I’m sure we can all agree that Taylor Swift’s The Eras Tour is one of the events of the season, one that has rightly become so large and momentous that you can’t not know about it, its inside jokes, and its surprise songs—and I say this as someone who lives on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean and has experienced the whole thing through TikTok.
The tour has just moved past Nashville, Tennessee, and its three nights there certainly packed an emotional punch. From torrential rain and lightning in the distance—which only made the entire experience that much more memorable—to the first live performance of “Would’ve, Could’ve, Should’ve,” to the official announcement—made on May 5, the first date of the Nashville leg of the tour—that Swift is finally going to release the Taylor’s Version of the album Speak Now this summer.
The announcement was also echoed throughout the artist’s social media, leading fans everywhere to rejoice for the upcoming unveiling of the rework of one of Swift’s most beloved albums in her entire discography. And also John Mayor’s PR people scrambling for how to weather the storm. Probably. Allegedly.
Still, Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) might not be the only thing Swifties have to look forward to this summer, if rumors and theories are to be believed. “Dear Reader” might not be just a song title anymore.
Is Taylor Swift actually going to publish a book?
If you look at the list of current top bestselling books from various online retailers, you’ll find that a yet unpublished, untitled, and uncovered book is sitting pretty comfortably at the top—or very near it. To give you an idea, it hovered in the top five on Amazon and peaked at a remarkable number one on B&N.
The project is currently identified as “4C Untitled Flatiron Nonfiction Summer 2023.” No further info is available, especially not about the author—stated as “to be revealed.” And yet, there’s a series of details and clues that have gotten Swifties convinced this is going to be something authored by Taylor Swift—maybe a memoir, considering that it’s categorized as nonfiction.
First of all, the date. This unpublished book is set to be released on July 9, two days after the release of Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) which is coming out on July 7. In the announcement published across Swift’s social media, it reads that “[her] version of Speak Now will be out July 7 (just in time for July 9, iykyk ?).”
This is a little Easter egg referencing her lyrics in “Last Kiss”—which go “that July ninth / the beat of your heart”—but it’s also very interesting that Swift chose to specifically mention this date while this mysterious book does indeed come out on July 9.
Then, there’s the whole “Dear Reader” thing—one of the most popular songs out of Speak Now and also a formula that Swift used in announcing the Taylor’s Version of the album, saying, “Dear reader, it finally will be.” Sure, it could very well be a reference to her song, but what do readers usually read? Books, exactly.
The number 13, which Swift has stated time and time again to be her lucky number, also features quite prominently in everything related to this mysterious book—from having 544 pages, and the sum of those numbers being 13, to the author being scheduled to be revealed on June 13. The audiobook is also supposedly 13 hours long.
Are any of the rumours that Taylor Swift is going to release a book true?
Of course, these are all theories and fandom conjecture. They’re very fun to explore but should all be taken with a grain of salt until something is officially confirmed or denied—and it looks like it might be the latter.
According to a very recent Variety article, Taylor Swift doesn’t seem to be the author of the mysterious “4C Untitled Flatiron Nonfiction Summer 2023,” even though the actual celebrity author is still no closer to being identified ahead of actual publication time. Variety reports some rumors and speculation, but nothing is certain as of right now.
So it’s just Speak Now (Taylor’s Version) to look forward to so far—which is still saying something.
(featured image: John Shearer/TAS23/Getty Images for TAS Rights Management)
