Loving Taylor Swift got her a book deal. She takes the Swiftie historian gig seriously.
Loving Taylor Swift got her a book deal. She takes the Swiftie historian gig seriously.
Clare Mulroy, USA TODAYTue, April 14, 2026 at 11:01 AM UTC
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NEW YORK – Olivia Levin was 13 when she says she was “done being a casual listener” of Taylor Swift. Today, she’s about to turn 26, runs a fanpage of nearly 630,000 followers and is the author of a book dedicated to Swifties.
In about 250 pages, “The Story of Us” (out now from Simon & Schuster) chronicles the first two decades of the fandom in stories, songs, illustrations and significant dates. A glossary breaks down inside jokes and memes for newer fans. Learn what a “Taydaughter” is or why Swifties say they’re moving to “Clownelia Street.” “Omg did you just call me ‘daddy’”, per Levin’s glossary, is “The most insane thing Taylor has ever tweeted.”
The publishing industry is working hard to capture the attention that content creators and fandoms hold. Influencers are nabbing lucrative book deals. BookTok viral authors are going from self publish to traditional publishing. And for Levin, her fan account @swiftiesforeternity paved the runway for her author era.
Olivia Levin (@swiftiesforeternity) holds a copy of her new book, "The Story of Us."Loving Taylor Swift inked this fan a book deal
Just before the Eras Tour began in 2023, Levin was working in marketing and public relations for a small publishing company. She’d already been running her account for a decade, a dedication that got her an exclusive invite to listen to “Reputation” early with Swift at her Rhode Island house.
Then, as the Eras Tour Ticketmaster fiasco began, Levin was laid off. She decided to throw herself into helping Swifties buy and sell tickets. She got so many submissions she started hosting transactions on a subscription platform. Her account started taking off. She became a go-to source for USA TODAY’s Taylor Swift reporter, Bryan West. She started getting brand deals. She went on CNN to breakdown Swift’s engagement post, taking the interview from the middle of the ocean on a cruise.
She’s made friends with famous Swifties like Nikki Glaser and “Buffy” actor Alyson Hannigan (her conversation partner at an upcoming book tour stop in Los Angeles). She’s stepped on the Kansas City Chiefs field with rapper Yung Gravy and is close with the Hunt family, the team’s owners. She’s dubbed her account “LinkedIn (Taylor’s Version).”
“Every day is different. I remember the day I woke up to go do my author photoshoot back in August was the day it was announced that Taylor was going on the ‘New Heights’ podcast. So that took over my entire day,” Levin says. “During the Eras Tour, I’d be at Thanksgiving dinner like ‘Sorry you guys, Taylor’s performing’ and my parents are like ‘She’s working.’”
Olivia Levin met Taylor Swift (and held her Grammys) during an early listening session of "Reputation" in 2017.
In marketing her book, she’s learned from the best. Levin has been “Easter egging” her followers, dropping hints at the chapters and interior illustrations. When we meet up at USA TODAY’s New York City offices to chat, she tells me she’s found out some bookstores accidentally stocked her book early. Should she panic or play into it? Later that week, they’re like the golden tickets from Willy Wonka – she’s posted a video encouraging fans to go hunt for them.
Her ultimate dream is for Swift herself to read the book. She doesn’t even have to publicly acknowledge she did, Levin says, she just wants to know that it's in her hands. She even sent a copy to Donna Kelce, Swift’s future mother-in–law.
“I want Taylor to be able to take a trip down memory lane,” Levin says. “And if she ever does have kids one day, it's a perfect book for them to learn about the magic that their mom created in the world just by choosing to live her life the way she did and making waves in (not just) the music industry but far beyond. And she created truly the best, most joyful, non-judgmental, loving, happy community in the world.”
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Clarifying those ‘parasocial fan’ allegations
Though this book is targeted toward those already wholly obsessed with Swift, Levin does take a moment to address the naysayers. “The parasocial relationship is mutual, I promise,” reads one chapter title.
Levin, like many other diehard Swifties, is adamant that Swift set the tone for the artist-fan connection from the beginning – from online interactions to home invitations to her 2010 13-hour Nashville meet and greet. She’s eager to reframe the “negative connotation” around the term, so widely used it became Cambridge Dictionary’s 2025 word of the year.
“It can be toxic, some people take it too far, telling her what to do and how her choices are bad, whatever, but to some degree, the parasocial relationship is why we have such a powerful, influential and tight-knit community today because we feel like we know her, we also feel like we know each other,” Levin says.
Olivia Levin has turned her love for Taylor Swift into a career, first with content creation and now as an author.
When Swift and Travis Kelce started dating, football experienced what can only be known as the “Taylor Swift effect” – female viewership soared, and football fans and Swifties shared a common bond. A 2024 Cetaphil commercial featured a Dad and daughter connecting over football in a clear ode to the famous couple.
Everyone is a “diehard fan” of something, and Kelce and Swift’s union helped to bridge that gap, Levin says.
“Some people on the outside who don’t get it judge us and think we're crazy,” Levin says. “I think if they were to read my book or even watch her documentary, they would understand how much joy she has spread just by being herself and being honest in her lyrics and how she's healed people.”
Like sports fans, there’s a universality to being a Swiftie. Community. When Levin sees someone wearing Swift merch in public, she almost always makes a new friend. Once, she missed a connecting flight (she changed the original flight because Swift’s “New Heights” episode was on. Duty calls!) and rented a car with two other Swifties in the same situation. A four-hour, “full Taylor karaoke session” transformed them from strangers with a common interest to friends.
“Swifties are obsessed with feelings and being a human and the human experience and connecting with people. That's really what the fandom's about. It's just connecting with people so you don't feel so alone in the world,” Levin says. “It's so fun and cool to meet someone that you don't know and then have an instant connection with them.”
Clare Mulroy is USA TODAY’s Books Reporter, where she covers buzzy releases, chats with authors and dives into the culture of reading. Find her on Instagram, subscribe to our weekly Books newsletter or tell her what you’re reading at cmulroy@usatoday.com.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: This fan loved Taylor Swift so much it got her a book deal
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
