Totally Booked with Zibby

"We're all expecting things to be better for our daughters, but I honestly am worried that we're going to lose the rights that we already have." Zibby is joined by Susie Petruccelli, former captain of the Harvard women's soccer team and author of  Raised a Warrior,  to discuss her book, her career, and her love of the sport. The two talk about what it's like to be a twin, the r...

"Every single time I sit down and write a book, I feel like I have no idea what I'm doing." Colleen Hoover, the  New York Times- bestselling author of twenty-two novels, joins Zibby to discuss her latest book,  Reminders of Him.  Colleen shares how she's adopted her sense imposter as part of the writing process, her reaction to the renewal of interest in her backlist, and what...

Award-winning author and illustrator Bryan Collier joins Zibby to talk about his latest picture book,  We Shall Overcome , which connects the iconic anthem of the Civil Rights Movement to our current day. The two discuss how Bryan always knew he wanted to be an artist, the ways in which working with children for twelve years inspired his creativity, and why the book he is curre...

Singer/songwriter JJ Heller joins Zibby to discuss her new picture book,  Hand to Hold , which was inspired by her hit album  I Dream of You . JJ and her husband Dave talk about the collaborative process between both their music and this book, how heartening it is to hear stories from families who have fallen in love with  I Dream of You , and share a short song excerpt listeners wi...

National Book Award-winning and  New York Times- bestselling author Jacqueline Woodson joins Zibby to talk about her latest picture book, The Year We Learned to Fly. Although the book is a retelling of an African American folk tale that captures what it means to escape through your imagination rather than through your body, Jacqueline shares how she began writing it before the pande...

Zibby is joined by Peloton's Head Instructor Robin Arzón to discuss her first picture book,  Strong Mama . Robin talks with Zibby about how she was inspired to show parents that self-care isn't selfish, especially when you have a newborn child. She also shares some of her most motivating messages, the story of how she surprisingly only became an athlete while in law school, and why...

Novelist Jami Attenberg joins Zibby to discuss her first memoir,  I Came All This Way to Meet You: Writing Myself Home , which contains a number of stories about how she developed her creative identity. Jami and Zibby talk about the feeling of needing to share everything when writing a memoir, how they both meditate on where their things are going to end up when they're gone, and how Jami env...

"The idea that people value what you wrote enough to give you that time to read it...what a privilege that time was spent with your book." Zibby is joined by debut novelist Xochitl Gonzalez to talk about her book,  Olga Dies Dreaming , out this week. The two talk about Xochitl's thirteen-year career as a luxury wedding planner as well as when she knew it was time to make a change, which...

The Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Quiara Alegría Hudes joins Zibby to discuss her debut memoir,  My Broken Language , which tells both the story of how she became an artist and a woman in the world. Quiara shares the biggest differences between her home life growing up and the culture that existed when she arrived at Yale, how music has shaped her life, and what the continued popular...

Journalist Erica C. Barnett joins Zibby to discuss her debut memoir,  Quitter , about her recovery from alcoholism. The two talk about the connection between addictions and other forms of maladaptive behaviors, how progress starts when you give yourself achievable goals, and why Erica is not a writer who likes to write. Erica also shares how relapsing taught her to stop seeing herse...

Zibby is joined by best-selling author and speaker Agapi Stassinopoulos to talk about her latest book,  Speaking with Spirit . Agapi shares how these 52 prayers were a result of the pandemic and her shift from public speaking to a period of deep introspection, and why they work the best when read aloud. Agapi reads her prayer about perfectionism that not only touched Zibby but will also...

Jacqueline Friedland joins Zibby to discuss her latest novel,  He Gets That from Me , which was inspired by an article about a surrogacy mix-up that she read while procrastinating work on another project. Jacqueline shares the detailed and compassionate research that went into this project, why she wanted to look critically at the nature-versus-nurture argument, and how her own mother to...

Zibby is joined by humor writer Anna Lind Thomas to talk about her first collection of essays,  We'll Laugh About This Someday . Anna tells Zibby about the years of work she put in honing her craft after telling her mother that she would be a published author someday, and what chance occurrences led to her going viral online. The two also talk about how Anna's essays serve as a form of t...

"To all of you writers who are struggling and aspiring out there, it's not an instant-gratification profession but it is the most rewarding thing when something that you make gets out into the world." Author and co-founder of A Mighty Blaze Jenna Blum joins Zibby to talk about her memoir,  Woodrow on the Bench , and the beloved dog who inspired it. The two discuss the ways in which...

Zibby is joined by the former mayor of Stockton, CA, Michael Tubbs, to discuss his debut memoir,  The Deeper the Roots . Michael shares how his mother's approach to life helped propel him to become the youngest mayor of a major city in American history, why it is so important for authority figures to encourage students in their various pursuits, and what prompted him to file a lawsuit with th...

Award-winning novelist Francine Prose joined Zibby for a Women on the Move event with the Temple Emanu-El Streicker Center to discuss her latest novel,  The Vixen , which centers around the Rosenberg Trial. Francine shares some highlights from her research and which pieces of history were stranger than fiction. She also tells Zibby about the way she approaches and teaches writi...

Novelist Scarlett Thomas joins Zibby to discuss her debut memoir,  41-Love , about how she tried to play tennis competitively to put off her need to grow up. The two talk about their shared love for the game, how Scarlett wove a number of other sports stories into her own, and what happened in her life after quitting tennis that shaped the trajectory of the book. Scarlett also shares her fear...

"I love writing. I love telling stories. I love making people feel like they're not alone." Zibby is joined by New York Times bestselling author, blogger, and very funny woman Jen Mann to talk about her latest book, Midlife Bites. Jen explains how this project grew out of a blog post about her midlife crisis that went viral, why there is now nothing in her life she is unwilling to write about...

Literary giant Ann Patchett joined Zibby for a Women on the Move event with the Temple Emanu-El Streicker Center to discuss her memoir in essays,  These Precious Days . Their conversation spans from topics like their mothers' glamour, the origin story of Ann's bookstore, Parnassus Books, why writers often persevere for far longer than is to be expected in such an uncertain indu...

Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams joins Zibby to discuss her first children's book,  Stacey's Extraordinary Words , inspired by her own lifelong love for books and words. The two talk about the real-life spelling bee and teacher that helped bolster Stacey's confidence, where she finds her courage to put herself out there on the campaign trail and on the page, and, o...

"The idea of a unicorn space, it's magical. It is the antidote to burnout. It is a necessary must-have, but it actually won't exist until we claim it." Eve Rodsky, the bestselling author of Fair Play, joins Zibby to talk about her latest book , Find Your Unicorn Space , and why a form of genuine self-expression is essential to living a happy life. The two discuss the research and data Eve col...

After five years of working on their debut novel,  The Last Season , Jenny Judson and Danielle Mahfood have officially gone from high school best friends to published co-authors. Jenny and Danielle join Zibby to discuss how they managed to write in one cohesive voice despite being both geographically distant and two individual people, the way in which their partnership held them accountable t...

Zibby is joined by Corie Adjmi to discuss her short story collection,  Life and Other Shortcomings , which was an International Book Award winner. The two talk about how Corie's marriage has inspired so much of her work, the phase of her life when she decided to try her hand at writing, and the ways in which her children have gotten involved in her career. Corie also shares why she...

Denise Williams joins Zibby to talk about her latest novel,  The Fastest Way to Fall . Denise shares why she loves writing and reading stories about fat women owning their bodies, how she infuses what she has learned on her personal self-love journey into her characters, and the specific post-workout energy she tried to encapsulate in this book. The two also talk about the four book...

Debut novelist Emily Itami joins Zibby to talk about her book,  Fault Lines,  which was inspired in part by her own alternating perceptions of motherhood in Tokyo and London. The two discuss the way women's identities seem to change almost immediately after having children, what it was like for Emily to publish her first novel during the pandemic, and why her husband likes to remind ever...