Love books?! Same.

10 ways you can take advantage of everything bookish at Zibby Media

I love to read. That feeling of getting lost in a story is priceless. The best is when I’m so into a book that I literally can’t put it down, like when I was finishing Charlotte McConaghy’s latest novel Wild Dark Shore last week and read it on the plane from Miami, getting off the plane, walking through the airport, and in the car home, gasping all the way.

Learn more here. So good!

Like many book lovers, that comes with a deep respect for authors. And even though I’ve become an author myself with six books out in the last five years (yesterday was my novel Blank’s birthday!), my reverence for other authors feels like something else entirely. I built Zibby Media around my adulation of the written word — and those responsible!

So if you also love reading, even if you have no time to do it, you can take advantage of our offerings. I want you to feel connected to books and authors no matter what’s going on in your own life or how stressful the world is. And boy, it is ever.

Here are some ways to get involved. You’ll learn, get book recommendations, connect with readers and authors — and your people, escape, and hopefully improve your lives and those of others. Sound good? Keep reading.

Zibby Media: 10 Ways to Get Involved

1. Get to know a new author by listening to a podcast episode of mine on Totally Booked with Zibby. Last week’s guests?

   Tova Mirvis
   , Chelsea Handler,
   Maggie Smith
   , Marie Benedict, and Charmaine Wilkerson. Listen here. Go ahead. Spend 30 minutes or less while you’re driving, cooking, commuting, folding laundry, or going on a walk. When do you listen to podcasts?

   Learn about an author you’ve never heard of and then try not to buy their book. I dare you. It’s amazing what knowing the backstory can do to bring the pages alive. My show has been downloaded 15 million times. Insanity. Try an episode!

   

2. Want more book recommendations?! You can shop my Most Anticipated List 2025 right here with select titles sorted by category that come out each month. I also do my “Books on the Floor” video series. (Here are videos of March fiction and March non-fiction books!) And, you can head to Zibby’s Bookshop online or in person for your favorites, curated by emotion, topic, and creative categorization. Plus, Instagram! I’m always posting about the books I’m reading and the bookshop account highlights pub day reads!

3. Learn more about (and from!) the books and authors we publish. Zibby Publishing (formerly Zibby Books) takes up about 80% of our team’s collective time. We love our authors and started a company designed to treat them like rock stars. Next week, we’re publishing a tale about identity, family and resilience by debut Guyanese-American author Nanda Reddy called A Girl Within a Girl Within a Girl. Get our publishing newsletter for dedicated monthly emails about the books or follow @zibbypublishing for updates.

   

4. Our next weekend retreat for book lovers (“Zibby Retreat”) is in Santa Barbara, CA. 40 of us will gather, including eight featured authors, for a fun, restorative weekend of fantastic food, great conversation, laughter, and beauty. Don’t we all need that now? We have several spots left. Sign up here or treat a friend or loved one who really needs a break.

   

5. I host Zibby’s Book Club online (for free!) once a month. Pop in next week to hear from Jane Costello, bestselling British author of It’s Getting Hot in Here, which is smart, fun, and fan-tastic (haha). She’ll be there for Q&A as authors always are for my book club. Then we can discuss a bit afterwards. RSVP for upcoming book clubs on Eventbrite here, talk to others in the club on our Hivebrite community site, and don’t miss a link by getting our “Zibby This Week” newsletter. All of this is always on zibbymedia.com under Book Club!

   

6. Whether you’re in LA or not, you can enjoy our bookstore, Zibby’s Bookshop, on 11th and Montana Avenue in Santa Monica. We have events there all the time and guess what?! They are all livestreamed for free on our YouTube channel. Watch live or do a deep dive into past events you might have missed. You can also attend in person. Join our bookshop mailing list if you want regular updates. We just donated $45,000 of books off our shelves for anyone who had lost their home in the fire and ran a clothing drive which helped 800+ affected families.

7. On Being Jewish Now is growing! It started with our bestselling anthology and is expanding. Last week, I did seven events for On Being Jewish Now. (Oy!) We’re hosting two On Being Jewish Now: Live events in L.A. and New York and have more in the works. Thoughts on these logos?!

   

   1. In L.A., we’re hosting the event at the Museum of Tolerance on Sunday, March 23rd from 3 pm - 7 pm. We’ll have three panels followed by a book fair and cocktail party. You’ll meet 15 authors and activists who will make you think, feel, and leave with hope. Tickets are on sale now. Buy here! Bring friends and family. Tell your synagogues and JCCs. Tickets include a copy of the anthology On Being Jewish Now which has spent 12 weeks on the USA Today bestseller list!

      

   2. Our New York event will be on Saturday, April 5th from 10 am - 5 pm with speakers from multiple industries, followed by lunch and a screening of “October H8Te,” a documentary by Wendy Sachs (which Kyle and I associate produced, thanks to

      Samantha Ettus
      ). Save the date! Tickets are now on sale. Buy here.

   3. More upcoming events for On Being Jewish Now are listed on our Substack

      On Being Jewish Now
      , where we also publish original essays weekly. Write one for us! Details here.

8. I’m also moderating two other event series: the Streicker Center, where I’ll be interviewing Jennifer Weiner and Judy Blume this Spring and the Core Club, where we’re organizing monthly author events. March is on sale now! More coming soon here.

9. Donate to our school library fundraiser. Every donation above $25 comes with a perk…. Eleni’s cookies, a thank-you-Zoom, swag, an event! The best is how proud you’ll feel helping others. You’ll be gifting four school libraries new copies of all the books that were destroyed in the fire. So many books! Join authors who have donated like Judy Blume and help our fire-ravaged community today. Donate here.

Also, help us hire a social media marketing maven for our onbeingjewishnow and totallybookedwithzibby accounts! Here’s our job description on LinkedIn. Know someone who fits the bill? Send them the listing!

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I really hope you find our offerings helpful and that we’re improving your lives, even a little bit. Then it’s all worth it. If you appreciate it all, please spread the word! Partake in our offerings! And enjoy. After all, stories are best when shared.