Cleveland author writes the book on Taylor Swift
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Taylor Swift performs on the Eras Tour. Photo: Aldara Zarraoa/Getty Images for TAS Rights Management
Local author Annie Zaleski has tackled everything from Christmas songs and Lady Gaga's fashion to Duran Duran's landmark album "Rio."
- Now she takes on the daunting pop culture task of appealing to Swifties.
Why it matters: Zaleski's new book, "Taylor Swift: The Stories Behind the Songs," focuses on the biggest pop star in the world and is one of the more high-profile works by a local author in some time.
State of play: The book goes on sale Tuesday and comes in various languages and formats, including exclusive versions for Target and Walmart.
- The book's U.K. version arrived last month, followed by a shorter, "Greatest Hits" version available at Five Below.
What they're saying: "Taylor is such a huge superstar, on par with The Beatles at this point with culture ubiquity and significance," Zaleski tells Axios.
- "So, this probably qualifies as my biggest book yet."
The intrigue: Zaleski, a veteran music journalist who has written for Rolling Stone, Time and Billboard, was approached by a publisher about the book last year.
- At nearly 60,000 words, the book offers in-depth background on more than 250 Swift songs, from her first single "Tim McGraw" to the tunes on this year's "The Tortured Poets Department" album.
Between the lines: Swift and her team were not involved in the creation or publishing of the book, but Zaleski, a longtime Swift fan, had no problem diving into the pop star's catalog.
- "It required sitting down, listening to the albums and really digging into online research, looking up interviews she's done," Zaleski says. "The book is grounded in Taylor analyzing her own inspirations."
Worthy of your time: B Side Lounge will host a free book-signing event with Zaleski on Sunday at 2pm.
- Zaleski says she has several other events in the works, including an appearance at Cincinnati's Books by the Banks festival in November.
What's next: With Swift being 34 years old, Zaleski anticipates having to update the book as time goes on.
- "I like to be a completist. Hopefully, my publisher has interest in me updating everything and bringing it to the present day."