International Book Award 2025: What Is Awarded, and Why?
The getAbstract International Book Award was a feature of the international literary calendar since 2001. Its overall purpose is to increase the visibility and impact of the selected titles among professionals worldwide.
Now in its twenty-fifth year, the award continues to select the most outstanding business-relevant books of the year. All nominated titles are available as summaries in the getAbstract library.
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Selection Criteria
getAbstract’s editorial team is responsible for narrowing down tens of thousands of new releases to a longlist of just ten titles per award category and language, considering the following questions:
- How relevant is the book?
- How reliable is its content?
- How reader-friendly is the book?
- How actionable is the book?
Our expert jury discusses these questions, contributes their opinions and experiences, and creates a shortlist to decide on the winning title. The selection criteria have remained consistent over time, undergoing a slight update in 2024 (see below), yet still resulting in long- and shortlists that capture the most relevant, readable and actionable books of the year.
Award Categories and Languages
In 2025, the getAbstract International Book Award will be presented in two different categories and languages:
Books selected for our “Business Impact” category (International & German) offer must-have, actionable knowledge for business leaders – as encapsulated in our slogan, “Know better. Do better.”
The winner of the Business Impact Award will be announced at the award ceremony in Frankfurt am Main on 15 October 2025.
Our special award category, “Learning Impact” (International), recognizes original contributions in the L&D and HR space. All nominated titles are must-reads for L&D leaders!
The winner of the Learning Impact Award will be announced on 22 October 2025.
Meet the Juries
The jury composition changes slightly each year to promote diversity and a variety of perspectives. In 2025, there were two different juries for getAbstract’s main book award categories, composed as follows:
Business Impact Award
> International
- Laura Lesum (International)
Laura Lesum is a Rights Director at getAbstract. - Erica Rauzin (International)
Erica Meyer Rauzin, Managing Editor, has been with getAbstract for 22 years. A graduate of the Columbia Graduate School of Journalism, she has experience as a newspaper reporter, state Senate staffer, columnist and book editor.
> German
- Belén Haefely (German)
Belén Haefely has a BA in Philosophy and German Studies. As a Managing Editor, she is responsible for topics such as the personal and professional development of the German getAbstract library. She also writes the “Nina’s World” column for the getAbstract Journal. - Georg Olms (German)
Georg Olms is a Rights Director at getAbstract.
- Katharina Wild (German)
Katharina Wild works as a freelance editor for companies, publishers, and cultural institutions in German-speaking countries. She has been writing and editing book summaries for getAbstract since 2016.
Learning Impact Award
- Donald H. Taylor
Donald H. Taylor is Chairman of the Learning Technologies Conference in London and an expert in learning and development (L&D). His annual L&D Global Sentiment Survey provides a unique perspective on L&D trends from over 100 countries.
Since 2024: Criteria Update and Jury Work
In 2024, we slightly refined the International Book Award criteria to reflect five crucial attributes: relevance, reliability, innovation, reader-friendliness, and actionability.
With thanks to jury member Donald H. Taylor, who sparked our conversation about what we must discuss and consider even before the awards juries meet, we are focusing even more intensely on our readers.
To gauge relevance and actionability, we imagine each book in your hands: Is it applicable? Can you put its knowledge – either broadly, as with a climate-change book, or specifically, as with a management book – to work for your benefit? Innovation relates to a book’s originality: Is the information new and illuminating; does it add to your understanding as you tackle real-world problems? Reliability evokes getAbstract’s fundamental promise to provide information you can trust, the foundation of knowledge you can use. Reader-friendliness sounds like a lesser criterion, but if a book isn’t well-written, clear, well-designed, and appealing, you won’t enjoy reading it, no matter how trustworthy or useful it is.
The result is a roster of outstanding award-nominees of great scope and merit, chosen to meet our high standards and fit your professional needs.
Erica Rauzin
Managing Editor at getAbstract and International Book Award Jury member
About the getAbstract International Book Award
The getAbstract International Book Award is among the world’s oldest, continuously presented non-fiction book awards. Since 2001, it has been awarded to authors whose work has significantly impacted contemporary social, political and economic understanding. In alignment with our mission to provide actionable, business-relevant knowledge, the getAbstract International Book Award focuses on works that encourage critical thinking, promote mutual understanding and offer innovative approaches to leadership and business. Our book award candidates help people make better decisions in their personal and professional lives – as encapsulated in our slogan, “Know Better. Do Better.”
The “Learning Impact” award (since 2022) recognizes original contributions in the L&D and HR space, focusing on future-proofing organizations and developing thriving organizational learning cultures. Donald H. Taylor, Chairman of the Learning Technologies Conference in London and a member of the 2025 jury, says:
Books remain the best way of transmitting powerful, complex ideas, and it’s a real honour to be on the judging panel for this year’s awards. The quality of entries was as high as ever, and the getAbstract team created a smooth process that allowed the judges to really focus on the core task – finding innovative writing that will boost the practice of L&D professionals.
Donald H. Taylor
