Kimberly talks about rocking book PR inside and outside of a major publishing house.

In this episode, we chatted with freelance food and lifestyle book publicist and Thursday Media founder Kimberly Escobar about the adorable perils of working from home (specifically, Zoom-bombing kittens), how both traditionally and self-published authors can make their publicists’ jobs easier, and how to do your OWN book PR if you can’t afford a pro to do it for you. We also talked about the joys and pains—but mostly joys—of owning your own business, why an Arby’s was actually the perfect place for a book launch party, and how even the shyest of introverts can effectively promote their books without feeling like they need to take a shower afterward.

“If your publicist is asking for it, assume that it’s urgent.”

—Kimberly Escobar

Guest Bio

Kimberly Escobar, president and founder of Thursday Media Inc., began her career as publicist at Grand Central Publishing (an imprint of Hachette) before joining the then-newly launched Flatiron Books (an imprint of Macmillan) to spearhead their lifestyles publicity. She made a name for the Flatiron list with some of the most discriminating writers in media and her campaigns often graced the pages of everything from the New York Times to Forbes. She regularly booked top-tier, national broadcast media such as The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, Good Morning America, The View, and The TODAY Show, in her campaigns. She recently launched Isaac Mizrahi’s instant New York Times bestseller I.M., which included stops at CBS This Morning, multiple national NPR interviews, and a New York Times “By the Book” interview, among other major press. She also led the recent publicity campaigns for Jamie Oliver and Nigella Lawson, and the James Beard and IACP award-winning Bottom of the Pot by Naz Deravian and Between Harlem and Heaven by JJ Johnson + Alexander Smalls. Kimberly has planned, executed, and traveled on countless national book tours with stops in venues as large at 1500-seat theaters to the most intimate indie bookstores. She is now president and founder of Thursday Media Inc., where she continues to craft headlining media campaigns and attention-grabbing events for her clients. You can find her on Instagram @_kimberlyescobar_.