Author and podcast host Zibby Owens to promote new book Thursday in Palm Beach

An award-winning podcast host and businesswoman who runs her own media company will visit the island Thursday to promote her debut novel.

Zibby Owens, founder and CEO of Zibby Media and host of the popular podcast "Moms Don’t Have Time to Read Books," will greet guests and sign copies of her novel "Blank" from 5:30 to 7 p.m. at the Palm Beach Book Store, 215 Royal Poinciana Way .

Released March 1 and available in stores and online, the novel tells the tale of a wife, mother and frustrated writer who faces an unfeasible deadline for turning her life around, the author told the Daily News.

"It takes place over six days in L.A., and it's about a former bestselling author who can't think of an idea for her next book, so on the advice of her son, she decides to hand it in blank," Owens said. "She does this as a commentary on the publishing industry and how it almost doesn't matter what's inside the book. It's all about marketing. She's trying to make a point in the way that a blank canvas makes a point about art."

Owens, a New York City native and mother of four, spent nine months working on the novel, which earned a spot on USA TODAY's Best-selling Booklist soon after its release. She is the daughter of part-time Palm Beach resident and Blackstone Group CEO Stephen Schwarzman.

Though "Blank" is the first book she's sold, it's not the first one she's authored.

"I've written multiple novels in the past that have not sold or I haven't taken them out," she said.

Though Owens, 47, is excited about her debut as a novelist, she's equally as thrilled about the work she does as a podcast host and CEO of Zibby Media.

The privately held company, which Owens founded in 2018, is a small, women-led start-up dedicated to "deepening the connections between readers, authors and each other," according to its website.

The company includes a publishing house, magazine, podcasts, retreats, classes, a book club, salon events, and an independent bookstore in Santa Monica, California, with frequent author events.

"One of our main things is community," Owens said. "We have a lot of events. We gather people together on social and book clubs and classes and retreats and other ways of gathering readers, finding readers, finding each other, and connecting authors to readers and readers to each other. We have events in our bookstore every week. We have a podcast to connect each other. The real goal is for readers to find each other and find books that they love and connect with. No two book lovers are really strangers if they've read the same book."

Reading has been a longtime passion for Owens, and her love for reading and writing inspired her to launch her podcast, which has won dozens of industry awards.

She created Zibby Media soon after.

"I have been a lifelong reader and a lifelong writer," she said. "Originally, I started the podcast to help sell my own book. And I was told I didn't have a platform, despite being a freelance writer since I was 14. So I started a podcast for that, but then as soon as I started the podcast, I realized how much I loved interviewing authors, and then as I got to know all these authors — I've interviewed over 1,800 — it's just become things I've seen, opportunities I've seen where I can help improve the author experience, because I really have just such a reverence for authors. I think they're such rock stars."

With the launch of "Blank" behind her, Owens is now focusing on her next projects, which include a graphic novel on which she is collaborating with two of her children, and a second fiction novel that is expected to be released in fall 2025.

In the meantime, she is looking forward to the many upcoming stops on her current book tour, including Thursday's appearance in Palm Beach.

"I can't wait," she said.

Jodie Wagner is a journalist at the Palm Beach Daily News, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. You can reach her at jwagner@pbdailynews.com. Help support our journalism. Subscribe today.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Daily News: Author Zibby Owens to promote new book Thursday in Palm Beach