National Author’s Day
November 1st is National Author’s Day. It is a day to celebrate all authors—from the NYT bestsellers to the local independent authors publishing their first books. In the Special Collections Department, we love supporting our local authors.
The Local Author Collection began in 1979 when Mrs. Mary Govan Steele, the mother of William O. Steele, donated several books by authors from Williamson County to catalyze the collection. To build on her gracious donation, the Williamson County Council for the Written Word began identifying authors from the area and expanded this collection. The Council published its first directory of authors in 1993 with 130 names, and in 1998, that number reached over 250. The Council for the Written Word worked diligently to support authors with writer’s workshops, book launches, and receptions held at Landmark Booksellers in Downtown Franklin.
Around this time, community powerhouse and Library Director, Janice Keck joined the Council. With her membership, the Council began to integrate with the Williamson County Public Library. Initially, Keck merely advertised events at the library that might interest local authors from book talks to writing lectures. However, by 2010, Keck’s influence within the Council had grown. President Dave Stewart authorized for the Council to host its fall writer’s workshop at the library.
Other movers and shakers within the Council were Chairman Emeritus Bill Peach, Chairman Nancy Fletcher-Blume, President Kathy Rhodes, President Dave Stewart, Secretary Louise Colln, and Council Historian Eddie Moth.
The Williamson County Council for the Written Word was most active in the early 2000s, representing authors at the Southern Festival of Books in Nashville as well as at the Main Street Festivals here in Franklin. In 2011, with the death of Janice Keck, vice president of the Council, the Council for the Written Word disbanded. At that point, the Williamson County Public Library took over the Local Author Index and management of the Local Author Collection.
Today, the Special Collections Department manages this collection and index of over 2000 works which is broken down into a circulating Local Author Collection and the archived Heritage Collection. To be a local author, you only have to be a Williamson County resident (or have a clear connection) and publish your book within the last three years while in residency in the county. Once you submit a donated and autographed copy of your work and complete the author biography form, you are all set to be included in our Local Author Index and join the collection.
In addition to keeping the Index, we also help local authors publish their work with Pressbooks, a professional publishing platform free to Williamson County Library cardholders. We provide one-on-one assistance to guide you through the self-publication process.
Every author is a local author somewhere. Today, on November 1st, the Special Collections Staff wants to celebrate and thank our authors that are local to us (and cheer on those that will become local authors here as well).
For more information about the Local Author Collection, click HERE
Celebrate Authors Day by reading some of the works of the authors that composed the Council for the Written Word:
Bill Peach—South Side of Boston (1995), The Eye of Reason (2012)
Kathy Hardy Rhodes—Pink Butterbeans (2005)
Louise Colln—War Trees (2016), Time Removed (2018)