In celebration of Zibby Owens’ new novel, Blank, the Library Society is pleased to welcome Zibby Owens in discussion with Victoria Benton Frank, author of My Magnolia Summer, and Stacy Willingham, author of Only if You’re Lucky for an in-depth discussion on “Writers on Writing” and each author’s unique perspective and approach to their works.
Blank, by Zibby Owens, shares the story of a wife, mother, and frustrated writer who faces an impossible deadline for turning her life around in a hilarious debut novel about family, friendship, success, and exhilarating self-(re)discovery. Pippa Jones is a forty-ish former literary sensation who fears she will be a one-hit-wonder. After the follow-up book she was almost done writing, Podlusters, had to be tossed (it ended up sharing a plot and title with superstar author Ella Rankin’s summer blockbuster!), she couldn’t write a thing. When she finds out that she has only five days left to finish (or rather, start) or repay an advance she’s already spent, Pippa has a brilliantly original idea, and when Pippa’s publisher gets intimately involved, it unlocks a series of plot twists she never saw coming. Pippa races against time—in her used Volvo—and discovers more about her career, marriage, family, friends, and herself than she ever could have dreamed up.
In My Magnolia Summer, a gripping tale of self-discovery, Victoria Benton Frank introduces us to Maggie, a South Carolina transplant in New York City struggling to find her place in the world. When she receives a phone call from her troubled sister, Violet, Maggie must return to her hometown of Sullivan’s Island, where she uncovers shocking secrets about her family’s past. With three generations of South Carolina women reunited—the steadfast Gran, the troubled Lily, the impulsive Violet, and the determined Maggie, anything becomes possible. Immerse yourself in the stunning depictions of marsh grasses and dunes, as this novel transports you to a world brimming with cherished family traditions and unforeseen twists of fate.
Stacy Willingham brings us Only if You’re Lucky, a tantalizing thriller about the nature of friendship and belonging, about loyalty, envy, and betrayal—another gripping novel from an author quickly becoming the gold standard in psychological suspense. Lucy Sharpe is larger than life. Magnetic, addictive. Bold and dangerous. Especially for Margot, who meets Lucy at the end of their freshman year at a liberal arts college in South Carolina. Margot is the shy one, the careful one, and never the center of attention. But when Lucy singles her out at the end of the year, a year Margot spent studying and playing it safe, and asks her to room together, something in Margot can’t say no. And so Margot finds herself living in an off-campus house with three other girls, the three of them opposites but also deeply intertwined. Margot and Lucy have become the closest of friends, but by the middle of their sophomore year, one of the fraternity boys from the house next door has been brutally murdered… and Lucy Sharpe is missing without a trace.
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$10 – Members // $15 – General Admission
If you aren’t able to attend but would like to secure a (signed!) copy of Zibby’s new novel Blank, click HERE, or call Buxton Books at (843) 723-1670
ABOUT ZIBBY OWENS
Zibby Owens — like Pippa — wears a lot of hats. She 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, online content site Zibby Mag, Zibby’s Book Club, retreats, classes, events, and podcasts; and owner of Zibby’s Bookshop, an independent bookstore in Santa Monica. Her previous books include Bookends: A Memoir of Love, Loss, and Literature, Princess Charming, and two anthologies that she edited. Most of all, she is the mother of four pretty fabulous kids ages 8 to 16 — and wife to Kyle.
ABOUT VICTORIA BENTON FRANK
Victoria Benton Frank was born in New York City, and raised in Montclair, New Jersey, but considers herself to have dual residency in the Lowcountry. She is a graduate of the College of Charleston and the French Culinary Institute. Victoria worked in restaurants in New York before returning to Charleston, South Carolina, which she considers home, with her husband, two kids, and a giant mutt. When she isn’t writing, she is reading, cooking, or chasing her children.
ABOUT STACY WILLINGHAM
Stacy Willingham is a New York Times, USA Today and internationally bestselling author of A Ficker in the Dark, All the Dangerous Things, and Only if You’re Lucky. Her debut, A Flicker in the Dark, was a 2022 finalist for the Book of the Month’s Book of the Year award, Goodreads Choice Best Debut award, Goodreads Choice Best Mysttery & Thriller award, and ITW’s Best First Novel award. Her work has been translated into more than thirty languages. Before turning to fiction, she was a copywriter and brand strategist for various marketing agencies. She earned her B.A. in magazine journalism from the University of Georgia and M.F.A. in writing from Savannah College of Art and Design.
She currently lives in Charleston, South Carolina, with her husband, Britt, and Labradoodle, Mako.