Totally Booked with Zibby

Rebekah Lowin sits down with Zibby Owens to discuss A Year of Jewish Joy, her new cookbook full of meaningful recipes, homemade crafts, and table guides for the Jewish holidays.

Rebekah talks about being inspired by her grandmother, the impossible joy of the Jewish people, her experience working for Martha Stewart in New York City years ago, and how the blog she started in 2019 led to this book.

She also shares her experience growing up in Connecticut without a Jewish community, reverence for tradition while making things new, how pressure is part of the joy of hosting, and her dream of opening a brick-and-mortar shop one day.

Learn more about Rebekah here https://rebekahlowin.com and follow her on Instagram @rebekahlowin.
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Elizabeth Wellington Rollins joins Zibby Owens to discuss her debut novel and Book of the Month Club Pick The Three Graces of Pearl Street, the story of an Italian American grandmother, daughter, and granddaughter who must all live together again after years apart and what that collision stirs up.

Elizabeth talks about the little threads of home she wove into this story, her inspiration from the Roman myth of the three graces, the story’s intentional conversation with The Godfather, and distilling the big energy of her grandmother and great-aunts into her character Graziella.

Elizabeth also shares about growing up in Westchester, her career journey from tech copywriter and travel writer to fiction writing, the impact of having gestational diabetes while pregnant with her daughter, and how living in a small Vermont town gives her the mental space to write.

Follow Elizabeth on Instagram @elizabethwellingtonrollins.
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Newly minted Reese's Book Club pick Meg Mason joins Zibby Owens to discuss her new novel (and Zibby’s October Book Club pick!) Sophie, Standing There, the story of book lover Sophie Pattison who finds herself living alone and isolated, and how her favorite author provides solace when she needs it most.

Meg talks about the surreal success of her first novel, her struggles while trying to write another book, depression after touring, and the moderating mess while interviewing Ann Patchett that inspired Sophie’s story.

She also shares how the literary landscape had changed between publishing her first and second books, the temporary but daunting feeling of loneliness, and the authors who have inspired her most.

Join Meg and Zibby virtually for Zibby’s October Book Club on October 4, 2026 here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/zibbys-book-club-meg-mason-tickets-1994577848036

Learn more about Meg here https://www.megmason.com.
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Susan Coll sits down with Zibby Owens to discuss her new novel Word Salad, a bookish comedy about former economics major Matilda who finds herself working at her hometown bookstore where she must navigate the nonsensical business of publishing and the people in it.

Susan talks about teaching herself to write, structuring each chapter as a scene, the remarkable literary community in Washington, DC, and her endless fascination with the publishing industry.

She also shares her own background as a bookseller, the determination that kept her writing after her first novel died on submission, and using different parts of her brain at work versus while writing.

Learn more about Susan here https://susancoll.com and follow her on Instagram @susan_keselenko_coll.

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Fran Hauser joins Zibby Owens to discuss her new book Twenty Minutes is the New Hour, a guide to help women embrace the twenty-minute mindset, reclaim their time, and take small steps towards better productivity.

Fran talks about the techniques she used to launch her bookstore Bedford Books in just eight weeks, how time becomes the enemy of the good, and adding more kairos over chronos in women's lives.

She also dives deeper into setting boundaries around notifications, the importance of surrounding yourself with the right people, the fear connected to procrastination, email management, and what she feels guilty about.

Learn more about Fran here https://www.franhauser.com/about and follow her on Instagram @fran_hauser.

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