Totally Booked with Zibby

New York Times  bestselling author Brad Meltzer returns to talk with Zibby his latest thriller, The Lightning Rod , which was inspired by a real figure hired by the United States Army to paint disasters as they occur. Brad shares how influential his mother and the loss of his parents have been on all of his novels, which real-life spy tricks he has included in his projects that have impr...

Award-winning journalist and author Lisa Barr returns to talk with Zibby about her latest novel,  Woman on Fire , which is one of this month's Barnes and Noble picks and has just been optioned by Sharon Stone. The two discuss which life experiences Lisa lent to her protagonist, how she managed to fully flesh out every character in her expansive cast, and why her family's Holocaust story...

Nick Hornby, the #1  New York Times  bestselling author of  High Fidelity ,  About a Boy , and  Fever Pitch , joins Zibby to discuss his latest novel,  Just Like You . The two talk about why his writing is so easily adapted for the screen, the occupational hazards that come with being a writer, and the inadvertent effects parenting can have on kids — both fictional an...

Zibby is joined by author Nikki May to discuss her debut novel,  Wahala , which many are calling " Sex and the City  with a killer twist." Nikki shares the meal with friends that inspired her to write this story, how she mapped out her four main characters' personalities on a spreadsheet that ended up being taller than her, and why she wants all of her novels to feature mixed-race c...

Zibby is once again joined by  New York Times  bestselling author Fiona Davis to talk about her latest novel,  The Magnolia Palace , which takes place in New York's famed Frick Collection. The two talk about what inspired Fiona to tell a fictionalized version of the Frick's story, how she managed to write so vividly about the museum during the early days of the pandemic while i...

Science journalist, consultant, and author Catherine Price returns to talk with Zibby about her latest book,  The Power of Fun . Catherine explains how signing up for the guitar lessons she always wanted to take inspired her to re-evaluate how we define "fun" and the importance having fun has in our everyday lives. She shares what she learned from interviewing several people about the most fu...

Zibby is joined by British television star and author of the  Meet Me In  series Georgia Toffolo — better known to fans as Toff — to talk about how she always wanted to be a writer and what she plans to work on after the fourth and final book,  Meet Me at the Wedding , comes out later this year. The two discuss which pieces of Toff's personal life inspired her series, what...

"I had to develop a connection with my body that I hadn’t had as much in the past. That's a really exciting turning point for me, that we're friends now." Zibby is joined by director, actress, and writer Sarah Polley to discuss her memoir,  Run Towards the Danger , which is a collection of six personal essays about memories and how we construct them. Sarah shares how the title came from a pie...

"The writing life, it's a little bit rollercoaster-y. There are these dizzying highs and these crushing lows. It's not like you have a job with a specific list of tasks and you go and you do it and then you punch out. It's always with you." Zibby is joined by  New York Times  best-selling author Lisa Unger to talk about her nineteenth novel,  Last Girl Ghosted . The two discuss how...

Book coach and founder of Author Accelerator Jennie Nash joins Zibby to discuss her latest book,  Blueprint for a Book: Build Your Novel from the Inside Out,  which offers writers a number of tools for literary success. The two talk about the advice Jennie offered Zibby for her own memoir, how Jennie is using her company to empower those who have been marginalized by the publis...

Listen to the inaugural episode of Julie Chavez's new Zcast podcast,  Ask a Librarian ! Julie is an elementary-school librarian and her forthcoming memoir,  The Anxiety Library , will be published by Zibby Books. In this episode, Julie talks with  New York Times  best-selling author Mac Barnett about how he got his start writing books for children, the limit of l...

Zibby is joined by Megan Fairchild, a principal dancer for the New York City Ballet, to discuss her memoir,  The Ballerina Mindset. Megan shares how the book grew out of her podcast,  Ask Megan , to answer questions from mothers of young dancers and the advice she offered there for how to train without harming your body or mind. Megan and Zibby talk about the importance of meditating or...

Leslie Hooton joins Zibby to discuss her second novel,  The Secret of Rainy Days , which she has been working on for nearly fifteen years. The two discuss when Leslie made the decision to start writing full-time, which life experiences and relationships inspired those in this book, and how much they both enjoyed Leslie's visit to New York last year for the Zibby Awards. Read Leslie's art...

New York Times  bestselling author Jasmine Guillory returns to talk about her latest novel,  While We Were Dating . Jasmine tells Zibby about how her characters often appear to her fully formed, the effects writing during the pandemic has had on both this story and her next project, and why she made sure to portray her celebrity protagonist as a star just like us. The two also discuss if...

"Moms are important. Moms are powerful. By honing our content just for moms, we're making something more powerful, not less. That's exciting." Zibby is joined by Amy Wilson, co-host of the podcast  What Fresh Hell , to talk about her 2010 hit book  When Did I Get Like This?  Amy tells Zibby about her experience performing the one-woman play adaptation of her book many years ago, how...

Designer, writer, and host of the hit podcast  Design Matters  Debbie Millman joins Zibby to discuss her new book,  Why Design Matters , which features a number of her past interviewees. The two talk about the five-year journey it took to create this book, which life experiences shaped Debbie's relationship with brands and branding, and why they have the best job in the world. Debbi...

Three-peat guest Allison Pataki returns to talk about her latest historical novel,  The Magnificent Lives of Marjorie Post . Allison and Zibby discuss the number of ways in which Marjorie was ahead of her time, such as how she ran her family's food empire from behind the scenes, hired those in need of work during The Great Depression, opened hospitals and canteens when they were needed most,...

Journalist, essayist, and author Brenda Janowitz joins Zibby to discuss her seventh book,  The Liz Taylor Ring . Brenda tells Zibby about how this project — as well as 2020's The Grace Kelly Dress  and her upcoming novel — were all inspired by her lifelong love for old Hollywood starlets, why she finds it hard to live in and write about situations that are not black-and-white, and which...

Zibby is joined by #1  New York Times  bestselling novelist, Heather Morris, to talk about the third book in her trilogy of Holocaust novels,  Three Sisters . The two discuss how miraculous each of the three sisters' stories is, why she has chosen to write true stories as fiction instead of biographies, and what it means to Heather to know her books are being taught a...

Zibby is joined by entrepreneur, best-selling author, philanthropist, and the nation’s #1 life and business strategist Tony Robbins to talk about his latest book,  Life Force,  which covers incredible recent medical breakthroughs that can help add years to your life. The two discuss how Tony's childhood inspired him to read over seven hundred books in just seven years on p...

Screenwriter Georgia Pritchett joins Zibby to talk about her debut memoir,  My Mess Is a Bit of a Life , which takes readers through her experience dealing with lifelong anxiety and a number of crises that have arisen along the way. Georgia shares how the book stemmed from advice from a therapist who recommended she write everything that had happened to her when she found herself unable...

"That was maybe one of the most thrilling moments of my whole life: when I first walked into a bookstore and there was something that I wrote on the shelf." Children's book — and now middle-grade — author Adam Rubin joins Zibby to discuss his latest book,  The Ice Cream Machine , which features six different stories told in six entirely different ways. Adam and Zibby talk about what he b...

Zibby is joined by a fellow entrepreneur and the founder of ClassPass, Payal Kadakia, to discuss her new memoir,  LifePass . The two talk about how dance allowed Payal to be her most authentic self and connect with others, why learning to pivot and iterate are central tenets of entrepreneurship, and what Payal plans to do next now that she's sold her company (hint: it's not as concrete a...

Zibby is joined by science journalist Florence Williams to talk about her latest book,  Heartbreak .   Florence shares how she was inspired to research heartbreaks following the sudden end of her marriage, as well as the adventures and experiences she partook in to learn why heartbreak affects us the way it does and how we can move on from it. Florence and Zibby also talk about the...

Actress and writer Nancy Balbirer joins Zibby to talk about her latest memoir,  Almost Romance , which tells her incredible true love story. The two discuss what it was like to write a very happy story while living through the tumult of 2020, how much they appreciate the editor they share, and where Nancy plans to take this project next. Nancy also shares what it's like to be r...