FT and McKinsey announce the shortlist for the 2021 Business Book of the Year Award

A collage of all the authors shortlisted holding up their books
Front cover of the world for sale by Javier Bras & Jack Farchy
Front cover f Empire of Pain by Patrick Madden Keefe

Books about confronting racism, tackling climate change, and the cyber-weapons arms race are among the shortlisted nominees for this year’s Financial Times and McKinsey & Company 2021 Business Book of the Year Award.

Now in their 17th year, the awards have been called an “essential calendar fixture for authors, publishers and the global business community”, and set out to highlight those works which provide the “most compelling and enjoyable insight into modern business issues”. 

Nine distinguished judges, including Mimi Alemayehou of Mastercard, James Kondo from the International House of Japan and  Shriti Vadera, of the Prudential, selected this year’s crop from a longlist of 15. They include:

Said Financial Times editor and judging panel chair, Roula Khalaf, “We had a fabulous longlist of compelling, deeply researched books to choose from this year… this excellent shortlist tackles many of the pressing issues facing business today, including climate change, cybersecurity, and racial discrimination.”

Added Virginia Simmons, Managing Partner - UK, Ireland & Israel, McKinsey & Company, “While the continuing impact of the pandemic is reflected in the books that made the list, the breadth and richness of topics here underscores the forward-looking value of this annual book award.  These authors provide compelling and engaging insights into modern business, climate change conversations and our sustainable and inclusive future.”   

The winner, who will receive £30,000, is to be announced on 1 December at an event co-hosted by Khalaf and Magnus Tyreman, Managing Partner Europe, McKinsey & Company. The other shortlisted will also be awarded £10,000. Previous Business Book of the Year winners have included Caroline Criado Perez for Invisible Women: Exposing Data Bias in a World Designed for Men (2019), and the prize’s inaugural winner in 2005 was Thomas Friedman, for The World is Flat.