Totally Booked with Zibby

Zibby interviews bestselling author Adam Gopnik about The Real Work: On the Mystery of Mastery, a spirited and profound collection of self-help essays that investigate how we learn and master a new skill–from boxing to drawing nude bodies. Adam discusses the bliss of accomplishment: pursuing a new hobby without needing to do it perfectly. He also reveals what he’d like to master next and his best advice for aspiring authors. Purchase on Bookshop: https://bit.ly/3YGkqRIShare, rate, & review the podcast, and follow Zibby on Instagram @zibbyowens! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Zibby interviews debut author Cecilia Rabess about Everything’s Fine, a sharp and intimate novel about two young people–a liberal Black woman and a conservative white man–who fall reluctantly, complicatedly, and deeply in love with each other during the Obama and Trump administrations. Cecilia shares the origins of this story, her long journey to getting an agent (and very short journey to selling the manuscript), and her pub day jitters. She also reveals she is working on her next book and shares what she enjoys doing (besides writing and being a data scientist!).Purchase on Bookshop: https://bit.ly/3QIyU1hShare, rate, & review the podcast, and follow Zibby on Instagram @zibbyowens! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Guest host Julie Chavez is joined by New York Times bestselling author Kristin Harmel to discuss The Paris Daughter, a gripping and gut-wrenching historical novel about two mothers who must make unthinkable choices in the face of Nazi occupation. Kristin talks about the power of WWII books (and the lessons that still resonate today); the themes of motherhood, fear, and sacrifice in her novel; balancing writing, motherhood, and Friends & Fiction; and her recent breast cancer diagnosis. Purchase on Bookshop: https://bit.ly/3KOo5HfShare, rate, & review the podcast, and follow Zibby on Instagram @zibbyowens! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Guest host Julie Chavez interviews debut author Elysha Chang about A Quitter’s Paradise, a darkly humorous and compulsively readable book (and the first one from Sarah Jessica Parker’s SJP Lit!) about a young woman who tries to ignore her mother’s death even as unearthed family secrets become increasingly inextricable from her own. Elysha talks about her job teaching creative writing to university students, her frustrations with her own protagonist and book (it took her six years to write!), and the story behind her incredible book title.  Purchase on Bookshop: https://bit.ly/44b8eJHShare, rate, & review the podcast, and follow Zibby on Instagram @zibbyowens! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Amy Newmark, publisher and editor-in-chief of Chicken Soup for the Soul, joins Zibby to discuss the Chicken Soup series and the thirtieth-anniversary edition that Zibby wrote a bonus essay for! Amy describes how some of her favorite Chicken Soup stories–those on forgiveness, gratitude, and grief–have helped her navigate challenges in her own life, including her journey with cancer. She also talks about fear, letting go of toxic friends, and what it really means to forgive. Purchase on Bookshop: https://bit.ly/3DWCc9GShare, rate, & review the podcast, and follow Zibby on Instagram @zibbyowens! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Zibby speaks to journalist and debut author Katie Bishop about The Girls of Summer, a mesmerizing, unsettling, and gripping dual-timeline story about a woman who, in her mid-thirties, cannot stop thinking about the summer she spent in Greece as a teenager and the affair she had with a much older man. Katie explains how the MeToo movement inspired this story and how she makes places, relationships, and feelings come to life in her writing. She also shares her writing and publishing journey, her best advice for aspiring writers, and the book she just read and loved.Purchase on Bookshop: https://bit.ly/3OY0LJRShare, rate, & review the podcast, and follow Zibby on Instagram @zibbyowens! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Zibby interviews playwright, screenwriter, Emmy Award-winning journalist, and author Byron Lane about Big Gay Wedding, a hilarious, quirky, and unashamedly proud novel about a conservative mom (who runs a small-town rescue ranch for misfit animals) and her gay son (who wants to get married at the farm). Byron shares his coming out story (and how it inspired bits of this novel); his journey with testicular cancer; his experience working as actress Carrie Fischer’s assistant; and the perks of being married to author Steven Rowley.Purchase on Bookshop: https://bit.ly/3s2W5sUShare, rate, & review the podcast, and follow Zibby on Instagram @zibbyowens! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sara Shepard, the New York Times bestselling author of the Pretty Little Liars series, speaks to guest host Julie Chavez about Penny Draws a Best Friend, a humorous and heartfelt middle-grade series about Penny, a fifth grader who is navigating friendships, finding her people, and lots of worries. Sara reveals she was just like Penny growing up and shares stories of her anxiety, then and now. She also talks about her lifelong love of doodling, which her Pretty Little Liars editors noticed and encouraged her to use in children’s books! Purchase on Bookshop: https://bit.ly/3rZFTbSShare, rate, & review the podcast, and follow Zibby on Instagram @zibbyowens! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this special weekend re-release, Zibby speaks to New York Times bestselling author and literary legend Dave Eggers about We Became Jaguars, a breathtaking picture book about a child and a grandmother who transform into jaguars and journey into the undiscovered world of nature. Dave describes the ins and outs of the publishing process, how he began writing picture books, and the Young Editors Project, which allows young children to help workshop picture books before they’re published. Purchase on Bookshop: https://bit.ly/3OzynfHShare, rate, & review the podcast, and follow Zibby on Instagram @zibbyowens! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this special weekend re-release, Zibby speaks to Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist and #1 New York Times bestselling author Anna Quindlen about Nanaville: Adventures in Grandparenting, a bighearted book of wisdom, wit, and insight, celebrating the love and joy of being a grandmother. Anna Quindlen talks to Zibby about all the wonderful things grandmothers have time to do and shares the parts of grandmotherhood that often go unspoken.Purchase on Bookshop: https://bit.ly/3QB4heqShare, rate, & review the podcast, and follow Zibby on Instagram @zibbyowens! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.