Totally Booked with Zibby

Zibby is joined by the founder of RLVNT Media and middle-grade author Tina Wells to talk about her latest book,  Honest June,  which is now out exclusively at Target. The two talk about the role magazines like  Cosmopolitan  and  Seventeen  played in the early days of their careers, what inspired Tina to start writing middle-grade novels, and how her marketing researc...

Pastry chef and founder of Milk Bar, Christina Tosi, joins Zibby to talk about her debut picture book,  Every Cake Has a Story,  and how her career influenced it. Rather than asking what inspired a cake's flavor, Christina always asks what is its story. She then thought that in this way, humans are just like cakes and we should celebrate the things that make us unique. Christina also sha...

Children's book author Shelli Johannes joins Zibby to talk about her two most recent releases,  Shine Like a Unicorn  and  Theo TheSaurus: The Dinosaur Who Loved Big Words . Shelli shares that although her kids are older now, the lessons her characters learn are often inspired by real things her own children have experienced. She also tells Zibby about her publishing journey, from h...

Zibby is joined by humorist, author, and musician Sandra Boynton to talk about her bestselling book,  Good Night, Good Night , which was recently expanded and re-released. The two discuss Sandra's extensive and illustrious career, from her start selling greeting cards while still in college to her work creating stories and music for children (which she says has never been intended solely for...

Victoria Kann, author of the  Pinkalicious  series, joins Zibby and four very special guests to talk about her latest picture book,  Rubylicious . Victoria shares how the original  Pinkalicious  story began as an April Fool's joke and why she tries to answer the question, "What would be really fun?" whenever she writes a new book. Victoria also tells Zibby about why she en...

Good Morning America  weekend co-anchor and ABC News correspondent Eva Pilgrim joins Zibby to discuss her first picture book,  Walter Does His Best , which was inspired by her beloved French bulldog. Eva shares how her mom's lessons about kindness have shaped both her parenting goals and the story she wanted this book to tell. She also reveals the interaction that still stands out from h...

Zibby is joined by author and illustrator duo Stephanie V.W. Lucianovic and Vashti Harrison to talk about their new picture book,  Hello, Star . Stephanie tells Zibby about how its premise was inspired by the questions her young son asked her former astronaut husband about space — and why she decided to feature a mother-daughter pair in the story instead. Vashti shares how Step...

Senator Elizabeth Warren joins Zibby to discuss her thirteenth book,  Pinkie Promises . Senator Warren shares how her tradition of pinkie promising young girls and women inspired the story's premise, why it was important for her to focus on her protagonist's efforts rather than results, and the picture book's secret second plot that will entertain young readers no matter how many times they r...

Professor and author Jesse Thistle joins Zibby to talk about his bestselling memoir,  From the Ashes.  Jesse shares how different the overwhelmingly positive reception of his life story has been from the way he used to be perceived, how he believes indigenous people can begin to heal centuries of generational trauma, and what he plans to do next. Jesse also asks listeners to do two simpl...

Zibby is joined by Guggenheim Fellow, academic, and author Myriam J.A. Chancy to discuss her latest novel,  What Storm, What Thunder . Although Myriam wasn't planning on writing about the devastating earthquake that hit her homeland of Haiti in 2010, she knew she had a story to tell after seeing the late LeRoy Clarke's artwork. Myriam shares her own experiences following the earthqu...

Kimberly McCreight joined Zibby for an IG Live to talk about her latest novel,  Friends Like These , which was inspired in part by her own tight-knit group of college friends. The two talked about Kimberly's writing process (which she doesn't necessarily recommend), what it has been like to adapt this book for a television series with Steven Spielberg's production company, and, of course, wha...

When  Boston Globe  journalist Billy Baker was approached by his editor to write about the loneliness epidemic and how adult men specifically have a hard time with friends, he didn't want to do it. But he took on the project when he realized the changes that needed to be made in his own life. Building off of that  Globe  article (which became the newspaper's most popular piece)...

Zibby is joined by Alex George to talk about his latest novel, The Paris Hours , as well as his many other literary endeavors. Alex shares how he was inspired to write this novel after hearing a story about Marcel Prout's real-life maid, what writing was like for him throughout the pandemic, and why he made the career leap from lawyer to novelist. Alex and Zibby also talk about the Unbound Book Fe...

Nicholas Sparks returns to discuss his twenty-second novel,  The Wish , which had been on his mind for nearly twenty years. Nicholas and Zibby also talk about the shape of contemporary American fiction, the influence his photography had on his latest novel, and why he will always draw from his own life experiences when writing. Purchase on Amazon or Bookshop. Amazon: https://amzn.to/3CUrOwq B...

Journalist and author Helen Russell joins Zibby to discuss her latest book,  How to Be Sad , and her research on how leaning into our sadness can actually lead to true happiness. Helen and Zibby talk about why we are often our most creative and grateful while upset, where there are still gaps in brain activity research, and ways to cultivate a healthy emotional environment with your kids...

Dr. Elizabeth Cohen, aka The Divorce Doctor, joins Zibby to discuss her book,  Light on the Other Side of Divorce . Through her work as a clinical psychologist focused on helping those going through the end of their marriage, Dr. Cohen strives to take shame and suffering out of the process and directs her patients instead to think about how they can find their strength again. She offers...

"I think my work defines me. I feel as though if I'm not writing, who am I?" Mary Kay Andrews — bestselling author of 26 novels — joins Zibby to talk about her two latest books,  The Newcomer  and  The Santa Suit . Mary Kay shares how the pandemic both changed her writing habits and inspired her and a few fellow writers to start "Friends and Fiction." The group livestreams their con...

Zibby is joined by Mira Jacob to talk about her latest book,  Good Talk , which was named one of the best books of 2019 by the  New York Times  Book Review. The graphic memoir was the result of Mira's attempts to answer her young son's questions about race in America while dealing with the political developments of 2016 — especially those that took place within her own family. Mira...

Writer and poet Bethany Saltman didn't set out to write a memoir but when her research into the life and studies of Mary Ainsworth overlapped with her own childhood, she knew she had to delve into her past. Bethany tells Zibby about how Ainsworth's attachment theories apply to the often complicated relationship she had with her older brothers, in which ways her familial past has affected her...

Zibby is joined by Phoebe Robinson — stand-up comedian, co-creator of 2 Dope Queens, and founder of Tiny Reparations Books — to talk about her latest essay collection,  Please Don't Sit on My Bed in Your Outside Clothes . Phoebe shares what inspired her to write a series of essays about the pandemic that did not give readers a simple play-play-play of her quarantine life, why writin...

Although Jayne Allen has been writing all of her life, it wasn't until 2016 when she adopted a pseudonym that she finally felt comfortable publishing her debut novel,  Black Girls Must Die Exhausted . Now, Jaunique Sealey (the woman behind Jayne Allen) serves as Vice President of Strategy & Community for Zibby Books and her novel is Target's October Book Club pick...

After years spent writing within the world of her bestselling book,  Wonder , R.J. Palacio's new novel  Pony  is a stunning change of pace. Set in the American frontier in the 1850s, the "quick epic," as R.J. calls it, grapples with big themes like life, death, and family. R.J. tells Zibby about how her own orphanhood inspired elements of the story, why she scrapped t...

Paula Hawkins, the bestselling author of  The Girl on the Train,  joins Zibby to discuss her latest novel,  A Slow Fire Burning  which debuted at #1 on the  New York Times  bestseller list. Paula shares how she found her way to thriller writing after working as a business journalist and a rom-com ghostwriter for years, as well as why she has always been drawn to darke...

"This whole notion that learning needs to be difficult to be effective is just bullshit. I always used to say a laughing child is a learning child— science proves it now." Gregg Behr, co-author of  When You Wonder, You're Learning , and Joan Koenig, author of  The Musical Child , come together to talk to Zibby about the importance of emphasizing wonder and creativity in young kids' lives...

Zibby is joined by Brian Platzer and Abby Freireich, two Manhattan teachers who also run New York's only tutoring company fully staffed by professional classroom teachers, to talk about their new book,  Taking the Stress Out of Homework . Brian and Abby share their top tips for how parents can assist with homework in non-invasive ways, the importance of teaching young students how to bac...