Oprah Winfrey‘s imprimatur has made many an author’s career. Now she’s wielding her literary star power to helo anoint a new bookstore, co-founded by former WME literary agent Jennifer Rudolph Walsh, who previously led Winfrey’s “The Life You Want” arena tour in 2014. After a decades-long career of working with some of the world’s bestselling authors including Tom Clancy and Brené Brown, Walsh launched the new endeavor, Godmothers, on a tony strip in the seaside hamlet of Summerland, California, last weekend alongside her co-founder, philanthropist and cosmetics industry pioneer, Victoria Jackson.
“It’s really been stirring to the soul,” Walsh tells The Hollywood Reporter. “Victoria and I truly made manifest exactly what we dreamed of. Godmothers is a cathedral to us. It’s a home.”
Walsh, who in 2019 transitioned away from her leadership role as WME’s global head of literary, lectures and conferences, has been taking a “sacred pause” over the last four plus years. “I completed that chapter of my life and loved every single minute, and then my soul evolved,” says Walsh. “I’ve received so much and it was all very validating, but just one of the reasons I moved to the mountains [from New York to California] was to get into balance with nature. I was out of balance in my first chapter and now I’m in perfect balance for this next one.”
Meghan Markle at Godmothers
Sara Prince
Godmothers opened its doors this past weekend with a three-day extravaganza of celebrations and luminary helmed gatherings attended by the local glitterati — Oprah, Prince Harry, Meghan Markle, Ted Sarandos, Nicole Avant, Ellen DeGeneres, Portia de Rossi, and Paramount CEO Brian Robbins, whose son Chef Miles Robbins, along with business partner Kamil Jumale, enjoy Michelin-star pedigree and served comfort fare from an Airstream trailer on the property.
Housed in a 1920s white barn given a modern facelift by interior designer Martyn Lawrence Bullard, the bookstore exudes serenity. “We designed Godmothers so visitors will immediately feel peace and comfort,” says Jackson, who recently debuted her No Makeup Makeup brand and released her latest book, We All Worry, Now What?
The opening-weekend events included appearances by bestselling author Shaka Senghor, Bumble founder Whitney Wolfe Herd and a musical performance and guided meditation with MILCK. Celebrated artists from a cross section of industries will be making frequent visits throughout the year. On September 18, filmmaker and actor Ed Burns is discussing his first novel, A Kid from Marlboro, and Laura Dave, author of New York Times bestseller The Last Thing He Told Me will join Universal Studio Group’s Jordan Moblo for a conversation around her latest novel, The Night We Lost Him.
“When Victoria and I were sitting in a room with 100 people and Oprah’s up there interviewing Shaka Senghor, it really felt full circle for me because that’s what I crave, my soul craves intimacy,” says Walsh. “What I’ve always said is our stories reveal our collective secret, which is that under the skin, we’re more alike than we are different. Shaka was talking about prison reform but from a place of authentic storytelling. That’s just everything to me and what I call intimate activism. This is what the next part of my life is all about.”