Marie Benedict & Courtney Sheinmel, THE SECRETS OF LOVELACE ACADEMY

Totally Booked with Zibby

Zibby Owens

Connection, Inspiration, Moms, Entertainment, Arts, Reading, Books, Parenting, Literary

4.4 • 602 Ratings

🗓️ 23 June 2025

⏱️ 24 minutes

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Summary

Zibby chats with New York Times bestselling author Marie Benedict and Courtney Sheinmel about THE SECRETS OF LOVELACE ACADEMY, a charming middle-grade novel about a young girl who is plucked from a London orphanage to attend a prestigious boarding school. The duo (set up by their literary agent) describe how they collaborated on this historical adventure where bright girls gain access to the elite education previously reserved for boys, inspired by Mileva Einstein, Albert Einstein’s brilliant but overlooked first wife. They delve into themes of gender equity, lost histories, and how far we’ve come—and haven’t—when it comes to opportunities for women and girls. They also share how they developed a unified voice and hint at future books in the series!

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Hi, this is Zibi Owens, and you're listening to Totally Booked with Zibby. Formerly, moms don't have time to read books. In my daily show, I interview today's latest, best-selling, buzziest, or underrated authors and story creators, whose work I think is worth your time. As a bookstore owner, publisher, author, and obviously podcaster, I get a comprehensive
0:24.0	look at everything that's coming out and spend my time curating the best books so you don't
0:29.3	have to.
0:30.3	Stay in the know, get insider insights, and connect with guests like I do every single day.
0:36.2	For more information, go to zibbimedia.com and follow me on Instagram
0:40.2	at Zibby Owens.
0:44.6	Courtney Scheinnell and Marie Benedict are co-authors of the Secrets of Lovelace Academy.
0:49.8	Marie Benedict is a lawyer with more than 10 years of experience as a litigator at two of the country's
0:54.6	premier law firms. She found her calling, unearthing the hidden historical stories of women. Her
0:59.9	mission is to excavate from the past the most important complex and fascinating women of history
1:05.0	and bring them into the light of present day where readers can finally perceive the breadth of their
1:09.3	contributions, as well as the
1:11.1	insights they bring to modern day issues. Marie is the author of many books for adults, including
1:15.7	the New York Times bestseller The First Ladies. The Secrets of Lovelace Academy, written with
1:20.3	Courtney Shine Mill, is her first book for kids. Courtney Shinemel is a chocolate lover, mac and cheese
1:25.7	expert, mom to Archer, and the author of nearly 30 books for kids and teens, including the acclaimed Stella Bats and My Pet Slime series for young readers. Her book, She Persisted, Helen Keller, was part of Chelsea Clinton's She Persisted Series.
1:40.3	Courtney received a National Scholastic Educator Award for her work as a writing instructor at the nonprofit Rytopia Lab.
1:47.1	And by the way, she contributed an essay to my anthology on Being Jewish Now.
1:51.2	Visit her online at Courtney ShineMell.com.
1:53.6	Welcome back to Marie Benedict and to Courtney ShineMell, who have both been parts of other projects that I've featured on the show
2:02.9	from On Being Jewish Now to many of books of Marie's. Anyway, it's so great that the two of you
2:09.3	have teamed up. I was so excited when I saw your names together on a book, The Secrets of Lovelace
	...

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