be well written, structured, and argued to captivate readers—going beyond having interesting ideas.

What makes a book “stand the test of time”

The panel argues that durability comes from interconnected themes, such as how:

• AI, technology, and innovation
• politics and society

combine into a larger system. Even if specific topics evolve quickly, the underlying relationships between forces in the world should remain relevant.

Looking ahead: what’s missing / what should be next

The judges suggest additional directions for future books, including:

• More on AI mass adoption, including:
  • how companies restructure
  • how workforces change
  • real implementation challenges (not only early/theoretical work)
• Greater focus on leadership and organizational behavior in shifting conditions
• More stories about AI’s impact on:
  • science
  • healthcare
  • the labor market transformation, including real workplace outcomes (e.g., major staff reductions)

Reading culture concerns

Multiple contributors express concern that reading is being displaced by videos, podcasts, and social media, with less time to process and debate ideas. The panel highlights efforts such as:

• book clubs
• moderated discussions

as ways to restore reading’s reflective, communal element.

AI as a threat to reading

There is concern that children may use ChatGPT to generate summaries instead of reading, potentially weakening:

• comprehension
• the habit of reading for enjoyment and patience

Optimism and adaptation

Despite worries about reading culture, the judges believe compelling ideas and strong storytelling will endure—especially when authors find engaging ways to make historical and technical moments understandable.

2026 shortlist announced (six books)

1. “1873: The First Great Depression and the Making of the Modern World” — Liaquat Ahamed
2. “Beyond the Scale: The Inside Story of Ozempic and the Race for an Obesity Cure” — Amy Donaghue
3. “The Infinity Machine: DeepMind and the Search for Superintelligence” — Sebastian Mellaby
4. “Project Maven: A Marine Colonel, His Team, and the Dawn of Artificial Intelligence Warfare” — Kathleen Mason
5. “Blood Will Flow: The Killer Business of Oil and Gas” — Alex Perry
6. “Prophecy: Foresight, Power, and the Struggle for the Future from Ancient Oracles to AI” — Carissa Veliz

Award details

• One of the six books will win FT and Standard Chartered Business Book of the Year 2026, receiving £30,000.
• The winner will be announced in London on December 2nd.

Presenters / contributors

• Rula Khalaf (FT editor; chair of the jury)
• Tanuj (name appears in subtitles with variations such as “Tanuja”/“Tunji”; a new jury judge; Standard Chartered COO co-author mentioned, with name unclear)
• Andrew (host/interviewer; name not clearly specified in subtitles)
• Sumitra (appears with variations like “Sumitra”/“Ruler” in subtitles; identified via subtitles, surname not clearly given)

Presenters/authors listed on-screen for the shortlist

• Liaquat Ahamed
• Amy Donaghue
• Sebastian Mellaby
• Kathleen Mason
• Alex Perry
• Carissa Veliz