When a debut business book claims a major literary prize, it often signals more than just commercial appeal—it points to an idea whose time has come. That’s the case with executive coach Miki Feldman Simon’s CORE Leadership, which just took home top honors in the Leadership category at the 2026 NYC Big Book Award, a program that draws entries from major publishers and independent presses around the globe.
Author Miki Feldman Simon
2026 NYC Big Book Award Winner Seal
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Recognized in the Leadership category, the acclaimed book introduces a four-step framework for driving executive performance from the inside out.
The award, announced for the 2026 cycle, puts Feldman Simon’s work in distinguished company. The NYC Big Book Award assesses entries from authors, publishers, and journalists worldwide, judging them on narrative depth, execution, and practical market value. This latest recognition is the second significant honor for CORE Leadership, which previously earned a Silver Nonfiction Book Award.
Feldman Simon’s approach in CORE Leadership is a deliberate departure from conventional management thinking. Instead of layering on new tactics for overseeing teams or optimizing operations, she anchors the book in a more personal premise: you cannot effectively lead others until you have learned to lead yourself. The framework she presents is grounded in behavioral science and designed for the person making the decisions—the leader—rather than the systems around them.
“There are countless books, theories, and frameworks about how to lead others,” said Miki Feldman Simon. “I wanted to step back and start somewhere more fundamental: leading yourself. Receiving the NYC Big Book Award for Leadership celebrates the book, but for me, it also celebrates the idea at the heart of it: becoming a better leader starts with how we lead ourselves.”
The book opens with a foreword from Dr. Marshall Goldsmith, the Thinkers50 #1 Executive Coach, who calls it “a smart, accessible roadmap for anyone ready to lead from the inside out.” Endorsements also come from Dorie Clark, Chester Elton, and Institute of Coaching founder Dr. Carol Kauffman, lending the work considerable authority in leadership development circles.
Ron Zalkind, Founding General Partner at Lama Partners, offered a personal endorsement. “I’ve worked closely with Miki for years, and her impact on how I show up as a leader, and as a person, has been profound. ‘CORE Leadership’ distills her wisdom, clarity, and emotional intelligence into a framework that’s both actionable and deeply human. This book isn’t just about leadership; it’s about learning to lead yourself with intention, and in doing so, amplifying your impact on those around you. If you’re ready to grow from the inside out, this book is the guide you’ve been looking for.”
CORE Leadership: A Four-Step Framework to Lead Yourself, Grow Your Influence, and Amplify Your Impact, ISBN: 979-8993190402, is available through major retailers nationwide, including Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and independent bookstores online and locally.
For media inquiries, interview requests, or information on keynote speaking and organizational workshops, visit mikifeldmansimon.com.
The 2026 NYC Big Book Award drew entries from around the world, with submissions from the United States and countries including Australia, Canada, China, Dubai, England, Estonia, France, Germany, Ghana, Greece, New Zealand, Scotland, Singapore, South Korea, Sweden, the United Arab Emirates, and the United Kingdom. Represented cities spanned Auckland, Baltimore, Dallas, Frankfurt, Hollywood, Johannesburg, Manhattan Beach, New Orleans, NYC, Philadelphia, Sydney, and West Palm Beach.
Publishers in the mix included Beacon Press, Berrett-Koehler, Casemate, Edinburgh University Press, Forbes Books, Kiplinger Books, NYU Press, Palgrave Macmillan, Penguin Random House, Rizzoli, Routledge, The White House Historical Association, University of California Press, University of Nebraska Press, Weaving Influence Press, and Wiley.
“We have an amazing list of authors from around the globe participating this year,” said awards sponsor Gabby Olczak. “I’m so excited to share these books with a worldwide readership!”
The complete list of NYC Big Book winners and distinguished favorites is available at https://www.nycbigbookaward.com/.
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About Miki Feldman Simon
Miki Feldman Simon is a Certified Executive Coach (PCC), speaker, facilitator, and former global executive. Her career spans more than three decades of leadership experience across the United States, Israel, and Australia, including senior roles in human resources, marketing, operations, and business development within startups and scale-ups. She has guided organizations through growth, transformation, and successful acquisitions, offering her a firsthand view of the pressures executives face.
Over the last ten years, Feldman Simon has coached hundreds of leaders and led workshops for organizations from startups to multinational corporations. Her focus is on strengthening self-awareness, building agency, and converting insight into deliberate action. The CORE framework—Clarify, Operationalize, Reflect, Evaluate—is her practical method for helping leaders determine what matters, decide who they want to become, put those insights into practice, and measure their impact. Clients describe her as direct yet warm, insightful, and skilled at turning reflection into measurable results.
Her work draws on psychology, behavioral science, and real-world application. She holds an M.S. in Organizational Behavior and a B.A. in Psychology and Educational Counseling. Through coaching, facilitation, and speaking, she translates complex ideas into accessible, actionable tools that move leaders from autopilot to intentional leadership, creating lasting change for themselves and their teams.
A longtime advocate for equality in leadership, Feldman Simon has devoted much of her career to helping women build the skills needed for sustained success. Under her HR leadership at the software company Profitect, the organization achieved gender parity at all levels, with women holding 50% of management roles across finance, marketing, program management, human resources, and customer success. She also founded IamBackatWork, an initiative supporting women returning to the workforce.
Feldman Simon is known for embracing challenges, whether reinventing her career multiple times or getting fit at 50 to summit Mount Kilimanjaro. She brings that same conviction about growth and possibility to her clients and audiences, urging them to push past perceived limits and act with greater intention.
She is a member of Forefront, powered by Marshall Goldsmith and the 100 Coaches community. Her insights have been featured in the Boston Globe, HuffPost, the Society for Human Resource Management, Business News Daily, Psychology Today, Knox News, and other outlets.
A dedicated traveler and global citizen, Feldman Simon lives in Lexington, Massachusetts, with her husband and dogs, and is the mother of two adult children.
More about her professional background is available on her LinkedIn profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikifeldmansimon/.
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About the NYC Big Book Award & Independent Press Award
Announced each autumn, the NYC Big Book Award is open to authors, publishers, and illustrators worldwide, welcoming entries from independent presses and the “Big Five” publishers (Penguin Random House, HarperCollins, Hachette, Macmillan, and Simon & Schuster).
Its sister program, the Independent Press Award, specifically honors independent authors and publishers. Past IPA winners can be viewed at https://www.independentpressaward.com/winners. With the deadline approaching, independent presses and authors can submit their titles at https://www.independentpressaward.com/enter.
Winners from both programs will be honored live at the annual Awards Dinner on April 10th during the BookCAMP event (April 9–10, 2027). Dinner details and event registration are available at https://www.nycbigbookaward.com/awardsdinner and https://www.ipabookcamp.com.
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About Printed Word Reviews
Printed Word Reviews, https://printedwordreviews.com/, is an international print and digital publication committed to thoughtful, comprehensive, and honest literary criticism. Serving a community of readers, authors, and publishing professionals, the outlet covers genres from contemporary fiction and memoirs to historical non-fiction and poetry. Dedicated to highlighting exceptional storytelling, Printed Word Reviews features both bestselling works and emerging independent titles, connecting authors with passionate readers. The publication is issued monthly and registered with the U.S. ISSN Center at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C., under ISSN 3067-011X.
Gabby Olczak
Independent Press Award / NYC Big Book Award
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Why it matters: This award underscores a growing shift in leadership literature toward self-management as the foundation of executive effectiveness. As organizations face mounting complexity, frameworks like CORE offer a practical, evidence-based counterweight to purely external management tactics, giving leaders a path to sustainable performance that starts with their own behavior and mindset.
