The Business Book Awards 2021 Shortlist

Start up/Scale up

Sales & Marketing

Embrace the Space: Inspirational insight from a decade of delivering social media training to businesses that give a damn!

Gary Ennis & Colin Kelly

Greener Marketing

John Grant

Holistic Email Marketing: A practical philosophy to revolutionise your business and delight your customers

Kath Pay

Hype Yourself: A no-nonsense PR toolkit for small businesses

Lucy Werner

Practical Inspiration Publishing

Instagram Rules: The Essential Guide to Building Brands, Business and Community

Jodie Cook

White Lion Publishing

Myths of Social Media: Dismiss the Misconceptions and Use Social Media Effectively in Business

Michelle Carvill & Ian MacRae

The Profit Secret: How to sell more at a higher margin

Bob Hayward & Nick Baldock

Wonder Leads: Remarkable lead generation for positive small businesses

Dave Holloway

Jolly Funnel Books

HR & Management

Flexible Working: How to Implement Flexibility in the Workplace to Improve Employee and Business Performance

Gemma Dale

Leap into HR Consulting: How to move successfully from Corporate to HR Consulting

Sarah Hamilton-Gill FCIPD

Self Published

Mental Health and Wellbeing in the Workplace: A Practical Guide for Employers and Employees

Gill Hasson & Donna Butler

Personalization at Work: How HR Can Use Job Crafting to Drive Performance, Engagement and Wellbeing

Rob Baker

Solving the Productivity Puzzle: How to Engage, Motivate and Develop Employees to Improve Individual and Business Performance

Tim Ringo

The Energized Workplace: Designing Organizations where People Flourish

Perry Timms

Change & Sustainability

Be Less Zombie: How Great Companies Create Dynamic Innovation, Fearless Leadership and Passionate People

Elvin Turner

Influencers and Revolutionaries: How Innovative Trailblazers, Trends and Catalysts Are Transforming Business

Sean Pillot de Chenecey

Tech Trends in Practice: The 25 Technologies that are Driving the 4th Industrial Revolution

Bernard Marr

The HERO Transformation Playbook: The step-by-step guide for delivering large-scale change

Arif Harbott & Cuan Mulligan

Practical Inspiration Publishing

The Power to Change: How to Harness Change to Make it Work for You

Campbell Macpherson

The Purpose Myth: Change the world, not your job

Charlotte Cramer

Leadership for the Future

Be the Leader You Want to See: Reveal your talents, create fulfilment and confidently step into the career you were made for

Susie Ramroop

Fast Times: How Digital Winners Set Direction, Learn, and Adapt

Arun Arora, Peter Dahlstrom, Klemens Hjartar, and Florian Wunderlich

Amazon Publishing

I Don't Agree: Why we can't stop fighting - and how to get great stuff done despite our differences

Michael Brown

Leader: Know, love and inspire your people

Katy Granville-Chapman & Emmie Bidston

Crown House Publishing

Leaders in Lockdown: Inside stories of Covid-19 and the new world of business

Atholl Duncan

Power of Love Leadership: 7 Proven Strategies to Drive Success, Maximise Results and Inspire Compassion and Trust

Sarah Higgins

The Management Delusion: What if we're doing it all wrong?

Matt Casey

Self Published

The 3D Leader: Take your leadership to the next dimension

Terence Mauri

Pearson Education

Business Self-Development

Connect: Resolve conflict, improve communication, strengthen relationships

Guy Lubitsh & Tami Lubitsh-White

Improvise!: Use the Secrets of Improv to Achieve Extraordinary Results at Work

Max Dickins

Love Your Imposter: Be Your Best Self, Flaws and All

Rita Clifton

Soft Skills Hard Results: A Practical Guide to People Skills for Analytical Leaders

Anne Taylor

Practical Inspiration Publishing

The Monday Revolution: Seize control of your business life

David Mansfield

Practical Inspiration Publishing

Unlock Your Career Success: Knowing the Unwritten Rules Changes Everything

Christine Brown-Quinn

Personal Development & Wellbeing

Change Your Life in Five: Practical Steps to Making Meaningful Change in Your Life

Sue Belton

Welbeck Publishing

How to Be a Well Being: Unofficial Rules to Live Every Day

Andy Cope, Sanjeev Sandhu & James Pouliopoulos

Just Ask: Why Seeking Support is Your Greatest Strength

Andy Lopata

No Longer Last on the List: A self-growth guide for tired, busy women; helping you to eliminate doubt, set boundaries and prioritise your own importance, without guilt

Jo Bevilacqua

Parenting the Conundrum Child: The CAN do approach to uncovering their unique abilities

Aniesa Blore

The Simplicity Principle: Six Steps Towards Clarity in a Complex World

Julia Hobsbawm

The Success Trap: Why Good People Stay in Jobs They Don’t Like and How to Break Free

Amina Aitsi-Selmi

Why Losing Your Job Could be the Best Thing That Ever Happened to You: Five Simple Steps to Thrive after Redundancy

Eleanor Tweddell

Short Business Book

20 Rules of PR - AKA How to get it right and not f**k it up

Sam Brown

The PR Mastercoach

Bear Markets and Beyond: A bestiary of business terms

Dhruti Shah & Dominic Bailey

Connected Leadership: How Professional Relationships Underpin Executive Success

Andy Lopata

Free The Hidden Speaker Inside: How Your Voice Can Make You Money and Give You the Life You Desire

Mariette Richardson

Glory: The magic formula for winning more business awards

Louise R Turner

The Profit Mindset: Know Your numbers, Plan Ahead, Grow Your Business

Andy Cristin

Work Worth Doing: Align your value with your values and make a meaningful mark on the world

Chet Morjaria

Specialist Book 2021

Crisis Proof: How to prepare for the worst day of your business life

Jonathan Hemus

Financial Planning for Entrepreneurs: How to build your own route to financial independence

James Woodfall

How To Raise Entrepreneurial Kids: Raising confident, resourceful and resilient children who are ready to succeed in life

Jodie Cook & Daniel Priestley

Rubbing Shoulders With The Best: Growing A Massage Business Without The Stress

Kathy Scott

Elite Publishing Academy

The 4 Day Week: How the Flexible Work Revolution Can Increase Productivity, Profitability and Well-being, and Create a Sustainable Future

Andrew Barnes with Stephanie Jones

The Beginning of The End: A practical guide to retirement preparation for the small business owner

Dr Terri Bourne

Practical Inspiration Publishing

The Power of Not Thinking: How Our Bodies Learn and Why We Should Trust Them

Simon Roberts

WINNER: How to Win Business Awards

Denise O’Leary

Diversity, Inclusion & Equality

Belonging: The Key to Transforming and Maintaining Diversity, Inclusion and Equality at Work

Sue Unerman, Kathryn Jacob & Mark Edwards

Bloomsbury Publishing

IS THAT CLEAR?: Effective communication in a neurodiverse world

Zanne Gaynor, Kathryn Alevizos & Joe Butler

Shujaa'ah: Bold Leadership for Women of the Middle East

Annabel Harper

The Midlife Review: A guide to work, wealth and wellbeing

Steve Butler and Tony Watts

The Silenced Voice: There is Purpose in Pain

Dr Marcia Morgan

The Values Compass: What 101 Countries Teach Us about Purpose, Life, and Leadership

Dr Mandeep Rai

Nicholas Brealey Publishing

Them and Us: How immigrants and locals can thrive together

Philippe Legrain

Your Second Phase: Reclaiming work and relationships during and after Menopause

Kate Usher

Business Journey

100 Million Hair Ties and a Vodka Tonic: An entrepreneurs story

Sophie Trelles-Tvede

65 Roses and a Trunki: Defying the Odds in Life and Business

Rob Law MBE with Dr Peter Hughes

Game Changer: The Story of Pictionary and How I Turned a Simple Idea Into the Bestselling Board Game in the World

Rob Angel

Amplify Publishing

Lifting The Floor: Revealed: the true stories hiding beneath the tiles of the data centre industry

Michael Tobin OBE

Why Put a Bow Tie on a Llama?: How a crazy idea can change your life and transform your business

Celia Gaze

Practical Inspiration Publishing

You’ve got this: How to continue your freelance career when you become a mother

Dorota Pawlak

International Business Book 2021

Attention!: The Power of Simple Decisions in a Distracted World

Rob Hatch

Practical Inspiration Publishing

Building a Badass Boutique: Your 10-Touch Journey to Designing a Fitness Studio That Rocks

Emma Barry

Edge: Turning Adversity into Advantage

Laura Huang

Essays on Beta, Vol. 1: What´s now & next in organizational leadership, transformation and learning

Niels Pflaeging

BetaCodex Publishing

Humanocracy: Creating Organizations as Amazing as the People Inside Them

Gary Hamel & Michele Zanini

Harvard Business Review Press

The Business Model Navigator: The strategies behind the most successful companies

Oliver Gassmann, Karolin Frankenberger & Michaela Choudury

Women of Color in Tech: A Blueprint for Inspiring and Mentoring the Next Generation of Technology Innovators

Susanne Tedrick

Beyond Entrepreneurship 2.0: Turning Your Business into an Enduring Great Company

Jim Collins

Random House Business

Transformation in Times of Crisis: Eight Principles for Creating Opportunities and Value in the Post-Pandemic World

Nitin Rakesh & Jerry Wind

© 2026 Business Book Awards.