Luxembourg author Mithu Storoni wins Business Book of the Year

The awards ceremony, held on 10 September at The Drum in Wembley, attracted hundreds of entries from around the world across 14 categories. Storoni's book first secured the top spot in the Wellness & Wellbeing category before also being named the evening's overall winner, which is an accolade reserved for one book deemed to have made the most outstanding contribution across all categories.

In her acceptance speech, Storoni underlined that we are entering "the era of the brain", where the quality of our thinking matters more than the sheer quantity of effort. To be "hyperefficient", she explained, means focusing on quality over quantity, a principle she argues is increasingly essential in a world reshaped by artificial intelligence and advanced technology.

A personal honour

Speaking after the ceremony, Storoni said she was deeply honoured by the recognition. She described entrepreneurs and business leaders as the explorers of our time, whose resilience, creativity, and problem-solving abilities had inspired her to write Hyperefficient. Winning the award, she said, was therefore especially meaningful.

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Rethinking how we work

Storoni explained that the book's central message is that traditional working patterns, inherited from the industrial age, no longer suit today's world. Historically, most jobs demanded output in terms of volume rather than originality, she said. But AI is rapidly taking over repetitive, quantity-driven tasks, from medical screening and legal reviews to drafting emails and articles, and the results, while fast, tend to converge on the "average", according to Storoni.

Storoni argues that true breakthroughs, requiring intuition and innovative problem-solving, remain the preserve of the human brain."For creativity that is truly original, you need a human mind. Only a human mind is able to use intuition and out-of-box innovative thinking to solve extremely complex problems."

To achieve such originality, however, Storoni believes we must abandon the factory-style model of work and instead align with the brain's own rhythms and natural cycles,. Creating conditions that nurture quality output, she noted, is the key to thriving in the age of AI. "You can really improve the quality of your work by synchronising with these rhythms instead of imposing the standard work template on your brain," she added.

From medicine to neuroscience writing

Asked about her professional background, Storoni recounted how her background spans medicine, ophthalmic surgery, neuro-ophthalmology, and neuroscience research. She recalled how she began writing during a period abroad in Hong Kong, drawn to the science of productivity and mental performance. Her personal link to the Grand Duchy comes through her marriage to a Luxembourger of more than 20 years, Storoni said proudly.

About the awards

The Business Book Awards, now in their eighth year, celebrate innovation and inspiration in non-fiction publishing. This year's judging panel included leading UK business journalists, entrepreneurs, and publishing experts. In addition to Storoni's success, winners were announced across 14 categories, including:

• Start-Up / Scale-Up: Startup Different by David and Chris Sinkinson
• Sales & Marketing: Brand Momentum by Tony Lewis
• Leadership: Leadership Transition by Michael Stanford
• Diversity, Inclusion & Equality: The Neurodiversity Edge by Maureen Dunne
• Smart Thinking: Tune In by Nuala Walsh

Head Judge Jacq Burns praised the calibre of submissions, highlighting how this year's entries demonstrated both creativity and practical insight, and emphasised the awards' role in showcasing how books can inspire and equip readers for the future.