Nashville Chapter

On April 15, 1955, forty-five Nashville bookwomen gathered at the Highland Crest Restaurant. Edith Patterson Meyer, juvenile editor at Abingdon Press, and Ann Richter, chair of WNBA's National Expansion Committee, provided the program. After Ann Richter talked about the organization, sharing interesting anecdotes from the New York Chapter, the Nashville group voted to form a chapter, the fourth nationally. In May, Kate Ellen Gruver, juvenile editor at Broadman Press, was elected president.

Over the years the Nashville Chapter has been active and energetic, participating in and sponsoring many book-related projects. WNBA members initiated and, with cooperation from the Junior League of Nashville and other groups, sponsored the first Nashville Book Fair in 1957. The chapter participated in the 1959 Arts Festival with an exhibit displaying the various phases of book publishing and art. And in 1967, during National Library Week, WNBA sponsored a tea honoring local women authors.

A WNBA Scholarship Fund, started in 1968, assisted college juniors who intended to pursue a career in books. Money was raised by auctions, garage sales, book sales, and the Literary Allusions Cookbook, published in 1982. Additionally, Nashville's many authors have been interviewed by members, and their oral histories, preserved on cassette tapes, have been circulated in schools and are available in the Nashville Room at the Nashville Public Library.

The chapter has continued to work in coalition with other organizations including the Tennessee Library Association. In 1968 and 1987, WNBA joined with the Tennessee Literary Homecoming Celebration and worked to initiate the Southern Festival of Books. Since the first festival in 1989, members of the Nashville Chapter have formed the core of volunteers supporting the festival with many members filling pivotal roles in all phases of event operations. In 1990, the chapter sponsored the formation of the Tennessee Writers Alliance, assuming oversight of that group until it became self-sufficient in early 1994.

An idea initiated by the WNBA Board of Directors for a children's book on Tennessee history came to fruition in 1993 through the joint efforts of the chapter and Etta Wilson, owner of March Media. Tennessee Trailblazers, written by Patricia and Fredrick McKissack, highlights four unique individuals from the state's history: Big Foot Spencer, the first white man to farm in the Cumberland Valley; Nanyehi (Nancy Ward), a Cherokee "beloved woman" who helped settlers and Indians live together; Ella Sheppard and other students who formed the Fisk Jubilee Singers in 1866 to raise money for their school; and Cordell Hull, who served the people of Tennessee and the nation for over fifty years and received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1945 for his leadership in forming the United Nations. The book has been well received across the state and region by libraries, schools, and readers alike.

A summer reading and discussion program, now in its sixteenth year, continues to generate rave reviews and to attract new members to WNBA. Organized under a grant from Humanities Tennessee, the program meets one evening a week for six weeks during the summer to discuss major works with local and regional literary experts. The focus was on women writers during 1992 and 1993 with Women's Words: Women Writing, Women Reading. In 1994 and 1995, Tennessee's Literary Legacy concentrated on works by Tennessee authors. Southern literature was again the topic in 1996 and 1997 with the theme Growing Up Southern, "coming of age" novels and memoirs by Southern authors. In 1998 and 1999, literature set in the West was the topic in a program titled Home on the Range, which included authors as varied as Wallace Stegner and N. Scott Momaday. The theme for 2000 and 2001 was You Must Remember This, featuring current American memoirs. The 2002 discussion group featured women mystery writers and was titled Ah Sweet Mystery; the genre was a favorite and again was the focus in 2003. In 2004 and 2005 the summer series explored debut novels. The 2006 program focused on biographies; historical fiction was chosen as the focus for the 2007 reading and lecture series.

The Nashville Chapter continues to pursue cooperative projects with other groups that share its commitment to books, reading, and literacy. In 1995, a Literary Map of Tennessee was published as a result of collaboration among WNBA Nashville, the Tennessee Bicentennial Commission, and the Tennessee Council of Teachers of English. Each year the chapter broadens its influence and connections by participating in the ATHENA Awards, which is considered Nashville’s highest award of recognition for the achievements of professional women. In the fall of 1992 WNBA Nashville received an invitation to participate in the 1993 ATHENA Awards program, which first began in 1991. Donna Paz and Sue Bredensteiner were the first WNBA representatives to the ATHENA Awards committee, and Carolyn Wilson was WNBA’s first nominee. The chapter’s nominee in 2007 was Lee Fairbend, who is known locally and statewide for her work with BOOK ‘EM! Not only does the Nashville Chapter have strong ties to BOOK 'EM! but also to RIF, the Nashville Adult Literacy Council, NashvilleREAD, and other literacy agencies.

During the 1997-1998 membership year, the Nashville Chapter sponsored several public programs to promote reading to area children. "Books Change the World" was the theme of several Saturday discussions at local libraries, and successful Nashville women from different walks of life shared the many ways that reading had made a difference in their lives. In May 1998, a book-and-author event featuring Ron Kidd, Cherie Bennett, and Patricia McKissack raised more than $2,000 for the Public Library's new downtown library facility and branch library collections.

In February 2002, the Nashville Chapter donated two original watercolors by Caldecott Award winner Jerry Pinkney from the book Goin Someplace Special, by Patricia McKissack, to the Nashville Public Library. The membership enthusiastically supported the opening of the new main Library in downtown Nashville and through personal donations and a few outside friends raised the money to purchase the art. In 2005 Kathy Gore organized WNBA Nashville’s 50th anniversary celebration, which included a public library exhibit documenting the chapter’s activities. Members gathered for an anniversary dinner at Sunset Grill to hear novelist Jeanne Ray speak and read from her work. A commemorative poster was created by Gary Gore for the event, and all present for the celebratory dinner received posters and copies of Poetry, donated by the Poetry Foundation.

In March 2005, Hume-Fogg Academic High School, WNBA Nashville, and fourteen writers joined forces to produce Connecting: A Day for Readers and Writers. The keynote address was provided by authors John Egerton and Tony Earley; a final presentation was given by Storyteller Estelle Condra. Proceeds from the event provided scholarships for the Humanities Tennessee-sponsored Tennessee Young Writers’ Workshop, a weeklong, residential program for high school students interested in improving their writing skills. In 2006 the program was presented for a second time, with twice as many authors and twice as much money raised for the Tennessee Young Writers’ Workshop scholarship fund. The keynote address was given by author Robert Hicks; recording artist and author Marshall Chapman performed for the finale.

WNBA is one of thirty-two designated Non-profit Government Organizations that support various missions of the United Nations. WNBA’s focus is UNICEF’s Afghan Women and Children’s Education Initiative. WNBA Nashville supports this mission through educating members and the local community and providing monetary contributions.

Many opportunities are available for community outreach and professional growth. Monthly meetings, occasional seminars, and special events offer times to get to know members from book-related professions as well as those with strong ties to and interest in the world of books. The most recent networking opportunity for members and persons in the Metropolitan Nashville area is a book discussion group that began in the fall of 2006 and meets quarterly at a branch of the public library. WNBA Nashville continues to respond to the interests not only of its members but also of the reading community at large.

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