Totally Booked with Zibby

Zibby is joined by three very special guest hosts to interview Meredith Badger and Hilary Rogers, the duo behind Maddy Mara. Zibby and her kids ask about how the pair began their partnership, what it's like writing together while in different parts of the world, and how many Dragon Girls books they plan to write. Purchase on Amazon or Bookshop. Amazon: https://amzn.to/3vo8wwn Bookshop: https://bit...

Former magazine editor and teacher Lindsey Palmer joins Zibby to discuss how her engagement —and the period of life when she felt like everyone was getting engaged and married— inspired her latest novel, aptly named Otherwise Engaged . The two talk about Lindsey's creative approach to writing universal experiences, the ways in which the feedback she received on her past two novels inspired el...

Naima Coster's latest novel, What’s Mine and Yours , was an instant New York Times bestseller, not to mention both a Read with Jenna and Book of the Month Club pick. Naima talks with Zibby about the ways in which her intergenerational trauma has led her to write more optimistic familial dynamics, how it took her two years of deferring medical school to admit she wanted to be a writer, and why her...

"What would you do if the one who got away came back?” This question inspired Tia Williams’ latest novel, Seven Days in June . She talks with Zibby about the invisible struggle of living with debilitating chronic pain and discusses how the publishing landscape is changing for black voices. Purchase on Amazon or Bookshop. Amazon: https://amzn.to/3ws4K5i Bookshop: https://bit.ly/3bHp7Dx ** Want more...

Rainbow Milk  author Paul Mendez sits down with Zibby to discuss how his “story of overcoming indoctrination” came to be. He details the role method acting played in his character creation, the story’s parallels to his own life, and the Windrush generation that served as the novel’s inspiration.  Purchase on Amazon or Bookshop. Amazon:  https://amzn.to/3oZocUw Bookshop: https:/...

Danielle Henderson talks with Zibby about her incredibly moving new memoir,  The Ugly Cry . She details how reading helped her cope, shares her present-day family dynamics, and explains the roundabout way she ended up writing for television.   Purchase on Amazon or Bookshop. Amazon: https://amzn.to/3yMFcBB Bookshop: https://bit.ly/2RSkf7F ** Want more? Become a part of my commu...

Even before Cheryl Espinosa-Jones' first wife died, she knew she wanted to become a therapist and grief counselor to help others process the struggles that they may be going through. Now with her successful podcast, Good Grief, and her book, An Ocean Between Them, Cheryl is continuously working towards healing others and herself. Purchase a copy on Amazon or Bookshop. Amazon: https://amzn.to/...

Just like you can't judge a book by its cover, you can never tell a person's story by looking at them. Samantha Hart has led an illustrious career working on marketing campaigns for movies and music, but her memoir, Blind Pony, paints a different picture as it details the abuse and trauma she endured in her childhood. Samantha shares how her struggles have led to her success and why writing this b...

"The shape of our lives makes a difference in the end. I'd like to die knowing a little bit about what this has all been about." Pulitzer Prize winner Richard Russo talks with Zibby about the intimate family histories that he explored in his latest book, Marriage Story, a Scribd Original. Richard shares what he learned about his maternal grandmother that uprooted some of his childhood memories, wh...

Zibby is joined by Chief People Officer for Allbirds Laila Tarraf to discuss how three significant losses made her reconcile the tenderness of her personal life with the strength she had acquired in the business world. Laila shares the most valuable lessons she's learned from her bosses through the years, and how combining courage and compassion may be the most advantageous thing you can do f...

In 2006, Lee Woodruff's husband Bob Woodruff —a prominent ABC news anchor at the time— was severely injured while reporting on the war in Iraq. Immediately, life changed for their family and Lee began to document everything, partially as a recounting of events for Bob if he survived and partially as a history for their four children if he didn't. Lee talks with Zibby about what life was like while...

"It doesn't take a psychiatrist to see what Shakespeare has done there: he's allowed his son to live." Novelist Maggie O'Farrell has been fascinated by Shakespeare's son, Hamnet, since she was in high school and decided it was time for the rest of the world to learn of his story. Maggie tells Zibby about the years of research that went into weaving a fictionalized account of how the Shakespeares h...

Lisa and Zibby fangirl over their admiration for one another as well as for Lisa's latest historical novel, Eternal, which continues to receive phenomenal reviews. Set in Rome over the span of 20 years, the story captures a love triangle between three characters coming of age during the weight of fascism. The two discuss how Lisa's failures still fuel her work ethic today, why this book feels like...

"I wanted to cultivate a life where when I looked in the mirror, I wasn't ashamed of what I saw." Sarah Jakes Roberts shares her journey from becoming a mother at fourteen to a New York Times bestselling author set on empowering other women. After rediscovering her spirituality, Sarah connected deeply with Eve and has since used her biblical story to encourage women to find their own redemption na...

When dancer and choreographer Dacía James Lewis looked back over the journal entries she wrote during a season of infertility and struggles, she knew she had a story that could help other women feel less alone. Through her faith and with a supportive partner by her side, Dacía weathered that storm of hopelessness and is now sharing her story to inspire those who might be going through their own st...

Lawyer and co-host of The View Sunny Hostin joins Zibby to discuss her debut novel, Summer on the Bluffs. Sunny reveals how she set up a writers room of friends to help workshop the book, why she chose to feature this specific house on the cover, and the ways in which her own battle with infertility inspired elements of her story. Purchase on Amazon or Bookshop: Amazon: https://amzn.to/3fb4924 Boo...

Author and screenwriter Paul Rudnick joins Zibby to talk about his latest novel, Playing the Palace. Paul shares why he wanted to write a gay romance novel rather than a coming out story, how the changing dynamics of the royal family launched by Prince Harry and Meghan Markle helped inspire this book, and what the significance of IHOP is to both him and his characters. Purchase a copy on Amazon or...

Zibby is joined by Wendy Francis to discuss her latest novel which is all about love in the summertime— but with a twist!! Inspired by the real Wentworth By the Sea hotel, Wendy weaves together multiple storylines to create wonderfully thrilling love stories. Purchase a copy of the book on Amazon or Bookshop: Amazon: https://amzn.to/3u9sMRT Bookshop: https://bit.ly/32VmsRT ** Want more? Become a p...

James Beard Award-winning chef Kwame Onwuachi opens up to Zibby about the events that shaped his life and went into his memoir, Notes from a Young Black Chef. He shares how he manages to maintain his positive mindset every day, why his approach to food, fashion, and nail polish is all the same, and the responsibility he feels to share his unique story with the world. Purchase a copy of the book on...

When former ESPN reporter Kate Fagan's father was diagnosed with ALS, she knew she had to make some changes in her life in order to show up for her family. Despite the wall that had grown between Kate and her father after years of things left unsaid, the two find their way back to their old dynamic, learning some new life lessons along the way. Purchase a copy of the book on Amazon or Bookshop: Am...

Zibby moderated a conversation with actress Tovah Feldshuh about her memoir, Lilyville, as part of the Authors in Conversation @ Home series with the Evelyn Rubenstein JCC in Houston. Tovah answered questions about both her story and her mother's, what her experience was like as a first-time writer, and why she decided to structure her memoir as though it were a theatrical performance. Amazon: htt...

Hadassah Lieberman piques Zibby's interest in transgenerational trauma in today's episode as she recounts the need she felt to share her family story. Born to Holocaust survivors and married to a former U.S. Senator, Hadassah has had an extraordinary life and carries the weight of others' narratives with her: after finding and translating her mother's diary, she knew this memoir could not be just...

The bestselling author of The Devil Wears Prada, which became a smash box office hit with Meryl Streep and is now in development with Elton John and Paul Rudnick as a Broadway musical, Lauren Weisberger launched her latest — and already bestselling! — novel with Zibby at a Barnes & Noble virtual event. And they did it in person! They discussed sisterhood, breaching trust, suburbs vs. the city,...

Zibby moderated a conversation between Emmy-nominated comedy writer, Bess Kalb, and author of I Am My Mother’s Daughter, Dana Kurtz, as part of the Florida JCC's Author Series. The recorded panel, released here as a podcast, focuses on how Bess and Dana both processed the grief of losing the most influential female figures in their lives through writing as well as the lessons that have been collec...

Zibby did a Facebook Live with bestselling author Jennifer Weiner to celebrate the launch of her latest summer read, That Summer. Jen recently lost both her mother and her father-in-law. She and Zibby discussed the illness, how blindsided she was by its speed and ferocity, how she’s managing a book launch through it all, and the parts of their mental make-ups they’d prefer their dau...