How Bestselling Author and Publisher Zibby Owens Writes

Bestselling author, publisher, and lit podcaster Zibby Owens spoke with us about the evolution of her media company from a podcast into a publishing house, her editorial philosophy, and her new essay collection BETWEEN CHAPTERS. Zibby Owens was dubbed “the book world’s biggest cheerleader” by the New York Times, and is the national bestselling author and editor of seven books including Blank: A Novel, Bookends: A Memoir of Love, Loss, and Literature, and On Being Jewish Now: Reflections from Authors and Advocates, which has spent 29 weeks on the USA Today bestseller list. Her latest book, Between Chapters: How I Started Over, Took Some Chances, and Found the Plot, consists of “…forty short, funny, honest essays…about what happens when the life you carefully built stops looking like the life you thought you'd have—and you have to figure out who you are now.” Susan Orlean said of the book, “It is as warm and engaging as morning coffee with a best friend. Zibby parses the joys and pains of midlife awakening and reinvention in these bite-sized essays, each one landing with authenticity and humor and honesty." Zibby has interviewed more than 2,000 authors on her award-winning podcast Totally Booked with Zibby and weekly TV show Totally Booked on JBS. In 2021 she founded Zibby Media with the launch of boutique publishing house Zibby Publishing and unique year-round hosted retreats and events for book lovers. In 2023, she opened indie bookstore Zibby's Bookshop in Santa Monica, CA. [Discover The Writer Files Extra: Get 'The Writer Files' Podcast Delivered Straight to Your Inbox at writerfiles.fm] [If you’re a fan of The Writer Files, please click FOLLOW to automatically see new interviews. And drop us a rating or a review wherever you listen] In this file Zibby Owens, Milena, and I discussed: How her publishing team decides what to acquire The podcast Moms Don't Have Time to Read Books that launched the “Zibby-verse” Why those early book fairs in her apartment were the precursor to the LA bookstore Some early career setbacks Writing an essay collection that offers a "bookfluencer's" view of a decade of reinvention And a lot more! Show Notes: zibbyowens.com zibbymedia.com Between Chapters: How I Started Over, Took Some Chances, and Found the Plot by Zibby Owens [Amazon] Zibby Owens Amazon Author Page⁠ Zibby Owens on Facebook Zibby Owens on Instagram Milena Gonzalez | Writer | Reader | Book Reviewer diary_of_a_book_babe on Instagram Kelton Reid Instagram Kelton Reid on Twitter Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices