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2026 IT Engineer Book Awards: Celebrating Excellence in IT Literature

The anticipation has been building as the time approaches for the 2026 IT Engineer Book Awards, organized by Shoeisha, a leading publisher based in Shinjuku, Tokyo. This event highlights the books that stand out in the realm of IT literature, specifically focusing on both technical and business categories. The awards will culminate in a presentation competition and final voting event held during the Developers Summit 2026 on February 19, 2026.

The Best of the Best: Top 10 Technical and Business Books

IT engineers from across the country participated in a web voting campaign, selecting the the ten books they believe are essential for their peers. This year’s list features an impressive array of titles:

Technical Books – Top 10

1. AI Agent Development / Operations Introduction [In-Depth Guide to Generative AI] - SB Creative
2. Gathering Failures in Engineer Training: 42 Cases to Learn Effective Management - Shoeisha
3. Revised Edition: Learning Design Principles Through Good and Bad Code - 技術評論社 (Technical Review)
4. Practical Entry to AI Agents: Utilizing AI in the Field - 講談社 (Kodansha)
5. The Mechanism of Calculating Word Meaning: Foundations of Computational Linguistics and Natural Language Processing - 講談社 (Kodansha)
6. Introduction to Practical Cybersecurity: Uncovering Hacker Attacks from Remnants at the Scene - SB Creative
7. Illustrated Guide to TCP/IP Edition 2 - SB Creative
8. Should I Tidy First? Individual Pragmatic Software Design - O’Reilly Japan
9. How to Create a Hacking Lab: Complete Edition for Learning Hacking in a Virtual Environment - Shoeisha
10. #100 Days Challenge: Transforming Life by Creating 100 Apps Daily - 日経BP (Nikkei BP)
11. Gentle MCP Introduction - 秀和システム新社 (Shuwasystem)

Business Books – Top 10

1. Walking: A Habit That Can Truly Change Your Life - NewsPicks Publishing
2. 37 Tips for Engineers' Sustainable Growth - Business Education Publishers
3. Sam Altman: The Entrepreneur’s Ambitions in the Age of Generative AI - NewsPicks Publishing
4. Super Beginner’s Guide to Information Security for New Employees - 技術評論社 (Technical Review)
5. What the World's Elites Do on Their Days Off - クロスメディア・パブリッシング (Cross Media Publishing)
6. Scientific Habits of Highly Effective People: A Comprehensive Guide - SB Creative
7. PLURALITY: Turning Conflict into Creation, Technologies for Collaboration and the Future of Democracy - ライツ社 (Rights)
8. Relaxed Stoicism: Focusing Your Day Without Distractions - ダイヤモンド社 (Diamond)
9. Ambidextrous Project Management: Techniques to Foster Team Initiative While Achieving Results - Shoeisha
10. The Art of Explanation: Conveying Knowledge to Beginners - Shoeisha

Presenting the Grand Prize

On February 19, the award ceremony will take place at the Ariake Central Tower Hall & Conference during the Developers Summit 2026. The final event will feature presentations from authors and editors of the six highest-voted books (three from each category), where attendees will vote for the grand prize winners based on the presentations and their book's content. There will also be a special award chosen by a guest judge.

Featured Books for Presentation:

• - Technical Category:

- AI Agent Development / Operations Introduction
- Practical Entry to AI Agents
- The Mechanism of Calculating Word Meaning

• - Business Category:

- 37 Tips for Engineers' Sustainable Growth
- Scientific Habits of Highly Effective People
- The Art of Explanation

The main event will encompass more than just award presentations; it aims to foster dialogue within the IT community and explore the books that shape modern engineering thoughts.

Event Details

• - Period: November 6, 2025 - February 19, 2026
• - Eligibility: Any technical or business book published within the past year is eligible for consideration.
• - Selection Process: Web voting concluded on December 7, 2025, which determined the top ten books in both categories, leading to the upcoming presentation and final voting.

For more detailed information on the event and to follow the developments, visit the official web site of the IT Engineer Book Awards here. Also check out the Developers Summit 2026 official site here.