Zibby Owens Discusses 'Blank,' Her Debut Novel

Author Zibby Owens will be at the Bridgehampton Barnes & Noble at noon on Saturday, March 30, to sign copies of and discuss her debut novel, “Blank,” with novelist Joanna Rakoff. “Blank” which is a USA Today Bestseller, has been on several “Most Anticipated” lists and featured on “Good Morning America.”

In “Blank,” with picturesque L.A. as the backdrop, readers follow Pippa Jones, a 40-something mom of two in her used Volvo playing chauffeur to her kids, chasing open house leads for her secretive, but hugely popular Instagram account, Zooming with her three best friends for “book club” and longing for the days when she and her husband were intimate.

But Pippa is about to encounter one of the biggest obstacles ever when she is informed that if she doesn’t deliver the follow-up to her bestselling book by the end of the week, she’ll have to return her advance (already spent) and risk becoming a one-hit wonder. The problem? She hasn’t written a word …

Panicked, Pippa starts fielding ideas from her friends and her children, until she lands on the best one … really the only one that will work. Her book will be blank. It’s on-the-nose commentary on the publishing industry and the arbitrary nature of bestsellers. People will flock to it as a conversation starter. Use it as a journal. It’ll work, right? Well, it has to …

During the course of the week, Pippa’s agent dumps her, there’s a scare at her son’s Hebrew school, inappropriate advances are made toward her by a man in a position of power, and she has to handle all of the chaos without her husband’s help. And then she discovers a secret that the people closest to her have been keeping and her life seems to be spiraling out of control.

Amid the chaos, readers are met with humorous, witty, dialogue and they get to peek inside the mind of a gloriously imperfect middle-aged woman whom they’re left feverishly rooting for.

Owens is the award-winning podcast host of “Moms Don’t Have Time To Read Books,” founder and CEO of Zibby Media, which includes the publishing house Zibby Books, a book club, retreats, classes, events, and Zibby’s Bookshop, an independent bookstore in Santa Monica.

Her previous books include “Bookends: A Memoir of Love, Loss, and Literature,” children’s book “Princess Charming” and two anthologies that she edited. A frequent contributor to “Good Morning America,” “Katie Couric Media” and other outlets, she is the mother of four children ages 9 to 16, and wife to Kyle Owens, founder of Morning Moon Productions.

Barnes & Noble is located in Bridgehampton Commons.