Fans of Taylor Swift – affectionately known as Switfies – have long been celebrated by the singer herself for their love of solving intricate mysteries set up by the singer, and they have now turned their attention to a mysterious new book.
An untitled book by Macmillan imprint Flatiron – currently known only as ‘4C Untitled Flatiron Nonfiction Summer 2023’ – will be published July 9, with the mysterious author to be revealed earlier that month.
The book has created a stir since Swifties have become convinced this book has some connection to the 33-year-old singer… despite no concrete proof of her involvement and no comment thus far from Swift herself, who is currently on tour.
While we still have some time before the mystery is solved, the book – fueled by the Swifties’ frenzy – is currently #1 on the Barnes & Nobles pre-sales charts.
The book is also #1 in Amazon’s Photography and Video category, and currently #58 in all books, though it was previously as high as #2.
The hardcover book is currently available for pre-order for $45 with the Kindle version available for $29.99.
The Swiftie speculation started on Monday, when a document surfaced on social media, supposedly from Flatiron, revealing they are releasing a, ‘major nonfiction book this summer, with the title and author to be announced on June 13.’
Many jumped to the conclusion that it was a Taylor Swift book since the singer’s much-publicized favorite number is in fact 13.
Others delved a bit deeper, looking at the book’s hefty page count of 544… with many noting that 5+4+4 is 13.
Fans also noticed that the book’s release date – July 9 – was a date mentioned in Swift’s 2010 song Last Kiss, from her album Speak Now.
Swift also announced that she will release ‘Taylor’s Version’ of the album just two days earlier on July 7, the latest of her first six albums she is re-recording after Scooter Braun obtained the master recordings of those albums while she was under Big Machine Records.
The book was also described as a, ‘biography or autobiography’ that would also feature over 40 color photos, with an initial print run of 1 million copies.
The Flatiron announcement also read, ‘This is not a political book, it is a fun, celebratory title and will skew slightly younger, but is for people of all ages. This has global appeal and will have massive publicity. I would comp (compare) this to Flatiron’s Matthew Perry memoir … and a little bit to Spare by Prince Harry.’
Despite all of these supposed clues to Taylor Swift’s involvement, Variety reported ‘for certain’ that the book is not in fact authored by Swift.
Flatiron has not commented on the speculation surrounding the book, which has many guessing about who the author may be, especially if the 1 million initial print run detail turns out to be true.
While Swift is certainly one of the few celebrities whose book would warrant such a huge initial print run, the singer is also currently fully immersed in a massive world tour.
Several bookstores have already reported hundreds of pre-order cancellations after Variety’s report, with others like Wisconsin’s Blue House Books announcing they will offer full refunds if the author turns out to not be Swift.