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A resolution recognizing the 10th anniversary of Parnassus Books.
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WHEREAS, on November 16, 2021, Parnassus Books, the beloved independent bookstore located in the Green Hills neighborhood of Nashville, Tennessee, celebrated its 10th anniversary; and
WHEREAS, Parnassus Books is co-owned by novelist Ann Patchett and business partner Karen Hayes; and
WHEREAS, after the closure of the Davis-Kidd bookstore in December 2010 and Borders in May 2011, Hayes and Patchett realized the need for a smaller, more personalized independent bookstore that sold new books for all ages; and
WHEREAS, on November 16, 2011, Parnassus Books opened with Hayes as the managing owner and Patchett as the publicity machine and face of the store; and
WHEREAS, close to 3,000 people came through the bookstore on the grand opening celebration day and Parnassus Books garnered notable national attention; and
WHEREAS, The New York Times ran a front page article about the store on opening day, and a few months later after penning an essay in The Atlantic about the experience, Ann Patchett was invited to appear on The Colbert Report; and
WHEREAS, Parnassus partnered with the Nashville Public Library system and Humanities Tennessee to become a part of the wildly popular Salon@615 authors series which continues today. Over the last 10 years, the Salon@615 series has hosted nearly 200 nationally known authors and celebrities including Pat Conroy, Barbara Kingsolver, Jimmy Carter, Colson Whitehead, and Stephen King; and
WHEREAS, in 2012, the Salon@615 partnership gave then Mayor Karl Dean the framework to launch the Nashville Reads program, an annual citywide read to broaden Nashville's literary horizons. The collective clout of the partnership enabled the Nashville Reads program to bring authors like Margaret Atwood and John Lewis to town; and
WHEREAS, that same year, Humanities Tennessee invited Parnassus to become their bookselling partner for the Southern Festival of Books, a festival whic...
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