A Chat with Zibby Owens Podcast Host & Author | South Shore Moms

Zibby Owens is known for her podcast, Moms Don’t Have Time To Read Books, gaining recognition everywhere from Oprah.com to New York magazine. In 2020, she decided to put together a related anthology, a collection of essays covering topics we all deal with—parenthood, fitness, sex, etc…aka life! Moms Don’t Have Time To: A Quarantine Anthology, was recently published by Skyhorse Publishing, and has already been called one of the Best Books of 2021 for Working Moms by Working Mother magazine. Zibby recently appeared on Good Morning America to talk about her work. We asked Zibby to share a bit more about her background, book, and upcoming projects.

 

Can you please tell us a bit about yourself?
I’m a native New Yorker, a mother of four, a podcaster, CEO,Ā entrepreneur, author, essayist, chocolate chip cookie addict, tennis lover, photography fan, and aĀ divorcedĀ and remarried mom. Professionally, I started my career in advertising, brandĀ strategy,Ā and marketing at firms like Unilever, Young & Rubicam, Ogilvy & Mather, andĀ idealab!. After Harvard Business School, I decided to switch gears. I’d lost my best friend andĀ former roommate on 9/11 and decided that if I was going to die at my desk, the way I believed she had, I had to do something that would bring my whole self into whatever I was doing. I wrote a memoir, a novel, a fashion/fitness book, freelanced for magazines, worked part-time as a Weight Watchers Leader, hadĀ twins, helped start aĀ daily deal site for moms, blogged, wrote, had two more kids, gotĀ divorced, launched a crumb cake business, wroteĀ many parenting essays, and then started my podcast, Moms Don’tĀ Have Time to Read Books.

Wow, that’s quite a journey. For anyone not yet familiar, can you please share a bit more about your podcast?
Sure! I interview five (sometimes seven!) authors a week on my literary podcast designed to be an intimate conversation that will let readers get to know authors and help busy caretakers – like moms! – get their literary digest. Fast.

Love that. How did you come up with the concept – and the name?
I was writing a lot of parenting essays when oneĀ evening, myĀ husbandĀ said,Ā ā€œYou should really write a book of all those parenting essays.ā€Ā I rolled my eyes and said,Ā ā€œMoms don’t have time to read books!ā€Ā I laughed and said,Ā ā€œWait! ThatĀ shouldĀ be the title of my book.ā€Ā I ended up not trying to sell that book but instead, took the advice of a girlfriend, bestsellingĀ middleĀ grade author Sarah Mlynowski, and started a podcast. As a lifelong reader, I figuredĀ IĀ would try to interview authors even though when I started I only knew about three!

Who has been your favorite guest?
My favorite guest was my dad! It was so neat to be able to show himĀ whatĀ IĀ did while helpingĀ promoteĀ his book.

So cool. What makes a fabulous podcast and what one are you loving right now besides your own?
A great host! I love Jo Piazza’s new podcast,Ā ā€œUnder the Influence.ā€

Why are podcasts such an amazing tool for moms?
Moms can listen while they doĀ everything else! It can give even theĀ most bored, depressed, overwhelmed stay-at-home an intellectual jolt andĀ immediate connection to remind her of who she really is under all that diaper cream. And for the busy working mom, it’s an efficient escape and an emotional outlet. Women really thrive on connection and learning from others. This medium is like an entire category devoted to conversation. It’s perfect.Ā 

How did you decide to create an anthology?
I actually wanted toĀ startĀ a website at first, like a Goop for moms. When the pandemic hit, I’d alreadyĀ commissionedĀ many essays by authors from my podcast. I turned it into an online magazine called We Found Time and release fiveĀ essaysĀ a week with the help of editors Claire Gibson, Elissa Altman and Carolyn Murnick. After almost three months, mid-summer, I decided the world had gone back toĀ normal enough that moms didn’tĀ need that magazine any longer. In September, I looked back to see how many essays I’d released, copiedĀ and pasted them all into one bigĀ document,Ā found the word count and released,Ā ā€œThis is a book!ā€

What was your favorite part of that project?
HearingĀ the innermost thoughts of authors I truly admire.

What are some of the essays that you love the most?
I love Ashley Prentice Norton’s reflection on her book club, Chris Bohjalian’s essay about his writing as aĀ child, Rene Denfeld’s musings on being homeless, Elissa Altman’s fear of quarantining with aĀ narcissistic mother, and my own essays (hahaha).

Do you have any tips that have helped you as a mom get through the pandemic?
Coffee. And more coffee. No, actually my tip is to keep looking down. Every time I started looking into the future, even the next day, I’d get overwhelmed and upset.Ā SomeoneĀ once said,Ā ā€œKeep your mind where your feet are.ā€Ā That’s how I made it through. One minute at a time.Ā PlusĀ any time IĀ reallyĀ needed toĀ getĀ out, I’d open a book.

Great advice. What’s next for you?
I just announced the Moms Don’t Have Time To Fellowship in which I’m sponsoring two to four authors per year with editorial coaching provided andĀ publicity via my platform. My inaugural class includes Meghan Riordan Jarvis, Mireya d’Angelo, Rev. Lydia Sohn, and Cristina Alesci. On November 2nd, myĀ second anthology comes out: Moms Don’t Have Time to Have Kids. I have aĀ children’s book called PrincessĀ Charming coming out in March 2022, and a second book in that series later. I’ve also recently started Moms Don’t Have Time to Write, a publication onĀ Medium, and amĀ launching a new short-form podcast calledĀ ā€œWake Up and Write.ā€ I’llĀ continue to host Moms Don’t Have Time to Lose Weight.Ā Plus I have a lot moreĀ brandĀ extensions planned, plus I’m trying to write a memoir this summer. And I run Zibby’s Virtual Book which meetsĀ everyĀ otherĀ week!

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