NEED TO KNOW
The story of how Taylor Swift rose to stardom is being told like never before.
Washington Post entertainment reporter Emily Yahr, along with St. Martin’s Publishing Group, is bringing Swifties and music aficionados together with Taylor Swift: The Debut Years.
“As a reporter who has spent the last decade covering Taylor Swift’s career, as well as writing extensively about country music, combining these two topics was a dream project,” Yahr tells PEOPLE exclusively.
St. Martin’s Press
“And after interviewing more than 100 people, I discovered that the story of Taylor’s first 10 years in Nashville — where she started her journey from ‘unknown teenage singer-songwriter’ to ‘biggest pop star on the planet’ — was even more fascinating than I could have predicted. I’m so excited for people to learn everything that I found out,” she adds.
The upcoming book will lead up to the 20th anniversary of Taylor Swift, the debut album that launched the now 36-year-old’s career back in 2006.
“While I think Taylor fans will enjoy these new details (whether you know all the words to ‘I’d Lie’ or you started listening around the ‘Folklore’/’Evermore’ era), this book is also for anyone who wants to know more about the inner workings of the music industry or is nostalgic for the glorious days of early 2000s country music,” Yahr tells PEOPLE.
Taylor Swift: The Debut Years will paint the scene for readers as the “Love Story” singer came to Nashville in 2003 with blisters on her fingers from learning to play a 12-string guitar.
Despite being the youngest woman in every room she entered — often by decades — if anyone asked Swift if she could see herself becoming one of the biggest superstars on the planet, her answer probably would have been yes.
But Yahr knows the 14-time Grammy winner’s origins are more complex than a teen tapping into a new generation of country music fans.
Matt McClain/Washington Post
The entertainment writer and author shares Swift’s story of taking risks, like walking away from powerhouse label RCA to strike out with an unknown, unfunded new label, and of trusting her instincts when no one else did.
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The intimate and immersive read will also transport Swifties to locations like Music Row and The Bluebird Cafe, as well as to Hendersonville High and the Swifts’ own lakefront house.
Taylor Swift: The Debut Years will be released on Oct. 6 and is now available for preorder, wherever books are sold.
