Olofsson Walks the Red Carpet this Saturday to Accept her INDEPENDENT PRESS AWARD Win and Proudly Celebrates “The Soul of War:” Billboard Display in NYC.
VARBERG, SWEDEN, April 23, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — The 2025 NYC Big Book Award recognized “The Soul of War: Ukraine – Where Every Step Tells Their Story” by Ivona Olofsson in the category of Cultural Heritage as a winner.
This Saturday, Olofsson, along with her Swedish Publisher Mindbootz, join other international authors to walk the red carpet and accept their wins on stage at the NYC Big Book and Independent Press Awards Ceremony.
The following day, VIP Honorees and a select group of premier authors will be featured on a NYC Times Square Billboard. The billboard book display, curated by the Printed Word Reviews publisher, Ted Olczak, is a program that highlights “book excellence.” This honor comes on the heels of GAB TALKS exclusive interview: https://www.independentpressaward.com/thegabtalks/ivona-olofsson.
“The Soul of War: Ukraine – Where Every Step Tells Their Story” follows a trauma therapist as she journeys to Ukraine, seeking to understand the echoes of war resonating through generations while confronting her own family’s hidden history.
A poetic and unflinching journey into the heart of war – and the resilience that keeps us human.
“The Soul of War” is a profoundly moving account of the human face of conflict, told through the eyes of Ivona Olofsson – therapist, peace worker, and fellow human being. With roots in post-war Poland and a life shaped by the legacy of war, she travels to Ukraine in the midst of an unfolding conflict.
On train platforms, in refugee camps, hospitals, and among ruins, she meets children, soldiers, mothers, and medics. They share stories that redefine courage, endurance, and what it means to remain human. Interwoven with her own memories, these voices form a narrative where the personal and the universal meet.
The book is as much a testimony as it is an inward journey – about the invisible scars carried by both individuals and communities, about how history continues to echo within us, and about the will to stand for something greater than ourselves.
With language that is both poetic and unflinching, The Soul of War captures moments of pain and beauty in a world torn by conflict. It is a powerful contribution to understanding the impact of war and the enduring human capacity for hope.
NYC Big Book Award received book submissions worldwide. Journalists, well established authors, small and large press, and first time indie authors participated in record numbers. Entries this year were received from the United States as well as countries such as Australia, Canada, China, Dubai, France, Germany, Italy, Portugal, Scotland, Singapore, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. Cities represented among the entries were Chicago, Hamburg, Los Angeles, Melbourne, New York, Quebec, Rome, San Francisco, Seattle, Singapore, and Victoria.
Publishers included Berrett-Koehler; Brown Books Kids; Central Avenue / Simon & Schuster; Forbes Books; New Harbinger Publications; New York University Press; Old Stone Press; Oxford University Press; Pegasus Books; She Writes Press; University of Massachusetts Press to name a few.
Winners included “What is My Legacy?” by Martin Luther King III, Arndrea Waters King, Marc Kielburger and Craig Kielburger; “Mikhail Gorbachev – How he changed our lives” by Bettina Schaefer; Berrett-Koehler’s “From Founder to Future: A Business Roadmap to Impact, Longevity, and Employee Ownership” by John Abrams; The Cooking Lab’s “Modernist Bread at Home” by Nathan Myhrvold; and “Wild Fox Ridge” by Xuemo to name some key titles on the awarded list.
“With so many quality publishers and authors from around the world participating this year, I’m eager to share these books with a global readership,” said awards sponsor Gabby Olczak.
View the NYC Big Book distinguished favorites: https://www.nycbigbookaward.com/2025-favorites.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Ivona Olofsson is an internationally recognized trauma therapist, author, and peace worker based in Sweden. She is particularly known for her expertise in treating complex trauma and her field work in conflict zones, including Ukraine, Afghanistan, Iraq, and Syria.
Driven by the mission to “take love where love is not,” Olofsson focuses on human resilience and the release of trauma-induced “schemas,” the emotional burdens of shame and guilt. By integrating psychotherapy with international peace-building, she champions the idea that healing and writing are powerful forms of “quiet peace work.”
ABOUT THE MINDBOOZT
Mindboozt is a prominent player in the Nordic “expert-to-author” niche. Mindboozt’s founder Camilla Gyllensvan, an author herself, is a prominent figure in the Swedish personal development and coaching industry. Her background is a blend of entrepreneurship, mental training, and publishing strategy, which heavily informs Mindboozt’s business model.
ABOUT THE AWARD
NYC Big Book Award is announced every fall. NYC Big Book Award is open to all authors, publishers, and illustrators, and includes submissions from the big five publishers: Penguin Random House, HarperCollins, Hachette, Macmillan, and Simon & Schuster.
Join us for the Independent Press Award, deadlines every December and announced every spring, is open to independent authors and publishers. Visit: https://www.independentpressaward.com/2025winners.
Join us at the Awards Dinner on April 25th to celebrate the recipients of both programs as they receive their awards on stage. The dinner is part of the BookCAMP event, a publishing industry conference held in the New York metro area, April 24-26, 2026, https://www.independentpressaward.com/ipabookcamp.
Gabby Olczak
NYC Big Book Award
+1 973-969-1899
gabby@NYCBigBookAward.com
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The GAB TALKS with Ivona Olofsson
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