The Audie Award for Business and Personal Development is one of the Audie Awards presented annually by the Audio Publishers Association (APA). It awards excellence in narration, production, and content for a business, educational, self-help, or motivational audiobook released in a given year.
Before 2016, this was given as two distinct awards: One was given from 2008 to 2015 as the Audie Award for Personal Development, from 2002 to 2007 as the Audie Award for Personal Development or Motivational Title, and from 1997 to 2001 as the Audie Award for Personal Development or Self-Help.
The other was given from 2008 to 2015 as the Audie Award for Business or Educational Title, and from 2002 to 2007 as the Audie Award for Business Information or Educational Title. Before 2002 this award itself was given as two distinct awards: One was given from 1999 to 2001 as the Audie Ward for Business Information, and from 1997 to 1998 as the Audie Award for Business.
The other was given from 2000 to 2001 as the Audie Award for Educational and Training Title, in 1999 as the Audie Award for Educational Title, and from 1996 to 1998 as the Audie Award for Educational, How-To, or Instructional Title.
Winners and finalists 2010s Year Title Author(s) Narrator(s) Publisher Result 2016Wake Up Happy: The Dream Big, Win Big Guide to Transforming Your Life (2015) and Veronica ChambersSimon & Schuster AudioWinnerAct Like a Lady, Think Like a Man (2009)HarperAudioFinalist (2015) and Charles FishmanSimon & Schuster AudioGet Big Things Done: The Power of Connectional Intelligence (2015) and Saj-nicole JoniRecorded BooksTalking to Crazy Audible2017Humans Need Not Apply (2015)Tantor AudioWinnerCapital Offenses: Business Crime and Punishment in America's Corporate Age (2016)AudibleFinalistShrill: Notes from a Loud Woman (2016)Hachette Audio (2016)Macmillan AudioTrekonomics: The Economics of Star Trek (2016)Audible2018Peak Performance (2017) and Steve MagnessBrilliance AudioWinnerDo More Great Work (2010)Post Hypnotic PressFinalistGetting There: A Book of Mentors (2015), René Ruiz, and Alex Hyde-WhiteNovel AudioHow to Work for an Idiot (Revised and Expanded with More Idiots, More Insanity, and More Incompetency): Survive and Thrive Without Killing Your Boss (2003)AudibleUnfuck Yourself (2017)HarperAudio2019How to Be Heard (2017)Blackstone AudioWinnerCourage to Be Disliked (2013) and Fumitake Koga, Graeme Malcolm, and January LaVoySimon & Schuster AudioFinalist (2018) and Leif Babin and Leif BabinMacmillan AudioDoughnut Economics: Seven Ways to Think Like a 21st-Century Economist (2017)Chelsea Green Publishing (2017)Simon & Schuster Audio (2018)HighBridge Audio
2020s Year Title Author(s) Narrator(s) Publisher Result 2020So You Want to Start a Podcast? (2019)HarperAudioWinner (2013), Bonnie Harvey, and Rick Kushman, Ed Asner, and full castFootnotes PressFinalistCalm the Fuck Down (2016)HarperAudioNine Lies About Work: A Freethinking Leader's Guide to the Real World (2018) and Ashley Goodall and Ashley GoodallGildan MediaWolfpack: How to Come Together, Unleash Our Power and Change the Game (2019)Macmillan Audio2021 (2020)Simon & Schuster AudioWinnerHow I Built This: The Unexpected Paths to Success from the World's Most Inspiring Entrepreneurs (2020)AudibleFinalistHustle Harder, Hustle Smarter (2021) (50 Cent) (50 Cent)HarperAudioImprovise!: Use the Secrets of Improv to Achieve Extraordinary Results at Work (2020)Brilliance AudioTools of Titans: The Tactics, Routines, and Habits of Billionaires, Icons, and World-Class Performers (2016), Ryan Holiday, Kevin Rose, Jocko Willink, Tim Kreider, Ralph Potts, Mike Delaponte, Kaleo Griffith, Ray Porter, and Thérèse PlummerAudible2022Machiavelli for WomenSimon & Schuster AudioWinnerBadass HabitsPenguin Random House AudioFinalistCarry On with Kabir Sehgal, foreword by Andrew YoungHachette AudioUncomfortable Conversations with a Black ManMacmillan AudioWhat Happened to You? and Bruce D. Perry and Bruce D. PerryMacmillan Audio2023ToughPenguin Random House AudioWinnerBuilding a Second BrainSimon & Schuster AudioFinalistPrep, Push, PivotHeinemannSustain Your Game and Jon Sternfeld, foreword by Rece DavisAscent AudioThe First Five: A Love Letter to Teachers and Rece DavisHachette Audio2024Penguin Random House AudioWinnerDiva 2.0: 12 Life Lessons from Me for YouRecorded BooksFinalistWin Every Argument: The Art of Debating, Persuading, and Public SpeakingMacmillan AudioPlease Unsubscribe, Thanks! Simon & Schuster Audio, edited by Rob Schwartz and Steven WeberBlackstone Publishing2025Come Together Penguin Random House AudioWinnerAnd Then We Rise CommonCommonHarperAudioFinalistFluke: Chance, Chaos, and Why Everything We Do MattersSimon & Schuster AudioHumans Who Teach: A Guide for Centering Love, Justice, and Liberation in Schools HeinemannWomen Money Power: The Rise and Fall of Economic Equality Recorded Books, Inc.2026Penguin Random House AudioWinnerBreaking Trauma Bonds with Narcissists and PsychopathsTantor AudioFinalistAudible StudiosPerseverance > Endurance and Brandon YoungBrilliance PublishingStrong GroundPenguin Random House Audio
Business winners and finalists 1996–2015
1990s +Business winners and finalists 1996-1999 Year Title Author(s) Narrator(s) Publisher Result 1997 (5th century B.C.) and B. D. WongDove AudioWinnerMarshall Loeb's Lifetime Financial Strategies (1996)Time Warner AudioBooksFinalist (1996)Simon & Schuster Audio1998Pour Your Heart Into It: How Starbucks Built a Company One Cup at a Time (1997)HighBridge AudioWinnerBen & Jerry's Double-dip Capitalism (1997) and Jerry Greenfield and Jerry GreenfieldSimon & Schuster AudioFinalistForbes Great Minds of Business (1997), Fred Smith, Peter Lynch, Pleasant Rowland, and Paul Volcker, Fred Smith, Peter Lynch, Pleasant Rowland, and Paul VolckerSimon & Schuster Audio1999Entrepreneur November 1998 (1998), Elaine Fioreillo, Brian Ruberry, Cassandra Cavanah, Danielle Kennedy, Jay Conrad Levinson, Mark Henricks, and Jacquelynn Lynn, Milton Lawrence, John Matthew, Jim Rondeau, and Allison StrongDriveTimesWinnerEntrepreneur December 1998 (1998) et al.DriveTimesFinalistSPIN Selling (1988)HighBridge Audio
2000s +Business winners and finalists 2000-2009 Year Title Author(s) Narrator(s) Publisher Result 2000Beer Blast: The Inside Story of the Brewing Industry's Bizarre Battles for Your Money (1997)Audio Book Club Publishing WinnerBusiness @ the Speed of Thought (1999)Time Warner AudioBooks FinalistFaster (1999)Random House Audio 2001Rich Dad, Poor Dad: What the Rich Teach Their Kids About Money That the Poor and the Middle Class Do Not! (1997) and Sharon L. LechterTime Warner AudioBooks Winner (2000)Time Warner AudioBooks FinalistIrrational Exuberance (2000)Random House Audio 2002Rich Kid, Smart Kid: Give Your Child a Financial Head Start (2001)Time Warner AudioBooks WinnerFish!: A Proven Way to Boost Morale and Improve Results (2001)Random House Audio Finalist (2001) and Richard AllenB&B Audio 2003 (2002) and Jack OngTime Warner AudioBooks WinnerExecution (2002) and Ram Charan, Ram Charan, and John Bedford LloydRandom House Audio FinalistFish! Tales: Real-Life Stories to Help You Transform Your Workplace and Your Life (2002), John Christensen, and Harry Paul and Carr HagermanHyperion Audiobooks Prophecy: Why the Biggest Stock Market Crash in History Is Still Coming...and How You Can Prepare Yourself and Profit From It! (2002) and Sharon L. LechterTime Warner AudioBooks Throwing the Elephant (2002) and Philip BoscoHarperAudio 2004If You Don't Have Big Breasts, Put Ribbons on Your Pigtails: And Other Lessons I Learned from My Mom (2003) and Bruce LittlefieldListen & Live Audio WinnerCracking Your Retirement Nest Egg (2003)Blackstone Audio FinalistReady for Anything (2003)Simon & Schuster Audio What Clients Love (2002)Time Warner AudioBooks Who Says Elephants Can't Dance (2002)HarperAudio 2005Death by Meeting: A Leadership Fable About Solving the Most Painful Problem in Business (2004)Audio Renaissance WinnerCustomer Mania! (2004)Simon & Schuster Audio FinalistGoals! (2010)The Audio Partners Publishing Corp. Making Work Work (2004)HarperAudio Who Took My Money? (2004) and Sharon L. LechterTime Warner AudioBooks 2006Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap...and Others Don't (2001)HarperAudio WinnerLeadership and Self-Deception (2000)Audio Partners Publishing Corp. Finalist (2005)Random House Audio (2005)Penguin Audio Why Business People Speak Like Idiots (2005), Chelsea Hardaway, and Jon WarshawskyTantor Audio 2007 (2006)Hyperion Audio WinnerMavericks at Work (2006) and Polly LaBarreHarperAudio FinalistMyths, Lies, and Downright Stupidity (2007)Hyperion Audio Silos, Politics and Turf Wars (2006)Audio Renaissance Small Is the New Big (2006)HighBridge Audio 2008Words That Work: It's Not What You Say, It's What People Hear (2007) and L. J. GanserHyperion Audio WinnerDo You! (2007) and Chris MorrowPenguin Audio Finalist (2007)Hyperion Audiobooks (2007)Tantor Audio How to Get to the Top (2007)Macmillan Audio (2006) and David ClarkTantor Audio 2009 (2009)Simon & Schuster Audio WinnerAwakening the Entrepreneur Within (2008)HarperAudio FinalistGrammar Girl's Quick and Dirty Tips for Better Writing (2008)Macmillan Audio Mastering the Seven Decisions (2008)Oasis Audio Stirring It Up (2008)Hyperion Audio (2008)Tantor Audio
2010s +Business winners and finalists 2010-2019 Year Title Author(s) Narrator(s) Publisher Result 2010Rain: What a Paperboy Learned About Business (2009)Brilliance AudioWinnerHouse of Cards (2009)Tantor AudioFinalistToo Big to Fail (2009)Blackstone Audio/Penguin AudiobooksViral Loop (2009)Tantor AudioWhat Would Google Do? (2009)HarperAudio2011 (2010) and Fred BermanAudibleWinner (2007)Blackstone AudioFinalistBuy-In (2010) and Lorne A. WhiteheadBrilliance AudioDelivering Happiness (2010)Hachette AudioLead Like Ike (2010)Oasis Audio2012 (2011)Oasis AudioWinner23 Things They Don't Tell You About Capitalism (2010)AudibleFinalistAftershock (2009), Robert A. Wiedemer, and Cindy S. SpitzerAudible (2009)AudibleI'm Feeling Lucky (2011)Audible (2011)HarperAudio/Dreamscape2013Spy the Lie: Former CIA Officers Teach You How to Detect Deception (2012), Michael Floyd, Susan Carnicero, and Don TennantMacmillan AudioWinner (2012)AudibleFinalistGreat on the Job (2011)Brilliance AudioInside Apple (2012)Hachette Audio (2010)Audible2014Leadership Secrets of the Salvation Army (2012) and Ben BrowneChristianWinner (2013)Hachette AudioFinalist (2001)AudibleLeading Apple with Steve Jobs (2012)AudibleNaked Statistics (2012)AudibleWithout Their Permission (2013)Hachette Audio2015 (2014)AudibleWinner#GIRLBOSS (2014)Penguin Random House AudioFinalistCreativity, Inc. (2014) and Amy Wallace Penguin Random House AudioPlaying to Win: How Strategy Really Works (2013) and Roger L. MartinAudibleTalk Like TED (2014)Macmillan Audio
Personal Development winners and finalists 1997–2015
1990s +Personal Development winners and finalists 1997–1999 Year Title Author(s) Narrator(s) Publisher Result 1997101 Great Answers to the Toughest Interview Questions (1991)HighBridge AudioWinnerHow Good Do We Have to Be? (1997)Random House AudioFinalistMake the Connection: Ten Steps to a Better Body and a Better Life (1998) and Oprah WinfreyRandom House Audio1998 (1997)Penguin AudiobooksWinner (1997)Audio LiteratureFinalist (1997)DH Audio/Durkin Hayes1999 (1998)Sounds TrueWinnerMaking the Case for Yourself: A Diet Book for Smart Women (1997)The Publishing MillsFinalist (1997)Audio Literature
2000s +Personal Development winners and finalists 2000-2009 Year Title Author(s) Narrator(s) Publisher Result 2000How Men Have Babies: The Pregnant Father's Survival Guide (1999)The Audio Partners Publishing Corp. WinnerEat, Drink, and Be Merry (2000)HarperAudio FinalistWhat Southern Women Know (That Every Woman Should) (1999)Brilliance Audio