Author Zibby Owens to visit Columbus April 4 for book-signing event
If there's such a thing as a super-fan for books, Zibby Owens is it.
She's done more than 1,800 interviews with authors on her podcast, “Moms Don't Have Time to Read Books,” since she started it in 2018.
In 2021, she started a publishing house, Zibby Books.
In 2022, she published a memoir, “Bookends.”
In 2023, she opened Zibby's Bookshop in Santa Monica, California.
Now she has published a sparkling comic novel of her own, “Blank,” in which a novelist, faced with a deadline she is far from meeting, concocts an unusual plan for facing the situation at the same time that she's dealing with a floundering marriage and four active kids.
In Columbus, as part of a six-month “Zibby-verse tour,” Owens will be taking part in an ice cream social on April 4 at the North Market, which includes a “street treat” from Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams as part of the “ice cream for lunch” event and book signing.
Owens, 47, spoke from her home in New York, where she was taking a break in the midst of a long book tour.
Question: You have a new novel out, after writing your memoir, “Bookends.” What was the experience of writing the novel like, compared to the memoir?
Zibby Owens: I was on a deadline, so I only had a set amount of time. It wasn't as easy for me, so I needed to have uninterrupted blocks of time, which I could not find very easily. I kind of finished it after 30,000 words, and wanted to hand it in, and my editor was like, Yeah, you're really not done. You have a lot more to do.
Q: Besides the deadline, what was most challenging for you about writing the novel?
Owens: I had trouble layering all the plotlines on before I wrote it. I had to write it before I could see where else it was going. Once I was in it, I could add to it. It has hard to see the whole thing from the beginning.
More:'Jersey Boys,' 'Legally Blonde,' 'Nine' among 2024-25 Short North Stage lineup
Q: Tell me about Zibby Books
Owens: Zibby Books started after I had interviewed over a thousand authors, and kept hearing the same complaints over and over, about the structural issues with the publishing industry as it is now. They felt that publishing houses didn't care about them, as evidenced by time spent or investment. Authors felt (hamstrung) in that they couldn't have successful launches if they didn't get the publishers' support. So I finally decided I would start my own company, and put authors at the center of everything, celebrate them like the rock stars I believe them to be, treat every title like a lead title, and see what would happen.
Q: You've deliberately kept the publishing house small?
Owens: If you have too many authors, you can't pay enough attention to them. So we do one book a month, in either fiction or memoir, so each author really gets the benefit of a whole month of support from everyone in our company. It still feels like a lot!
Q: What goes into your choice of book?
Owens: We only do contemporary fiction and memoir, so nothing earlier than 1976, because that's when I was born. Before that, it's historical fiction! We do books with a strong sense of voice and place, with propulsive narratives and beautiful writing.
Q: Obviously, reading is very important in your life. Are there books that you come back to over and over?
Owens: Not really. I don't like to re-read that much.
Q: What about with your kids? Are there books you like to share with them?
Owens: My younger two kids are obsessed with graphic novels right now. In fact, my younger daughter and I are writing one ourselves right now. So we'll see how that goes! They read what they like, and if they like it enough, I say, Hey, I'm going to interview the author. My younger kids are much bigger readers than my older kids ever were, I don't know why.
Q: What's next for you after the tour?
Owens: I have another book due in July, “Overheard,” which will be out next October. I'm looking forward to writing that. Well, actually not. I'm looking forward to being done with writing that! It's a novel about a bookstore owner in Santa Monica, which I also am. Like “Blank,” it will be about a mom, and the close interactions between her and her kids and her husband and family. My books all take on some piece of the world that I think is unfair, and lightly poke fun at it. This takes on cancel culture, like “Blank” took on the publishing industry. I'm trying to raise awareness of things that we've accepted that maybe we shouldn't.
At a glance
The ice-cream social will take place from noon to 2 p.m. April 4 at the North Market, 59 Spruce St. Registration is required to receive free tickets. (delawarelibraryfriends.org/author-visits)