What you need to know
The story of how Taylor Swift rose to stardom is told like never before.
Washington Post entertainment reporter Emily Yar, with St. Martin’s Publishing Group, brings together Taylor Swift and music lovers in Taylor Swift: The Debut Years.
“As a reporter who has covered Taylor Swift’s career and written extensively about country music for the past decade, it was a dream project to combine these two topics,” Yar exclusively tells PEOPLE.
St Martin’s Press
“And after interviewing more than 100 people, I found that the story of Taylor’s first 10 years in Nashville, where she began her journey from ‘obscure teenage singer-songwriter’ to ‘the greatest pop star on the planet,’ was more fascinating than I expected. I’m so excited for people to learn everything I learned,” she added.
The upcoming book will mark the 20th anniversary of Taylor Swift’s debut album, which launched the now 36-year-old’s career in 2006.
“While we think fans of Taylor will enjoy these new details (whether they know all the lyrics to ‘I’d Lie’ or started listening since ‘Folklore’/’Evermore’), this book is also for those who want to know more about the inner workings of the music industry or those who are nostalgic for the glory days of country music in the early 2000s,” Yar tells PEOPLE.
Taylor Swift: The Year of Her Debut will give readers a picture of what it was like when the “Love Story” singer arrived in Nashville in 2003 with blisters on her fingers while learning to play the 12-string guitar.
Even though she was the youngest woman to enter any room, often decades older than her, if someone had asked Swift if she thought she would become one of the biggest superstars on the planet, her answer likely would have been yes.
But Yahr knows that the 14-time Grammy winner’s origins are more complicated than that of a teenager cultivating a new generation of country music fans.
Matt McClain/Washington Post
The entertainment writer and writer tells the story of Swift, who took risks, including leaving powerhouse label RCA to start a new, unfunded label, and trusted her instincts when no one else did.
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The intimate and immersive read takes the Swifties to places like Music Row and the Bluebird Cafe, as well as Hendersonville High School and the Swifties’ lakeside home.
Taylor Swift: The Debut Years will be released on October 6th and can be pre-ordered wherever books are sold.
