Totally Booked with Zibby

When Amy Scher was told an experimental stem-cell treatment for chronic Lyme disease could kill her, she decided that she wanted to fight to survive. Amy shares with Zibby what she learned during her years of struggling with a chronic illness, how she has learned to reclaim control over her stress, and why we should always listen to our bodies because they will never lie to us.  Pur...

Award-winning baker and writer Kate Lebo talks with Zibby about her new book of essays,  The Book of Difficult Fruit.  Part memoir, part history lesson, and featuring fantastic recipes, this alphabetic collection shows readers the relationships that can exist between fruits, medicines, and ourselves.  Purchase on Amazon or Bookshop. Amazon: https://amzn.to/3i3Eavb Bookshop: https://...

Broadway performer Mandy Gonzalez — who most recently appeared as Angelica Schuyler in  Hamilton — joins Zibby to discuss her new middle-grade novel,  Fearless,  as well as how her own journey served as inspiration for the story. Mandy shares how she first fell in love with theater by listening to old records with her grandmother, when she realized she wanted to write a bo...

Zibby and her daughter interviewed author Saadia Faruqi about her latest book,  A Thousand Questions, as part of the Washington Post KidsPost Summer Book Club. Although it's a middle-grade novel, Saadia hopes that readers of all ages will enjoy it and learn something about Pakistan. She talks with Zibby about why she wants to write books for kids about other cultures that...

"I read books so that I could learn from those characters and what they decided to do with those obstacles in their lives. Now, I get to write those characters." Alka Joshi joins Zibby and shares how her latest book,  The Secret Keeper of Jaipur , stemmed from her readers' requests for more stories about the characters in her first novel,  The Henna Artist . Alka and Zibby also discuss w...

"If we all operated in oak time, I think we'd be a lot calmer, a lot more chilled out." Naturalist and author James Canton explains to Zibby how he wanted to combine his academic background in wild writing with his experience as an ecologist to write a book about what humans can learn from oak trees. Through meditation, journaling, and historical research, James shows readers how to slow down and...

When cartoonist and animator Liz Climo set out to write  You're Dad  — a hilarious follow-up to her book  You're Mom — she realized she wanted to start a conversation. While  You're Mom  serves as more of a guide to parenting from someone who wanted one,  You're Dad  takes a look at the different sizes and shapes families can come in. Liz talks with Zibby about h...

When #1 bestselling author and illustrator Peter Brown was younger, his mother found him trying on her makeup. He recalls that she reacted with a smile and helped him apply it properly, like an artist would. Peter explains to Zibby how he used this moment as inspiration for his latest picture book,  Fred Gets Dressed , why he loves creating both picture and chapter books, and his advice...

Zibby is joined by Joanna Rakoff, author of the memoir  My Salinger Year , which details the year she worked at the literary agency that represented J.D. Salinger. From responding to Salinger's fan mail to essentially running the agency when her boss suffered a personal tragedy, Joanna shares countless unbelievable stories — including one about the secrets her family kept hidden from her...

"The problem with most biographies is that the subjects are made out to be god-like. I really wanted to make these three-dimensional characters." Journalist and author Olivia Campbell joins Zibby to discuss her new book,  Women in White Coats . Olivia shares the traumatic experiences that inspired her to research the women who changed the world of medicine, and how those same experi...

Alexandra Andrews joins Zibby for an impromptu therapy session and conversation about her debut novel,  Who is Maud Dixon?  The two joke about how many drafts of the story Alexandra wrote before reaching publication, why she hates when other writers say they hate writing, and what it's like being married to another author. Purchase on Amazon or Bookshop. Amazon: https://amzn.to/3uuG...

Journalist and author Genevieve Gannon explains to Zibby how her latest novel, The Mothers, started as a failed newspaper article pitch about two families and an IVF mix up. She continues on to discuss why it's important for women to talk publicly about experiences with IVF and miscarriages, the influence her career in journalism has had on her novels, and how she outlined the characters to allow...

Zibby is joined by bestselling author Mary Alice Monroe who has not one but three books coming out this year. Mary Alice shares how her own quarantine experience influenced the way the COVID-19 pandemic was explored in her book The Summer of Lost and Found , why her middle-grade novel, The Islanders , was written to help kids unplug, and the significance of writing a story for Reunion Beach to hon...

"I didn't want to be preachy. I wanted to be me, who is not perfect and a friend, and give that out into the world." Writer and producer Quinta Brunson wanted the essays in her new book, She Memes Well, to display her personal growth parallel to the development of the Internet where she first began her career in comedy. She talks with Zibby about how writing the book allowed her to explore her rel...

Jenny Lee joined Zibby on a recent IG Live —released here as a podcast— to discuss her latest novel,  Anna K Away , the sequel to her bestselling book,  Anna K. Amazon: https://amzn.to/3g5kJ2x Bookshop: https://bit.ly/3wwZiP6 ** Want more? Become a part of my community! Sign up for Zibby's Highlights , which includes a free weekly newsletter, event livestreams, most anticipated book...

Raakhee Mirchandani and Holly Hatam, the author and illustrator duo behind the picture book,  Hair Twins , joined Zibby over IG Live to talk about their book and so much more! Purchase on Amazon or Bookshop. Amazon: https://amzn.to/2TGB0U7 Bookshop: https://bit.ly/34IENlR ** Want more? Become a part of my community! Sign up for Zibby's Highlights , which includes a free weekly newsletter, eve...

Chris Bohjalian, author of  Hour of the Witch  and  The Flight Attendant  (which was adapted for the hit HBO miniseries), recently talked with Zibby over IG Live— released here as a special episode.  Purchase on Amazon or Bookshop. Amazon: https://amzn.to/3uOLoWA Bookshop: https://bit.ly/3fIFYbT ** Want more? Become a part of my community! Sign up for Zibby's Highlights ,...

Zibby spoke with Susan Groner, author of  Parenting with Sanity and Joy: 101 Simple Strategies , via IG Live— and we’re now releasing the event’s audio as a special episode! Purchase on Amazon or Bookshop Amazon: https://amzn.to/2S6rs48 Bookshop: https://bit.ly/3vPDLjT ** Want more? Become a part of my community! Sign up for Zibby's Highlights , which includes a free weekly newsletter, event...

Zibby recently moderated a conversation with Judy Batalion to once again discuss her novel,  The Light of Days , as a part of series with the UJA-Federation of New York. Purchase on Amazon or Bookshop. Amazon: https://amzn.to/3g5kJ2x Bookshop: https://bit.ly/3wwZiP6 ** Want more? Become a part of my community! Sign up for Zibby's Highlights , which includes a free weekly newsletter, even...

Emiko Jean realized that although she had always been a voracious reader, she never believed that she could be a writer because she had never read a YA book written by a Japanese American like herself while she was growing up. Now, Emiko is only just beginning to tell the kinds of stories she wants to see more of in the world. Her latest book,  Tokyo Ever After , features a protagonist descen...

Journalist and author Denene Millner is living every writer's dream: her imprint, Denene Millner Books, has just released their first season of books with Simon & Schuster. Focusing on stories for children that celebrate Black families and firsts, Denene has begun to cultivate a community and a platform just as she did when she started her column, My Brown Baby. She talks w...

When author Hannah Mary McKinnon experienced a professional failure, she realized she had an opportunity to pursue what she had always wanted to do: write a book. With her fifth book now out, it's clear that everything works out for a reason. Hannah's latest novel,  You Will Remember Me , was inspired by a news story about a man who suffered retrograde amnesia and what happens to th...

"I was left with an outline and a mission and the question of, 'Do I continue with this thing?' What does it mean to write a book with somebody who was so well-known and so beloved and who is no longer here?" Zibby is joined by Laurie Woolever, assistant to the late Anthony Bourdain and co-writer of their new atlas guide,  World Travel . Laurie talks with Zibby about what the world was like i...

Jen Spyra, a former writer for The Onion and The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, joins Zibby to talk about her new book of short stories,  Big Time . Jen shares how she wanted to write stories that weren't TV-friendly (and that wouldn't be rejected in a writer's room), as well as how she drew inspiration by recalling events from her life and asking, "What if this had turned out differently?"...

"When I'm drawing pictures for children in picture books, I know they're going to get stuff that maybe they don't have the actual vocabulary to articulate, but they will take in the story on a really deep level." Zibby talks with Marla Frazee, the author, and illustrator for favorites like Boss Baby and The Farmer and the Circus , about how she always knew she wanted to work with picture books. Ma...