Vanderbilt University Press announces launch of Truths, Lies, and Histories of Nashville, the press’s first local-interest book series, according to Gianna Mosser, director of Vanderbilt University Press.
“As a lead-up to Nashville’s 250th anniversary in 2029, this ambitious new series is designed to bridge the gap between what scholars and historians know about the city and what the public thinks it knows,” Mosser said.
Betsy Phillips, longtime marketing and sale manager for VU Press, will oversee the new series.
“We want the stories that have never been told, the truths behind the oft-told tales, the things that keep us in love with the city, and the parts of the past that have broken our hearts, with a priority on traditionally underrepresented perspectives and untold stories,” Phillips said.
The series will consist of 25 small volumes on topics that range across Nashville’s entire history. Two or three books will be released each year with a goal of having all 25 available by 2029.
On Wednesday, Phillips, whom Mosser calls “a living encyclopedia of Nashville lore,” was named the city’s Best Historian and author of this year’s Best Short-Fiction Book in the Nashville Scene “Best of Nashville” competition.
In addition to having worked at Vanderbilt University Press for two decades, Phillips is author of Jesus Crawdad Death, a book of short stories published by Third Man Books last year. She also has a forthcoming book on Nashville’s mid-20th-century white supremacist bombings, titled Dynamite Nashville.
Submissions for Truths, Lies, and Histories of Nashville are welcome. For more information, visit the book series web page.