Totally Booked with Zibby

Zibby Publishing author alert! Zibby chats with #1  New York Times  bestselling author of THE PAPER PALACE, Miranda Cowley Heller, about her breathtaking and intimate debut poetry collection, WHAT THE DEEP WATER KNOWS. They discuss how the poems, written over 15 years, unintentionally form a powerful narrative arc about womanhood, motherhood, marriage, heartbreak, and self-reclamation. M...

Bestselling author Karen Dukess returns to the podcast to discuss her delightful and heartfelt new novel, WELCOME TO MURDER WEEK, which was inspired by a trip to the English countryside with her sister, her love of British mysteries, and a desire to write something purely fun! The novel follows a reserved 34-year-old American woman who travels to a small British town after discovering tickets her...

Totally Booked: LIVE! In this special episode of the podcast (in-person at the Whitby Hotel with a live audience!), Zibby interviews Dina Alvarez and Dina Aronson (as well as 10 other contributors!) about MIDLIFE PRIVATE PARTS, a soulful and revealing collection of essays on what it really feels like to move through the world as a midlife woman and beyond. Zibby, a contributor herself, moderates t...

Zibby chats with award-winning poet Edward Hirsch about his memoir, MY CHILDHOOD IN PIECES: A Standup Comedy, where dark comic microbursts of prose relate a childhood in an aspiring middle-class Jewish family in the 50s and 60s. Edward discusses the book’s innovative structure—told in punchy, titled snippets that blend humor and heartbreak—and how it allowed him to unpack long-buried memories of a...

Zibby chats with writer Joanna Sokol about A REAL EMERGENCY, an introspective, richly layered, and surprisingly hopeful memoir about the best and worst parts of her career as a paramedic. Joanna shares gripping insights into the realities of 911 calls, the broken systems behind emergency medical services, and the emotional toll and camaraderie that define life in the ambulance. They discuss everyt...

Zibby is joined by legendary whitewater rafting guide and debut author Bridget Crocker to discuss THE RIVER’S DAUGHTER, a vivid, propulsive, and deeply insightful memoir about finding courage and meaning in a life outdoors. Bridget shares the decades-long journey of writing her story, which traces her turbulent upbringing in Wyoming, her profound connection to rivers and nature, and her path to he...

Totally Booked: LIVE! In this special episode of the podcast (in-person at the Whitby Hotel with a live audience!), Zibby interviews  New York Times  bestselling author Amy Bloom about I’LL BE RIGHT HERE, a sweeping multigenerational story that begins in occupied Paris and spans 50 years. She reflects on her signature themes (family, love, sex, and death), the moral complexity of her wri...

Hannah Brown,  New York Times  and  USA Today  bestselling author and  The Bachelorette  star, joins Zibby to discuss her sparkling new rom-com, THE FOUR ENGAGEMENT RINGS OF SYBIL RAIN, which she describes as  White Lotus  meets  Sex and the City  meets  Mamma Mia.  Hannah delves into her novel’s themes of self-worth, identity, love, and...

Zibby chats with  New York Times  bestselling author Marie Benedict and Courtney Sheinmel about THE SECRETS OF LOVELACE ACADEMY, a charming middle-grade novel about a young girl who is plucked from a London orphanage to attend a prestigious boarding school. The duo (set up by their literary agent) describe how they collaborated on this historical adventure where bright girls gain access...

Bestselling debut author Virginia Evans joins Zibby to discuss THE CORRESPONDENT, a charming, intriguing, and witty novel in the form of letters and emails exchanged by a divorced and retired woman with her friends, family, and foes. Virginia shares the long journey to publication—nearly 20 years and nine novels in the making! She also discusses the power of the epistolary form, the influence of&n...

Zibby is joined by Rabbi Elliot Cosgrove, a leading voice in modern Judaism, to discuss FOR A TIME SUCH AS THIS, a poignant exploration of what it means to be Jewish today. Rabbi Cosgrove shares the urgent circumstances under which the book was written following the October 7th attacks in Israel, and how it explores the complex dynamics of Jewish identity, antisemitism, and solidarity in a time of...

Zibby chats with author Julia DeVillers about MEET ME AT WONDERLAND, a charming middle-grade rom-com set at an amusement park, inspired by Julia’s real-life teen job at Chuck E. Cheese and moose-suit meet-cute that changed everything. Julia describes how a life-threating cancer diagnosis in 2022 unexpectedly led to this book’s creation. She also discusses crafting authentic tween and teen voices,...

Zibby interviews Elyce Arons, the cofounder of Kate Spade and CEO and cofounder of Frances Valentine, about WE JUST MIGHT MAKE IT AFTER ALL, a moving portrait of her decades-long best friendship and business journey with Kate Spade. Elyce describes their early days as broke college students, the scrappy beginnings of their brand, and how they turned a simple handbag idea into a cultural phenomenon...

Totally Booked: LIVE! In this special episode of the podcast (in-person at the Whitby Hotel with a live audience!), Zibby interviews activist and author Shannon Watts about FIRED UP: How to Turn Your Spark into a Flame and Come Alive at Any Age, which chronicles her journey from suburban mom to founder of Moms Demand Action, the nation’s leading grassroots movement for gun safety. Shannon shares h...

Totally Booked: LIVE! In this special episode of the podcast (in-person at the Whitby Hotel with a live audience!), Zibby interviews #1  New York Times  bestselling author James Frey about his darkly funny and razor-sharp new novel, NEXT TO HEAVEN. James opens up about writing a book that’s bold, dirty, and wildly entertaining—a murder mystery set in an insulated world of obscene wealth,...

Totally Booked: LIVE! In this special episode of the podcast (in-person at the Whitby Hotel with a live audience!), Zibby interviews award-winning journalist Leslie Gray Streeter about her vibrant and heartfelt new novel, FAMILY AND OTHER CALAMITIES. They reflect on Leslie’s memoir, BLACK WIDOW, which candidly captures the raw, messy early days of widowhood, and then dive into the new novel, touch...

Zibby is joined by beloved British author and National Book Award winner Nina Stibbe to discuss WENT TO LONDON, TOOK THE DOG, an endlessly funny, blissfully gossipy, and enviably well-observed memoir of a woman changing her life at 60. Nina shares the story behind her sabbatical in London (prompted by an empty nest and the need for creative renewal!), and explains how her private diary turned into...

Zibby chats with writer Anna Mitchael about her lushly written and emotionally resonant collection of vignettes, THEY WILL TELL YOU THE WORLD IS YOURS, which traces a woman’s life from birth through midlife, capturing the subtle and seismic ways the world shapes her—and how she eventually pushes back. Anna reflects on the origins of her vignettes, many of which were inspired by personal memories o...

Totally Booked: LIVE! In this special episode of the podcast (in-person at the Whitby Hotel with a live audience!), Zibby chats with National Book Award-winning author Susan Choi about FLASHLIGHT, a gorgeous, ferociously smart, and impossibly heartbreaking novel that traces a father’s disappearance across time, nations, and memory. Susan discusses the emotional and structural complexity of the boo...

Zibby interviews Yale scientist, Dr. Zorana Ivcevic Pringle, about THE CREATIVITY CHOICE, a groundbreaking guide for harnessing creativity and transforming ideas into impactful action. Dr. Zorana dispels the misconceptions surrounding creativity (it’s not just for artists!) and then explains why people often hesitate to act on their ideas. She emphasizes the importance of starting small, making cr...

Supermodel and  New York Times  bestselling author Christie Brinkley joins Zibby to discuss her bighearted, jaw-dropping, and beautifully crafted memoir of resilience and self-discovery, UPTOWN GIRL. Christie reflects on the dazzling highs and devastating lows of her life—from her iconic modeling career and moments of glamour to battles with grief, trauma, stalkers, heartbreak, and mothe...

OPRAH’S BOOK CLUB PICK! #1  New York Times  bestselling author Wally Lamb returns to the podcast to discuss THE RIVER IS WAITING, an epic, heart-wrenching tale of a young father who, after an unbearable tragedy, reckons with the possibility of atonement for the unforgivable. Wally shares the haunting inspiration behind the story—a blend of the Mexican legend of La Llorona and the heartbr...

Zibby chats with bestselling author Tiffany Jenkins about her raw and unflinchingly honest new memoir, A CLEAN MESS: A Memoir of Sobriety After a Lifetime of Being Numb. Tiffany delves into the challenges of early sobriety, reentering society after incarceration, navigating a volatile marriage, and confronting postpartum depression. She thanks the woman who first hired her after she was released f...

Zibby interviews Elaine Goldsmith Thomas, longtime film and TV producer and agent to some of Hollywood’s biggest stars, about her debut novel, CLIMBING IN HEELS, a smart, sexy, and entertaining story about the rise of three secretaries at the hottest agency in 1980s Hollywood. Elaine reflects on her own experience navigating the cutthroat world of Hollywood, her transition from agent to writer, an...

Zibby welcomes viral TikTok poet Josie Balka to discuss I HOPE YOU REMEMBER, a breathtaking poetry collection about love, loss, envy, hope, relationships, body image, nostalgia, and the universal longings that live deep in our souls. Josie shares how a therapist’s advice to open her heart completely changed her perspective on life. She also reflects on her creative process (it’s mostly spontaneous...