Totally Booked with Zibby

Claire Lombardo walks Zibby through the roundabout way she became an author, her experience at the Iowa Writers' Workshop, and what she learned when her debut, The Most Fun We Ever Had, first came out.   Purchase your copy on Amazon or Bookshop   ** Want more? Become a part of my community! Sign up for Zibby's Highlights , which includes a free weekly newsletter, event livestreams, most anticipate...

Katie Sise walks Zibby through her winding career, from actress to jewelry maker, to becoming a TV host, a ghostwriter, and, finally, the writer we know her as today. The two cover everything, from their mutual love of attending open houses to how to find time to write when home with young children.   Purchase your copy on Amazon or Bookshop ** Want more? Become a part of my community! Sign up for...

Taking it back a year now to celebrate that Spring 2021 is FINALLY here. During the pandemic, Zibby did an Instagram Live with Lena Dunham, author of the #1 New York Times  bestselling memoir Not That Kind of Girl.  Lena had been writing a book throughout the coronavirus pandemic called Verified Strangers  in which she released a chapter or two a day and even let readers who read it on Vogue.com  ...

Zibby interviewed literary legend Joyce Carol Oates as part of Temple Emanu-El Streicker Center's 'Women on the Move' series. Their recorded conversation, released here as a podcast, touches on Oates's two newest releases, American Melancholy and The (Other) You, as well as how she has approached writing during the pandemic. Purchase your copy on Amazon or Bookshop ** Want more? Become a part of m...

"The cry of my own soul to be seen became so great that the risk of not saying who I was, was much greater than the risk of saying who I was." Co-founder of Melissa & Doug, Melissa Bernstein, joins Zibby for a heartfelt and thought-provoking conversation about coming forward with her lifelong experience with existential depression and how it has inspired creativity throughout her life. Her book, L...

"It's life-affirming in that you know that someday you will no longer be here, yet all of these people that are carrying some of your DNA will just be boogying down the road." Anna Quindlen talks to Zibby about all of the things grandmothers have time to do and celebrates the parts of grandmotherhood that often go unspoken. Purchase your copy on Amazon or Bookshop . ** Want more? Become a part of...

"The universe is gifting us all the time if only we opened our eyes to receive it." Anita Moorjani talks to Zibby about the differences between being a highly sensitive person and an empath, how individuals become "doormats" in other's lives, and the ways in which we can all change our mindsets to fulfill our souls. Purchase the book on BookShop and Amazon ! ** Want more? Become a part of my commu...

"It was always bizarre to me that there wasn't another big collection of humor writing by women, especially because the community's only exploded even more. All I do all day is meet brilliant women." Amy Solomon, Lennon Parham, and actress Lake Bell all join Zibby to talk about compiling work from 150 of the funniest women in comedy, leveling with their kids like adults would, and the different wa...

Sarah Langan reignites Zibby's inner psychology major as the two discuss the social experiments that inspired Sarah's new book  Good Neighbors , why she wanted to create a sympathetic narcissist as her main character, and how we can all better understand troublesome people. Purchase Sarah's book on BookShop or Amazon ! ** Want more? Become a part of my community! Sign up for Zibby's Highlights , w...

"The truth is that the details of your story are your superpower." Zibby meets fellow anthology editor Jennifer Rudolph Walsh to talk about the connections we make through the most painful parts of our narratives, and what it means to go from a human doing to a human being. Purchase your copy on Amazon or Bookshop .  ** Want more? Become a part of my community! Sign up for Zibby's Highlights , whi...

Author and librarian Maisy Card talks with Zibby about how family secrets inspired her novel, These Ghosts Are Family. She shares the book’s 12-year path to publication, as well as a behind-the-scenes look into working at a library. Purchase your copy on Amazon or Bookshop ** Want more? Become a part of my community! Sign up for Zibby's Highlights , which includes a free weekly newsletter, event l...

Zibby interviewed Jeanine Cummins, author of American Dirt, as part of Temple Emanu-El Streicker Center's 'Women on the Move' series. Their recorded conversation, released here as a podcast, covers the controversy surrounding the novel. Jeanine also speaks with Zibby about the universality of a mother’s love and shares how writing has helped her process past family traumas. Purchase your copy on A...

“I understand how the culture created this situation where we all had these expectations for our lives that has to do with having boobs and how we judge ourselves and what our expectations are with the other sex." Author Leslie Lehr shares why she was inspired to write a book about, well...boobs. She discusses why she doesn’t let breast cancer define her, and talks with Zibby about the importance...

“My journey is a series of moments where I chose to not be moved by the fear that I felt.” The ever-inspirational Luvvie Ajayi Jones redefines what it means to be fearless. She talks with Zibby about confronting impostor syndrome, choosing courage every day, and the radical notion of “firing yourself.” Purchase your copy on Amazon or Bookshop .  ** Want more? Become a part of my community! Sign up...

"It's another great function of stories and of literature to remind us of our humanness, of our sense of compassion, and that deep essential quality that we must find our way back to, and that is to being relational beings.” Author Jamie Figueroa talks with Zibby about how her latest novel’s opening scene came to her "like a remembered dream." She discusses loss, magical realism, and the importanc...

“I found after becoming a mom that I was responding to various experiences or happenings in really particular ways.” Professor, author, and mother Courtney Zoffness discusses how the lens of motherhood inspired her new collection, Spilt Milk. She shares her own experience with childhood anxiety, ponders nature vs. nurture, and talks with Zibby about parenting techniques.  ** Want more? Become...

"I try to write these stories that actually redeem experiences because complaining would just be too easy.” Annabelle Gurwitch talks with Zibby about making lemonade out of lemons (figuratively and literally — she grows a lemon crop every year!), and shares how writing has helped her to find the silver linings in the aftermath of her divorce. ** Want more? Become a part of my community! Sign up fo...

“An important part of being a columnist is failing every once in a while or somewhat on the regular. You write the bad ones so you can write the good ones.” Wall Street Journal sports columnist Jason Gay talks with Zibby about his career trajectory leading to the WSJ , becoming a character in his readers’ lives, and, of course, Tom Brady. They also cover the art of reading print, and the emotional...

Kitty O’Meara’s poem, And the People Stayed Home , went absolutely viral during the pandemic (the irony of which is not lost on her). She sits down with Zibby to discuss her sudden rise to fame, her hope for the post-pandemic future, and the illuminating experience of being a hospice chaplain. ** Want more? Become a part of my community! Sign up for Zibby's Highlights , which includes a free weekl...

“It’s like you unveiled yourself over every dish.” Zibby talks with cookbook author Julia Turshen about the deeply personal nature of Julia's 15th cookbook, including its revelatory essay on body image and self-worth. They discuss cooking when you don’t feel like it and the pandemic’s impact on the cookbook. ** Want more? Become a part of my community! Sign up for Zibby's Highlights , which includ...

"You thought that when you arrived at X age you would be finished, but we're not ever finished.” Kayleen Schaefer talks with Zibby about her experience interviewing eight people in their thirties over the course of a year-plus. She redefines what it means to be an adult, and refutes the notion that everyone else has it figured out.  ** Want more? Become a part of my community! Sign up for Zibby's...

“Diaspora is the world’s condition.” Patricia Engel talks with Zibby about growing up the daughter of immigrants, the ingrained pull of an ancestral homeland, and the doubts that haunt those who uproot in search of a better future.  ** 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 lists,...

“I wrote my way out of the darkness.” Tanya Selvaratnam talks with Zibby about the intimate partner violence she suffered in a past abusive relationship. She shares the experience of coming forward with her story, and details what’s next as she moves past this chapter and onto future projects. ** Want more? Become a part of my community! Sign up for Zibby's Highlights , which includes a free weekl...

Joann Lublin dismisses the myth of work-life balance and makes a case instead for “work-life sway.” She shares with Zibby the biggest challenges she overcame as a top editor at the Wall Street Journal, and her forecast for the future of the female workforce. ** Want more? Become a part of my community! Sign up for Zibby's Highlights , which includes a free weekly newsletter, event livestreams, mos...

Tennis guru and head of the USTA Katrina Adams talks about her success on and off the court -- including her role in a dramatic moment with Serena Williams --  in this candid chat between two tennis lovers. ** 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 lists, personal essays, and a new...