Financial Times and Standard Chartered Partner on FT Business Book of the Year Award

International banking group Standard Chartered supports the FT’s popular business book award as well as supporting the next generation of business writers with the return of the Bracken Prize for Young Authors.

By Erin L. Cox, Publisher | @erinlcox

Yesterday, the Financial Times announced a new partnership with international banking group Standard Chartered for the FT Business Book of the Year Award.

“We play a role as a super-connector across global markets, allowing us to see first-hand how innovation, policy and economic shifts are transforming industries at unprecedented speed,” said Tanuj Kapilashrami, Chief Strategy and Talent Officer, Standard Chartered.

“These awards shine a light on the thinkers helping the world make sense of that complexity. We look forward to celebrating the voices – both established and rising talent – who allow us to contribute to a richer and more diverse global conversation.”

The FT Business Book of the Year Award, which was founded in 2005, honors books that offer “fresh insight into today’s most pressing economic and business issues.” The author of the winning book receives £30,000 and those on the shortlist are each awarded £10,000. Last year, American investigative journalist and writer Stephen Witt won the award for The Thinking Machine: Jensen Huang, Nvidia, and the World’s Most Coveted Microchip, a deep-dive into Nvidia to show how it went from a video game equipment manufacturer to conquering the market for AI hardware.

Not only does the partnership with Standard Chartered support the FT Business Book of the Year Award, the partnership also heralds the return of the Bracken Prize for Young Authors (formerly the Bracken Bower Prize). This prize seeks to support the next generation of business thinkers while also supporting ideas at a formative stage by focusing on unpublished business book proposals and supporting ideas at a formative stage. This prize is open to writers under the age of 35 and was last awarded in 2022 to Âriel de Fauconberg for a book proposal exploring the pioneering work of climate technology entrepreneurs.

“I’m delighted to welcome Standard Chartered as partner for the FT Business Book of the Year Award and to announce the return of the Bracken Prize for Young Authors,” said Financial Times editor Roula Khalaf. “Together, these prizes celebrate compelling ideas and those who offer timely perspectives on business today.”

Submissions for both the FT Business Book of the Year Award and the Bracken Prize for Young Authors will open in spring 2026. Winners of both awards will be named at a dinner in London at the end of the year.