Elizabeth "Zibby" Owens (née Schwarzman)[1] is an American writer[2] and podcast host based in New York City.[3] Her podcast[4] is called Moms Don’t Have Time to Read Books.[5]

Zibby Owens
Born
Elizabeth Schwarzman

1976 (age 47–48)
EducationYale University
Harvard University
Occupation(s)Podcaster, writer
Spouses
Andrew Right
(m. 2005⁠–⁠2016)
Kyle Owens
(m. 2017)
Children4
Parent
Websitezibbyowens.com

Life and career edit

Zibby Owens (born Elizabeth Schwarzman) is the daughter of billionaire Stephen A. Schwarzman and Ellen Katz (née Philips). Stephen is a co-founder, chairman and CEO of The Blackstone Group, and Ellen a trustee of Northwestern University and the Mount Sinai Medical Center[6][7]

Her family is Jewish.[8] She grew up on the Upper East Side of Manhattan.[5] Her brother is film producer Teddy Schwarzman. She attended Yale and Harvard Business School.[5]

Owens started the Moms Don’t Have Time to Read Books podcast, where she interviews authors. It was started in spring 2018.[5][9] By December 2019, she had made 200 Moms Don’t Have Time to Read Books podcast episodes which had been downloaded a quarter of a million times.[9]

In the spring of 2020, Owens interviewed authors on Instagram[10] and launched an online literary magazine called We Found Time featuring essays written by authors who had been on her podcast. A book called Moms Don't Have Time To: A Quarantine Anthology based on those essays was released in February 2021.[11]

Owens is a member of New York Public Library's advisory council.[5]

In November 2023, Owens withdrew funding her company's sponsorship of the 2023 National Book Award because she felt that a possible call for a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war by some participating authors "promotes discrimination, in this case of Israel and the Jewish people."[12]

Publications edit

  • What to Wear to Show Off Your Assets. What to Do to Tone Up Your Trouble Spots, (as Zibby Right), co-authored with Paige Adams-Geller, and Ashley Borden; McGraw-Hill (January 2008)[13]
  • Moms Don't Have Time To: A Quarantine Anthology (2021)[11]
  • Moms Don't Have Time To Have Kids: A Timeless Anthology (2021)
  • Bookends: A Memoir of Love, Loss and Literature (2022)
  • Princess Charming (2022)
  • Blank: A Novel (2024)

Personal life edit

Owens is married to Kyle Owens, a former tennis pro and a film producer.[5] Her first marriage to Andrew Right ended in divorce.[5]

References edit

  1. ^ "Oh, Zibby, Thanks So Much for Calling!". Observer. 20 June 2007. Retrieved 16 July 2020.
  2. ^ "Schwarzman's daughter can only afford chairs at library benefit". Bloomberg.com. Bloomberg. 15 April 2016. Retrieved 16 July 2020.
  3. ^ Jargon, Julie (21 December 2019). "Move Over, Santa! Kids Are Asking Alexa to Bring Them Presents". The Wall Street Journal. Eastern Edition. Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 16 July 2020.
  4. ^ Jean-Philippe, McKenzie (26 September 2019). "21 of the Best Book Podcasts to Listen to In-Between Reads". Oprah Magazine. Retrieved 20 July 2020.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g Kelly, Hillary (17 September 2019). "New York's Most Powerful Book-fluencer Runs a Podcast on Park Avenue". Vulture. Retrieved 16 July 2020.
  6. ^ "Ellen Zajac and Teddy Schwarzman". The New York Times. 11 November 2007. Retrieved 18 February 2015.
  7. ^ "Oh, Zibby, Thanks So Much for Calling!". Observer. 20 June 2007. Retrieved 17 July 2020.
  8. ^ Jewish Business News: "The Jews of Oscar" January 15, 2015
  9. ^ a b Sandy Kenyon (4 December 2019). "Meet the mom behind 'Moms Don't Have Time to Read Books' podcast". ABC7 New York. Retrieved 16 July 2020.
  10. ^ Zibby Owens on connecting with authors through her podcast, CBS News, retrieved 16 July 2020
  11. ^ a b Moms don't have time to : a quarantine anthology. OCLC 1202304767. Retrieved 15 April 2021 – via WorldCat.
  12. ^ "Israel-Hamas War Sows Disruption at the National Book Awards". 15 November 2023.
  13. ^ Your perfect fit what to do to show off your assets, what to do to tone up your trouble spots. OCLC 1159410731. Retrieved 15 April 2021 – via WorldCat.

External links edit